Satnavs - do people still use stand-alone?!

[Mick Jordan]

Unless you've got a 7inch phone (not much room for much else in your trousers when you put that in the pocket!), you won't beat a Nozatec truck Sat nav for everything you need a SatNav/reversing camera for - disconnect when arrive, stick it in hidie place/take it with you (use as a pedestrian), what's not to like?

 

[Wildman]

I don't have data enabled on my phone still use a tomtom go 920. I would not be without it.

 

[raynipper]

I have now got used to the built in sat nav in our Tiguan. But it's very costly to update and even then it's still last years mapping with no radar warnings. For less money and more accuracy we keep a small 4.3" Garmin up beside the sun visor for accurate speed and radar warnings.
I do have a couple of TomTom units updated to 2018 mapping but somehow still prefer the Garmin.

Ray.

 

[PatJ]

Well you are lucky, mine stops when my other half falls asleep.

That's a SatNag you are talking about!

 

[PatJ]

So what is the best one for campers? I thought this would be brought into the conversation!

 

[nabsim]

So what is the best one for campers? I thought this would be brought into the conversation!

A lot comes down to personal preference from what I can tell. Any new system is strange until you get used to it so unless it is what you had before there is a learning curve. I prefer the bigger screen and easier reading of the dedicated sat nabs but saying that the Aguri is using an android tablet operating system.

They should all get you where you want to go

 

[roamingman]

Yes I do still use stand alone.

 

[Terryww]

Yes, I still use a standalone Tom Tom but always carry a good road map as well to check an unfamiliar route as it sometimes wants to send me down single track lanes to cut a few miles off A or B roads! I use the quickest setting (not shortest) but it doesn't understand that going a few miles longer at 50/60 mph is much quicker than 10mph or less on a narrow twisty lane. That said I wouldn't be without it, especially the advance indication you get of positioning for the correct exit at complicated junctions, large busy roundabouts etc and the easy route finding at night. The enjoyment I get in "reading" maps though means I'll never dispense with paper maps as they give you a sense of your route and position in the wider surrounding country which satnavs don't.

 

[roamingman]

Yes, I still use a standalone Tom Tom but always carry a good road map as well to check an unfamiliar route as it sometimes wants to send me down single track lanes to cut a few miles off A or B roads! I use the quickest setting (not shortest) but it doesn't understand that going a few miles longer at 50/60 mph is much quicker than 10mph or less on a narrow twisty lane. That said I wouldn't be without it, especially the advance indication you get of positioning for the correct exit at complicated junctions, large busy roundabouts etc and the easy route finding at night. The enjoyment I get in "reading" maps though means I'll never dispense with paper maps as they give you a sense of your route and position in the wider surrounding country which satnavs don't.

I should have said I use road maps as well, still got all my maps from years ago, when being HGV driver 38 years ago back then never had sat navs.

 

[Trotter]

That's a SatNag you are talking about!

Someone's cruisin' for a bruisin'.

 

[Trotter]

Sat Nav question.
There's 2 ways of going somewhere. The first takes you along A roads, getting you to your destination in a good mood, fresh 'n ready to enjoy your day, setting up the van or whatever. The second takes you along narrow , unclassified lanes, some with passing places, most without. Arriving , just wanting to curl up and sob, or go back home.

Why does mine always take me the second?
Is it the evil gremlins again.

 

[Pedalman]

Yep .be lost without it

Yes I use a stand alone SatNav GPS too. I don't seem to have any pigeon DNA in my body, my SatNav paid for itself very quickly in diesel saving !

 

[Nicnaen]

I use a TomTom camper, downloaded onto my TomTom I already had for my car. The primary reason for both the car and the van is that i have lifetime cameras and while I try to abide by speed limits I did get to up to 9 points many years ago - been 'clean' for 7 years now. Additionally I find the screen easier than my phone screen.

 

[wakk44]

I’ve tried using smartphones ( both android and iOS) as a satnav but find they are slow and clumsy. I much prefer a dedicated unit, we have a Garmin Dezl 770
In my last car I had a built in sat nav but even when it was updated, the mapping was still out of date and many new roads simply didn’t show up.
I also tried using a smartphone for gps navigation when walking but it was pretty useless just when it was needed most, so bought a dedicated hiking gps.
The phones great for making phone calls though.......

Don't know what smartphone you are using but I'm using a S9 running tomtom mobile and it's lightening fast.Very quick at loading routes,searching and re routing.I don't use a smartphone instead of a dedicated satnav to save money,I just think it's the best system available for my requirements.

 

[Peter51]

I use a tom tom which sticks to the windscreen but have never fathomed out how to update the POI's, Phil kindly helped me put them in a couple of years ago! Tech remains a profound mystery to me! Duh

 

[BlaenafonTours]

I have a theory, slightly old school but here it is. One tool for one job. Phone for communication, satnav for navigation. This stems from several incidents where a phone call interrupts navigation at a vital time (how do they know?) and trying to sort an unplanned route with no internet. My iPhone links to my Tom Tom for audio messages but to my stereo for hands free answering.

 

[Oasis]

Yes, we do

 

[Ellendale]

We do too! We use the Snooper SatNav that has the Caravan Club software and is excellent in remembering height/weight/width etc and after 3 years has - so far - not taken us down stupid tracks and over underweight/height bridges!

 

[wakk44]

I have a theory, slightly old school but here it is. One tool for one job. Phone for communication, satnav for navigation. This stems from several incidents where a phone call interrupts navigation at a vital time (how do they know?) and trying to sort an unplanned route with no internet. My iPhone links to my Tom Tom for audio messages but to my stereo for hands free answering.

All the tomtom mobile maps are stored on the phone so no internet connection is required.You do need a fair bit of storage space on your phone but it's possible to just download the country you need.I've got a 64Gb Sd card in my phone so have put the whole of Europe on it.

 

[Ellendale]

All the tomtom mobile maps are stored on the phone so no internet connection is required.You do need a fair bit of storage space on your phone but it's possible to just download the country you need.I've got a 64Gb Sd card in my phone so have put the whole of Europe on it.

The problem I have with using the phone is that I can barely see the screen when it's in me hand in front of me - put it on the dash and it's just a blurr - even if I use me readers or me drivers I have a problem. However the large screen Snooper is perfectly viewable and has a clearer sound. Each unto their own........