Sat Navs. Any experience

[Samantha1239]

Hi all - about to go on a 3 month tour of Europe with our caravan going to France, Italy. Switzerland and Germany.

My 2nd question today is around caravan suitable satnavs. We want to be able to put in our caravans weight and dimensions so we can ensure we only go down suitable roads. Getting real time traffic updates would be important, although, we are concerned around having to link phone by Bluetooth to get it and eating up data allowance as a result!

We have seen the Ohrex N76 advertised which seems great value, although, seen some online reviews all sponsored which are great and some others which have been terrible. Also haven’t seen any reviews around the additional charger cable which picks up live traffic updates without data.

Has anyone had any long term experience with the Ohrex N76 particularly in Europe and with the real time traffic information through the additional charging cable?

Also does anyone have any other suggestions of suitable caravan satnavs? Prepared to pay if they are good although it seems all satnavs no matter the price or brand have mixed reviews!!

Many thanks
Samantha

 

[TDub49]

Hi all - about to go on a 3 month tour of Europe with our caravan going to France, Italy. Switzerland and Germany.

My 2nd question today is around caravan suitable satnavs. We want to be able to put in our caravans weight and dimensions so we can ensure we only go down suitable roads. Getting real time traffic updates would be important, although, we are concerned around having to link phone by Bluetooth to get it and eating up data allowance as a result!

We have seen the Ohrex N76 advertised which seems great value, although, seen some online reviews all sponsored which are great and some others which have been terrible. Also haven’t seen any reviews around the additional charger cable which picks up live traffic updates without data.

Has anyone had any long term experience with the Ohrex N76 particularly in Europe and with the real time traffic information through the additional charging cable?

Also does anyone have any other suggestions of suitable caravan satnavs? Prepared to pay if they are good although it seems all satnavs no matter the price or brand have mixed reviews!!

Many thanks
Samantha

Never heard of the make before but a quick look on Trust Pilot and I think I will be sticking with my Garmin Camper . . . . https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ohrex.com

 

[LesW]

Hi all - about to go on a 3 month tour of Europe with our caravan going to France, Italy. Switzerland and Germany.

My 2nd question today is around caravan suitable satnavs. We want to be able to put in our caravans weight and dimensions so we can ensure we only go down suitable roads. Getting real time traffic updates would be important, although, we are concerned around having to link phone by Bluetooth to get it and eating up data allowance as a result!

We have seen the Ohrex N76 advertised which seems great value, although, seen some online reviews all sponsored which are great and some others which have been terrible. Also haven’t seen any reviews around the additional charger cable which picks up live traffic updates without data.

Has anyone had any long term experience with the Ohrex N76 particularly in Europe and with the real time traffic information through the additional charging cable?

Also does anyone have any other suggestions of suitable caravan satnavs? Prepared to pay if they are good although it seems all satnavs no matter the price or brand have mixed reviews!!

Many thanks
Samantha

Whatever you choose, make sure it's a well known product, never heard of 'Ohrex'.

Do a forum search, loads of information to be found.

 

[SpeedyDux]

No Satnav exists yet that will not try to send you down unsuitable shortcuts.

If the suggested turnoff from a main road doesn't look right, always ignore it and carry on until you get to a junction with another major route.

I've used my Garmin Camper 760 LMT-D for over 8 years now and it is a reliable sturdy piece of kit I wouldn't be without despite the occasional attempts to send me down narrow tracks without passing places. This is mainly a mapping database issue, coupled with algorythms that select the shortest / fastest route using inaccurate mapping data. Even though I use the FOC lifetime mapping updates using Garmin Express, such mapping problems persist.

Being a Camper version, it accepts a big range of outfit dimensions and weights. As do the Truck versions. With such outfit settings it gives appropriate warnings of hazards such as steep inclines, sharp bends and low bridges. For weight restricted roads it gives an advance warning and suggests an alternative route. In France that would typically be the signposted diversion for HGVs. Bearing in mind that there are lots of French towns that have 30kph zones with speed tables, choke points, slaloms etc. it's better to avoid trying to drive through the town centre even if that is the shortest route.

My Garmin Camper was a special bargain from Aldi at £150 or about 1/3 normal list price. It is worth looking out for deals like that. I wouldn't switch to a cheapo Chinese truck satnav of doubtful provenance. Some people are fans of these Chinese ones or fans of TomTom Camper alternatives. Plenty of choice depending on your budget. Happy travels!

 

[fishplug]

I'm another Garmin Camper user.

I've had Garmin since the early days when they were the size and thickness of a shoe! There wasn't much choice for motorbikes back then although there are a few more waterproof options these days.

That's really only to say that I don't have much to compare it to other than other Garmin models and the built in TomTom that came with my Citröen Relay stereo headunit.

I really did give the TomTom a go (because I don't like having too many screens when driving) but ultimately ended up using the Garmin Camper for my trip to Italy a few weeks ago.

It's just so much more sophisticated and feature rich. Lots of helpful data displayed and customisable to your own preferences.

I've been really happy with it, even if the software to update it on a Mac is absolutely pitiful. Think the Windows version is better supported.

That's really the only negative I have for it. Otherwise it's been a really reliable unit and I've been very happy with it.

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

 

[Brains]

And another Garmin Camper user.

It permits you to put in your length/width/height/weight.
It has a database of campsites (a surprisingly useful feature)
It updates from traffic
It tries to send you down the logical route for larger vehicles
It passes my personal "Cornish route test" where the shortest route is not suitable for anything bigger than a Landrover and the Motorhome route is twice the distance.

The product is sold under different names, but it the same item
Avtex Tourer Three Sat Nav GPS - Caravan and Motorhome Club Edition
Garmin Tourer Three
RV Three

It is also sold as the Garmin Three Plus (or "+")
This is the version with the DashCam built in. available here

If you are a member of the C&MHC then you can get a discount here

And there is one on EBay here

More details here
And a video here

 

[SpeedyDux]

On the OP's other requirement - live Traffic reports tend to be a rather tricky problem, if you want to avoid having to pay for the info.

My Garmin was supposed to come with free "lifetime" Traffic reports via the antenna built into the charging cable. A few years ago Garmin's contract with the third party live traffic data provider was terminated. The charging lead stopped receiving the signals and became a dumb lead.

As a confirmed scrooge, I preferred not to use a live traffic App with a subscription. Eventually I found an alternative charging lead online, the price of which does include "lifetime" live traffic updates in the UK and Europe, and is Garmin-compatible with my model. It's OK, but not as good as (say) Waze. Obviously, you need a sizeable data allowance from your phone network if you use Waze a lot. Also there could be steep roaming charges when you cross the Channel. The network providers who still offer free roaming tend to cap data usage one way or another. Simply due to cost, Phone Apps are not an ideal alternative source for live Traffic reports even if they can link to your Satnav.

Just my 2d worth.

 

[Al n Val]

Garmin Camper 895 user

not perfect but very good imho