Switching from PVC to A Class: What GPS Should I Use?

[Gingernuts]

Considering changing my pvc for an a class.
While not worrying about height weight or length when driving the pvc do I need a different gps driving an over 3500kg truck!?

 

[funflair]

My experience is that sometimes when you set for over 3500kg the sat nav will try to take you down unclassified roads or tracks on the basis that you are not allowed on the road

 

[GMLS]

I've recently bought an Ohrex and pretty impressed for the investment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QV77MMH/?tag=mhf04-21

 

[Littlewheels]

I support TomTom Truck and have never experienced such issues.
Have total confidence in it including traffic and camera assist and rarely have to ignore an instruction.

My experience is that sometimes when you set for over 3500kg the sat nav will try to take you down unclassified roads or tracks on the basis that you are not allowed on the road

 

[Two on Tour]

I have been using Magic Earth for a while now, it's a free satnav app and has a truck profile that you can input your dimensions and weight into.

Magic Earth - Free Navigation & Maps App for Android and iPhone

Magic Earth is a free maps and navigation app based on OpenStreetMap data. Enjoy 3D maps, Satellite maps, Turn-by-turn navigation, HD Traffic, Offline maps

www.magicearth.com

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[Next Stop]

You'll get lots of people here saying their option is the best but ignore them as mine is the best!
Co-Pilot on a iPad or tablet.
Many truck satnavs will be good for avoiding limited roads, but if those roads don't actually have restrictions on them then you might still end up going down narrow lanes. With Co-Pilot you can set it to avoid local roads so it will divert you around them.

Also ignore what I said about it being the best, it's not, it requires a lot of fettling in the setting to take you on the roads you want to go on.
As an example, last year I went to Germany and Belgium and set it to avoid Motorways but still ended up churning up many autobahn miles.
But to be fair there support is excellent and with a bit of trial and error and help from their support I got it configured for the type of driving I wanted to do, not necessarily the type everyone wants to do hence the need for fettling the settings.

For simple set and go I'd agree with Littlewheels and recommend the Tomtom Truck. The layout is good and the routes on the whole are quite good, much better than Google maps for anything of size

 

[Marie-Claire]

I would recommend snooper truck sat navs, used one for 10 years driving abnormal loads, they all probably use the same navigation software and none are infallable but found the screen layout simple to use and the backup of the uk call centre second to none, my sd card corrupted, a phone call had a new one sent next day delivery for under 10 quid.

 

[daventess]

I'll second the Co-Pilot app. You can put dimensions/weight in and so far it's done us just fine, both in the UK and France.

It has a couple of oddities - at a roundabout or junction, sometimes the voice will tell you to take a named exit, but will read out the most obscure place name from the possible choices on the roadsigns (eg Tinyville) instead of something more obvious (in bigger writing) like "M5". Also, it can sometimes get the last 100 yards a bit wrong.

Other than that, I like it.

 

[L' Hobo]

In answer to your thread title question, in my opinion,

One that shows your route back to owning another PVC!

 

[wp1234]

Considering changing my pvc for an a class.
While not worrying about height weight or length when driving the pvc do I need a different gps driving an over 3500kg truck!?

I’m doing just the reverse .After years of owning A Classes ( from new) I can’t wait to get my hands on my Adria Twin PVC ….. oh the relief of easy parking , easy driving down French country roads , pitches on sites that fit , the cheap spare parts ( in comparison) , the cheaper insurance ……..

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[Blaydon]

Hi there. We have a Garmin Camper that allows us to put in vehicle stats.
Many of the online systems are good but if you are heading over the water you can munch through data quickly and that might cost you.
Whatever you choose, remember the golden rule. Look out of the window at the road and warning signs. It is amazing how many people blame a satnav when they drove past a height restriction sign.

 

[CazPaul]

I've recently bought an Ohrex and pretty impressed for the investment

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QV77MMH/?tag=mhf04-21

That seems a good price, is it already set up from the box or if s there a lot to do?

 

[TheAleMan]

I’m doing just the reverse .After years of owning A Classes ( from new) I can’t wait to get my hands on my Adria Twin PVC ….. oh the relief of easy parking , easy driving down French country roads , pitches on sites that fit , the cheap spare parts ( in comparison) , the cheaper insurance ……..

We are doing exactly that too. Can’t wait to get my hands on our PVC hopefully later on this year. It will change the way we go touring and camping for sure with it’s much smaller footprint to the one we have now.

 

[nicholsong]

Hi there. We have a Garmin Camper that allows us to put in vehicle stats.
Many of the online systems are good but if you are heading over the water you can munch through data quickly and that might cost you.
Whatever you choose, remember the golden rule. Look out of the window at the road and warning signs. It is amazing how many people blame a satnav when they drove past a height restriction sign.

To avoid the cost of data download the maps and then you are only using satnav with no internet connection. Even if you have to pay for a download it will be there for all time(subject to updates) so will save a lot of money.

 

[Blaydon]

To avoid the cost of data download the maps and then you are only using satnav with no internet connection. Even if you have to pay for a download it will be there for all time(subject to updates) so will save a lot of money.

Sorry if I was not clear. When I said use of data on the trip I was referring to phone based navigation systems like Google Maps or the likes, that constantly update. We use Waze in the car. It’s a great system but uses data all the time.
That’s why we use a traditional satnav when abroad so we save our limited data use.
D

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[Al n Val]

I can’t fault my Garmin Camper 895

it does what it says on the tin whilst driving my 8.8mtr 5000kg A Class

 

[Broadway]

Garmin camper 660 has been perfect to date. Just updating to a 780. Set the vehicle parameters and off you go. Just remember know where you’re going first!!

 

[GMLS]

That seems a good price, is it already set up from the box or if s there a lot to do?

All good to go.There are a few reviews on Youtube

 

[minesapint]

Considering changing my pvc for an a class.
While not worrying about height weight or length when driving the pvc do I need a different gps driving an over 3500kg truck!?

If you are buying a truck you can get a suitable GPS, from CM navigation which will record your delivery stops and break times etc, it can be programmed with the size of the lorry and weight, and is a lot cheaper than many with excellent back up.
We had an eight metre motorhome and it took us all over Spain and France with no problems.

 

[A S R]

Garmin Camper.
Set your parameters and stop worrying. Easy.

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[Minxy]

One thing I suggest is to get a tablet and use that as the base unit instead of a dedicated sat nav that way you can then have whichever software on it you prefer. There are benefits to this, eg when using park4night we can select the aire we want to go to and from that Aire's info select our sat nav (Sygic) and it will open it, load the location in and plan the route, no having to manually input the aire data.

 

[Peregrinator]

Considering changing my pvc for an a class.
While not worrying about height weight or length when driving the pvc do I need a different gps driving an over 3500kg truck!?

I use Garmin Camper 780, You input the weight, height and width, it gives you warnings about cameras, plus warns you on speeding, used all over UK & Europe and very accurate, But it's even better when used/link to the mobile phone, then it gives you live updates on road traffic, which has saved us a couple of times.

 

[Abgs]

We are doing exactly that too. Can’t wait to get my hands on our PVC hopefully later on this year. It will change the way we go touring and camping for sure with it’s much smaller footprint to the one we have now.

Just noticed you have a 'RP Rebellion 2 Alternate Lounge' On Order - Very nice !