We have just completed our second successful trip in our caravan but both have been close to home and on routes well known to us.
Our next trip is much further afield and when we went with our tent we remember commenting that we wouldn't fancy bringing a caravan here (although braver souls obviously do) As a complete novice I'd like main roads and not going through built up areas wherever possible.
So how is the best way to plan the route for a caravan - is there a caravan route finder (I saw one on the caravan club website for members but don't want to join just for this reason)
Should we get a satnav and if so are there ones that are better for caravanners. Thanks
The human brain and a map far outweighs the use of a sat-nav in my view. Okay, use a sat-nav for assistance but you still have to proceed with caution as you need to apply a bit of common sense using one. I recently enquired about a caravan/truck friendly sat-nav in the Garmin range which they do make apparently and seems a great bit of kit to have actually but at nearly £300 and an annual fee of £65 to update, it I think I will stick with an up to date map for less than a tenner.
Garmin now do a trucking Sat Nav designed for heavy vehicles and caravans, the Nuvi 465T mind you it's not cheap compared to cheap end Sat Navs, probably because it's designed for professionals rather than gadget acquirers.
Depending on where you buy it between £200 and £300
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
I love satnav but I am also a big fan of maps. For satnav I use Copilot Live on my android phone. This has a routing option for RV's which I use when towing and so far it seems very good but as others have said, a good map is worth its weight in gold.
We are towing for the first time in France and Belgium this year and I will be using satnav but I have just bought the relevant Michelin road atlases from Amazon just to be on the safe side.
Sat nav is useful but not infallible. I'm inclined to preplan using a computer routeplanner of which there is a multitude, but only as a guide, then study the map. Always worth looking at the aproach roads to a site on Google Earth. If all else fails BE BRAVE.................Mick
Agree with Mickeyb above, find the post code and use google maps/street view, or google earth for the approch roads and try to stick to A roads, B roads are ok for shorter distances.
I dont think you have to be a member to buy the caravan club sat nav and i thnk you can buy the programne for other sat navs
there is also one available for truck drivers that would do the job.
im sure someone will come on to give you the info, and after all that i would NEVER use my sat nav with my caravan
A Sat Nav is just an unintelligent tool but very useful none the less. If you are concerned where it may take you its important to use it in conjunction with a map. Google Earth is another useful tool in seeing the lay of the land as you approach a campsite. Also useful to have some POI's (points of interest) many UK ones can be downloaded from here http://www.archiescampings.eu/eng1/ If you are going to a Caravan Club site always follow the instructions in the site guide.
I plot our route on Google Maps and compare the route with a Truckers Map at home a week or so before we leaave. When travelling, we use a TomTom and my notes from Google Maps along with an AA EAsy Read Map in the car. Works well for us.
I tend to use main routes/motorways wherever possible. Where that's not possible, I use google maps. Many caravan parks will include information, often on their website, as to the best way to approach the site with a caravan. If it is a site we havenever been to, and there I no route instructions, I usually ring the site and ask, to be opn the safe side.
If, I'm using the SatNav and don't like the look of a road, I drive on past and the SatNav will eventually come up with an alternative.
It is really a question of common sense and keeping your eyes open. I use a TomTom sat nav on which I have around 25,000 camp sites. Many of the sites we pick which are mainly in France are unknown to us so we rely on the satnav to get us there. However if we appear to be turning into trouble then I ignore it and let it have a rethink.
Even the cheapo SatNavs have a truck setting which is useful . Select your journey via motorways and the easiest route will normally be displayed . I have a Garmin bikers model but it gives me no more info`than one from Aldi ! Like others on here I plan my route with Google Earth or Bing maps . Bing is more customisable . Google is very handy for using street view to zoom in on a suspect section of road .
I plan my route in advance, using a paper road atlas, and then I write down a list of roads, with left/right turns, etc. I then program my destination into my Tomtom, and my wife follows the route on the map in accordance to my list. If the satnav does deviate away from the plan, we simply ignore a particular instruction, and the Tomtom automatically replans the route. I input "fastest route" which always (almost) plans major roads, and I also input avoidance of toll roads. This is useful in France.
One failing for the Tomtom is, if you go wrong, it is likely to send you down any road to reinstate your route, so you have to ignore it until it reprogrammes the route for the roads you want. I am interested in the more expensive satnav that plans roads according to your vehicle dimensions but, to be fully capable, it would also have to replan only suitable roads in the event of driver error in taking a wrong turn. I have yet to find out if this capability exists.
There are several sat navs that are designed for caravan/motorhome /HGV use, they vary in price from £200 to £350. you have to put in the length height & weight of your unit & they sort out a suitable route. Ordinary sat navs set to truck do not, this setting only alters the estimated journey & arrival time, setting them to fastest route usualy keeps you to motorways & A roads but is not inffalable.
Via michelin.com has an option for towing a caravan . as well as several different options of type of route such as fastest, recommended,sightseeing ,& economical
best of all is to use the sites own access infomation usually found on their website
There are several sat navs that are designed for caravan/motorhome /HGV use, they vary in price from £200 to £350. you have to put in the length height & weight of your unit & they sort out a suitable route. Ordinary sat navs set to truck do not, this setting only alters the estimated journey & arrival time, setting them to fastest route usualy keeps you to motorways & A roads but is not inffalable.
But are any of these "specialist" satnavs geared up to only select suitable roads when you have taken a wrong turn, or do they just go mental like most?
I always enter 'fastest route' when towing, but my Tomtom has still taken me onto very narrow rural roads on occasion. It did this to me recently, near Auxerre, France, and when I later got back onto the major road, I was following vehicles which had previously been behind me. So much for the 'fastest route'!!!
I would have thought that thes HGV sat navs would recalculate a suitable route if required as the rig definitions are still invoved in the recalculation
I also use a Tom Tom & never use its recalculated routes for the reason stated, I allways turn around & take the original route.& always use it set to fastest route,but in the EU exclude toll routes if the option is shown
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Caravan route planning
