Using a tablet as a sat nav!

[Leakylunar]

Anyone using or tried a tablet as a sat nav. Only asking as my iPhone is just to small and have 10'' Samsung tablet .
Otherwise suggestions for sat nav

 

[bigwood]

I tried the Google maps app this morning as planned. To say it was not good was an understatement.
Maybe crap WIFI but it couldn’t stay on the road I was following. No speed limits displayed and no speed we were traveling. It did show speed cameras on the maps occasionally. Also the volume on both Apps was quite low even with the I Pad on full.
I did try Apple Maps but that was worse so I went back to the trusty old Garmin.
That’s one to put on the back burner until I get a bit more tech savvy and have learned how to make things work better.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Our Garmin Satnav started to reboot randomly during a trip, so I fished out an old Huawai 10" tablet and downloaded the Sygic Truck app from Google play store, Bluetacked it to the windscreen and it got us home fine.

We had this happen with her Garmin. It is due to the loose USB power cable. The blutack should be used to secure the power cable to the satnav instead!

 

[royandsharont]

Yes I was using searchforsites app on my iPhone last week in Scotland and worked great. Good to know I'll look at mounts. Thanks for quick response.

If you have a reasonably new Ducato, and possible other vans too, they have a tablet mount fitted as standard on the dash that pops up at an angle.

 

[Midnightflyer]

You can get MH specific apps to run on them, just as you can on your phone, wouldn't go back to using a 'dedicated' sat nav now, much prefer the larger more interactive screen of a tablet.

Yes I completely understand where you are coming from, but are the maps as up to date as those from the likes of Tom Tom, in my experience NO and I also enjoy the fact of receiving live traffic data and recommended diversion routes whilst on the move. I suppose in fairness it's down to what you wish to spend at the end of the day.

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[zac]

Yes I completely understand where you are coming from, but are the maps as up to date as those from the likes of Tom Tom, in my experience NO and I also enjoy the fact of receiving live traffic data and recommended diversion routes whilst on the move. I suppose in fairness it's down to what you wish to spend at the end of the day.

They are if you are using tomtom Android in truck mode. Exactly the same with regards to updates, traffic. There is no difference aside from I think it's expensive but there are advantages to using it on a tablet as mentioned previously.

 

[Minxy]

Yes I completely understand where you are coming from, but are the maps as up to date as those from the likes of Tom Tom, in my experience NO

Opposite of our experience.

and I also enjoy the fact of receiving live traffic data and recommended diversion routes whilst on the move.

So do we so link it with our phone's hotspot.

I suppose in fairness it's down to what you wish to spend at the end of the day.

Yup, we've had a few dedicated units but we've found that a tablet is more user friendly.

 

[Midnightflyer]

They are if you are using tomtom Android in truck mode. Exactly the same with regards to updates, traffic. There is no difference aside from I think it's expensive but there are advantages to using it on a tablet as mentioned previously.

Personally I find a Tablet a little on the large size and prefer to use a Tom Tom for Caravans & Motorhomes mounted on the dash. I purchased a Avtex from Jacksons earlier this year and set off to Spain with both units on the dash. When I returned the Avtex was returned for a refund, I'll say no more!!

 

[Minxy]

Personally I find a Tablet a little on the large size and prefer to use a Tom Tom for Caravans & Motorhomes mounted on the dash. I purchased a Avtex from Jacksons earlier this year and set off to Spain with both units on the dash. When I returned the Avtex was returned for a refund, I'll say no more!!

You can get tablets in various sizes, we have a 10.1" one in landscape mode but have previously used 7" ones, so you can just get the size that suits.

 

[zac]

Personally I find a Tablet a little on the large size and prefer to use a Tom Tom for Caravans & Motorhomes mounted on the dash. I purchased a Avtex from Jacksons earlier this year and set off to Spain with both units on the dash. When I returned the Avtex was returned for a refund, I'll say no more!!

Its the same software ie tomtom truck and tomtom caravan and motorhome so essentially there is no difference apart from one being on a standalone unit and one being on a larger tablet screen, its what they overlay that then makes them work like they do. I have tried many standalone units and always come back to tomtom units, i currently have a Tomtom Pro 6000 standalone which is great but its just slow but it still works. The routing and interface is just much better than the others that includes but not limited to snooper,copilot,sygic,waze,google maps etc etc, this is of course my opinion

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[Midnightflyer]

You can get tablets in various sizes, we have a 10.1" one in landscape mode but have previously used 7" ones, so you can just get the size that suits.

Fine, simply down to one's personal choice, I would have thought that using my latest ipad or Samsung tablet would be a little over the top and a smaller 7" tablet would be like using my phone. Not convinced will continue using a dedicated GPS Navigator not coupled to my phone using it as a "Hotspot" with all the navigation features that I need including automatic dimming etc etc.

 

[Landy Andy]

Another advantage of using your tablet is that you can copy, paste, then search all from the same device. Very handy when using things like coordinates, or complicated information. Also the ability to preplan the drive for tomorrow/later/when not inside the van.

 

[NigelNovice]

for us the ability to input dimensions is a must as we are 8.5m just on the Motorhome plus when abroad we normally have the car trailer at a little over 4m and weight which is approx 6t including trailer. The usual apple / google maps etc are not good enough for this as they have no regard for your vehicles dimensions and weight. I do have a dedicated tomtom truck 6000 which is still going strong but in the last few days i have started testing the tomtom truck android version as its on offer at the moment for £50 (which is still blinking expensive) after a 7 day trial. Its a lot easier as a previous member said to look through the apps like campercontact/park4night and then just click a button to load the app of choice with details pre loaded as opposed to inputting them manually. It's early days but i will probably subscribe for the first year as its half price then cancel the following as it then goes up to £99 which is way over my budget. I am then likely to get another standalone unit if the price does not come down by then. Shame they dont do the truck version on the iphone as its a nuisance having another phone.

Have look at Sygic currently just under £50 for a lifetime licence for the camper/caravan version, they one for truckers as well, you can put your sizes in, plus theres a few addins like live traffic etc.

Sygic The most advanced offline GPS Navigation app

Redefining the travel experience with the world’s most advanced offline GPS Navigation app for iPhone, Android and Windows phone. Trusted by 200 mil. drivers.

www.sygic.com

 

[zac]

Have look at Sygic currently just under £50 for a lifetime licence for the camper/caravan version, they one for truckers as well, you can put your sizes in, plus theres a few addins like live traffic etc.

Sygic The most advanced offline GPS Navigation app

Redefining the travel experience with the world’s most advanced offline GPS Navigation app for iPhone, Android and Windows phone. Trusted by 200 mil. drivers.

www.sygic.com

Thanks but i tried Sygic and i cannot get on with the interface, it was sometime ago though.

 

[Minxy]

Fine, simply down to one's personal choice, I would have thought that using my latest ipad or Samsung tablet would be a little over the top and a smaller 7" tablet would be like using my phone. Not convinced will continue using a dedicated GPS Navigator not coupled to my phone using it as a "Hotspot" with all the navigation features that I need including automatic dimming etc etc.

You do know it's not a competition don't you? Some like dedicated units, some prefer tablets, some prefer phones, and others like the in-built systems, you use whatever you're happiest with.

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[ChrisL]

I've been using gps for navigation since it first became available, initially on a laptop sitting on the passenger seat or on my passenger's lap, using programs like autoroute and route 66, i moved on to stand alone units when they became available but when tom tom would no longer support the device with software and map upgrades I moved on to a tablet and have been very happy with it, still using my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 8" which is 7 years old now, it's a bit slow booting up but works fine, i use copilot caravan, it still runs the latest map updates, it auto dims at night, i go into search for sites, find a place that i want to go to, select navigation options, choose copilot and i'm off. As Minxy says we should use whatever we're happiest with, I'm happy with my trusty old tablet I also have a newer and larger Samsung tablet, i use that for watching TV when i'm off grid, and other Internet stuff like reading and posting to this forum.

 

[Puddleduck]

I use a cheap Aldi tablet with the IGo navigation app.

There are lots of apps around and you can try a lot of them for free before spending money on an app.

 

[Dollysjg]

A roll of self adhesive Velcro works wonders in a motorhome just cut of as much as you need at a time also non slip and easily removable

 

[Rick Axon]

We had this happen with her Garmin. It is due to the loose USB power cable. The blutack should be used to secure the power cable to the satnav instead!

Thanks I'll try that next time we're out.

 

[Heebson]

The wifi only ipds dont have a gps chip in them, it may work if you tether it to your phone as it will be getting the signal from this although i have never tried it.

This definitely does not work! Tried with a WiFi-only iPad and various iPhones. Your location jumps all over the place (it’s the iPad trying to triangulate off known Wi-Fi routers). Completely unusable.

One solution I’m toying with is pairing with a Bluetooth GPS Receiver. Has anyone tried it? https://hudsonmarine.co.uk/products/garmin-glo-2-gps-glonass-sensor-010-02184-01

Frustratingly, my 2019 Boxer only Has the clipboard mount on the dash. You can buy a tablet holder replacement (think about £180), so I’m interested to know if they hold a standard iPad securely?

Now of course, when I look at this additional expense, my mind wanders to a replacement CarPlay head unit!

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[ChrisL]

This definitely does not work! Tried with a WiFi-only iPad and various iPhones. Your location jumps all over the place (it’s the iPad trying to triangulate off known Wi-Fi routers). Completely unusable.

One solution I’m toying with is pairing with a Bluetooth GPS Receiver. Has anyone tried it? https://hudsonmarine.co.uk/products/garmin-glo-2-gps-glonass-sensor-010-02184-01

Frustratingly, my 2019 Boxer only Has the clipboard mount on the dash. You can buy a tablet holder replacement (think about £180), so I’m interested to know if they hold a standard iPad securely?

Now of course, when I look at this additional expense, my mind wanders to a replacement CarPlay head unit!

You could get a second hand Samsung Tab S2 for a similar price pre owned, with a gps chip in it, I use one in conjunction with co pilot caravan and search for sites, no problems at all travelling down through France into Spain and back and ofcourse in the UK as well.

 

[Landy Andy]

Frustratingly, my 2019 Boxer only Has the clipboard mount on the dash. You can buy a tablet holder replacement (think about £180), so I’m interested to know if they hold a standard iPad securely?

Yes they hold a standard iPad. I swapped out my clipboard for a tablet holder.

I then swapped from using my iPad to a £1200 Apple CarPlay head unit. Utter rubbish and a step in the wrong direction, so am planning on going back to the iPad.

 

[zac]

Plenty of tablets on Amazon for cheap that are more than capable of running sat nav software. Certainly shouldn't be paying anymore than £160 and that's for a good spec one. I recently purchased the blackview tab13 to do just this and that cost me £150 after discounts. With black Friday nearly here there will be some discounts to be had for sure.

 

[bigwood]

After a suggestion from a motorhome user I thought I would try Co Pilot. It couldn’t even sort out were our location. At one point it said we were in Amsterdam!!!! .
Not one to give up I did a bit of research and found my I pad wasn’t GPS enabled when I bought it from Amazon. I enabled the GPS and tried again this trip. It couldn’t even get me to our local Sainsburys for fuel.
It turns out I have to put a SIM card in the i pad to use it for a sat nav. There’s no slot in mine so that’s scuppered that plan.
Management did drop a hint that I might have a better Garmin by Christmas so that’s a promising thought.
Thanks for any suggestions and hints.

 

[ChrisL]

After a suggestion from a motorhome user I thought I would try Co Pilot. It couldn’t even sort out were our location. At one point it said we were in Amsterdam!!!! .
Not one to give up I did a bit of research and found my I pad wasn’t GPS enabled when I bought it from Amazon. I enabled the GPS and tried again this trip. It couldn’t even get me to our local Sainsburys for fuel.
It turns out I have to put a SIM card in the i pad to use it for a sat nav. There’s no slot in mine so that’s scuppered that plan.
Management did drop a hint that I might have a better Garmin by Christmas so that’s a promising thought.
Thanks for any suggestions and hints.

Not wishing to add to your misery but Co Pilot works fine on my seven year old Android tablet, I have never understood why people buy ipads which are more expensive and don't have gps on the wifi only models. I realise that for musicians there is some software not available for Android but apart from them is there anything you can get/need for an ipad that you can't get on an Android device?

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[bigwood]

I managed with a computer in a tin box under the desk until it became out of date and I had the money to buy a laptop. When the kids and management bought me a second hand I pad they thought I wouldn’t use it. I have to admit better for using on our trips away being smaller and more portable. Unfortunately I admit to not being tech savvy and my solution to my confusion is to stick to what I am comfortable using hence staying with the Garmin.

 

[Ultan]

We have used a tablet for a good few years for our sat nav in the MH, this is despite our current one having a built in one which we don't like so just use it for displaying the speed etc (no map on view).

We've tried different nav system providers but have found Sygic to be the best for our needs and works very well especially alongside Park4Night as we can find where we want to park on that then prod the appropriate 'button' and it will automatically put the info into Sygic and start navigating, this can be done with others too I believe but we are happy with the way it all integrates.

The tablet is used in landscape and clips into the central dash mount on the MH, I think it's a 10" one but can't remember what make it is - we went for ones with the best GPS chip we could as that's what's important and not all have good ones, some are absolutely abysmal, so this is something to look into if you intend to use a tablet. We bought our tables pre-owned/ex-display etc so didn't have to pay the earth for them either.

I'm looking into using a tablet for sat nav and saw your post. With regards the GPS chip, would I need a sim card installed for it to work? Thanks.

 

[St3v3]

I'm looking into using a tablet for sat nav and saw your post. With regards the GPS chip, would I need a sim card installed for it to work? Thanks.

No, just need to give it wifi if you want to use anything that uses live data, i.e Google Maps, like we do. It works very well on a pretty old galaxy tablet.

The lorry has it's own WiFi so we use that, but your phone can be a WiFi hotspot that the tablet can connect to.

 

[Landy Andy]

On an iPad, and I’d assume others, you don’t need a SIM card. Satnav programs/apps are downloaded onto the device, so you just need the gps capability nothing else, as it already has the maps and info. Data is used if you require extra info such as live traffic, or live speed camera info.

 

[rob1234]

I'm looking into using a tablet for sat nav and saw your post. With regards the GPS chip, would I need a sim card installed for it to work? Thanks.

Think you can download area's to your device from Google maps but not sure how much space they use ..?

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[1967bowesj]

Think you can download area's to your device from Google maps but not sure how much space they use ..?

One of the apps I use has maps downloaded and they are 4.5gig but don’t need data or lose signal in poor areas like google maps.