Sat Nav

George and Dawn replied on 22/06/2020 20:41

Posted on 22/06/2020 20:41

Hi there, me and the wife have just joined up and just purchased our first caravan. It is 8ft wide. I am lead to believe there is particular sat nav systems available that will whilst guiding you avoid narrow roads. If this is correct can anyone please advise me of the best one. Many thanks in advance. And I am sure I will be asking loads of questions so i apologize  in advance for this lol

bill replied on 24/06/2020 07:17

Posted on 24/06/2020 07:17

I have the Avtex Tourer 2 which is made by Garmin.  It has the Club sites on it as well as the CL's.  I always exaggerate the units length and height and have found it fairly accurate but it is expensive.  It can be undated with WiFi and no computer needed and shows text messages when in use.

fatbelly replied on 24/06/2020 19:47

Posted on 24/06/2020 19:47

Our Motorhome has a factory fitted sat nav built in that is supposed to avoid narrow roads. Its mostly right but on 2 occasions (in 12,000 miles) it has badly let us down, on both occasions it led us down a road that was a dirt track that even a tractor would find difficult.

George and Dawn replied on 24/06/2020 20:34

Posted on 24/06/2020 19:47 by fatbelly

Our Motorhome has a factory fitted sat nav built in that is supposed to avoid narrow roads. Its mostly right but on 2 occasions (in 12,000 miles) it has badly let us down, on both occasions it led us down a road that was a dirt track that even a tractor would find difficult.

Posted on 24/06/2020 20:34

this is exactly what we are trying to avoid. we see a family with there rig wedged in in Cornwall last year. Probably not to hard to get out of the situation but the back up traffic both ways and heckling from the now trapped traffic did not help them, yes there was tears It was clear to see how they got like this. But we just wondered if there was modern technology to prevent it. The sat system in my Discovery has lost my faith long ago. So i tend to use my phone for direction now. 

Anyway thanks for your reply's so far. I will look at the systems mentioned Thankyou 

Tinwheeler replied on 24/06/2020 20:45

Posted on 24/06/2020 20:45

Nothing is foolproof. Living in Cornwall, we witness such events on too regular a basis. Common sense and keeping your eyes open are the best preventive measures. Sat navs are great if set up correctly but never follow them to the exclusion of all else, especially once away from major roads.

EmilysDad replied on 24/06/2020 21:08

Posted on 24/06/2020 20:45 by Tinwheeler

Nothing is foolproof. Living in Cornwall, we witness such events on too regular a basis. Common sense and keeping your eyes open are the best preventive measures. Sat navs are great if set up correctly but never follow them to the exclusion of all else, especially once away from major roads.

Posted on 24/06/2020 21:08

Not that I want to make a habit of it 😉 but I agree completely with you. If you're driving or towing a huge outfit you need to use common sense more than blindly following the sat-nav. How quickly have we forgotten how to follow a map & road signs?

Tinwheeler replied on 24/06/2020 21:16

Posted on 24/06/2020 21:08 by EmilysDad

Not that I want to make a habit of it 😉 but I agree completely with you. If you're driving or towing a huge outfit you need to use common sense more than blindly following the sat-nav. How quickly have we forgotten how to follow a map & road signs?

Posted on 24/06/2020 21:16

😱😱😱 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

no one replied on 24/06/2020 22:33

Posted on 24/06/2020 22:33

Another reason I bought the Aguri is to reduce the windscreen clutter, instead of 3 screens (dashcam, sat nav and reversing/rearview camera screen) blocking the view I now just have the one and with the van cab there is no issue with it being towards the front of the deep dashboard. obviously in a car it might be awkward which is why I think the smaller 520 may be more suited

I powered it up last night to make sure its ready to go, updated software and maps over wifi which took about 15 minutes and also checked my email works on the device which it does.

A Jack of all trades but can't be perfect I suppose. wink

no one replied on 28/06/2020 16:59

Posted on 28/06/2020 16:59

First use of the Aguri 720,

took the MH for a warm up drive of about 80 miles, to get her up and running and to try the new satnav. I stuck the supplied disc to the center of the dashboard and used this for the mount rather than directly to the windscreen.

The dashcam is clear and has a reasonable wide angle (150deg) for the van, the dashcam runs unobtrusively in the background

I agree it does take a bit longer to start up than a stand alone satnav about the same time to warm the engine, although finding the satellite gps signal from all locations was very quick. Even after passing under bridges or tunnels it seemed to pick up very quickly.

started using it without a route, gives good clear speed limit warnings most within a meter of the speed limit post, if over the limit by your own preset percentage it sounds a pleasant to the ears bong to remind you. it also does the same at speed trap area's. I am not to keen on the current map colour's, so I will see if this can be changed, at the moment its all pale green and grey with a programmed route in a pale yellow

A nice surprise was the cross wind warning as it was gusting 40-45mph, the pleasant voice states after the bong 'Warning lateral wind ahead' novel but useful in a high vehicle.

On our return journey i set the route for 'Home'. Pre-warning of turns roundabouts etc is in good time and clear, when a turn is reached a large arrow points in the direction to turn. I went off the programmed route to see what would happen, my Garmin always states 'Make a U turn where possible' sometimes for a very long time before deciding a route to take you back to the point you went of piste which I find really annoying, of course in a MH or towing a caravan this statement  and programming is useless anyway. The good news is within a couple of meters of missing a turn or taking the 'wrong' turning from  a roundabout with no fuss, the Aguri just sets up a new route to carry on your way without any annoying back tracking.

So for a first outing I like what i have bought and think it well worth the money

Hattie and us replied on 19/09/2020 14:21

Posted on 19/09/2020 14:21

Hi George and Dawn

How are you find your 8ft wide caravan, have you had any issues towing or on sites

M&T

DavidKlyne replied on 20/09/2020 14:45

Posted on 28/06/2020 16:59 by no one

First use of the Aguri 720,

took the MH for a warm up drive of about 80 miles, to get her up and running and to try the new satnav. I stuck the supplied disc to the center of the dashboard and used this for the mount rather than directly to the windscreen.

The dashcam is clear and has a reasonable wide angle (150deg) for the van, the dashcam runs unobtrusively in the background

I agree it does take a bit longer to start up than a stand alone satnav about the same time to warm the engine, although finding the satellite gps signal from all locations was very quick. Even after passing under bridges or tunnels it seemed to pick up very quickly.

started using it without a route, gives good clear speed limit warnings most within a meter of the speed limit post, if over the limit by your own preset percentage it sounds a pleasant to the ears bong to remind you. it also does the same at speed trap area's. I am not to keen on the current map colour's, so I will see if this can be changed, at the moment its all pale green and grey with a programmed route in a pale yellow

A nice surprise was the cross wind warning as it was gusting 40-45mph, the pleasant voice states after the bong 'Warning lateral wind ahead' novel but useful in a high vehicle.

On our return journey i set the route for 'Home'. Pre-warning of turns roundabouts etc is in good time and clear, when a turn is reached a large arrow points in the direction to turn. I went off the programmed route to see what would happen, my Garmin always states 'Make a U turn where possible' sometimes for a very long time before deciding a route to take you back to the point you went of piste which I find really annoying, of course in a MH or towing a caravan this statement  and programming is useless anyway. The good news is within a couple of meters of missing a turn or taking the 'wrong' turning from  a roundabout with no fuss, the Aguri just sets up a new route to carry on your way without any annoying back tracking.

So for a first outing I like what i have bought and think it well worth the money

Posted on 20/09/2020 14:45

Thanks for that review. I quite like the idea of the Aguri not only because of the built in dashcam but also I understand that extra POI's can be loaded via a drop and drag system as you could with previous TomTom models so you only have to have it connected to our computer rather than the internet? On a point from Prescot46 about needing the dash came to face forward I suppose it's worth pointing out that with most built in sat navs you don't have the option to change the position.

David

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