Truck specific satnavs

[Snapper7]

Any truckers able to offer some advice on what is the best satnav that I could use in conjunction with driving a class one artic? New to the job and don't want to embarrass myself starting out by driving miles only to find I can't get stuck under a bridge, jammed in a tight dead end or face another embarrassing situation.....

All advice welcome especially the pros and cons on various suggestions...

Edited by Snapper7 on Monday 3rd November 23:04

[scanner102]

You have a number of different options when it comes to sat navs:

Cheap one off eBay for approximately £50. Based on WinCE tablet, does just the job but it basic, not the quickest and you don't get traffic updates. I've had one for 2 years now and got on well with it.

Tomtom Pro Truck 5150: Approx £200 but all singing all dancing Tomtom. Just the same as a normal Live Tomtom with the traffic etc. but you can put the dimensions in etc. Very good bit of kit but pricey.

Snooper. Considered by many as the "go to" company when it comes to satnavs. I think the top of the range one is now the 8000, comes with Freeview TV as well as being a sat nav. Good points: brilliant as it is specific, good back up as you ring them up and they tend to take it back, fix it (or swap it) and send it back. Bad points: Expensive. My brother has had a smaller Snooper for a few years, no longer needs it and has been able to sell it on for good money as well.

Hope this helps a little!

[grumpy52]

I have been using the cheapest Chinese ones from flea bay, now down to about £35 delivered.
Basic but work ok , easy to set up , length , height, width, weight and axles, even haz loads .
I seem to kill them regularly so only buy cheapy's ( they don't survive being dropped from the cab )

[Graham]

grumpy52 said:

I have been using the cheapest Chinese ones from flea bay, now down to about £35 delivered.
Basic but work ok , easy to set up , length , height, width, weight and axles, even haz loads .
I seem to kill them regularly so only buy cheapy's ( they don't survive being dropped from the cab )

bliney just looked at those. very cheap, what are the maps like ?

[scanner102]

Graham said:

bliney just looked at those. very cheap, what are the maps like ?

They are OK, not the greatest and they are not that easy to update. You have to log onto the server in god-knows-where and then download the files, then extract them and then add them to the device. If you are savvy with a computer then it shouldn't be too hard, but took me a couple of attempts!

Map quality is not great but does the job. I cannot think of the name of the old sat navs that they look like, but I am sure someone will comment on here who they are.

[Snapper7]

I would rather spend a bit of money and get a decent bit of kit especially if it is going to be used as an everyday bit of essential bit of kit.

I am guessing g it's a choice between Snooper, TomTom and Garmin from what I can see.

Anyone got any experience of which is the best system?

[cossy400]

Snapper7 said:

I would rather spend a bit of money and get a decent bit of kit especially if it is going to be used as an everyday bit of essential bit of kit.

I am guessing g it's a choice between Snooper, TomTom and Garmin from what I can see.

Anyone got any experience of which is the best system?

Ive had the bottom of the range Snooper for 2 yrs, Never sent me wrong, althou you must always look at ht e route it given you as it not always the best.

Ill not preach to you about relying solely on a sat nav.

Philips navigator is the map ive got thou.

[grumpy52]

Every sat nav ever made at some stage will take you off the motorway round the roundabout and back on the motorway ! Why ?

[reckless st]

learn to read MAPS first i,ve done many years on the road and believe any sat nav will f*ck you up it may not be major but then it may be serious i,ve got a snooper and it has tryed to f*ck me but always check on a decent map

[cossy400]

reckless st said:

learn to read MAPS first i,ve done many years on the road and believe any sat nav will f*ck you up it may not be major but then it may be serious i,ve got a snooper and it has tryed to f*ck me but always check on a decent map

Ive got snooper but like yourself never go anywhere with out checking the map.

I find it loves motorways rather a decent A road.

[grumpy52]

It also helps if the address you are given is correct , unlike many of the ones I am given , a smart phone and a truck map are useful .

[bigfatnick]

scanner102 said:

Tomtom Pro Truck 5150: Approx £200 but all singing all dancing Tomtom. Just the same as a normal Live Tomtom with the traffic etc. but you can put the dimensions in etc. Very good bit of kit

after reading all the reviews i bought one of these. they are good. but irritatingly not as good as the google one on my phone, if only the google one was truck specific it would be all you ever need. the main issues i have with the tomtom are that it tries to be too user friendly, everything is a little vague,it shows you an overviewof your route at the start, but doesnt give any details on themap, just a sqiggle across the country, as such it can be tricky to check its going the way you want it to. it tries to keep you on main roadsso willl sometimes route you through a town, when it could send you round the b roads past said town (the seaside town of cromer is a particular nightmare for this) and if you try get an alternative route, unless you imput a waypoint, it gives you a st route, every time.

that said, it always gets you there,has never wedged me down a farm track i wasnt supposed to get wedged down and has never taken me under a low bridge or over a weak one, and i think thats the most important thing when you are new (as i was this time last year), its initial route is usually very good. i would reccomend one (and have - to a mate who was starting out). its just a shame the google one is so good. lets lobby them to do a trucknav. i'd pay for one!

[bigfatnick]

also, as said above, a smart phone (to check addresses) and a decent truck atlas help no end. try get the same map as the lads at your work, then they can tell you page and grid ref to where you need to be.we all have the same phillips one at my place. think its 17quid at smiths. i always mark everywhere ive been with an x and a name. helps my memory no end!