Sat Nav for Trucks & Rvs (1 Viewer)

[Forestboy]

I was just looking at a so called Sat Nav specifically designed for trucks and large RVs of which I am very sceptical having already tried the Snooper Truckmate and returned it ; (load of expensive rubbish).
I came across this forum (link below) which gives some pretty honest reviews of whats available on the market.
Notice the guy who got banned, was the only one who gave Snooper Truckmate a good report, turns out he was suspected of having an interest in the product, doesn't say much for the company eh!!!!




Pocket GPS World - SatNavs | GPS | Speed Cameras Forums-HGV / Motorhome Lounge

 

[tick59]

Sat Nav's for trucks RVs

no sat nav has been made for trucks or RV's. They all need Driver input to work properly a sat nav is a computer and as we all know computers are thick and will only do what you input into it so it is the same with SAT NAV. Check the route it gives you then check your maps and you should be O.K. I use mine every day and i treat it as an aid along with my maps. The Sat Nav on its own is not much usewhen you have a 44 ton truck with a 15ft.6ins.trailer on the back.I have bridge heights,weights,and widths in mine and i check all of these before following a route.

 

[scotjimland]

no sat nav has been made for trucks or RV's. They all need Driver input to work properly a sat nav is a computer and as we all know computers are thick and will only do what you input into it so it is the same with SAT NAV. Check the route it gives you then check your maps and you should be O.K. .

Agree 120% .. there is no 'smart' sat nav made.. nor is there ever likely to be ..

Sat nav is no more than a tool to aid navigation.. nothing more.. foolhardy is the driver who uses it without consulting a map, especially those with big motorhomes and RVs .

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[GJH]

Quite right, computers are only tools and need to be treated as such.

Having said that, like all tools if used properly they can make a job a lot easier. I'd much rather make a hole in a brick wall using an electric drill than a Rawlplug tool - but I'd take care to check carefully that there were no pipes or cables in the area first.

I see that Pocket GPS World have, at last, got hold of the second generation of ProNav device to test out. As Forestboy says they seem to be pretty honest in their reviews so it will be interesting to see what they say.

Graham

 

[olley]

foolhardy is the driver who uses it without consulting a map, especially those with big motorhomes and RVs .

Foolhardy thats me, never check the route with a map; to idle. One day I know it will bite me on the bum.

Olley

 

[scotjimland]

Key features

Using NAVTEQ Transport mapping, specially enhanced with data intended for professional truck and delivery drivers, ProNav GPS software features dynamic routing and navigation optimisation based on a vehicle's dimensions and legal restrictions to avoid incidents such as travelling down unsuitable narrow roads or crossing bridges with vehicles that break weight restrictions.

Other Key Features include:

1. Vehicle dimensions (e.g. height, width, length, weight)
2. Legal restrictions (e.g. no HGVs allowed, carrying hazardous goods)
3. Other warning data (e.g. cross winds, steep hills)
4. London unloading and parking penalties database
5. POI data for professional drivers

So, where is the data for D roads in France.. ? All the other stuff is easily programmable

It's not possible, because a D road in France isn't a 'class' of road but a road maintained by the Department , it can be a dual lane road or a farm track ... the only way to know suitability is to consult the Michelin map which shows different width D roads..

Going from A to B on a National route isn't the problem , it's the last few km that can be problematic.. but many sites the only access is down a narrow road .. what would the sat nav say now ? . 'No Route Possible' ?

Paradoxically .. we all want to stay on picturesque sites, away from noise and urbanization, but would like a main road get there.. and many of the best locations are difficult for RVs. so a sat nav is of little use when it comes to deciding on the last bit of the route.. where most get lost

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[dazzer]

Ive just got Route 66 Mobile 8 for my HTC Touch HD phone (always used tom tom up to now) as its the only system that works on my phone and ive got to say its the best sat nav ive ever used.

It has simple user defined options for walking, biking, car or HGV (lorry) and chooses a route to suit the vehcile you say you are driving.

see here www.66.com

They do a stand alone unit but ive only got the software that works on the phone and i love it.

No more tom tom for me!!!:thumb:

They also have maps for all over the world (including Turkey which is a first!!!) but you pay for every thing!!!

 

[superk]

Ive just got Route 66 Mobile 8 for my HTC Touch HD phone (always used tom tom up to now) as its the only system that works on my phone and ive got to say its the best sat nav ive ever used.

They also have maps for all over the world (including Turkey which is a first!!!) but you pay for every thing!!!

PC Navigator Includes Turkey and you only need one map for Europe including Turkey. I have v7 that includes selection of car or truck but the more recent v8 has a separate Truck version. Must say v7 works a treat on my Eee PC and if you load your POI's onto an excel spreadsheet you can link the spreadsheet to the Navigator - hence any updates or additions on the spreadsheet automatically show on the Satnav.


Keith

 

[Thepips]

Morning,
RESELLER ALERT!!
I posted my findings on PC Navigator 8 a couple of months ago. (It's now on V8.1) It uses the latest mapping from TeleAtlas which integrates Ordnance Survey Road Routing Information. The Roads Network contains road categories, from motorways and primary routes to named and unnamed minor roads and local streets. The RRI contains features such as height, weight and width restrictions; traffic calming; turn restrictions; and one-way roads as well as vehicular access and time restrictions. (This is quite possibly why TomTom bought TeleAtlas).
You set the vehicle height, length, width, overall weight and maximum axle weight and choose the type of roads you want to avoid including tolls and congestion charges.
We carried out some pretty exhaustive tests and found Navigator to be pretty good. The only criticism I had was that it was inclined to take short cuts when I would have preferred to stay on the main road. Their latest version has sorted this out.
Most satnavs simply use the road classification as a basis for their truck routing which can give some interesting routes Low bridges are just a collection of POI's that the satnav will route round. We investigated a couple of these low bridge databases going so far as to write a program that took the lat/long of the bridge and calculated the shortest distance to the middle of a road. Some of the positions were up to 200 metres out Now you could argue that the map was inaccurate but that's not a lot of comfort when you've just arrived at a low bridge The huge advantage of the Road Routing information is that the data is fixed to road.
Navigator has versions for Windows XP and Vista; Mobile 5 for smartphones and CE for their integrated gizmos.
Hope you find that useful

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[Terry]

Hi no idea what this is like
Link Removed
terry

 

[GJH]

Hi no idea what this is like
Link Removed
terry

That's the one I referred to above, Terry - the one which Pocket GPS currently have on test.

Graham

 

[sinbad1]

Ummm interesting am i right in thinking it just covers UK and ireland, would have thought it would cover western europe?

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[nahnotme]

I see Tom Tom do an optional ad on for its later satnavs and have seen several for sale with this software included but im now a bit confused as to if you also need to purchase the additional tracking devises which are over £300 alone ?
On their sales PDF at the bottom, under specifications it looks as though you do ???
anyone have any experience of this system .

http://www.tomtomwork.com/lib/doc/downloads/en/ttwf-factsheet_trucknavigation.pdf

Ive just been duped into buying a Tom Tom One edition 3 and was told I could download the software to input vehicle dimensions etc. but the only one ive found is on a trucker accessory website @ £54 !!

 

[Geo]

I have said this many times and have yet to be proved wrong ANY sort of sat-nav that is sold for larger vehicles will not do what you think it willoh:
due to restrictions in mapping and the need to physicaly measure every single road and thats just not possible
all you will get are routes that are legally allowed in your large vehicle and nothing else, the route it chooses could still be totally unsuitable for an RV but legal to use so it will send you there
As Scottjim often says too, you need to check all routes on a map to be anywhere near sure
Geo
Hoping it becomes a reality soon:thumb:but wont hold my breath

 

[moandick]

Hi Geo

I hear what you say and agree with almost every single word of it - however, I do think that the SatNav which takes into account the 'Large Vehicle' requirements can "assist" in your route planning by removing weigh limit bridges, low height bridges and width limit roads (in general).

I totally agree that you cannot really get away from 'proper' route planning with a paper and pencil but anything that helps to remove surplus routes is of benefit in my experience.

The main problem is, and probably always will be, the end-user who does not want to prepare properly - and therefore simply relies totally on SatNav.

The large Vehicle SatNav will help that particular end-user but will still require him or her to go 'off-route' in order to reach the camp site using the secondary roads.

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[Geo]

Ill give you weight limits,but that is a known quantity as are all weight restricted roads,
Road widths I don't believe are in the large vehicle data bases (unless they are legally restricted) low bridges can be added to most standard Sat Navs by way of a down load, and the rest I believe can be achieved in setting preferences to Motorways and A roads as High and B roads to low,
I think the average Sat Nav user who buys a "Large Vehicle System" believes it will do what it says on the tin, and it It wont!!!
It wont be long with to days high power cameras and satellites before such a comes in when it does "Ouch" watch the price
and the 5 years later we will all have one, they call it progress I believeoh:

 

[andycotterell]

Snooper Ventura

I've been trying out the new Snooper Ventura system, designed spefically for motorhomes and caravans, over the weekend and it seems to do what it says on the tin.

You can enter your length, height, width, weight and axle weights and it routes you accordingly - as far as I can tell. It also warns you of sharp turns and includes height and weight restriction symbols on roads in the surrounding area.

It seemed pricey at £449, but that does include all of Europe and the complete ACSI database, including photos.

Link Removed

 

[GJH]

I've been trying out the new Snooper Ventura system, designed spefically for motorhomes and caravans, over the weekend and it seems to do what it says on the tin.

You can enter your length, height, width, weight and axle weights and it routes you accordingly - as far as I can tell. It also warns you of sharp turns and includes height and weight restriction symbols on roads in the surrounding area.

It seemed pricey at £449, but that does include all of Europe and the complete ACSI database, including photos.

Link Removed

Interesting, Andy. Any idea how the product overcomes the restrictions mentioned in Geo's post of 16th April (above)?

One big turn-off for me is that the product still doesn't allow you to add your own PoI sets. No good to me when I have a set containing over 15,500 locations.

Beats me why they fail to include a feature like that, which is sat nav specific, but put their money into including an MP3 player. Who is going to waste time and effort transferring music from their iPod etc?

Graham

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[Geo]

Im still not holding my breath, me thinks you werejust lucky,
Please prove me wrong. cos I really want one that does do what it's supposed too:thumb:

 

[madbluemad]

Im startin to think that Iv'e only got a sat nav so that I can argue with the bird who's tellin me to go the wrong way

Jim

 

[irishrver]

Nice one MADBLUEMAD would have to agree with you on that, as my wife says it beats argueing with her when we get in a tight spot due to guidence from the gps oh: i too shall lookforward to some road tests before parting with my money

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[Bulletguy]

Maps are still essential, but where satnav really comes into its own is if you have actual gps co-ordinates. As long as you put the figures in correctly, it will get you to that exact point. How it gets you there, how long it takes, or which route it takes is neither here nor there.....the end point is it will get you there.

As a solo traveller i find it an extremely useful tool though some things can be a bit off putting at times when suddenly the direction arrow flys off the road and disappears into some fields! Usually happens when a new section of road has been built.

 

[GJH]

As a solo traveller i find it an extremely useful tool though some things can be a bit off putting at times when suddenly the direction arrow flys off the road and disappears into some fields! Usually happens when a new section of road has been built.

The really annoying bit is when that happens despite the road being built years before the maps were published

Not just fields though. TomTom told us to turn well before we got to the junction in Tewkesbury last week and the bit of road we were on hasn't altered in donkeys years

Graham

 

[Thepips]

All of the data you've discussed IS available and is starting to make its way into portable sat nav systems. Ordnance Survey introduced their database back in 2006. Earlier this year they extended it still further with steep hill data. Here's the Link Removed about it.
Infomap Navigator uses the fully attributed road network database, release v9 in the next couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it. I'll be using it on my laptop as well on a micro PC I've installed on the RV but it's also available in versions for PDAs and Smartphones.
Sat Nav is coming of age

Regards
Doug

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[John S]

Has anyone seen the advert in the CC magazine this month for the Snooper Ventura Satnav, Specifically states that it is programmed for caravans and motorhomes. In view of the comments made above will it work or is it another con job?
Also does it give the speed limits?
John

 

[Geo]

Hi John
All I can say is watch this space, its a product were all waiting for :thumb:
untill someone with an RV comes on here as says it does what it says on the tin I will remain scepticaloh:
Geo

 

[John S]

Hi guys, I have had a reply from Snooper regarding the Ventura
1)Does it speak the road names and numbers?
The unit doesn’t speak the road names or numbers

2)Does it show the speed limits and speed of vehicle -
It shows the speed limits for Speed Cameras when alerting to them and the vehicle speed can be displayed in the bottom left hand corner of the screen (the other option there is the clock. You have to touch the screen there to change from clock to speed and vice versa)

3)What happens when the vehicle is approaching a site and it is down a narrow lane?
If there is no other way to get to the destination then it may calculate that route or in some instances it may advise that no suitable route is available when calculating a route to that destination

4)Can you put your own POI’s on it?
Currently not available but we are developing it. This should be available in the next one to two months

5)How much will map updates be?
Map updates are FREE until the end of 2009 as and when they are made available. After that they will be chargeable. Current price for updates is £79.99 inc VAT but may change in the future

I think I will give this one a miss for the moment.

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[oldun]

Morning,
RESELLER ALERT!!

Navigator has versions for Windows XP and Vista; Mobile 5 for smartphones and CE for their integrated gizmos.
Hope you find that useful

Is there a single package that is compatible with all the systems mentioned above or would one need to buy a special package for Mobile 5?

 

[Thepips]

I'm not aware of a product that will run on different operating systems. Navigator is the same interface on all of them but the authors have to compile it for each. You would need to purchase a licence for each.

Sorry

Doug

 

[peter marshall]

Hi if I followed my Garmin as directed I would be convertable by now lol

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