Satellite navigation

[keithpaw]

Good evening all so I was wondering what satellite navigation hardware/software people used.
I will need a good MH sat nav very soon
What do people recommend? I love Waze for my car and I have used it for years but it isn’t available for motor homes so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks..

 

[Boris7]

Apple / android car play head unit

 

[LesW]

 

[kevenh]

Still using & liking our Garmin Nuvi 255W from 2008
It's got free FM traffic updates & lifetime mapping.

But if our Pug could easily take a <£250 head unit with car play...

 

[goldwinger]

Have a look at Co pilot cheap no further on costs great on an iPad

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[Reallyretired]

The new copilot is not as good as the old version.

 

[dunnah01]

Have a look at Co pilot cheap no further on costs great on an iPad

-1 for copilot. The routing is downright dangerous.

 

[pandas]

Just question if you actually need the facility of being able to input height, weight and length. We find it reassuring so use a separate TomTom 'Trucker' unit although they now do a 'camper' version again. The inputted information has been useful only about 4 times over 7 years but 2 were low bridges! But there again it has also turned us into inappropriate tracks half a dozed times over that period. We also use Waze and Google maps through CarPlay.

 

[Landy Andy]

Sygic for me on iPad dash mounted. Free trial for 14 days, and can get camper version and enter size and weight.

 

[Potty]

Whatever satnav you get, take good maps as well.

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[7735]

I have a Tom Tom camper satnav, don’t use it now as my new m/h has a built in one. You can input your sizes into the Tom Tom but it will take you miles out of your way to avoid a narrow road that may only be 20m long. I came very close to throwing it out the window, had it not been a present I would have. Sat navs are very frustrating the Tom Tom camper is the worst.

spongy
M

 

[John Barrett]

I have a Tom Tom camper satnav, don’t use it now as my new m/h has a built in one. You can input your sizes into the Tom Tom but it will take you miles out of your way to avoid a narrow road that may only be 20m long. I came very close to throwing it out the window, had it not been a present I would have. Sat navs are very frustrating the Tom Tom camper is the worst.

spongy
M

That happened to me a few times with my TomTom. I disabled the 'Truck' bit and all was sweetness and light thereafter!

 

[Dazza 6863]

I use the Avtex Garmin Tourer One Plus, works fine for me, built-in dashcam 64gb recording can enter Van size to avoid low bridges and narrow roads, also has all club sites built-in and can add own POI'S.

 

[Manic]

I use the Avtex Garmin Tourer One Plus, works fine for me, built-in dashcam 64gb recording can enter Van size to avoid low bridges and narrow roads, also has all club sites built-in and can add own POI'S.

I’ve got the same, it’s a rebadged Garmin 770 and just to add the voice command works really well.

 

[Camdoon]

Just use Waze and click through from Camper Contact. Use a cheap android tablet if your phone won't suffice. The 2 places you might have any issues are on the west side of the Paris peripherique (stay away from Paris or stay east) and some underpasses in Rouen can come as a surprise. Having paid for a Garmin Motorhome version, it tried to route me across a bridge 2m wide and also 300+ degree turn to save 50yd going through a small village in the first month of ownership.

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[Nasher]

Garmin Nuvi with 'lifetime updates' bought for sixty quid in Halfords about 5 years ago - works great in UK & Europe

 

[peterc10]

Garmin built into the dashboard entertainment unit, but I find Sygic with worldwide maps on my Android phone is more accurate. So have both running.

 

[Brains]

One you can remove from your list is the very expensive (it has a comma in the price) Zanec unit that is supplied by Hymer and other in the Mercedes Sprinter based vehicles.

I have a 11 year old Tom Tom GPS on it's last legs and the Tom Tom it is better, more accurate, faster and far far easier to use than the brand new Zanec unit.

Personally I'd go with a top of the range Tom Tom device, with luck you should get a decade out of it, as log as it can be updated every few months.

 

[keithpaw]

Thanks for all the reply’s guys I do love Waze but I don’t think it has an option for MH.

 

[ceejayt]

Sygic for me on iPad dash mounted. Free trial for 14 days, and can get camper version and enter size and weight.

Just ditched Sygic Truck. - absolutely terrible. Google maps is better without the height and weight input etc. Sygic, terrible in every aspect

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[LesW]

I'd like a satnav with a 'Scenic Route for Motorhomes' setting.

Until then any unit with the ability to create routes (of line) is my choice.

I feel a bit sorry for people that blindly follow their satnav directions, potentially missing out on some pretty locations and quiet roads.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Sat navs have stitched me up too many times, and they're all as bad as each other. Now I have Google maps on my phone screen so I always know where we are, and we follow signs to the next city/town. They are never wrong and always follow a sensible route.

For the last bit of the journey to find the exact location, I put on Google maps navigation, you can even see a photo of the site entrance or reception. Google is years ahead of the sat nav manufacturers

 

[Clickem]

Sat navs have stitched me up too many times, and they're all as bad as each other. Now I have Google maps on my phone screen so I always know where we are, and we follow signs to the next city/town. They are never wrong and always follow a sensible route.

For the last bit of the journey to find the exact location, I put on Google maps navigation, you can even see a photo of the site entrance or reception. Google is years ahead of the sat nav manufacturers

Do you use Google Maps offline or do you need data all the time?

 

[chrisinplymouth]

To those using an iPad can I ask how you find it bearing in mind the standard iPad does not have a gps chipset, or are you all using the cellular version which does?

 

[rod_vw]

I have built in sat-nav in the VW T6 which is good to get you where you want to go.

For use in the car which has 6v electrics the sat-nav has to be on a phone I use CoPilot. Last year, when travelling across Belgium on the A13 towards Antwerp en-route to Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor there was a motorway closure. CoPilot informed me of this and re-routed me faultlessly. Since then I have held it in high esteem.
Another advantage that we find with CoPilot is that it integrates with the Search for Sites app so that having decided on a destination it will provide navigation effortlessly.

Having said all of that I still use Microsoft Autoroute on a laptop with a GPS receiver connected. This is getting outdated but does have all of out campsite POIs and gives a good impression of the countryside that we are passing through.

For those that use Google maps, is there a way of using a map with personal POIs for navigation if you see what I mean?

PS The ring bound version is always a worthwhile addition.

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[Richard n Ann]

Do you use Google Maps offline or do you need data all the time?

Data all the time. Without it, it would probably be no better than a sat nav.
Doesn't use much data by today's standards, I get 8gb a month and it wouldn't touch that.

 

[peterc10]

For those that use Google maps, is there a way of using a map with personal POIs for navigation if you see what I mean?

When in Google maps you can save anywhere. Start by setting up a category you want to save to, lets say "Aires in Spain". Open the left side panel on Google maps then click the menu (top left). Click on "your places" then "saved". At the bottom right you will see a + sign in a blue circle, click on that. A box will open and you name it "Aires in Spain" and click create. Now you have your own list.

When you want to save a point on the map, Just click on it and little box will appear with its coordinates. Click on that box and the left panel will open automatically with some options. Just click on "save" and a list of your saved categories will appear and you just click on "Aires in Spain" and it will be saved there. If the place is already named on Google Maps just click on the name and the left panel will open, click on save as above.

If you want to name or rename the place, or add any comments, you can do that by clicking the menu in the side window. Go to your places, saved, and then click on the list name and a map will appear showing them all. Just click on the 3 vertical dots in the side window heading chose "edit" and you can then edit any of the places on your list.

I do all that using a PC, so it may be different on a phone or Apple products. But once saved you will be able to see them on Google maps using any platform as long as you are signed into your google account. They show up as light blue way points with the name you gave them. On my Android phone I just click on the saved place and hit navigate and Google maps will take you there.

I have separate lists of Aires and restaurants in each separate country I am likely to go to. Those have been built up over time using recommendations from other people on this forum and elsewhere or by finding them myself.

 

[rod_vw]

peterc10 many thanks, the reason that I had not seen it that way was because I only use Google maps on a PC without GPS location and had not tried it on my Android phone. Works exactly as you say on the phone using my map data.
I have a personal Google map with in excess of 700 POIs all loaded from a MS Access data base which we keep up to date when out and about.

Thanks again, Rod

 

[Richard n Ann]

You don't need POIs in Google maps, they are already on it... Millions of them, with customer reviews, photos, opening times, busy times, prices etc, etc. You can label certain ones up as favourites if you don't want to search for them every time. The sat nav manufacturers just can't compete.

If you do need to follow it's routing it does tend to stick to main roads better than Tom Tom too.

 

[rod_vw]

You don't need POIs in Google maps, they are already on it...

Oh but I do because mine have all of my own observations plus when we visited and how much a site or Aire cost etc.

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