Garmin Camper 780,anyone uses one?

[Camper634]

Just wondering if many of our members have got the Garmin Camper 780.I had the previous version but was disserpointed with the traffic service which IMO was far inferior to the tomtom live traffic.I did always like the user interface on the Garmin and would like to give it another go if the traffic has improved.

 

[WESTY66]

Interested in replies as I was thinking of getting a 785. Tried the Sygic can’t get my head round it, and Co pilot is a complete waste of time and effort imho, and google maps is great to get you from A to B, no good if you want to do a custom route. Always had good service from my motorcycle Zumo 660 (10 yrs old now) but would like a dedicated stand alone unit that I can put dimensions into, I even thought of cheepy cheepy Chinese unit, but will prob go the Garmin route?

 

[SteveJ]

I have a 780. I find the traffic updates are still a bit intermittent, I would say that the TomTom traffic updates are a bit more consistent but overall I much prefer the Garmin interface to the TomTom and Base Camp, once you get used to its idiosyncrasies, is actually a great tool for route planning. The routes set when in "Camper/RV" mode can be a bit pessimistic sometimes, avoiding some suitable roads and sending you on some major deviations, and very occasionally trying to route via fairly obviously unsuitable roads for the sake of a mile shorter route, but that is usually due to limited information on the maps as to restrictions etc, but on the whole it seems to be pretty good with its routing and recalculates pretty quickly if you decide not to take a particular turning as it looks a bit tight for a MH. Of the various ones I have tried it is one I would always go back to. It may not be the cheapest (by some margin) but it does work and works well IMO.

 

[Rob Turner]

I use the Pioneer head unit that use Navgate and find the mapping and updates are very good tbh. I generally use it when I get near my destinations for the final approach. Use a map quite often if I’m stuck, I used to drive trucks years ago so I’m happy to get to somewhere in say Italy before putting the final destination in.

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Rob Turner how do you update the pioneer one mine is 12 plate so needs an update. Are we talking same system double din sat radio cd ?

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[AXO66]

We have the garmin unit. 3 years old now. Traffic update is useful, but cab’t compare it to any other system re routing works well, more polite than our car’s.

we (I have ) known better than it on a few occasions, only to find it was right .........

however driving back through France we entered saved co ordinates of an aire that we had used on the way south, and it led us 40 miles west of where we should have been. Paper map to the rescue, arrived at aire, nothing wrong with co ordinates ( double double checked) So always have a back up.

 

[Rob Turner]

Rob Turner how do you update the pioneer one mine is 12 plate so needs an update. Are we talking same system double din sat radio cd ?

I have had 3 Avics and to be fair I’ve only updated one of them.
I downloaded off the Pioneer website onto a sd card and then onto the HU, that was a F80DAB
The latest unit (AVIC Z810 DAB-C) in the new van is only a few months old so that’ll last until I change for my next van.
It was complicated if I remember correctly ?

 

[Simon Meadwell]

Thanks i think my system is too old

 

[swiftsteve]

I've got a garmin camper. I did buy one of those cheap chinese ones and it was ok, but I never quite got the hang of it. It always seemed a PIA to input the destination. So I bit the bullet and paid £300 ish for the garmin.

I can't compare it to a tomtom as I've only ever had garmins, but for ease of use, I'd recommend it. You can input your van's dimensions, although I wouldn't trust it 100%, if I don't like the look of a road that it directs me to turn into, I just drive past and let it re-route.

The traffic bit uses satellite tech now rather than the old vhf and although it also takes parked vehicles into account, it's reasonably accurate.

 

[swiftsteve]

I also have started using what3words on my phone as well as the satnav, especially in my lorry when delivering, as you can navigate right to the door instead of just the street.

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[Camper634]

Wonder if any stand alone navigation devices incorporates the what3words?That would be handy.

 

[Gellyneck]

Wonder if any stand alone navigation devices incorporates the what3words?That would be handy.

You can get an app for Garmin fitness watch devices that uses what3words. Do you think you'll manage to carry the motorhome on your back?

 

[EMS]

We have used the Garmin Camper for both the car and the van with no problems. I always update it before we go away to avert possible problems. We also have a much older standard car type Garmin that we use as a backup in case of problems. We changed to the Camper version as the drive in the old Garmin was causing the unit to crash, so as for any PC problem "switch of and on" it mostly restarted OK. The only problem we have had was getting to a French France Passion site that had the wrong position in the handbook!

 

[Manic]

If you’re buying a 780 , Halford have them on sale at £299 at the moment.

 

[Gellyneck]

If you’re buying a 780 , Halford have them on sale at £299 at the moment.

Amazon have it at £298 delivered if you don't want to go out to get it.

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[Simon Meadwell]

Just priced up updating my built in pioneer £125 dont think so will use my stand alone Garmin