Don’t blindly trust the Sat Nav (1 Viewer)

[grasscutter]

Slowly making our way down to Portugal.
Decided to visit La Alberca a beautiful medieval town in the mountains.
Programmed the Garmin with co ordinates for the aire in the town.
Vehicle dimensions etc are all stored on the device.
Arrived and sat nav said turn left and then first right off the main road.
I know the aire was on the main road so the thought was “no way”
Drove on and the aire was off the main road.
Parked up and walked the town which is stunning.
The picture is one of the roads in the town

 

[Gaston aires]

Often the case but not so much with Apple Maps. Of course you need data to work it.
Phil

 

[Devon Sue]

I always have a proper map to hand ready to over rule the sat nav

 

[Pausim]

Just goes to show that Navigation devices that take your vehicle dimensions can be just as misleading as the standard ones. If the information isn’t on the map it doesn’t know to avoid the road. No substitute for the eyeball and common sense which clearly saved the OP from some tricky reversing.

Looks like a great place to visit.

 

[scotjimland]

It's last few miles of any route is where you are can run into a problem.. happened to me several times using a Garmin sat nav with my RV ..

I sold my Garmin Camper and now only use Google maps on a Lenovo M9 tablet.. you can eyeball any tricky parts of the route, using satellite images and street view...

I also have P4N and S4S and a couple of other aires apps on the tablet which makes navigating to your chosen destination a piece of cake.

If anyone considering doing this, Lenovo have a sale on with the M9 tablet at £100 ..

I'm a Mac person, but the Android tablet is really good.. it has GPS but no cellular, only wifi , so I tether to my iPhone.

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[steve69]

Above all, double check the numbers you have entered. I got one digit wrong and ended up 20 miles past where i wanted to be.

 

[enark]

Unnecessary invention, worked all over the world without any need for such devices. Do a map recce, and then transfer the route onto a post it, slapped on steering wheel….

we also have the luxury of road signs…………

if you have visited Pegasus Bridge, you will me mightily impressed as to how they landed the gliders within a few feet of the bridge, at night in hostile territory, with map, compass and maybe the stars..

 

[Reallyretired]

When I collected our new to us Smart toad, I had to drive it home without the satnav as I had no idea how to set it. Managed ok just with the road signs but I have become a bit dependent on the satnavs.

 

[Minxy]

Unnecessary invention, worked all over the world without any need for such devices. Do a map recce, and then transfer the route onto a post it, slapped on steering wheel….

we also have the luxury of road signs…………

if you have visited Pegasus Bridge, you will me mightily impressed as to how they landed the gliders within a few feet of the bridge, at night in hostile territory, with map, compass and maybe the stars..

I don't know where you travel but we find it invaluable! I do like to keep a check of the route on our map but having to use just that would be a nightmare especially with loads of detours, road closures etc which we always seem to 'discover'!

 

[Spriddler]

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[Carpmart]

Never trust them, Google and Garmin messed up as I was presented with a 2.5m bridge two days ago, we are 3.3m high… managed to do a sixteen point turn; wasn’t very popular with the locals in this rural part of the Algarve, but all was good in the end.

 

[Guigsy]

How would a paper map have helped?

 

[two]

They're only as good as the data they use.
Many expect them to be better than is possible without paying for updates.

 

[bigtwin]

I always have a proper map to hand ready to over rule the sat nav

How would a paper map have helped?

Indeed.

Ian

 

[varaizian]

Above all, double check the numbers you have entered. I got one digit wrong and ended up 20 miles past where i wanted to be.

Also check the GPS co-ordinates format. There are a lot of slightly different formats that people don't understand.

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[enark]

How would a paper map have helped?

AA maps for truck drivers, includes all bridge heights.

 

[enark]

Also check the GPS co-ordinates format. There are a lot of slightly different formats that people don't understand.

Like the yanks when they went after Gaddaffi…..

GPS, GLOSSNAS, BNG, MGRS, Lat/long, etc etc….true north, grid north,

and on land its easy, at sea, tides, current, wind, propwash etc etc…

navigation is a complex subject, which many people fail to grasp the importance of understanding…

 

[Thornebt]

I have found that using co-ordinates can land you best part of half a mile away. I use What3Words. Find the Aire or whatever on the app, switch to satellite view where you can see a sky view of the vans, identify the entry barrier and send it to the Garmin Camper satnav. Works every time.

 

[Guigsy]

AA maps for truck drivers, includes all bridge heights.

Is there any evidence that the data is any better than satnavs? I suspect it was merged together and has been the same source for at least a decade. Maps are made with digital data.

 

[enark]

Is there any evidence that the data is any better than satnavs? I suspect it was merged together and has been the same source for at least a decade. Maps are made with digital data.

Of course its the same data, but different and reliable fail safe media…..well in the right hands.

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[bigtwin]

AA maps for truck drivers, includes all bridge heights.

But that wouldn't have helped in the OP’s case, would it?

Ian

 

[scotjimland]

I have found that using co-ordinates can land you best part of half a mile away. I use What3Words. Find the Aire or whatever on the app, switch to satellite view where you can see a sky view of the vans, identify the entry barrier and send it to the Garmin Camper satnav. Works every time.

or.. as I do now

from the aire on the app, press 'navigate' and it sends the data to Google maps (or your preferred mapping app) on the tablet, plots the route and off you go ..

years ago I used to upload all the aires POIs onto my Garmin. but that only gives you a location without any other info .. useful but still not nearly as good as using the app and navigating from it. .. and the POIs needed manually updating every year

 

[enark]

But that wouldn't have helped in the OP’s case, would it?

Ian

Did i say it would have? It does for bridge heights…….doh

 

[steve69]

navigation is a complex subject, which many people fail to grasp the importance of understanding…

Nah!....Dead easy.....if you're lost - just ask someone....job done.

 

[Swiss]

Unnecessary invention, worked all over the world without any need for such devices. Do a map recce, and then transfer the route onto a post it, slapped on steering wheel….

we also have the luxury of road signs…………

if you have visited Pegasus Bridge, you will me mightily impressed as to how they landed the gliders within a few feet of the bridge, at night in hostile territory, with map, compass and maybe the stars..

You probably say the same about the internet, I still would rather have it though , you have to move on or we would still be living in caves.

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[enark]

You probably say the same about the internet, I still would rather have it though , you have to move on or we would still be living in caves.

Think im preaching in a foreign tongue, unless you know, you obviously dont…

clearly i did not mention the internet, and im obviously using it..but as i can navigate, sat navs are utterly unnecessary and often gives dud advice…

 

[Libellula]

Slowly making our way down to Portugal.
Decided to visit La Alberca a beautiful medieval town in the mountains.
Programmed the Garmin with co ordinates for the aire in the town.
Vehicle dimensions etc are all stored on the device.
Arrived and sat nav said turn left and then first right off the main road.
I know the aire was on the main road so the thought was “no way”
Drove on and the aire was off the main road.
Parked up and walked the town which is stunning.
The picture is one of the roads in the town
View attachment 830694

I would have been sat on the corner painting this street if I had come across it. It’s beautiful. I see the name now in your post.

 

[Pausim]

.but as i can navigate, sat navs are utterly unnecessary and often gives dud advice…

I too can navigate but I still make use of modern electronics as well. I believe it aids road safety to have the most up to date information on roads and traffic. In my boating days proper chart and pencil navigation was essential but as soon as GPS came along I bought a marine unit, because it provided additional safety.

 

[Swiss]

Think im preaching in a foreign tongue, unless you know, you obviously dont…

clearly i did not mention the internet, and im obviously using it..but as i can navigate, sat navs are utterly unnecessary and often gives dud advice…

Just joking with you, the point I was making was that Satnavs are a great invention and very useful, like a lot of things we have nowadays. I have travelled all over the world and certainly wouldn't be without one. The problem is when people have one glued to the end of their nose and blindly follow every instruction given and wonder why they end up sh!t street! Only last month I was marshalling an off road motorcycle event when along the byway comes a middle aged woman in her car, we tried to tell her that it was not a good idea, she insisted that her satnav told her to go this way, sure enough 100 yards further on she was stuck solid, she came back down to borrow a phone as her battery was dead to organise recovery.

 

[Thornebt]

My satnav has live traffic updates so warns me when a road is closed, tells me how long road works might add to my journey and will reroute me when necessary. I find all of that very useful.

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