Garmin Camper Sat Nav - Routing through "narrow" lanes

[Bernie P]

We've just been to Ludlow (from Surrey) for a wet and windy New Year.

We opted for the Garmin Camper Sat Nav as you could programme in the MH size and add avoidances such as narrow lanes. We were therefore somewhat surprised on Wednesday that it routed us cross country taking almost a straight line route. One road it was telling us to use even had a "unsuitable for large vehicles" sign at the entrance. Fortunately the wife was quick with the road map and re-routed us where we'd expected to go.

It tried the same thing coming home today told us to turn left out of the site, then first left up a lane. We'd walked up that lane yesterday and it was no way suitable for a MH. So we switched the damn thing off and made our own way to the M5.

We have it set on "Fastest Route" as "Shortest Route" definately went in the straightest line from day 1.

I've double-checked all the setting and been through all the Garmin FAQ's (emailed them now). Completely baffled

Is anyone else getting these problems? I don't recall it doing it last summer so suspect a dodgy update has taken place. Has anyone found out how to fix this?

 

[Big Nick]

Unfortunately very few roads comparitively speaking have width information available to the mapping databases which causes the problem.

I have the same unit as you and ours has directed us onto to some very unsuitable roads also

I've increased the size of our motorhome in the unit to longer/wider than it actually is but it hasn't made much difference.

Unfortunately we are still a long way from being able to rely on a sat nav 100% for routing I'm afraid and a co-pilot who can read a map is still a good idea!!

 

[GJH]

@Big Nick is spot on.

Earlier this year the Garmin almost took us across a 3 tonne max bridge near Wellingborough, which I spotted in the Philips Atlas we carry, and did take us down a road near Bath which was theoretically OK but on which we almost got stuck because traffic coming the other way was using it as a rat run to avoid busier than usual roads near the city. In the case of the Bath road we also had the Noza Tec in use because I was doing a comparison exercise and it would have avoided the road.
I reported both to Garmin with positive responses from them.

We are in the fortunate position that Jill does the driving and I do the navigating so I now have the Noza Tec set up alongside the Garmin and the Philips Atlas in the door pocket so that I can (hopefully) identify potential conflicts before they become problems.

 

[colinw]

I loaded the sat nav with vehicle sizes and it tried to take us under a low bridge , not impressed ! . also diverted off main roads down through small villages then back onto main road further along . I wish there was an option to stick to main roads even if it is further / slower . definitely learned to keep an eye on it !

 

[Allanm]

Mine tried to route me under a 2.5 m bridge in Rouen last year. Luckily, I don't take much notice of anyone giving me directions.......

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[Mack100]

Used my new Garmin for the first time in anger today around Abingdon trying to get onto the M40 for Brum.
I kid you not the cow tried to take me diagonally across fields and down roads that weren't there all in total silence.

I'm really impressed.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Whilst country lanes aren't ideal for MH bear in mind most country lanes will be regularly accessed by large tractors, combine harvesters, milk tankers, feed trucks, and livestock trucks, so your average MH will fit with ease. Don't panic if you find yourself on one.

I drove milk tankers for 4 years and you soon get used to narrow country lanes, many of the farms I collected from were on lanes that were 'unsuitable for hgv'

 

[GJH]

Used my new Garmin for the first time in anger today around Abingdon trying to get onto the M40 for Brum.
I kid you not the cow tried to take me diagonally across fields and down roads that weren't there all in total silence.

I'm really impressed.

Sometimes rerouting of roads isn't matched by map updating. The first sat nav I had was a TomTom, bought for me shortly after the rerouting of the A1 past Ferrybridge. It took them something like 2 years to get the mapping right.
If you have updated to the latest maps then I should complain to Garmin.

 

[Robert Clark]

It says on the Garmin website

"Entering your Camper or trailer profile characteristics does not guarantee your Camper’s characteristics will be accounted for in all route suggestions. Always defer to all posted road signs and road conditions."

In other words - it don't work

 

[BFM14]

Never had a problem with our Snooper . It appears to have most, if not all, these problems solved

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[Mack100]

Sometimes rerouting of roads isn't matched by map updating. The first sat nav I had was a TomTom, bought for me shortly after the rerouting of the A1 past Ferrybridge. It took them something like 2 years to get the mapping right.
If you have updated to the latest maps then I should complain to Garmin.

Solved, I'd inadvertently changed route settings to "shortest" instead of "fastest". Just tested it round Camberley and it was fine

 

[JeanLuc]

Well, I have had a Garmin Dezl 560 LMT for a couple of years now (truck version with the motorhome dimensions stored) and I have to say that most of the time I have been pretty happy with it. Of course it cannot take account of the vehicle's size if the mapping database does not contain road information and this is inevitably the case on many minor roads. The Dezl is not a replacement for driver judgement, but it helps a lot in navigation.

 

[GJH]

Well, I have had a Garmin Dezl 560 LMT for a couple of years now (truck version with the motorhome dimensions stored) and I have to say that most of the time I have been pretty happy with it. Of course it cannot take account of the vehicle's size if the mapping database does not contain road information and this is inevitably the case on many minor roads. The Dezl is not a replacement for driver judgement, but it helps a lot in navigation.

If only everyone would remember what that last sentence says as regards all sat navs

As I posted in June, having compared the Garmin and Noza Tec:

The Garmin tends to use smaller roads more readily than the Noza Tec, a factor which is probably due to the fact that the Noza Tec software has overriding defaults rather than using the vehicle dimensions input. I had noticed on a previous trip that it ignored a perfectly usable road with a 7.5 tonne weight limit even though the vehicle profile weight was 3.5 tonnes. It appears that the Garmin, being a Camper edition, is more accurately oriented to leisure vehicles and the actual dimensions input.
Having said that, both devices route via roads which might be uncomfortable for some drivers. They will use bus routes (which are obviously wide enough for a motorhome) but some bus routes in more rural areas run along narrow roads which can be a challenge especially when vehicles are parked at the roadside and/or large oncoming vehicles are met. It is always a good idea, in an unfamiliar area, to do a bit of preparation and checking in advance if possible (using the Philip's Navigator Camping and Caravanning Atlas or Google Maps for instance).

 

[Badknee]

I must say our thirty odd quid Chinese sat nag has been quite good apart from the annoying Russian bird shouting about speed scammeras
I always remember a friend who knows his stuff explaining that the mapping system will take short cuts whenever it can, that is, if you are on a fast A road doing 50mph and it 'sees' a shorter route if only by a few feet it will send you down it as long as it also is a NSL. It doesn't realise that you have to slow down to 20mph because it's so narrow/tight bends, it still thinks your doing 50mph then drops you back on the fast A road a mile further on ten minutes later.

 

[ianandkath]

my £30 satnav sent me down a narrow road in northwales.im 8ft 5"wide across my mirrors. the road was 8ft 6"wide at narrowest point.
what FUN we had watching a chain of cars backing up in front of us
now it works fine, i had not set it to large settings

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[colinw]

Does anybody have a sat nav that you can program in your top speed ? eg. On a motorway you travel at 50 mph , the sat nav thinks that 140 miles will take 2 hours , not 3 that it takes you . used to be able to on AA route planner on computer IIRC .

 

[Mack100]

Does anybody have a sat nav that you can program in your top speed ? eg. On a motorway you travel at 50 mph , the sat nav thinks that 140 miles will take 2 hours , not 3 that it takes you . used to be able to on AA route planner on computer IIRC .

Our "old" TomTom assumed a speed of 60 mph average on motorways.

 

[Gary217]

It does seem as if the '£30 chinese' satnavs work reasonably well - does anyone have any recommendations on which make to buy or where best buy these? At this price it's worth a punt - presumably they do height restrictions as well as width as we're not that wide but are quite high?

 

[Dave and Ginny]

I would urge anyone that hasn't taken a look to check out Garmin Basecamp which you can download to any laptop free and then use it to make up your own routes to the upload to your Garmin. It may sound complex but with a little practice it's quick and simple to use. Your sat nav will then follow the route you have planned.

One big bonus is that you can preview your route on Google Earth/ Streetview and check out any suspect parts.

Well worth a look!

 

[sallylillian]

Whilst country lanes aren't ideal for MH bear in mind most country lanes will be regularly accessed by large tractors, combine harvesters, milk tankers, feed trucks, and livestock trucks, so your average MH will fit with ease. Don't panic if you find yourself on one.

I drove milk tankers for 4 years and you soon get used to narrow country lanes, many of the farms I collected from were on lanes that were 'unsuitable for hgv'

Equally your milk truck probably had loads of steelwork all around it and you wern't fussed about the paint job?

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[Clarky]

Does anybody have a sat nav that you can program in your top speed ? eg. On a motorway you travel at 50 mph , the sat nav thinks that 140 miles will take 2 hours , not 3 that it takes you . used to be able to on AA route planner on computer IIRC .

So you're the bloke that makes all the trucks have to pull out to get round and cause queues of vehicles.
If you or your vehicle can't manage at least 60ish MPH perhaps you shouldn't be on a motorway.

Tin hat on and taking cover.

 

[RandallC]

It's been said before. Sat navs are not fool proof and should be treated as a guide not a substitute for common sense.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Equally your milk truck probably had loads of steelwork all around it and you wern't fussed about the paint job?

This is very true but not many lanes are narrow enough for the paint job to be in danger. Most hedges are kept in check by regular vehicle movement, if I'm being honest the biggest risk was the second homers coming home on a Friday night who though the countryside was their own private racetrack, the lanes were awash with VAG, mercs, beaters and range rovers all going flat out to get home.

 

[GJH]

As regards width, weight and height restrictions there are two situations:
1. Roads subject to legal orders. Sat navs should (but that is only should) take all such orders into account and avoid roads subject to them them appropriately. That depends on the map data suppliers ensuring that their databases contain the information in the first place and the sat nav software writers ensuring that the data are processed properly.
2. Roads not subject to legal orders but having a physical restriction. Sat navs will only be able to avoid such roads if the data suppliers have built widths/heights into their databases and the software takes account of those data and/or the databases contain some sort of supplier classification and the software processes those appropriately.

In addition it is possible to obtain POI sets of restrictions (low bridges for instance). The sat nav will not normally avoid such restrictions (because it is not programmed to recognise the restriction) but can be set up to display/sound a warning some distance before the restriction is met.

As others have said, sat navs are not foolproof. They are only tools and can not think.

 

[Steve Taylor]

Does anybody have a sat nav that you can program in your top speed ? eg. On a motorway you travel at 50 mph , the sat nav thinks that 140 miles will take 2 hours , not 3 that it takes you . used to be able to on AA route planner on computer IIRC .

Co-Pilot (app) will do this, you can set your vehicle type and store average sppeds for different types of road.

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[colinw]

Co-Pilot (app) will do this, you can set your vehicle type and store average sppeds for different types of road.

Thank you , exactly what I needed .

 

[glenn2926]

Whilst country lanes aren't ideal for MH bear in mind most country lanes will be regularly accessed by large tractors, combine harvesters, milk tankers, feed trucks, and livestock trucks, so your average MH will fit with ease. Don't panic if you find yourself on one.

I drove milk tankers for 4 years and you soon get used to narrow country lanes, many of the farms I collected from were on lanes that were 'unsuitable for hgv'

Having spent the last 29 years driving fire engines l agree with the above. The way I look at roads is, could I get the wagon down there? If I can then the motorhome will fit easy. All the farms, businesses down there have fire cover and their bins emptied . So if they can get through we can. Just remember your sat nav is just a talking map. Also the mention earlier re basecamp. If you use Garmin it is very very good.

 

[Bernie P]

I would urge anyone that hasn't taken a look to check out Garmin Basecamp which you can download to any laptop free and then use it to make up your own routes to the upload to your Garmin. It may sound complex but with a little practice it's quick and simple to use. Your sat nav will then follow the route you have planned.
One big bonus is that you can preview your route on Google Earth/ Streetview and check out any suspect parts.
Well worth a look!

I've downloaded base camp but not had time to figure out how to plan a route, didn't seem as straight forward as Google Maps.

Anyway thanks for the comments at least I know it's not just my clumsy handling of the Garmin that causes the problems.

 

[Khizzie]

Never had a problem with our Snooper . It appears to have most, if not all, these problems solved

Same as !!

 

[sallylillian]

Having spent the last 29 years driving fire engines l agree with the above. The way I look at roads is, could I get the wagon down there? If I can then the motorhome will fit easy. All the farms, businesses down there have fire cover and their bins emptied . So if they can get through we can. Just remember your sat nav is just a talking map. Also the mention earlier re basecamp. If you use Garmin it is very very good.

Whilst the logic is firm when you get to managing tight roads/lanes, when it is YOUR motor home care becomes the priority. Sure you could get a wagon thats not yours down there, the scratches however superficial are not on your tab, but when its your pride and joy, how risk averse are you??