Hello,I could do with some help please, I'm travelling with a caravan from wells touring park in Somerset to shrubbery caravan park in Dorset but the route involves some B roads.Any advise would be appreciated as I'm getting quite stressed about it.thanks.
ive never been to that site but from looking on googe maps then the roads are perfectly fine, in fact we have a classed roads up here that would match them roads and no doubt the faarmers and trucks dont have a problem either, big breath in and calm down and you will be fine
It's only a 55 mile journey, around 1h 45m, overall, so not too arduous. Neither site appears to have a particularly tricky access road, so not really seeing your cause for concern, unless I'm missing something.
Ordinary car Sat-Nav/route planners may direct you down B roads, but caravan specific ones will generally aim for larger A roads where possible, even if longer route.
"Ordinary car Sat-Nav/route planners may direct you down B roads, but caravan specific ones will generally aim for larger A roads where possible, even if longer route."
I wish that was true, but my caravan-specific satnav (properly instructed on car and caravan dimensions) repeated tried to take me down hair-pin single-track roads which I hesitate to walk down, let alone tow the van.
This on our very first outing within 4 miles of the van storage site.
Quote: Originally posted by SamP on 09/7/2025
"Ordinary car Sat-Nav/route planners may direct you down B roads, but caravan specific ones will generally aim for larger A roads where possible, even if longer route."
I wish that was true, but my caravan-specific satnav (properly instructed on car and caravan dimensions) repeated tried to take me down hair-pin single-track roads which I hesitate to walk down, let alone tow the van.
This on our very first outing within 4 miles of the van storage site.
'Homework' is the answer, and NEVER taking sat navs at their word! Google street view is a great resource to verify routes through tricky areas. Sat Navs are flawed in as much as they are biased towards shortest routes and avoiding certain recorded road 'hazards' which can be horribly compromising in some areas.
Thankfully I know the area and didn't get suckered in, but last year every sat nav, app and route planner tried to route my caravan down a single track unclassified mountain route with steep hairpin bends past Derwent Water in the Lake District, when a perfectly good near level 2 way A road existed on the other side of the lake! - I believe they all got confused by a signed 6'6" width restriction which didn't apply to my actual route, it was a little longer but infinitely more caravan friendly!
Sat Navs are not perfect, and it tends to get even worse with caravan/MH ones it seems. If you are routed off a motorway or A road, it's often worth double checking by old fashioned methods that routes are truly suitable.
There’s only complaints about sat nav’s on forums. Nobody ever complains about maps. I’m not really seeing a problem here. If you are that worried then from where you are take the shortest route to the M5. Southbound down to Exeter then turn off left at J30 the services exit & take the A3052 all the way to your campsite.
I used to drive vintage double decker buses on private hires and on any route I didn't know I would check it out on Google Earth. With most of the buses being 14'6" high, looking out for large low trees and low bridges was essential.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 10/7/2025
I used to drive vintage double decker buses on private hires and on any route I didn't know I would check it out on Google Earth. With most of the buses being 14'6" high, looking out for large low trees and low bridges was essential.
We’ve been caught out by narrow bridges on C roads too.
But the OP hasn’t said what route they took, so we’ll never know if they’ve even read the replies.
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Topic: Caravan friendly route
via mobile 06/7/2025 at 1:42pm
