Garmin camper sat nav (1 Viewer)

[Mikey RV]

Anyone got a Garmin camper 770 LMT-D sat nav. If so are they good, bad, your experiences with it please. Been doing a bit of research and like the sound of this one. Fed up with my sat nav and now it’s packed in totally so when I return to the Uk going to get a new one. That’s if we return, so used to sat nav now, the thought of the wife with a map from Spain to Uk is a bit scary.

 

[Masman]

I've got the 660 model to replace my old TomTom. No problems up to now. Lots of discussion on here go to sat nav page.You will here good and bad.Some say you can do the same on your phone ,which I have used as a backup. I wanted a stand alone sat nav.Like all sat nav they will take you some wiered ways sometime but I check with paper maps if not sure of route. Some say it' an expensive piece of kit ,But if it lasts as long as my old TomTom 14 year's, then it' money well spent.

 

[PhilandMena]

I have the 770-LMT-D. It's an impressive piece of kit and rammed with features. Unfortunately, I have had a few problems with mine as a result of errors in software downloads causing problems but all these have been corrected by Garmin and the device is now working as it should. Once Garmin give the UK marketplace the same quality assurance checks on the software updates as it does to the American marketplace, where it is huge by comparison then this device is going to be hard to beat IMO.

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[mfw]

My satnav failed in portugal total nightmare now i just run 2 of them cheap enough to buy and always has signal dont know if phone can lose navigation signal or not but im not going to chance it

 

[PhilandMena]

My satnav failed in portugal total nightmare now i just run 2 of them cheap enough to buy and always has signal dont know if phone can lose navigation signal or not but im not going to chance it

I would advise to update Garmin Express as this has had several updates in the last few weeks to correct errors and then connect your device and update it. I was advised to reinstall my map as I had lost my ACSI and NKC poi's and the re-install corrected this but took 10.5 GB of data to reload the map. If you're going down this route of the re-install make sure you have good internet speeds and ideally free.

 

[Flatlander]

I have the 760. It tends to be unreliable, especially for some reason around airports and military airfields. Its always tried to direct me wrong near Copenhagen airport. Always near Frankfurt, and if you are ever near any military bases, forget it...80km wrong is the record there.

Garmin are aware of the problem, so maybe its fixed with the later one.

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[Mr B]

I’ve got the 770.
Used it last year, doing over 3000 miles in Europe. Great bit of kit, but it’s down to the user to set the parameters, and follow them.
We had our son telling us where to go using his iPhone and google, telling me that the Garmin was taking us the longer route....so I followed his directions,,, right up to point of a bridge being tooooo low for our 3m to fit under. The next 30mins of silence were ace.

 

[WhiteCheyenneMan]

Here we go again In all these threads in the past I have steadfastly supported TomTom having had several bad experiences with Garmin routing and traffic. TomTom's not infallible, but has been the better of the two, for me, by a long way! But my maps are due to expire this summer (not lifetime...........and bearing in mind 'lifetime' is whatever the manufacturer chooses it to be, because it relates to the time that they continue to support it.) and the Live Traffic expires in May. So if I renew my existing TomTom Camper Maps and Live Traffic in May, for 18 months, it is going to cost me £169.90, that’s £113.27 a year. If my Camper version ceases to be supported with maps, I will face an additional cost of approx. £250 for a TomTom Truck.

If I change to, say CoPilot, on my phone, with Active Traffic and the ‘Caravan’ option, I’ll have a one-off payment in May of £49.95 plus data costs (for the traffic) and for subsequent years (subject to the cost of map updates?) I will have an annual cost of £10.99 plus data costs.

I have no idea what the likely additional data costs will be, over and above what I pay now (I am on GiffGaff which is pretty cheap!), but it seems unlikely that these data costs would close the £102 annual difference in cost between the TomTom Camper’s Map and Traffic costs, and the Smartphone app.

Only time will tell whether the CoPilot routing is as good as TomTom's and the same with the traffic (TomTom use all the same data as everyone else, but add to that information from other TomTom's on your route) but (swallows hard) I'm going to store my TomTom and give CoPilot a go

 

[Clarky]

I have the 760. It tends to be unreliable, especially for some reason around airports and military airfields. Its always tried to direct me wrong near Copenhagen airport. Always near Frankfurt, and if you are ever near any military bases, forget it...80km wrong is the record there.

Garmin are aware of the problem, so maybe its fixed with the later one.

Presume the problem is caused by radar.
It’s strange because we went on to airfields constantly while working with the Vulcan and never had that problem with our Garmin.
Vulcan also had a Garmin fitted but the radar had been removed so it worked OK.

Richard.

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[scotzsue]

like the idea of using maps on my phone, if it werent for the fact they are so small I cant follow them too well. John's new car connects to his phone and gives google maps on the media screen, we love it. Wonder if I will inherit the newer tomtom now, none are the caravan one but we get good campsite POIs.

 

[PhilandMena]

Here we go again In all these threads in the past I have steadfastly supported TomTom having had several bad experiences with Garmin routing and traffic. TomTom's not infallible, but has been the better of the two, for me, by a long way! But my maps are due to expire this summer (not lifetime...........and bearing in mind 'lifetime' is whatever the manufacturer chooses it to be, because it relates to the time that they continue to support it.) and the Live Traffic expires in May. So if I renew my existing TomTom Camper Maps and Live Traffic in May, for 18 months, it is going to cost me £169.90, that’s £113.27 a year. If my Camper version ceases to be supported with maps, I will face an additional cost of approx. £250 for a TomTom Truck.

If I change to, say CoPilot, on my phone, with Active Traffic and the ‘Caravan’ option, I’ll have a one-off payment in May of £49.95 plus data costs (for the traffic) and for subsequent years (subject to the cost of map updates?) I will have an annual cost of £10.99 plus data costs.

I have no idea what the likely additional data costs will be, over and above what I pay now (I am on GiffGaff which is pretty cheap!), but it seems unlikely that these data costs would close the £102 annual difference in cost between the TomTom Camper’s Map and Traffic costs, and the Smartphone app.

Only time will tell whether the CoPilot routing is as good as TomTom's and the same with the traffic (TomTom use all the same data as everyone else, but add to that information from other TomTom's on your route) but (swallows hard) I'm going to store my TomTom and give CoPilot a go

I too had the Tom Tom Camper and found it very good. However, like you I was paying a premium for map updates and services (including speed cameras). Over a few years I paid more in map updates than I did for the device. I asked Tom Tom if they would give me the lifetime updates and they refused in spite on my several years of loyalty. They discontinued the model a couple of years ago and it was at that point I decided to move to Garmin as in the long term it would be the more cost effective option.

 

[PeteH]

I got a 760LM, on a deal from Aldi 2016. It is a bitch to reprogramme when travelling. Ok if I set it using Base Camp. But need to change on the road?, forget it!. The old T-T was definitely more "user friendly" (still is for the car). But the Mapping is out of date and no longer supported.

Some Funsters have had better results with cheap Chinese "clones".

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[Gellyneck]

Got a 760LMT-D Camper and not had any major problems with it unlike Flatlander or PeteH.
Yes, there are some idiosyncrasies (as with all systems) but liveable with if you treat as an aid not a "bible".
BTW Amazon still has it on sale at £50 less than the 770 Camper.

 

[Mikey RV]

Thanks for all the reply’s guys and lots of info. For me this is a big purchase and I want to get it right. We do a lot of miles in the four months we winter in Europe and plan to do a lot more in the Uk with job so it has to be reliable. It’s no fun trying to turn a 9mtr motorhome round with a trailer possibly when sat nav says turn around where possible. Keep the info coming please.

 

[PeteH]

but liveable with if you treat as an aid not a "bible".

Trouble is, some of the time its not really an aid either. And I learned a long time ago not to trust the damn things!. (T-T or Grumpy) Useful and convenient? yes, but Trust?. Less that I would trust Tony B`Liar (well not quite!). The only "bible" is my Truckers Atlas. (Oh, and the "good pub guide")

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[Scotlad]

I've got the garmin 770lmt D and have found it superb, found are way around France for a month without a hiccup. Also the fact you can just talk to it rather than typing is a huge plus for me. The built in apps are very useful such as TripAdvisor, foursquare etc.

 

[Melvin]

I don’t trust my Garmin 760 at all ,I alway check the route with a map. I find sometimes it tells me the name of the road rather than the number which will be on the signage and places just do not exist , ie coach parking at Heathrow airport . I wouldn’t buy another. Rubbish !!!!

 

[EX51SSS]

I'll back my garmin 660 anytime definitely against TT. Superb piece of kit.

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[Larrynwin]

On my second Garmin Nuvi in the car and have a 660 in the mohome , would not use anything else .
I do though always note basic routes as backup.

 

[Podney]

Well,it’s all very frustrating. I don’t think there is another subject on this forum where the opinions about a product have been so different. Like MikeyRV,we are aiming to buy one,but very confused as to which is best. Seems they range from useless to excellent...and that’s the same make!!
So far I’ve used a thing called a map,and might just stick with that method,but wanted a satnav to avoid low bridges,weight limits,and roads that are too narrow.
Thanks to all though for posting,and to MRV for raising the subject again!

 

[Bognor Saint]

Anyone got a Garmin camper 770 LMT-D sat nav. If so are they good, bad, your experiences with it please. Been doing a bit of research and like the sound of this one. Fed up with my sat nav and now it’s packed in totally so when I return to the Uk going to get a new one. That’s if we return, so used to sat nav now, the thought of the wife with a map from Spain to Uk is a bit scary. [/QUOTE
I've just ordered the Avtex Camper One which is essentially the Garmin 770 but is tied in with the Caravan and Motorhome Club. I called Garmin and they confirmed that other camping organisations can be downloaded.
I ordered mine from CCA leisure ( Cannock Caravan Accessories) for the best deal I could find, £319 inc delivery. They also have an eBay shop.

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[Bognor Saint]

I'm not sure what happened but here goes again.
I have just ordered the Avtex Camper One which is essentially the Garmin 770 but is tied in with the Caravan Club. I have spoken with Garmin who have confirmed that other camping organisations are also preloaded. Others can also be downloaded.
I ordered mine through CCA Leisure ( Cannock Caravan Accessories). They offered it at the best price that I could find, £319 inc delivery.They also have an ebay shop.

 

[Littlewheels]

I have a 760 used a couple of times I’m in Spain at the moment if you’re interested £€250.00 purchased from Halfords.

 

[tonyl]

I have a 660 but also use CoPilot (car version) on an iPad, with the wife holding the road atlas, to referee in case of disagreements or suggest scenic detours.

The Garmin in is working as well in Spain as it does at home, so I think I trust it, though eyes are also necessary! It does occasionally suggest an odd route - the day before yesterday, it wanted to avoid a 3.9m height restriction in a village, even though it is programmed at 3m.

I seem to remember from a thread on here last year that the 760 has less memory than the 660. The 770 probably has more again. Maps never get smaller, though you can add a memory card to avoid having to load only part of the map set you have paid for.

Traffic notifications work well in the UK, but I have never seen one in France or Spain, possibly because we have never been near any heavy traffic!

POI sets can be added to Garmin units, so you can put Camper Contact locations on it, though the POI loader program isn't the most intuitive piece of software in the world.

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[robnchris]

Have used Garmin sat nav systems for years in our boats, sailed 1000`s of miles and they have always been 100% reliable, our Garmin road sat navs have also been trouble free, apart from changing the battery in our old Nuvi 660 we haven`t had any problems.

Currently have 3 models and 1 for my motorcycle, love the system and ease of use but always have a look at a road map just to make sure, as when sailing put the route in the navigation system but always plot the course on our charts.

 

[iandsm]

I have the 770. And have had issues caused by updates, however they are now corrected and although annoying they did not prevent the device being used for navigation since they were confined to the bells and whistles items.

I like the nice large very responsive screen with small bezel, the photorealistic views of junctions and the directions using landmarks such as “turn right at the traffic lights” are very good It’s very easy the switch between car and Motorhome routing and the ACSI, NKC and Motorhome Facts poi are very useful. You can also load other poi such as Searchfirsites and CC Infos, I install them to a memory card in the device as opposed to the device itself.

The device can display map and background colours for each different country you happen to be in and your poi both ore installed and custom can be seen on the map. and of course set either MPH/KPH

It is easy to plan and save routes for later use and your favourites can be split into catergories such as Aires, CL’s etc.

Voice commands actually work very well and you can activate other features by connecting to your smartphone including weather and camera views of major road junctions in real time.

The device is well put together and quiet robust but I would use a case when it is not in the cradle. The cradle is about the only thing I don’t like it can be a bit fiddly to release the device until you get used to it and you have to plug the power. It’s into the device as opposed to leaving it in a magnetic mount as on some other Garmin and Tomtom models. Speaking of Tomtom, I have had several of them and at the moment only the trucker version would suit a Motorhome user. I think the Garmin is superior in many ways the only thing better with Tomtom is the traffic information but Garmin are not far behind.

I think the best advice is this. Be guided by reports from people who actually have the 770 as the devices are all different in one or perhaps many ways. Go on YouTube, there are many reviews of both the Garmin and Tomtom truck version by a chap who taks like a meerkat, very useful. Also go to the websites of Garmin and Tomtom and download the user instructions for the devices. These give a real insight into what each device can to, and more importantly cannot. Visit a retailer which has them working on display, Halfords perhaps, and have a play. Having read the user instructions and viewed YouTube you will be well placed to try the different functions, I think you can then make an informed decision.

 

[two]

I think the choice of satnav is a very personal thing. For me, the user interface is important but difficult to test casually. You discover their failings after it’s too late.

I’ve had several Garmin hand-held GPS devices for walking and think they are probably the best. My car navigation system experiences have not been so rewarding. I’ve had just about every make except Garmin, so might be tempted to try them next time.

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