Sat Navs

[Hackback]

I am so sick of Google maps sat nav wanting to take me down the tiniest little roads in an effort to cut a few seconds off my journey. There's a reason, Mr Google maps, that they built main roads to take drivers away from residential streets and roads unsuitable for a lot of traffic.

Does anyone use a 'proper' sat nav, preferably with the option of sticking to main roads or avoiding roads unsuitable for a 7.5 ton lorry?

I had Google maps all prepped to take me on my chosen route to an event today and it still changed its mind and tried to take me down every side street and tiny country lane we passed. Luckily I could remember the correct route but I got increasingly peed off with Google maps and vowed to sack it!

 

[ponynutz]

You can select certain routes to avoid on a TomTom. I don't have one but have been using one in my driving lessons and they're just as easy to follow as Google Maps - just takes a bit of getting used to.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Falcon or Garmin for lorry's, both pretty good, worth looking up.
Friend has the Snooper truck mate, she rates it.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I am of absolutely no help with this….

we were using a TomTom… and my hubby was feeling tired as we had set off early for Scarborough.
I offered to drive for a bit so I thought what can go wrong!!!
apparently everything!!!
hubby woke up two hours later… me? I am on my way to london! Had been too busy singing and talking to the kids I missed my turnoff and headed the wrong way ???
He was shouting at me ‘how the fk can you get it wrong, it tells you where to fkn go’ ???
hubby says…’id get lost in an empty house’ ???

 

[luckyoldme]

I use a tom tom pro and it's spot on.
We have to take artics up tiny country lanes too , into farms.
I use a combination of tom tom and Google maps. I will have a look the night before but when I get closer to my destination I will check on Google maps too.
I've also got a truckers map which is great for bridge heights if it's in totally new territory.
It's all in the planning !

 

[VRIN]

I have a tom tom truck and its brilliant.

 

[Bernster]

Tried a few but I’m back to google for the better traffic routes. I try to look up the route in advance and check for stupid short cuts or height restricted roads. It can be a bit nerve wracking when it tries to divert you mid way due to traffic but I try to work out where it’s going and if it’s a decent route or not. I also try to stick to the same venues so I know the way!

I’ve had snooper, Tom Tom pro, and garmin truck. Snooper prob best for trucks but not sure how good it is for real time traffic. The Tom Tom I got as it was recommended by a few on here but it got me lost first time I used it so I had to switch to google anyway.

So I say maybe a combo of one of the truck sat navs with google as a back up. Not great but might get the best of both!

 

[Bobthecob15]

I hate this about Google maps too....but can't beat it for the traffic etc...has anyone tried Waze? Thinking of trying this...

 

[Barton Bounty]

I hate this about Google maps too....but can't beat it for the traffic etc...has anyone tried Waze? Thinking of trying this...

My friend uses it and swears by it especially for the speed cameras ???

 

[Bobthecob15]

My friend uses it and swears by it especially for the speed cameras ???

Haha brilliant!! I think I'll try it and see how we get on x

 

[claret09]

i must be the only one but i absolutely love google maps. it always use it

 

[Bobthecob15]

i must be the only one but i absolutely love google maps. it always use it

I love it in the main...but it drives mw mad when it sends me down B roads or even smaller rural lanes which are an absolute pain if you are meeting anything coming the other way...maybe a rural thing!! It's definitely better in towns etc!

 

[Prancerpoos]

Google maps is definitely the best app for traffic, but the little roads bit does drive me (pun intended) mad. I have found the best way to fix it is to, where possible, plan the route in advance on G maps and drag it when it tries to go down tiny road and/or, when actually driving along, just refuse to go down any suspect looking little roads and let it auto reroute you. I think I must have turned down about 50% of its proposed roads on a recent trip to Devon.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

My TomTom is pretty useless around narrow lanes. Also it can't seem to find farms that don't have a house number. I have reverted to OS map.

 

[ponynutz]

My TomTom is pretty useless around narrow lanes. Also it can't seem to find farms that don't have a house number. I have reverted to OS map.

Google maps said my village didn't exist once!

 

[luckyoldme]

My TomTom is pretty useless around narrow lanes. Also it can't seem to find farms that don't have a house number. I have reverted to OS map.

The reason they can't find farms is that they only work on the information you give them. Getting the actual coordinates is the way to do it with a tom tom.
The fact of the matter is narrow lanes are scary in trucks. I thought I was the only one but some of the places we deliver to are really shitty...Google maps and if you can speak to the farmer ,(beware though farmers always say they've had artics in there without mentioning stuff like it was tag axle with a 35 ft rear steer trailer.)

 

[phizz4]

You can get a satnav dedicated to caravaners which avoids narrow roads, low bridges etc.
https://www.practicalcaravan.com/awards/best-caravan-sat-navs

 

[sbloom]

I do about 30k miles a year and use Google Maps. I had a Garmin for years but when the last one started having charging issues I tried both my van's built in sat nav (by then about 4 years old) and Google Maps and the latter won hands down. None of them work perfectly, for out of the way hard to find yards I ask for what 3 words and then feed it into Google Maps, but as for sending down small roads, they all do it, speed bump roads in towns and villages are the most annoying one, I have no problem with reversing on a country lane, but it's only a Caddy. If I was driving something a lot bigger then I'd get a truck one.

And for those who don't know, no, a sat nav of any kind will not bring you direct to the property if you use a postcode, they cover several properties and in rural areas they could be up to a mile apart, it takes you to the "centre" of the postcode. I can't believe it when I hear people complain about this!