Hi all
Will probably have to put this question on the Motorhome forum too as we will be changing to a motorhome next year.
I want to buy a Caravan / Motorhome specific Sat Nav before our holiday to Switzerland and the French Alps that can be programmed with the outfit dimensions and has European mapping and sites information.
The two I have short listed which appear to be the most popular are the Avtex Tourer Two Sat Nav GPS and the Tom Tom Go Camper Max.
They are about the same price, does anyone use either of these and can offer any advice or recommendation on which one to buy?.
Having recently upgraded to a twin axle Bailey caravan, I purchased a Tom Tom Go camper max which I have found to be of real value. Simply enter critical details, length, width & height and let the device do its job. I've not used it in foreign climes but ithas kept me out of trouble in the UK, so far.
------------- 2021 - 8 sites/32 nights plus 1 two night & 2 four night festivals.
2022 - 7 sites/32 nights plus 1 two night festival, 1 three night festival & two four night festivals (43 nights total). ....so far!
Quote: Originally posted by Dave11 on 26/7/2022
Hi all
Will probably have to put this question on the Motorhome forum too as we will be changing to a motorhome next year.
I want to buy a Caravan / Motorhome specific Sat Nav before our holiday to Switzerland and the French Alps that can be programmed with the outfit dimensions and has European mapping and sites information.
The two I have short listed which appear to be the most popular are the Avtex Tourer Two Sat Nav GPS and the Tom Tom Go Camper Max.
They are about the same price, does anyone use either of these and can offer any advice or recommendation on which one to buy?.
Thanks Post last edited on 26/07/2022 14:27:21
I am fairly sure that the Avtex is a rebranded Garmin Satnav. We have the TomTom Go Camper for towing our twin axle. No issues so far travelling in France and Spain.
You can buy a satnav which allows you to input the width, height, & weight of your motorhome or caravan.
But can anyone tell me if the maps that the satnav is based on contains the right sort of data which makes good use of this information?
You can tell it that your van is 2.13 metres wide, but does it have accurate data on the width of every minor road on your possible route? (My answer to that question is, no it $%^&*-well doesn't.)
I've driven down minor roads which starts off at a reasonable width - then narrowed down to a single track with grass brushing both sides of the car - then widened out a bit - only to narrow down a bit further on then ... I'm certain the maps do not record all that.
If that cart track has a theoretical speed limit of 60mph, the satnav will assume you can go around those hair-pin bends at 60mph, and mark that as your quickest route to your campsite.
I would love a satnav which would plot a sensible route to campsites, but they can only work with the limited data-set they have available.
Don't have a dedicated Caravan/MH Sat Nav, but use TomTom's Mydrive online route planner (with provision for inputting unit details), then download route to my ordinary car Tom Tom unit.
BUT the route planning is not infallible, tries to punt me down routes that I KNOW are not best suited to my caravan (despite putting in dimensions!), regular one is directing me over Rothay Bridge on A593 at top of Lake Windermere on my way to Coniston, now I know this bridge well enough to know that it's a combination of a hump back bridge AND virtual U bend, which even in a solo car is driving blind until you are completely over it (all you can see out of windscreen is sky and trees!) AND only really wide enough for one car at a time either way, dragging a large caravan over it is probably possible, but no fun, then the rest of the A593 even though NOT single track, down to Coniston is horribly narrow and twisty even in a solo car, don't think I'd want to meet another wide vehicle coming other way at the multiple pinch points, whereas the route travelling north to Coniston on A5084 and A593 is relatively easy, but never the favoured route on the planner.
Another route that I know better that route planner, is to Sandyway on Exmoor, the sensible route is approach from the west via North Molton, but route planner will punt you down countless narrow windy lanes on a variety of routes from the east or south, all EXCEPT the good route from the west!
Countless other routes I know where approaching say a campsite from the opposite direction is much better that suggested route.
Knowledge and other research is everything, never inclined to put complete trust in an automated set of algorithms! They always seem to prioritise time/distance over accessibility even with dimension data. As suggested above, I suspect the road data is incomplete on widths etc., so the Sat Nav does not always take it into account.
Of all the route planners, found TomTom Mydrive to be the best, even with it's flaws, so would assume dedicated TomTom Sat Nav would be similarly good. My ordinary car TomTom has not been too silly (for solo car), and the live feed traffic data seems pretty good.
We have the Garmin Camper 780 with reverse camera, I believe the Avtex is just a rebrand of this sat nav, put in your caravan dimensions (we over exaggerated the width a little just to be on the safe side) never had any issues with routing but I usually double check the route with via Michelin and Google maps just to make sure
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Topic: Sat Nav GPS -which one?
via mobile 26/7/2022 at 10:29pm
