Pioneer head unit

[Muddy1]

Had a new head unit fitted but with Google i can't find a way to input vehicle dimensions. Waze only comes with car size vehicles. I'm wondering about having a Pioneer AVIC F-160 added as camper and truck sizes can be inputted. Any other thoughts, options gladly received please.

 

[Guigsy]

Something that's really undervalued in Google Maps is the continuous markers on the screen that tell you how much time it'll cost you if you make a different turn. So if you don't fancy making a turn, or you can see queuing ahead, there's often a "similar ETA" or "1 minute slower" route already on the screen.

 

[zac]

I am not sure any of the pioneer units are any good from various posts on here, I think i would only ever fit a pioneer unit now if there were no other option, i currently have a spare pioneer sph-64dab that was fitted in my wife's car which from day one was not right. It would not correctly select dab stations ie if you select say Heart it will then jump over to bbc radio 2 which was annoying as then there were no way of getting back to heart not even manually tuning it. Also the wireless car play after 20mins of driving put you in a field alongside where you were meant to be and no matter what you did ie restart phone/re join/pair it etc etc would not work. On the plus side i had it taken out and as it was new it was sent back to pioneer who have now loaded custom firmware on it as apparently the issue we had has only affected 12 units world wide and the issue with the carplay was down to the gps antenna. I have now sold the wife's car so i am debating if i should install it in the motorhome as it's an expensive stereo at over £600. That would mean i would lose the satnav that is on the AVIC F160-2 which is paired with AVH-X3800Dab radio but then i never use the satnav anyway now as it was useless last time i did and its not been updated in years as its so expensive and there are much better options out there. It would be handy to have the wireless carplay though so i am thinking of it

 

[March Hare]

My 2018 van was unfortunately specified with the notorious Zenec head unit.
It was apparently a £1,200 extra on the new vans at the time.
The Zenec Units are not fit for purpose, the main issues are:

The original software and maps supplied is from around 2012-1014. You have to pay £70 for an upgrade each year.
The small memory chip supplied can not be swapped or upgraded, so you are limited to a few countries maps at any given moment
It keeps giving 'max speed 30mph' verbal warnings on motorways/Dual carriageways, particularly in Scotland, to such an extent you have to ignore all warnings.
The unit freezes about every 2-300 miles. No GPS, can't change the radio station, can't switch off.
The only way to unfreeze it is engine off for at least 3 mins.
Occasionally (2-3 times a year) the unit totally freezes and will only work on radio. The solution we got from another Zenec user was to point the van south, switch on the radio, and leave it running for an hour.
Quite frankly I'd give you £12 to remove it

I went to the NEC Motorhome Show yesterday.
One of the things on my shopping list was to look at replacement head units.

As soon as I mentioned Zenec I realised I was in a club, all the other suppliers, even the cheap ones, have replaced Zenec units, no one has a good word to say about them.
To save you all a load of walking with your fingers I have narrowed down the field to either
Kenwood or Pioneer.

Both are a similar price (wrong side of a grand)
Both have all the things I need (radio, SatNav, wifi updated maps, TomTom or Garmin base maps, phone connection, traffic, motorhome size and weight restrictions etc)

I'm going to do some more research, but i think it's the Kenwood version that is in the lead.

I also found out that Hymer have now swapped the Zenec unit for the Kenwood unit as the recommended head unit for 2022 vans onwards

Hi Brains,

Thanks for the info ref replacing your Zenec head unit - it's the next thing on our list to look at! In your research, do you by any chance know if the Kenwood unit would display your reversing camera screen? Thanks

 

[Encantado]

Am I the only person to like the zenec unit [2019]. satnav is great .phone and music great. reversing camera app , plays dvd's,USB Inputs, dimensions keyed in, it evens gives a screen to duplicate the batteries and tank levels [Dethleffs] . oh and a remote control so passengers can operate it . 5 stars*

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[Rob Turner]

I’ve only ever had Pioneer HUs, mostly AVIC
I wouldn’t use anything else.

 

[zac]

I’ve only ever had Pioneer HUs, mostly AVIC
I wouldn’t use any else.

Its good to hear someone saying something positive about them as I suppose it's the norm that people will only ever say when something is not right rather than the opposite.

 

[Rob Turner]

I once had a Kenwood fitted in a VW T5 briefly as it was an option but couldn‘t get on with Garmin so had it changed for another Pioneer.

I suppose it’s what you get used to, creatures of habit and all that.

 

[zac]

I once had a Kenwood fitted in a VW T5 briefly as it was an option but couldn‘t get on with Garmin so had it changed for another Pioneer.

I suppose it’s what you get used to, creatures of habit and all that.

Your current one does it have truck sat nav built in? Just curious as the one that came with my Rapido does but it's blinking awful. That could be because I as do used to using Tomtom though as had that since it was released a very long time ago. I did try Garmin but that was awful as well with the routes very questionable. I have opted for an android tablet now in the tablet holder with tomtom truck loaded which includes HD traffic.

 

[helzie2020]

I’ve only ever had Pioneer HUs, mostly AVIC
I wouldn’t use anything else.

Do you have any problem with the touchscreen on yours? Both of us get really frustrated with ours but perhaps it's faulty.

Honestly, we find that you have to tap the the screen in just the right way. If you leave your finger too long, nothing happens. If you get the quick tap and lift correct, sometimes there is a lag before the screen responds — only about a second but long enough that I think it hasn't registered so I tap again and invariably then select something on the next screen.

Does that happen for your screen and you are just used to it? Or is yours less pernickity?

Thanks.

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[Rob Turner]

It’s the Z810 DAB-C and you can input your dimensions and it has campsites etc on it.
Never had a problem with how the touchscreen performs if I’m honest.

The only thing lacking on the newer units that was present on the older versions is a faint line indicating destination as the crow flies, we really miss this.

 

[Lenny HB]

Am I the only person to like the zenec unit

You must be, first time I've ever heard anyone say that. Most people want to get rid of them ASAP.

 

[Brains]

Hi Brains,

Thanks for the info ref replacing your Zenec head unit - it's the next thing on our list to look at! In your research, do you by any chance know if the Kenwood unit would display your reversing camera screen? Thanks

Yes.

The Kenwood Unit (DNR992RVS) has the option of 4 cameras, (Reversing, Rear, Left side, right side or front)
the Pioneer unit was two cameras (Reversing and rear).
Both have the option of switching to the reversing camera when you select reverse
The Kenwood unit is using Garmin base maps, with a 3 years of updates free.
The Pioneer unit uses maps from a company I've never heard of.
(I used to work extensively with digital cartography, for land based maps in Europe the market is dominated by Tomtom and Garmin, so anyone else is unlikely to be a good as they simply don't have the millions of users supplying data)

I did my 'Cornish Test' with both units (I know the area well)

St Tudy Inn to St Kew Inn. The route above is the correct one.
Both selected a (Different) route, both were suitable for motorhomes.
Don't try this on your Zenec, as it will direct you down a very narrow lane (grass down the middle) and through a ford which after heavy rain becomes impassable.

I was also very impressed with the Pioneer rear view "mirror" (VREC-150MD) (£130)
It clips over the (non)existing windscreen rear mirror
It records both forward and rear views (upto 4hrs with automated saving in case of a crash)
It has a double rear camera with a long view, so that its like have a conventional rear mirror, it also has a close up reversing view camera.
It has an infrared setting for night driving.
I thought it a very good product and a cheaper solution as you could simply buy a decent windscreen stick on TomTom/Garmin sat nav for around £300 and with the Pioneer mirror (£130) and then you simply leave the Zenec unit 'as is' and just use the audio features, and save a grand.

 

[March Hare]

Yes.

The Kenwood Unit (DNR992RVS) has the option of 4 cameras, (Reversing, Rear, Left side, right side or front)
the Pioneer unit was two cameras (Reversing and rear).
Both have the option of switching to the reversing camera when you select reverse
The Kenwood unit is using Garmin base maps, with a 3 years of updates free.
The Pioneer unit uses maps from a company I've never heard of.
(I used to work extensively with digital cartography, for land based maps in Europe the market is dominated by Tomtom and Garmin, so anyone else is unlikely to be a good as they simply don't have the millions of users supplying data)

I did my 'Cornish Test' with both units (I know the area well)
View attachment 720019
St Tudy Inn to St Kew Inn. The route above is the correct one.
Both selected a (Different) route, both were suitable for motorhomes.
Don't try this on your Zenec, as it will direct you down a very narrow lane (grass down the middle) and through a ford which after heavy rain becomes impassable.

I was also very impressed with the Pioneer rear view "mirror" (VREC-150MD) (£130)
It clips over the (non)existing windscreen rear mirror
It records both forward and rear views (upto 4hrs with automated saving in case of a crash)
It has a double rear camera with a long view, so that its like have a conventional rear mirror, it also has a close up reversing view camera.
It has an infrared setting for night driving.
I thought it a very good product and a cheaper solution as you could simply buy a decent windscreen stick on TomTom/Garmin sat nav for around £300 and with the Pioneer mirror (£130) and then you simply leave the Zenec unit 'as is' and just use the audio features, and save a grand.

Hi Brains, thanks for the reply and all the extra info, and OP apologies for derailing your thread.

I think the Kenwood sounds like it may be the better option for us - and it's good to know about the source of the mapping data.

Thanks again!

 

[Lenny HB]

The Pioneer unit uses maps from a company I've never heard of.

All the Pioneers I have see use IGO for satnav and they use TomTom mapping.

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[DT]

Pioneer AVIC-EV01 in ours, useless, we tend to use Waze or G Maps.
YT 'Motorhome Retrofit's' have just put out a video on fitting a Pioneer ( I think) into a Fiat Ducato.

 

[funsterSwede]

Pioneer AVIC-Z1000 standard fitted in our car, nothing to fault it - good set of features, wireless carplay (still kind of rare), good screen and satnav, reversing camera, steering wheel controls etc., wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone seeking to install a double-DIN unit in their camper. It's not the cheapest, but most good things aren't..

 

[10tenmen]

I have a Kenwood DNX451RVS with apple car play & Garmin maps which links to ACSI Sites including directions.
Allows me to input dimensions of the motorhome, has a front recording camera and a rear camera screen that can be viewed whilst driving.
As I use Garmin navigation on my motorcycle I’m used to the mapping and it works really well.

 

[The Artilleryman]

I was also very impressed with the Pioneer rear view "mirror" (VREC-150MD) (£130)
It clips over the (non)existing windscreen rear mirror
It records both forward and rear views (upto 4hrs with automated saving in case of a crash)
It has a double rear camera with a long view, so that its like have a conventional rear mirror, it also has a close up reversing view camera.
It has an infrared setting for night driving.
I thought it a very good product and a cheaper solution as you could simply buy a decent windscreen stick on TomTom/Garmin sat nav for around £300 and with the Pioneer mirror (£130) and then you simply leave the Zenec unit 'as is' and just use the audio features, and save a grand.

I got one at the NEC last year but due to winter delays, have not got round to fitting it yet, although me setup will be slightly different, as the rear view camera needs to go on my trailer,so complicating things slightly.

 

[Brains]

I got one at the NEC last year but due to winter delays, have not got round to fitting it yet, although me setup will be slightly different, as the rear view camera needs to go on my trailer,so complicating things slightly.

I think the 'mirror' is available either with a hard wired camera for motorhomes or as a wireless camera for caravans

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[ceejayt]

I have a Pioneer head unit after fit with Car Play - I use Apple Maps on that nit for navigation but as a map. With it loaded you can zoom out and have a really good rolling map showing where you are geographically.

I then have an iPad with CoPilot Truck and Sygic struck which I use for actual navigation. It is on a cup mount and works really well

 

[The Framer]

Had a new head unit fitted but with Google i can't find a way to input vehicle dimensions. Waze only comes with car size vehicles. I'm wondering about having a Pioneer AVIC F-160 added as camper and truck sizes can be inputted. Any other thoughts, options gladly received please.

If I'm not too late, this may help. Have just updated my EVO1 (what a faff particularly because I am Apple not Android) but I came across the vehicle measurement details by accident. Settings==Route Preferences--Vehicle should open the right page. Make sure that 'Use Extended Settings" is checked then you need to enter your details in decimal yards= Huh!
By changing the Vehicle type at the top of the page you can save it under a personalised id, but because of the silly sensitive keys I managed save 3 version which I still have to find a way to delete - Perhaps next year. Not impressed with the whole system and I think that the updates were too small to fill in the gaps in the maps but it's only 2 years old - Have to wait and see
Good Luck