Ultimate Caravan Satnav
Forgive me if I'm stating the blindingly obvious - but as far as I can see, no one has mentioned this on here before. I have just bought my wife a satnav for her new car and because she doesn't do computers or anything technical, I got a high-end Tomtom - the 6200, mainly so that I could manage it for her. It comes with Wifi connectability, lifetime map and speed camera updates, but most importantly - works with the "MyDrive" app. (There are also other models with this facility). I realised that this would be ideal for planning caravan-friendly routes because it allows you to plan the route on your computer - picking the best route and avoiding caravan 'nightmares' (in conjunction with research on Google maps Street view) and then downloading it to the Tomtom device via Wifi so that it's all ready for you to set off. I've only tested a couple of routes so far but it seems to work brilliantly and gives me the confidence that it's not going to send me somewhere daft with the van on the back. I accept that all of this does take time and it's a long way from just inputting a postcode, but for those of us who do have the time, or are faced with a potentially difficult route, it seems ideal and far better than all the others I have tried including the Caravan Club one - and that in my car - hence the additional lead so that I can 'borrow' it from time to time!
Comments
-
There are a vast number of sat navs available for caravan / Motorcaravan users they range in price from £130 to £500+ all / most are programmable for unit # length , width , height & train weight and will use these details to supply the best selection of routes available .
I use a 7" sat nav with a integrated dash cam which was designed for use by hgv trucks & gives information relating to large vehicle needs , ie parking , laybys , fuel etc it also contains details of camping / caravan sites uk & abroad .
Which includes CMC , C&CC has mapping for 47 countries with campsites / Aires
0 -
Please don't keep us in suspense, name that SatNav for we all want one.
0 -
Yes - but it's the 'programmable' bit that I don't trust! I bought the supposedly dedicated caravan satnav that this club was promoting not so long ago and despite inputting all the relevant data, it insisted on sending me on routes which were totally ridiculous. It was sent back immediately.
The appeal of the 'MyDrive' app is that you are in control of selecting the route beforehand and that, once having sent it to the Tomtom, you can be totally confident that it will direct you along the route you have selected.
0 -
The appeal of the 'MyDrive' app is that you are in control of selecting the route beforehand and that, once having sent it to the Tomtom, you can be totally confident that it will direct you along the route you have selected.
There is nothing new in planning a route on a desk top and exporting it to a sat nav. "My drive" might just make it easier but knowing nothing about how it works, I cannot say that for sure. Previous sat navs I have owned, involved creating a route on the desk top and exporting the file this creates to the sat nav when connected to your computer. "Map Factor" have had this facility available for a good few years now using their own "Map Explore" App running on a PC. I have used this system in the past but converted to Co-Pilot about three years ago on advice received on this forum. This runs on a 7 inch tablet and I can load third party POIs onto it e.g. the Club's sites and CLs and also using Google Maps you can >transfer a route created using Google Maps< to the Co-Pilot sat nav. I have the Truck version of Co-Pilot, there is a Caravan version, and I have found it excellent and have never found the need to import routes yet although I can see it would be useful for exchanging routes created by others. I would be concerned it might ignore the parameters and HGV restrictions set up in the sat Nav.
I still use "Map Explore" verson 10 on my desk top for some planning, but I have never tried exporting a route to Co-Pilot for the reasons given above.
peedee
0 -
Further to the above. I have just checked the latest products offered by Map Factor, they have come on a bit since I last used it, then it was only available for "Windows". I see now it is available for many more platforms including Adroid and there is a >free version< available from Google Play. Might be worth a look at.
peedee
0 -
I bought the ASTEX sat nav as advertised in cmc,what a total waste of £350..it don't take me the route I want to go on,it cuts across country, down roads just wide enough,even were I live it takes me off the main road and down a side road that runs parallel with the main road,how can I trust it when in an area that I don't know ???
0 -
That was my experience as well - which is why I sent it back the next day! Totally useless and no different from any of the others on the market, as far as I could see. The advantage of using the 'My Drive' App with the Tomtom is that it is very easy to make detailed adjustments to the route (much better and easier than with Google maps) and then send that route to the device via Wifi - don't even have to plug it into the computer. I use Street View (in Google Maps) to research routes I am doubtful about - just to make sure and then when you set off, you can be totally confident that it will stick to your chosen route and not do anything daft just because it's having a 'funny moment'!
0 -
Hi all, I have just come across this string about satnavs and thought I should share my gripe about the dedicated caravan and motorhome devices. When the other club had an offer on the new TomTom Caravan & MH model I liked the look of the spec so ordered one while the offer was still on. That is now well over two years ago. However, although most of theatures were good and the satnav part worked well, there is a serious flaw in the speed indicator. This model shows on-screen both the speed you are driving at and the legal speed limit. This to me is handy because no car or MH gives you the correct speed and as we spend half the year in France and Spain I like to think I have the correct speed and know the limit. It is unbelievable that TomTom and other satnav developers cannot provide the correct legal speed limit across Europe, even though they are based in Amsterdam and these devices are specially made for caravanning and motorhoming.
This model incorrectly gives the speed limits across Europe for a solo car only. I.e. In France, my 4,250kg MH has a legal limit of 130k on the autoroute according to TT, where it should show 90k. Anyway, for the last 6 months I have had a painful dialogue with TT HQ trying to get them to fix this, but they dont understand the problem. Then, a few weeks ago, after another escalation, I was talking to a developer who said that all speed limits were the same in Holland so that might be the problem. Then, two weeks ago I received, via a courier, out of the blue, the brand new TT PRO 6250 Trucker device free of charge (Should be £469) for my trouble, but guess what, it still shows all the wrong speed limits for big caravan rigs and larger MHs.
Does anybody have a device the provides the legal speed limit for all types of vehicle and road? I look forward to hearing from you.
BillC
0 -
I have the Avtex CC model and I have found it a decent bit of kit, I have discovered the Garmin Basecamp app and I can set out my route and upload it to the unit. It also gives the speed limit for the outfit or if I have it on car only it gives me the car's speed limit.
I think drivers are depending on technology too much, but when using the satnav it does pay to check with maps and/or Google Maps before setting off.
0 -
I have an older TomTom XXL and I cannot update the maps anymore due to its age and memory.
Can anyone tell me what is the main difference between the Garmin 770LMT-D and the Avtex Tourer One that is sold in collaboration with the Caravan and Motorhome Club?
There does not appear to be much difference to me, apart from the price, as the club POIs can be downloaded to the normal Garmin versions anyway.
Also can you add your own POIs from other clubs?
0 -
I think drivers are depending on technology too much, but when using the satnav it does pay to check with maps and/or Google Maps before setting off.
Ian - that's exactly my point and perhaps, on reflection, I was wrong to describe this as the 'Ultimate Caravan Satnav' when, in fact, it's the "MyDrive' App that's the 'ultimate' bit. My experience with other systems is that even though you think you are following your chosen route, for reasons unknown to me, at some random point it will attempt to deviate from that route and try to send you somewhere daft. Not a big issue when solo but could be disastrous with a big 'van on the back!
I have used MyDrive a few times now and, as you say, having researched the route on Google Maps etc, I can select a safe route - turn by turn and download it to the satnav with the confidence that it will follow that route exactly.
Although it can take considerable time to set up a new route, it does take all the stress out of driving in an unfamiliar location.
0 -
When using the Avtex and I assume all other satnav that monitor roadworks and stoppages, they try to send you on a different route to avoid the problem! I tend to ignore this advice especially with the 'van on the back as the updated route might send me down narrow roads. I just wish that when I say no to this advice it would accept my decision!
0 -
Has any one any views on the new Avtex/Garmin plus with the built in camera
0 -
I believe that a lot of the satnavs use the same mapping software. I guess the algorithms are similar as well. With my Garmin it will often give two or three routes and you can scroll through but it isn’t that easy to check the exact route. I find that they are most useful around towns and off of the main routes where map reading is more difficult. For the main roads and motorways I always check with the map but downloading a planned route would help.
Of the satnavs that I have used or seen, the best I have experienced is google maps on a smart phone, although personally I prefer a large screen and built in software.
One feature I find useful with the Garmin (other makes have it) is the speed indicator and speed limit warning which is fantastically accurate all over Europe. With the raised seats on my Peugeot it is difficult to see the speedo which is inaccurate anyway.
0 -
I have has a TomTom camper & caravan version for a couple of years or more and it has been brilliant. You put in the van and car details as with others and the routes it produces abide by those. We accept nearly all the diversions and they have saved us hours of queing with never a "dud" route.
My problem is that TomTom no longer sell this model and will not be updating it. I am on the lookout for an alternative which also includes the "re-routing" element but the ads don't seem to specifically mention this. Has anyone out there found a replacement that does all that the Tom Tom one does.
0 -
I sat it out for an hour a few days ago on the A34 - Newbury to Oxford - and thought that if only I had a sat nav then it would have re routed me around the blockage. But then I looked at all the other cars which did have sat navs and were standing still in that same queue - and I thought maybe it wouldn't.
0 -
I have just bought a TomTom Go6200 Wifi. I chose this model finally because of a £70 discount direct from TomTom but was considering it anyhow. I am using it on our 'small' car as the daily satnav (the old one went out of service) but invested in this hefty model because I intended to use it, together with the add-on TomTom 'camper' map in our tow car (in place of the in-built satnav).
However I find:
1. the Go 6200 is not compatible with the add-on 'camper' map.
2. the camper map has to be used with the GO 'Professional' series of satnav - which are intended for truck, coaches and vans. (I had this clarified by TomTom support).
NOW! - I do NOT want to buy a truck satnav, because in reality 99% of usage will be with a day to day car - not towing!
3. However, all is not lost, because I have found that by using the GO 6200 with the smartphone MyDrive app, I then have the ability to plan routes as a car or motorbike or a truck. And in truck mode I can enter dimension of my towing outfit (width, height, length, weight, axle weight, max speed (60mph)). Thru experimentation on some caravan routes I know - and with bits to avoid - I have found that the satnav will route me correctly (I experimented with the route from the east to the Wharfedale site, if you are interested). And it is easy to leave the satnav in car mode and just chose towing (truck) mode as and when I need it.
I will say I think that TomTom's proposition to buyers is confused or unclear at best, and they are probably losing sales as a result.
I look forward to my first towing trip in early feb guided by the new satnav - and will report back!
0 -
I have loaded up a pic of some screenshots of my experiments with my recently acquired tomtom 6200.
having found I cannot put the Camper map on it, but having found the paired MyDrive Connect app has a configurable Truck option for routing, that can be set up to my car/caravan outfit vital statistics, I decided to try some options.
So I set a start point as Thirsk, and a destination as Filey, knowing that I needed to avoid Sutton Bank which is prohibited to caravans.
the screenshots show the suggested routes for car/motorbike/truck (configured to match my outfit).
I think it is a usable success - but then of course I knew about the Sutton Bank hazard - which was still one of the suggestions for a truck (lorries are allowed up it!).
So, have a look, and make up your own mind.
Incidentally, I have now planned routes and maintained (sync) my set of routes etc for the 6200 on 2 x smartphones, 1 x android tablet, and 1 x windows PC thu the web app (to which you need to log on). For my money it is much more usable on at least the tablet, if not the PC - simply for the size for my poor old eyes, and fat fingers. We always take our laptop with us on caravan hols so that will work ok.
0 -
Trev - what I tend to do is take one of the suggested routes and then research it on Google Maps - 'driving' it in Street View if necessary. Once I am happy - or not - I then alter the My Drive route by dragging it at various points, so that the suggested route is exactly what I am happy with. Once finalised, I then use the Wifi facility to transfer it into My Routes on the Tom Tom and it is there to be used. My experience so far, suggests that the Tom Tom sticks exactly to the selected route, thereby avoiding any nasty surprises.
0 -
richardandros - that sounds good approach and what I intend to do. we generally take a PC with us, and so far (unsurprisingly) I have found the PC screen much better than even a tablet to do that detailed routing on.
So, all in all, I am looking forward to my first trip using it.
So far - we have not used it in the 'small car' for which it will be used 99% of the time. May drive into London at the weekend so that could bea baptism of fire!!
0 -
I have the Tom Tom 6200. Didn’t buy it for the facility to plan routes for the caravan but discovered it on an upgrade....I “tested” it out on a trip to Castleton and found it would have me down all sorts of tiny roads unsuitable for the van. I just plan routes out as before and don’t trust sat nav but do find them very useful during the journey with the route planned in, especially the live traffic feature
0 -
You can't rely on early warning messages from the gantries either. Often by the time you reach the point referred to, the problem has gone away.
1 -
I don't know how it works but I get live traffic updates on my VW system and it seems to be fairly accurate and will re-route you if appropriate. It doesn't use the internet and doesn't cost anything (well other than the cost of the car!)
0
