‘Sensible’ SatNav routing

[johnandi]

Help! Our TomTom Camper version SatNav (and Google maps of course) insist on trying to route us down roads which are sometimes not much more than country lanes (mainly talking UK routes). It’s so annoying that we now always have a road map handy to ensure we don’t take the suggested ‘shortcut’!
Is there a SatNav out there that only gives routes on A and B roads only and ignores anything smaller/narrower?? Maybe a HGV type SATNAV?

 

[JockandRita]

The route given by Google and others is not realistically drivable in a motorhome as it involves several miles of single track with high hedges (so you will scratch you van,) a 300 degree hairpin bend, and as a minimum any driver must have the ability to reverse half a mile back up a single track with 3" of space on either side up a steep hill and around blind corners.

Google also correctly says the speed limit on the single track is 60mph.
The reality is 15-20mph

Thanks. Folks doubt me when I say that Google Maps are unsuitable for anything larger than a LWB van.

The famous Chinese cheapy sat navs have an 'Easy ' routing option which uses mainly major roads and minimises change of road. Its my preferred one.

I use similar, ie, a 9" Chinese Xgody with Truck Maps. More often than not, the Fast and Easy options use the same routing.
It hardly puts a foot wrong across the UK and Europe.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Dorwyn]

Is there a SatNav out there that only gives routes on A and B roads only and ignores anything smaller/narrower?? Maybe a HGV type SATNAV?

 

[Spriddler]

I've got a TomTom Camper and have "fastest route" selected. It will make a beeline for motorways most of the time which, if you are in the wilds, may take you down some 'interesting' roads to get to it. I don't always want to take motorways and often select interim destinations so that it will route me via the roads that I wish to use. Best 'rule of thumb' is ignore anything that has grass growing down the middle. That and get yourself a 'slimline' motorhome.

I have the non camper basic TomTom Go50 which does the same. I always select 'Fastest route' plus 'Avoid motorways' and it takes me in some very narrow lanes. Just yesterday coming South from North of Maidstone it took me for miles along lanes where the left and right side windows were simultaneously being thrashed by hedgerows. I once made the mistake of selecting 'Shortest route' which took me through a maze of housing estate roads and industrial estates. I've never chosen that option again!

 

[Dorwyn]

That's what I'd like to know. There's some suggestion that the xgody might be ok? What do xgody users say?

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[GoldenVision]

Having said which, our straw poll on the other thread, the Garmin won the 'Cornish Pub Crawl' route.
Google failed miserably

Anyone relying blindly on a sat nav deserve what comes their way.

A smattering of common sense is what's needed.

(Although I will never tire of the horror stories people feel obliged to share)

 

[bigtwin]

Folks doubt me when I say that Google Maps are unsuitable for anything larger than a LWB van.

Not me! I’m with you.

I always select 'Fastest route' plus 'Avoid motorways' and it takes me in some very narrow lanes.

That’s exactly what I do, on my TOM TOM RIDER device but not on my Camper version!

On the Camper it is always, Fastest route, avoiding Toll roads. Not sure why you want to avoid motorways in your campervan (unless it’s a small van and you’re wanting a more direct/scenic route in which case narrower roads ought not to be such a problem ).

Ian

 

[Spriddler]

Not sure why you want to avoid motorways in your campervan (unless it’s a small van and you’re wanting a more direct/scenic route in which case narrower roads ought not to be such a problem ).

Yep, for the scenic route but you see nothing when there are 10' high overgrown hedges and rhododendrons scraping both sides.
I generally use and prefer maps with a list of the major towns on my route stuck on the dashboard, but when travelling solo in busy towns there's little opportunity to pull over if it's necessary to check a map so I use the GPS just for those 'tricky' bits.
I find motorways mind-numbingly boring and being retired I'm never in a rush so if I want or need to be somewhere sooner I leave earlier.
As a fellow motorcyclist you'll be familiar with........

 

[bigtwin]

As a fellow motorcyclist you'll be familiar with........

Certainly familiar with the ethos.

Ian

 

[Kirsten]

I have an unerring sense of direction - sadly it’s always wrong. Without my Tom Tom I would have been found dead in an uninhabited lay by years ago, always do what it says as whatever disaster it leads me into will pale in comparison to my guesswork ( maps make no sense to me either) Sadly Tom Tom has now cottoned onto this and if I am driving Moho often suggests better route which ends up being via a cycle route or footpath through a wood, or on one memorable occasion a track at the side of a canal. Obviously these routes all started out looking ok but with no means of reversing once it all went wrong. never happens in car or when Sarah at the wheel …

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[JockandRita]

I always select 'Fastest route' plus 'Avoid motorways' and it takes me in some very narrow lanes.

I couldn't be doing with that Spriddler. I'd be getting nowhere slowly.

Fastest route, Motorways, and avoid tolls for me (especially in France).

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Gellyneck]

All sat navs need is a "use major roads" preference. Most sat navs I have used, including camper types, happily send you onto minor roads unnecessarily as you get closer to the target. Or send you off a major road, and later put you back on the original major road. This is where a traditional paper map helps.

See #12 above. We have various "Avoidances" set-up for our Garmins.

 

[Spriddler]

I couldn't be doing with that Spriddler. I'd be getting nowhere slowly.

For 30 years I've motorhomed only abroad and only use the m/home in the U.K. to attend specific events. When touring I never have a set destination in mind so everywhere is somewhere for me. I like surprises, challenges even, and to experience the geographic and architectural transitions as I pass through villages and the countryside rather than belt down somewhere and miss it all.
For 20 years I took three or four flights every week throughout Europe and the U.S.A. and never had the sensation of travelling as it was just one scene as I boarded the plane and another as I got off it with nothing to see except clouds in between, then taxis, hotels, boardrooms, factory floors and restaurants, all with people having various financial incentives to be nice to me.

 

[TravellingSmurff]

My limited testing from Milton Keynes to Glastonbury last week and we ran all three at the same time on the wife and my iPhone 11:
Google maps: Took us down a few unnamed roads which were not suitable
Waze: Same route as google maps
Co Pilot: Worked well but one nag, we added multiple stops and unless you went to exactly that point, it rerouted badly. But otherwise okay. Strange thing it did was sometimes take us off a motorway junction only to come back on the same exit when there was traffic, and it saved us time compared to google and waze.

We forgot to try Magic Earth
We read that Road Lord has issues on a UK Trucking Reddit and they all recommend the Garmin Dezl. Argos are selling them for £200 with lifetime updates and traffic. Something we are thinking of getting but will be our last resort

 

[Wh05apk]

Why is it the sat nav in my car never sends me down narrow overgrown lanes, as soon as I get in the van, the sat nav wants to send me down the narrowest lanes imaginable?

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[roadwarrior]

Help! Our TomTom Camper version SatNav (and Google maps of course) insist on trying to route us down roads which are sometimes not much more than country lanes (mainly talking UK routes). It’s so annoying that we now always have a road map handy to ensure we don’t take the suggested ‘shortcut’!
Is there a SatNav out there that only gives routes on A and B roads only and ignores anything smaller/narrower?? Maybe a HGV type SATNAV?

your right its useless - i have told tom tom I am 4 mtres wide to no avail, its logic i think is that if the road is 4mtrs and one inch its fine, it makes NO allowance for traffic coming the other way and thats the problem

 

[Skez]

Folks doubt me when I say that Google Maps are unsuitable for anything larger than a LWB van.

I don't doubt you - just disagree.
It's only unsuitable if you follow it blindly without paying attention to signs, topography, prevailing conditions etc.
If thats how you drive you'll come to grief whatever mapping system you use.
A dollop of common sense is required and drive 'actively' not 'passively'.

 

[maison]

I don't recommend Garmin its very unreliable but very reliable for those that only use it from A to B in the UK

We have a Garmin 660 Camper SatNav and found it very reliable. Our only concern is that it very occasionally takes an extra long route to avoid roads that it thinks are unsuitable as a result of the dimensions we have entered. It doesn’t want us to travel through our village to reach our home either coming or going. It directs us out of our end of the village to the main road and then around the village although the road through the village is two lanes throughout.

 

[bigtwin]

your right its useless - i have told tom tom I am 4 mtres wide to no avail, its logic i think is that if the road is 4mtrs and one inch its fine, it makes NO allowance for traffic coming the other way and thats the problem

That’s where you’re going wrong; there is no ‘normal’ vehicle that is 4 metres wide and the device knows that. It therefore will assume that it is an error and ignore it.
Try putting in a credible dimension.

Ian

 

[Revolvor]

Better than the Magic Earth App, is the Road Lords App, especially if driving anything larger than a LWB panel van.

Google maps are great for route planning, etc, but not as a Sat Nav for larger vehicles.

Cheers,

Jock.

I have not used it, but latest reviews for Road Lords App are dire, since a recent Update.

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[Gellyneck]

That’s where you’re going wrong; there is no ‘normal’ vehicle that is 4 metres wide and the device knows that. It therefore will assume that it is an error and ignore it.
Try putting in a credible dimension.

Ian

Also, if you try and be clever with your Garmin Camper and make your weight >7500 kg it warns over-speed limits for that weight eg
A75 in D&G has 40mph on some sections albeit totally ignored by wagons running to/from the ferry.

 

[LesW]

Why is it the sat nav in my car never sends me down narrow overgrown lanes, as soon as I get in the van, the sat nav wants to send me down the narrowest lanes imaginable?

It knows you're an adventurous motorhomer..

 

[Gellyneck]

Why is it the sat nav in my car never sends me down narrow overgrown lanes, as soon as I get in the van, the sat nav wants to send me down the narrowest lanes imaginable?

Set for shortest rather than fastest route?

 

[JockandRita]

If thats how you drive you'll come to grief whatever mapping system you use.
A dollop of common sense is required and drive 'actively' not 'passively'.

You can climb down off your high horse now.
As a long time experienced Class 1 HGV & PSV driver, I don’t blindly follow any device, as my route plannng is done pre journey, with my Truck Sat Nav (with the latest maps) being used as a tool to assist me on the route I have chosen, using entered waypoints.
As posted above, it rarely puts a foot wrong, whereas Google Maps tries it's best to do so, in anything bigger than a Mercedes LWB Sprinter for example.

Regards,

Jock.

 

[Mohawk Mo]

That's what I'd like to know. There's some suggestion that the xgody might be ok? What do xgody users say?

Ordered an xgody yesterday, will let you know once tested

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[JockandRita]

I have not used it, but latest reviews for Road Lords App are dire, since a recent Update.

I can only go on my experience driving 44 x Tonners, whereupon in a strange area, Magic Earth tried to send me down 7.5T weight limits. For me in the same circumstances, Road Lords clearly avoided weight restriction routes.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Skez]

You can climb down off your high horse now.

Calm down calm down!!

Perhaps I should have said 'If that's how one drives...' rather than 'If that's how you drive...'

It was a general comment on driving and using driver aids such as sat nav. not directed at you as an individual. And do we really need to get into a 'I can trump your driving qualifications' battle. I have a long list myself.

I merely feel (for me) that the likes of Google maps et al. are better than the standalone alternatives.

Each to their own, and happy driving.

 

[Gellyneck]

blindly follow any device,

Think that's what the truckers do on the A75!
Don't follow the speedometer!

 

[bigtwin]

Set for shortest rather than fastest route?

I think that Wh05apk was referring to using the same device on different vehicles.

Ian

 

[Gellyneck]

I think that Wh05apk was referring to using the same device on different vehicles.

Ian

I thought it was car sat nav and standalone in motorhome.
That's why I raised shortest vs fastest setting on standalone. Shortest will send you down any road to achieve the shortest distance whereas fastest will normally be on better roads particularly if you set appropriate road speed criteria.

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[Barriesimpson]

Why is it the sat nav in my car never sends me down narrow overgrown lanes, as soon as I get in the van, the sat nav wants to send me down the narrowest lanes imaginable?

You did something bad in a past life and the gods are against you now. Obviously