Which SatNav for a Lorry?

[Ambers Echo]

Stressful trip to Stafford today being taken down random back roads! Anyone recommend a truck or motorhome SatNav that avoids small roads wherever possible? The reviews on all the ones I have browsed on Amazon are very mixed with loads of 5* and 1* reviews for all of them which is not particularly reassuring!!

TIA x

 

[Spottyappy]

I had a pro nav until recently when it gave up the ghost. I have been using a free site since then, but you do need to print off details or use screen shots. It is free, though.

http://www.freightjourneyplanner.co.uk

 

[Dubsie]

You need one for a lorry and set the height of yours so it doesn't send you under a low bridge / down a width restriction/ weight restriction

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I had a Garmin a few years ago & you could set that in several modes i.e. car, motorbike, pedestrian & lorry. I don't know if current models have the same facility.

 

[Bernster]

Wish they would do an app which is sat nav for lorries. Or do they do one already? Haven’t found anything other than buying one like the garmin or snooper ones. I have had both of them but quite a while ago. The garmin had a v basic setting that wasn’t really enough as I also ended up down a narrow country road a few times in my 7.5t. The snooper was good as I input the measurements and weight.

I use google maps now which is good for traffic, but I’m in a 3.9t so don’t have to worry so much!

 

[phizz4]

The Caravan and Motohome Club have one which allows you to input the size/specification of your set up, and many motor homes are as big as lorries.
https://shop.caravanclub.co.uk/product/1045086/avtex-tourer-one-caravan-motorhome-club-sat-nav

 

[criso]

I have a pro nav which lets you programme in height, weight, length etc. I got mine from ebay from a company that sells reconditioned older models.

 

[VRIN]

I have a tomtom for trucks. It is brilliant. You can set up your details and it will avoid inappropriate routes. have found it invaluable and much better than the standard tomtom which i had previously. Can def recommend

 

[sheep]

OH used to be a truck driver (oversized and abnormal loads, particularly farm machinery, so access could often be sticky to say the least) - he used a Snooper satnav and got on well with it.

 

[jnb]

Tom Tom for trucks - Go Professional 620

 

[pixie27]

I had a pro nav until recently when it gave up the ghost. I have been using a free site since then, but you do need to print off details or use screen shots. It is free, though.

http://www.freightjourneyplanner.co.uk

I use this for my trailer (paranoid!) and then copy the route into google maps so can use it while driving.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Thanks for the replies. All the ones that have been reocmmended get really dodgy reviews! I don't get it. Either they work or they don;t

The Snooper is appallingly reviewed with 60% of reviewers giving it 1 or 2 stars. But 20% give it 5?? I mean it works or it doesn't, surely.

The TomTom 620 does a lot better with just over 50% giving it 5 stars. Biut 10% give it 1 star with absolutely scathing comments about being sent down single track lanes or under low bridges or onto steep, narrow totally inappropriate roads. So what goes wrong? I doubt oeople are just lying - are they using it wrong?

It is a LOT to spend on a piece of kit that has a 50/50 chance of going the job!

 

[Bernster]

I know what you mean although wonder whether some of those reviews are about ease of use etc. My Snooper was good, it just didn't last that long, conked out within about 2 years I think.

Have you not come across any apps - that seems like an obvious market to me!

 

[Keith_Beef]

Thanks for the replies. All the ones that have been reocmmended get really dodgy reviews! I don't get it. Either they work or they don;t

The Snooper is appallingly reviewed with 60% of reviewers giving it 1 or 2 stars. But 20% give it 5?? I mean it works or it doesn't, surely.

The TomTom 620 does a lot better with just over 50% giving it 5 stars. Biut 10% give it 1 star with absolutely scathing comments about being sent down single track lanes or under low bridges or onto steep, narrow totally inappropriate roads. So what goes wrong? I doubt oeople are just lying - are they using it wrong?

It is a LOT to spend on a piece of kit that has a 50/50 chance of going the job!

I don't think it's a case of "either it works or it doesn't"...

Try reading as many reviews as possible on Amazon and elsewhere. I've seen loads of products where somebody gave one star but when I read the review, it was that the person had ordered the wrong thing, that the article had been delivered too late or delivered damaged, etc... so really not about the real quality of the product.

At a push, you could order something like a Tomtom GO Professional 6200 for around €350 or a SNOOP PL2200 for around €220, and if it turns out to be no good, just return it.

I imagine that if you end up stuck because a cheaper SatNav sends you to a junction where you get stuck or you ground the middle of the chassis, it will turn out to be more expensive in lost time and in repairs that the €250 to €350 that you spend on a proper HGV SatNav.

On the other hand, Open Street Maps might be able to give you info like weight limits, turn radii and grounding risks for main roads... worth investigating further and maybe get a GPS receiver that you can link through BlueTooth to a tablet.

 

[Ambers Echo]

I have read the reviews carefully to avoid the ones that are not relevant - ie ease of use, or poor service or mount is flimsy or whatever. But the key requirement is that I don't end up reversing a mile back along a single track lane when I get stuck at a low bridge! And the criticism of both the Tom Tom and Snooper is exactly that - poor navigational advice and therefore simply not fit for purpose. That is what I am finding so difficult. Paying that much for a Satnav that sends you the wrong way anyway seems daft. Perhaps the technology just isn't there yet for this?

 

[VRIN]

The tomtom allows you to put in the vehicle dimensions and has never sent me down a route with a low bridge. It keeps to major routes whenever possible. I have found it excellent

 

[criso]

I m near a couple of low bridges and my pronav always avoided them when they would be the most direct route. It also never tried to send me down some tracks that regularly get used by car satnavs

 

[Keith_Beef]

And the criticism of both the Tom Tom and Snooper is exactly that - poor navigational advice and therefore simply not fit for purpose. That is what I am finding so difficult. Paying that much for a Satnav that sends you the wrong way anyway seems daft. Perhaps the technology just isn't there yet for this?

The technology is certainly here right now. The cartography must already include clearance under bridges and maximum weight limits, in the same way that it already includes the speed limit for each segment of road. The Open Street Map project has a Maxheight Map that is as yet incomplete. Commercial products should have this already and it really should be complete.

Plenty of offerings on Amazon, and I suppose a test would be to mount one of these in a normal sized car, but tell the device that you are driving a long, wide and tall vehicle, and see if it indeed tries to find you a route avoiding tight corners and low bridges...

I've also read that you can get a standard TomTom and put the European Truck maps on it. Might be an option, if you already have a TomTom.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Well freight planner failed at the first attempt!

I asked it to plan a route from Buxton to Parwich which I do often as that is where my dressage instructor teaches. There is a 10 minute detour to stay on main roads. The most direct route is single track and totally unsuitable for a 7.5 tonne lorry. Guess which way freight planner took me!!! Even when I told it was 24 tonnes it still took me a stupid way. It is infuriating that something so simple should prove so difficult. Maybe I just need to use old fashioned road maps and recce every new route in advance.....

Keith I will buy one and try the Buxton - Parwich test on it. It's a good test as there is a very good route into Parwich: A515, A5102 and then finally a short way on B road into the actual village. The direct route is a narrrow B route for several miles from the A515.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Well freight planner failed at the first attempt!

I asked it to plan a route from Buxton to Parwich which I do often as that is where my dressage instructor teaches. There is a 10 minute detour to stay on main roads. The most direct route is single track and totally unsuitable for a 7.5 tonne lorry. Guess which way freight planner took me!!! Even when I told it was 24 tonnes it still took me a stupid way. It is infuriating that something so simple should prove so difficult. Maybe I just need to use old fashioned road maps and recce every new route in advance.....

Keith I will buy one and try the Buxton - Parwich test on it. It's a good test as there is a very good route into Parwich: A515, A5102 and then finally a short way on B road into the actual village. The direct route is a narrrow B route for several miles from the A515.

I just tried out http://www.freightjourneyplanner.co.uk/ to find a route from my mum's house in Sheffield to go to Speedwell Cavern in Castleton. It correctly avoided a couple of sharp turns, preferring to go along a main road and take a roundabout.

Then I increases the height of the "lorry" to 4.9 metres, and the route was adapted to avoid some points where the clearance was 4.3 metres, taking a detour through Bradwell and Little Hucklow, instead of along Castleton Road through Hope...

It's definitely not perfect, though. Changing the parameters of the vehicle some more, with the same start and end points, it planned a route through Calver with a very sharp left turn from the A625 to A623, when it looks like there is a better way with two much less sharp left turns.

 

[Ambers Echo]

So it is a bit hit and miss then???
I would not be very happy to be directed up Winnats Pass!!

If anyone already owns a Truck Satnav/Garmin and fancies experimenting to see which way it would suggest you go between Buxton and Parwich that would be very helpful! ........ Save me buying multiple TomToms to try them all out!!

 

[Ambers Echo]

I wonder whteher the problem is there is no way of avoiding small B roads if your destination is ON a small B road??? As lots of horsey destinations are. So the road my instructor lives on is a B road. But you can be on it for a very short way off the A5102 or for a long way off the A515. Maybe once the software accepts the need for that road maybe it does not then choose to limit how long you are on it for?

 

[WelshD]

Picking up on one of your comments I plan routes ahead of time using Google maps, I zoom in and follow the road and where the route looks tricky I drop the little orange man on the map and walk the route on street view. It's not failed me yet and doesn't take as much time as you may think

 

[neddy man]

If you go into a Halfords or a Currys get them to do a demo of your B to P route on the demo sat navs to compare

 

[sjb10]

I am grateful to know about freight planner, wasn't aware there is a free HGV route planner. I put in Buxton and Parwich, and it took me along A515 then via Alsop en le dale. I am guessing the unsuitable direct route is the little road that cuts down from the A515 to the top of Parwich? Mind you, I didn't alter the default which tells it I am driving something 12m long!

I also tried a local(ish) route with tight bends via Kimbolton and it took me a much longer route to avoid those bends.

Perhaps it might be difficult to exclude B roads as generally they are relatively wider etc and more suitable for larger vehicles. But it does seem to make allowances anyway if the vehicle dimensions justify it. Not that I'd necessarily want to take my little lorry down somewhere that it might 'just' fit, so you hae my sympathies. I also tend to use Google streetview like another poster mentioned.

 

[Ambers Echo]

I am grateful to know about freight planner, wasn't aware there is a free HGV route planner. I put in Buxton and Parwich, and it took me along A515 then via Alsop en le dale. I am guessing the unsuitable direct route is the little road that cuts down from the A515 to the top of Parwich? Mind you, I didn't alter the default which tells it I am driving something 12m long!
.

Going via Alsop en le dale is also too narrow. The only good route is via the A5102 and turn at Grange Mill onto the B5056. To be fair to the Freight Planner, looking at the maps does not really show you what these roads are like. The turn at Grange Mill onto the B5056 looks small but isn't. It's a really nice wide road. So the only slightly dodgy bit is the final short stretch into the village.

 

[GeeBee45]

Driving artics around the UK for the last 6 years, I've had three different Sat Navs. The first was a Navman. It was relatively cheap and cheerful and got me to locations without issues. It had a fantastic 7 inch screen which meant that it was easy to see when stuck on a lorry screen, remember the distance to screen will be greater in a wagon than a car. Only ever had one issue with it when going to Greenwich where it refused to accept I could go south through the Blackwall tunnel, instead it wanted to route me round the M25 and come up the M23 etc. Time wise a totally impracticable route, but probably of academic interest in that you're looking into minor roads not necessarily going to 'The Smoke!' As Navman stopped doing updates for the maps the unit got binned eventually.


Next to grace the windscreen was a Garmin Dezi 770LMT-D. Again a 7 inch display, a more compact mount than the Navman. Graphics better and had the ability to change route due to traffic conditions, although for this to work it needs to be paired via Bluetooth to a smart phone. Sounds complicated but in reality easy to do. Worked well, but for £340 (Amazon) at the time it should do. It came with 4 map update per annum and I only stopped using it because I came off the lorries.


Fast forward to this year and I've got a Tom Tom Go Professional 6250, again from Amazon at £378. Screen size is 6", there is a 5" option but I regard this as being too small for lorry use, the detail on the screen becomes hard to see and you shouldn't be looking at the screen, concentrating on the road is a better option! So far there have been no mis-routes and I'm pleased with the purchase. Again the unit attaches via Bluetooth to a smart phone to update routes due to congestion road works etc. It has the advantage of doing updates over a wifi connection, time saving as you don't have to cable connect it to a PC and then open additional download programmes. It has built in speed camera alerts.


Some points to consider whatever unit you're looking at; Go for a larger screen if you can.

- Remember most wagons are 24v electrics, as opposed to cars and 4x4s at 12v. Make sure the power adapter can cope with both, most but not all can. All of the above were dual voltage.

- Don't forget that a sat nav is a computer, if you say that you want 'shortest route' that is what you'll get, even if it appears to be through folks back gardens. If you select 'fastest route' most will stick to wider roads where a greater speed may overcome a longer route. Might be a good plan to use 'avoid toll roads,' but this isn't always practical; Humber Bridge or Dartford Crossing but this may not effect you. There are some routes where tight corners are unavoidable just like some destinations can only be reached via narrow lanes.


- Do look for a unit where you can input vehicle size and weight. All of the above are customisable in this respect. I recall a very 'interesting' journey in a 44 Tonne artic with a 16'3" trailer between Stoke and Uttoxeter. This was done at night (probably better that I couldn't see what was coming) without the aid of a sat nav as I'd left it at home and the Highways England diversion was missing a crucial sign at the end of the detour.

- My personal preference is for one device to do one job. I have tried Co-Pilot on my smart phone and didn't get on with it. But others that I know swear by it, rather than me swearing at it! From memory the truck application is about £120 but they are doing a special offer for around £70, works on IOS or Android. You can get a free download trial version if you want to try it. Might be worth trying on a mobile enabled tablet for a really nice screen size.


Don't think I've left anything out but probably have; oh yes, don't forget you've paid a lot of money for your purchase, keep it out of sight of others when you get to venues, sat nav theft is not uncommon.

 

[Bernster]

Resurrecting slightly zombie thread to see if there are any updates. AE - what did you decide on in the end?

I stuck to good old google maps which has served me fine but am back again looking at sat navs after it sent me down a width restricted road so I had to reverse back out! First time I've had an issue in the 4.5t but it has worried me now.

Am finding the info and reviews bemusing. Snooper seems to be described as the only one with 'specific routing' i.e. to suit the dimensions of your vehicle, but that seems bonkers as what on earth are the other truck sat navs doing?!

http://techeffect.co.uk/transport/best-truck-sat-navs/#best-truck-sat-nav-reviews

A 2019 review puts the new Garmin as better though but in both the Tom Tom Pro gets good reviews.

https://www.satnavdebate.co.uk/best-selling-truck-hgv-campervan-sat-nav-united-kingdom/

 

[Ambers Echo]

I stuck with google maps in the end and plot out my route carefully before going anywhere. I could not decide because all the Satnavs seemed to have quite a lot of dodgy reviews but I have not looked recently. I'll have a look at those links Bernster because I do really want one!

 

[luckyoldme]

As i say im using the tom tom pro. Ive got a 15'6" trailer and the tom tom has never let me down. Ive been using it a year.it probably does a lot more than i know how to work but everyone i know that has them swears by them.