Motorhome satnavs

[EileenandSteve]

Following the decapitation of our satellite tv dome in a Paris underpass, we’ve decided to buy a motorhome-specific satnav. Are these useful and reliable? What are the best models?

 

[AndyPK]

Only up to a point.....they cannot be relied upon 100%! The Mark 1 eyeball is better in certain circumstances, along with a Truckers’ Atlas with bridge heights and road widths in it...... Also, a reminder sticker of your ‘van dimensions on the sun visor to act as an aide memoir....

 

[LesW]

You will get as many opinions as there are satnavs

There is no 'best' it depends entirely on what you want from a unit.

Do a forum search, the subject has been covered many (many) times.

 

[AndyPK]

And Welcome from The Cotswolds!

 

[EileenandSteve]

Thanks Andy. We’ll be doing a bit of travel hopefully in France and Italy. Is the truckers’ atlas just for the UK or does it cover Europe. We’re new to this so all advice is welcome.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Vipar]

Greetings peeps welcome from Bexley
It’s not only bridges you have to watch out for. Those low flying seagulls make a right mess of your windscreen.

 

[AndyPK]

The one I use is UK specific, and a quick ‘Google’ didn’t throw-up any European version........any other Funsters know if such an atlas exists......?

 

[Despicable]

Aah, now you've hit on a problem in itself: if you ask 10 experts the same question, you're liable to get at least 12 possible solutions. Most Funsters appear to be experts in navigation aids, and each and every solution will be correct, for them. Some use dedicated sat navs that the vehicle's weight and dimensions can be input. Some use their smart phones and ipads (or similar), requiring an internet connectivity. Some just use maps (I'm not sure how reliable the continental ones are when it comes to low bridges). So you ask the question, now you're going to have to think what best suits you.
Personally, I use a Garmin 780 that appears to be reliable enough both in UK and on mainland Europe. It has life-time data updates. Others use cheaper options and have found them to be just as good. Best of luck and Welcome!

 

[EileenandSteve]

Thanks - really helpful. Will probably avoid reliance on internet connection and go for dedicated satnav. The Garmin one you mentioned has some good reviews - do any other Funsters have views on Garmin versus Tomtom or other make?

 

[glenn2926]

Thanks - really helpful. Will probably avoid reliance on internet connection and go for dedicated satnav. The Garmin one you mentioned has some good reviews - do any other Funsters have views on Garmin versus Tomtom or other make?

Garmin over Tom Tom for me but that’s probably because the first sat nav I used was a Garmin. I just find Garmin far more user friendly and Basecamp is excellent for route plotting for either my zumo 660 motorbike one or my camper 760 motorhome one.
I’m not aware of Tom Tom having a route plotting system.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Podney]

Do not rely on satnav alone...of any type from any manufacturer.

We use Garmin which is ok but always use maps and a large dollop of scepticism.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Any & all satnavs are only as good as their data.
Which is going to be from a third party.

I have a cheapie [Xgody x4] for enroute navigation supported by Waze on my phone.
But I tend to have a prior look at the approach to a destination on Google maps & Street view.

 

[EileenandSteve]

All good advice. Thanks all.

 

[James-Alex]

We recently purchased an aguri one. Currently £50 off

 

[swiftsteve]

I've got the garmin one (don't know the model without going in the van to look), it's not steered me wrong so far, but I don't completely trust it. I drive a lorry, and the sat nav often wants to send me on a dubious route.
Follow them up to a point, but keep your wits about you and trust YOUR instinct.
I've never seen a low bridge without a warning sign on the way to it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MITHRANDIR]

The only one i can comment on is the pioneer avic series, i have had them for years and used extensively in the uk and europe.
on the whole they are very good, not really put a foot wrong in years, seem to be easy to use and reliable as far as it goes.
I still use one of the new ones.
Downside is they are expensive.

 

[Jonno1103]

We use an Aguri and the Xent which came with the motorhome, both allow you to input vehicle dimensions. The co-pilot as in the missus when she's not stealing the keys, also uses her phone... or phablet... or whatever they call them nowadays.

Oh and we also have a shelf full of maps and road atlas'.

They all help in their own way although the Aguri and Garmin seem to be the most popular amongst motorhomers and caravanners.

 

[tacr2man]

I used Garmin Dezl for years pretty much reliable in UK and Europe for height and weight , not so much for width other than designated width restrictions. but as swiftsteve you should not be totally trusting keep an eye open for the prewarning signs

 

[John65]

Don’t trust any sat nav. I have just acquired ( not bought or i wouldn’t be happy) Garmin 890 new with the latest update,tried it last week going to an industrial estate at Leyland my £80 truck nav took me straight to it Garmin decided it was more fun to go through the houses and in the back way . On the way back i took a different route to what was in the Garmin but it didnt want to re route just kept trying to turn round. When I left Leyland I was 80 miles from home sat nav had me 120 miles away at one point.

 

[ambulancekidd]

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[ceejayt]

Only up to a point.....they cannot be relied upon 100%! The Mark 1 eyeball is better in certain circumstances......

Whichever one you choose - when ever it tells you to turn, take a good look at where it is taking you - it might know your width but it won't know about the cars parked both sides of the road.

When driving through towns I spend a lot of time talking back to the satnav saying "nope, I don't think so" whilst I find a road I am comfortable with.

I have had TomTom, Garmin, Sygic and currently CiPilot Truck combined with Google maps on Apple Car play and still need to answer back on occasion

 

[EileenandSteve]

Will brush up on some pithy responses to shout at it!

 

[Stag man]

Also bear in mind the distance from your eyes to the satnav screen. On some ‘vans (mine is a Ducato base) the dash can be quite deep.
This made me opt for one with a larger screen.

 

[TDub49]

We have a Garmin Camper 770. Seems to work fine (Europe and UK) and has features that I haven't got round to trying so I'm only using its basic functions. Sits on the centre of the dash and is easily readable by pilot and co-pilot.

We always have a Plan B (co-pilot route tracking using her 'phone and whatever Apple Store offering she has on it) plus good old fashioned paper map. Elsewhere in this thread you'll read tales of woe about the relative merits of one satnav v. another and the routes that they recommend. The thing is, you have to read the instructions, configure the satnav to what you want it to do and then exercise what I would call vigilant trust - i.e. if else fails, use your eyes and common sense. If comparing satnavs, you really need to make sure that they are configured to do the same thing else there's no realistic comparison to be made.

 

[bigwood]

When we bought the Rienza there was a laminated card with the sizes fastened to the sun visor
Our first Garmin was stolen just before we bought the Rienza and replaced via the insurance like for like or we would have upgraded to the Camper.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Spriddler]

My TomTom one is reliable and consistent.
It directed me past the same farm in the New Forest 3 times on the same journey. (Absolutely true )

 

[olley]

I have a sygic truck satnav and just blindly follow it. I have ended up in few places I didn't want to go to.

 

[Minxy]

We don't use a 'dedicated' unit now, we have a 10" tablet onto which we can load any satnav system we want and meant we could try various ones before we settled for the one we use now which is Sygic, however it seems to have a bit of a hissy fit whilst touring Wales recently (possibly to do with the latest version) being really slow at times and refusing point blank to re-route on many occasions, not to mention wanting to take us on detours off the motorway, round the junction roundabout, and straight back on again for no apparent reason, so we've rolled it back to the previous version which wasn't so 'picky' and are also now trying TomTom on the tablet too.

 

[denisejoe]

Have the tomtom camper never had a problem all dimensions of van on it

 

[Minxy]

Following the decapitation of our satellite tv dome in a Paris underpass

C'mon then, you've had a load of suggestions for a sat nav so you'll need to spill the beans on this as payback!