Caravan & Motorhome SatNav

JontyWild

I currently use Garmin, but mine it is getting a bit old now. I used to use TomTom (car version) in the car - years back, which I liked better. Does anyone have any experience of the new 2nd Generation Car & Motorhome TomTom? I am tempted but they are overpriced and I know from recent email exchanges their support is poor and that there is no UK or Netherland (where they are made) located support and no contact telephone number or direct email contact, so I am really not convinced.

SteveL

If you mean the one in the photo. I bought one last February to use instead of the van fitted one (not TT) which is just about impossible to update. In February the premium pack, which included the sat nav, charger, adhesive discs for dash location, zip pouch to store it in and a bracket for windscreen or dash mounting, was £230. It seems a fair bit more expensive now, at least on Amazon where I purchased it from. I’ve mounted it using an adhesive disc and the sucker bracket on top of the van fitted one, which now just serves as a satellite speedo and rear view camera screen.

I am generally happy with it. You can set your vans size, although whilst avoiding very narrow roads and low bridges, it takes a fairly liberal view on what it reckons is OK. I generally check the route suggested but when the autoroute ground to a halt coming out of Paris and it re-routed us I wasn’t that impressed. Other negatives are, although it is much easier to update than the van fitted satnav it does seem to require deleting the current version and then downloading the revised one, just pressing update returns an error. Also annoying is If you miss a waypoint it keeps trying to take you back to it even when it clearly ridiculous and although you should just be able to talk to it, that doesn’t always work. The menu system also isn’t particularly intuitive, although easy enough once you get used to it. Pluses are that it is very easy to programme routes and you can have as many stops / waypoints as you like. Also inputting of lat / long cords is fast and easy. Saved locations, poi’s and routes are easy to access. The screen resolution is very good.

Overall for what I paid I think it good value for money.

richardandros

I have one similar to the photo - but it's about 3 years old now. It was advertised as having a 7" screen but in actual fact it's closer to 8" - and if I'm honest, it's a bit too big because it tends to obscure your vision a bit, when attached to the windscreen.

I am not a fan of so-called dedicated caravan / MH satnavs. Tried two in the past and sent them both back because they tried to send me down ridiculous routes when I tested them at home. As far as I am aware (and I stand to be corrected), since there isn't a country-wide database of road widths, they're never going to be able to deliver what they promise.

I know I keep banging on about this - but I found a totally foolproof way of selecting the desired route - which works as long as the satnav has the ability to connect to your home wifi.

Download the TT "MyDrive" App to your computer

Select a route in Google Maps and 'drive' any potentially dodgy bits in 'Street View'.

Amend the route as necessary dependent upon the limitations of your van / MH - (or yourself!!)

Replicate the Google Maps route in 'MyDrive' - it's a very similar interface to Google Maps.

Save the 'MyDrive' Route to "MyRoutes" on your TT device. (via wifi)

When setting off - select the required route from "My Routes" on your TT device - and start it off

The TT will then take you exactly down your selected route - and avoids any nasty surprises or sudden detours as @SteveL describes.

There are some other steps to take - such as initially connecting your device to home wifi - and setting up an account in MyDrive - but it's all straightforward.

I admit it is a bit time consuming - but well worth it for the peace of mind it gives if going somewhere new.

Hope this helps.