I remember going up a mountain pass in the Tarn area. We looked at the Michelin map to,find the wriggly scenic routes ( no caravan!).
The start of the route had a sign saying no caravans or hgvs.
Way up in the hills going up we met a rather large Dutch motorhome. Driver white faced looking scared. Our rhd suv was right on the edge, no barrier.
He wanted me to back down, no chance pal.Its priority to coming up.
You would think he would apply commonsense.
In the same area we saw another big MH which couldn't get round some of the hairpin bends in one. Stop and reverse a couple of times.
We were in a cafe having a drink.
It did create amusement for those in the cafe. Comments like quelle idiote were heard!
You often see cyclists going up those passes. They must be very fit to get up those hills.Going down ok though as long as brakes work.
Post last edited on 13/07/2024 10:28:00
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
The problem is that 'they' want to sell you a special satnav - at twice or three times the usual price - which is intended for use with a caravan or motorhome.
Just plug in the dimensions of your outfit and every journey will be trouble free! - all the adverts will tell you so.
The map data in that satnav is pretty much the same as on any other satnav.
Quote: Originally posted by SamP on 18/7/2024
"DONT blindly trust Sat Navs!"
The problem is that 'they' want to sell you a special satnav - at twice or three times the usual price - which is intended for use with a caravan or motorhome.
Just plug in the dimensions of your outfit and every journey will be trouble free! - all the adverts will tell you so.
The map data in that satnav is pretty much the same as on any other satnav.
Yep that is correct which is why we no longer have issues when towing the caravan so worth every penny!
There's no substitute for a bit of pre-planning. A good old road map and a look on Google Earth at any potentially dodgy bits will usually get you by. We managed just fine when we didn't even have Google Earth so there's no real reason we can't manage today. With or without a sat-nav.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 19/7/2024
There's no substitute for a bit of pre-planning. A good old road map and a look on Google Earth at any potentially dodgy bits will usually get you by. We managed just fine when we didn't even have Google Earth so there's no real reason we can't manage today. With or without a sat-nav.
Why use an old fashion map when it goes out of date the day after they have printed it and it cannot be updated? Google earth is the way forward, but even then it is not always up to date. Satnavs can be updated every day if necessary.
I've been using Sat Navs and Route Planners for a VERY long time now and a range of brands, and seen countless mapping errors on the underlying (up to date!) maps, then you add the routing errors on top of that!
I've encountered a 'non-continuous' road with a pedestrian only section that a previous poster mentioned, but the Sat Nav refused to acknowledge, it was near my Sister in Law, and a place I visited frequently over years, but the mapping was never corrected. I've also got a road only a few hundred yards from home with a vehicle barrier across it, been there for decades, but not all Sat Nav maps acknowledge that either!
I use Sat Navs, and wouldn't wish to be without, but I CERTAINLY don't blindly trust them, especially with the caravan, with it's restrictions on suitable roads and a near total inability to turn around if route goes wrong on a narrow lane, I verify the route with some other source/device in advance, which brings us right back to the OP and checking of route only to find it was trying to take me down a totally inappropriate road!
I've since checked a few more online route planners/sat nav phone apps, and it's a mixed bag, some despite being primed with 'caravan' as vehicle still insist on the 'wrong' road, others pick the sensible route!
And the really good news is TomTom online route planner now seems to be fixed (I did submit two error reports by different methods!), it's now routing without being forced (it wouldn't even allow me to do that before!) to pick the sensible route!
I'm fully with Colin, pre-planning and checking is the only sensible thing to travel with confidence, and if paper maps are to hand, why not. I use OS paper maps all the time for hill walking (batteries don't die, phone signals don't fade away, and technology go faulty with a totally reliable paper map when you're in the middle of nowhere!), so perfectly at ease with the notion.
Yes, sat-navs and other modern aids are fine, nothing against them, but I'm from an era where they hadn't been invented and we managed just fine using only paper maps. Ok, so they can go out of date, but most roads don't change that much except maybe in towns, and I try to avoid going through towns with the caravan on where possible. And of course there is always that other alternative, road signs.
I do occasionally use my sat-nat for the last few miles to my destination, but I never totally rely on it, I just use it as back-up.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 19/7/2024
Yes, sat-navs and other modern aids are fine, nothing against them, but I'm from an era where they hadn't been invented and we managed just fine using only paper maps. Ok, so they can go out of date, but most roads don't change that much except maybe in towns, and I try to avoid going through towns with the caravan on where possible. And of course there is always that other alternative, road signs.
I do occasionally use my sat-nat for the last few miles to my destination, but I never totally rely on it, I just use it as back-up.
With you all the way, there, Colin21! I have a Garmin SatNav which behaves itself sometimes, then seems to have a funny turn and suddenly decides to re-route me off the main road for reasons know best to itself.
I too just use it for the last few miles: it seems more reliable over short routes. For the rest of the journey it's a good old fashioned road map. It's a huge AA 2.5 miles/inch scale, bought new in 2021. I keep meaning to buy an updated one but I haven't got lost yet, using the old one.
By the way, going back to the link of the old chap towing his caravan over rocky terrain... I wonder whether his caravan still had any flooring left when he eventually reached his destination?
------------- Life without dogs? I don't think so!
I still always carry a road atlas whenever I go somewhere I'm not familiar with. The one I have now is dated 2023 so it's reasonably up to date. My sat-nav on the other hand is only up to date to 2013 and cannot be updated further. It's the one built into the car which is a 2008 model, and they changed the sat-navs in the 2013 models. I still smile when I look at it after arriving outside my son's house which wasn't built in 2013. The sat-nav shows me parked in the middle of a field even though I can see that I am surrounded by houses!
Well, back from my Hols in the Lake District, and my favoured route to the caravan site, down the eastern side of Derwentwater was a doddle, even the 'daunting' double hump bridge (with it's sign for the mysterious 6"6' width restriction that I never found!) to Grange was nothing to worry about.
On the other hand, I did drive (solo car) the Oh-So sat-nav favoured unclassified mountainside lane up the west of Derwentwater, and very scenic it was too, not too challenging, even perhaps towing a caravan, UNTILL just outside Keswick! There, you'll find the snaking hairpin 'S bends' with something like a 1:5 gradient! NOT caravan friendly in the slightest! Not sure with a front wheel drive car I would have got enough traction to successfully have made that! Bit further towards Keswick I did see a couple of 4x4s towing caravans that seemed to be heading that way, reckon even they would have found it a challenge, but likely just doable!
So VERY glad experience has thought me to do my homework and not blindly rely on sat-navs and route finders! TBH, think that road should have a 'Not Suitable for Caravans' sign on the approach.
Quote: Originally posted by CyberCynth on 30/8/2024
By the way, going back to the link of the old chap towing his caravan over rocky terrain... I wonder whether his caravan still had any flooring left when he eventually reached his destination?
Quote: Originally posted by 664DaveS on 13/7/2024
I remember going up a mountain pass in the Tarn area. We looked at the Michelin map to,find the wriggly scenic routes ( no caravan!).
The start of the route had a sign saying no caravans or hgvs.
Way up in the hills going up we met a rather large Dutch motorhome. Driver white faced looking scared. Our rhd suv was right on the edge, no barrier.
He wanted me to back down, no chance pal.Its priority to coming up.
You would think he would apply commonsense.
In the same area we saw another big MH which couldn't get round some of the hairpin bends in one. Stop and reverse a couple of times.
We were in a cafe having a drink.
It did create amusement for those in the cafe. Comments like quelle idiote were heard!
You often see cyclists going up those passes. They must be very fit to get up those hills.Going down ok though as long as brakes work.
Post last edited on 13/07/2024 10:28:00
Pity there isn’t a café at the Pass of the Cattle to Applecross. Sign at the bottom prohibits MHs but it’s on the NC500 bragging bucket list so the long ones regularly get stuck on the hairpin bends. Not good if you’re in the ambulance that’s trying to drive down.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 30/8/2024
I still always carry a road atlas whenever I go somewhere I'm not familiar with. The one I have now is dated 2023 so it's reasonably up to date. My sat-nav on the other hand is only up to date to 2013 and cannot be updated further.
We rely on OS 1:250,000 maps for journey planning (6 maps cover all UK) & 1:50,000 maps for driving. I write on the maps - eg “narrow bridge” on a straight B road where I wouldn’t have expected to slow to walking speed to get the MH over. And a big P for a lay-by that would be a good stop to park for lunch: I often find those Ps very useful on later trips.
iPhone google maps helps cross-checking, bang up to date; no satnav in the MH.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: DONT blindly trust Sat Navs!
via mobile 13/7/2024 at 10:24am
