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  Hi i need some help we are new to caravaning and i would like to know what the best sat nav would be to use when towing my caravan. i dont like the idea of my nav man f20 taking me down a dirt track that i wont be able to turn round.Any advise would be recieved with thanks.

This is a common problem that is discussed on a truck forum I am a member of.

Firstly you're navman will be fine, just don't follow it blindly.  Just remember, all a sat nav is is an electronic map with "suggested" directions.  Get yourself a decent paper road map and compare the suggested route with what the sat nav is telling you.

The most important piece of equipment you can use is the MK1 eyeball.  If you don't think you will get down a road that the sat nav is telling you to go.............then you are right...don't go down it.  Park up, get your paper map out and recalculate your route.

Follow this advice and you will be fine. (I used to drive artics with a very ancient tom tom and had no problems)

Failing that there are now sat navs out designed especially for trucks but they are still very expensive

We're currently looking at the new tomtom IQ's which are out, I like the lane guidence on them as we're fairly new to caravanning and advance help for things like that would be good. But I must admit, I don't think I'd every totally trust one on 'wee' roads and agree with kernowbusman above, keep a map in the car just in case.

Nicky

There is a satnav that says it is for caravans advertised in the CC magazine. It is very expensive and I doubt that it would work anyway.

Golden rule is never turn down a road that looks narrow!!!!!!!!!

I agree with a lot of what has been said above. On the basis that a huge percentage of the overall journey from home to site is either Motorway, A-Road, dual carraigeway or decent B-Roads, you only really need the Satnav for the last few miles and having arrived, for pottering around solo whilst on holiday. For these last few miles, the campsite owners should be able to give you very precise directions about the approach to their site including, most importantly, which roads to avoid!

A good quality map should stand you in good stead.

We used to have a Garmin but I sold it when it took us down a daft "short-cut" Cearsws in Wales that left us high and dry on a tiny narrow lane with a 160 degree left hand bend all to save no more than a 100yds or so.

the Value for money is in Tom Tom. I got a 910 last year nd its only c*cked up once. It got us out of a hellish situation in Nantes easily and never missed a beat even on the country roads of Wales and the West Country.

Sat Navs ( good ones) are a blessing if you use them with common sense and a glance at a map from time to time. They are invaluable on the continent where you may be less used to the roa lay-outs.

As I said for under £200 my money is on the TomTom 910. 

i dont trust any of them.if i had listened to the tom tom going to cc site at whitby id have done a sharp right onto a single track road with a couple of 1 in 3 gradients and  a ford across the road......that would have been fum with the van on !!!

it even stated not suitable for caravans or hgv`s at the end of the road.

it was fun however doing it solo over the weekend !!!!!

'....it took us down a daft "short-cut" Cearsws in Wales that left us high and dry on a tiny narrow lane with a 160 degree left hand bend all to save no more than a 100yds or so.'

Satnavs don't take anyone anywhere.  They are all useless without a modicum of common sense.  They don't know you have a caravan on the back, but can be set to favour 'A' roads. 

Our satnav has been fine when we drove down to Narbonne last year buit like all satnavs was flummoxed by roads being closed because of the tour de france going through the town.  Are you going to bin the tom tom when you next drive down a country road?

Brian

Quote: Originally posted by brianconwy on 07/7/2009

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'....it took us down a daft "short-cut" Cearsws in Wales that left us high and dry on a tiny narrow lane with a 160 degree left hand bend all to save no more than a 100yds or so.'

Satnavs don't take anyone anywhere.  They are all useless without a modicum of common sense.  They don't know you have a caravan on the back, but can be set to favour 'A' roads. 

Our satnav has been fine when we drove down to Narbonne last year buit like all satnavs was flummoxed by roads being closed because of the tour de france going through the town.  Are you going to bin the tom tom when you next drive down a country road?

Brian

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Sorry if I sounded impolite, but the notion that some makes of satnavs lure people down traps whilst other makes avoid them is what your post seemed to be implying..  They all rely on mapping and algorithms and all may use minor roads, unless set to avoid them. If newer ones have been developed specifically for trucks etc then they will have an advantage for caravans. 

Brian

The point I was trying to make was that used correctly Sat Navs are a useful tool. Used in conjunction with a good dose of common sense and a road map they are great. I admit that some people ask too much of them and expect them to be in fallible and there lies the problem.

I travel to europe towng once a year so I rely on a Sat-Nav to give me an advance clue as to the upcoming road lay-out which I find takes the stress out of busy motorway junctions and by-passes when I am sat on the "wrong" side of the car.

Before I set off though I have had a good look at the map to familiarise myself with the route.

If you dont like Sat-Navs thats fine. I find them useful and a valuable safety aid. Each to thier own.

Quote: Originally posted by Bodgeit`n`bash*t on 08/7/2009

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The point I was trying to make was that used correctly Sat Navs are a useful tool. Used in conjunction with a good dose of common sense and a road map they are great. I admit that some people ask too much of them and expect them to be in fallible and there lies the problem.

I travel to europe towng once a year so I rely on a Sat-Nav to give me an advance clue as to the upcoming road lay-out which I find takes the stress out of busy motorway junctions and by-passes when I am sat on the "wrong" side of the car.

Before I set off though I have had a good look at the map to familiarise myself with the route.

If you dont like Sat-Navs thats fine. I find them useful and a valuable safety aid. Each to thier own.

 

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totally agree, the sat nav relies on mapped roads and whether they are A,B or unclassified roads, its not the satnavs fault if a road is classified as a B road and its single track its the mapping companies fault.

We have a strange country where we have very old roads that are still mapped but don't exist! some hang up from the war i think! to confuse the germans!

As mentioned just use common sense, tomtom is best by far, I've tried different ones on my travels, but if the sign says M6 this way dont go the other way just because the satnav tells you too, also if your towing and cannot afford mistakes do as mentioned and check the calculated route on a map first.

The best thing I find on my business travels in busy cities etc is that i know which lane to be in way before any signposts.

digisatman, sorry I couldn't get your link to work. Do you just download the software to the satnav (tomtom), select eg lorry and then it will realise not to send you down wee, daft roads? Sorry to sound a thicky!

Nicky