Just wondering what everybody’s Sat Nav routing is like and if you have encountered any problems with yours sending you out of your way.
I only ask because I wanted to travel from Speke, Liverpool to Hucknall, Notts in an artic and my Garmin Dezl on both fastest and shortest route settings wanted to send me to Leeds on the M62 then M1 south when the quickest and shortest route was M6 J16 A500 - A50 - M1 north.
I’ve set all the correct settings for an artic in mine but just don’t trust it. There’s no weight restrictions or low bridges on this route and is roughly 30 miles shorter.
Thanks.
There’s 5 mins difference and tbh I’d say via Leeds was more HGV friendly due to the stop/start at the roundabouts once you hit the A50 and the M6 roadworks.
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Most truck satnavs try to come up with a Motorway route if there’s a sensible one available. Does it still give the same suggested route if you switch to car mode?
Having said that my TomTom 6000 suggests the M6/A500/A50/M1 route for a 38T artic.
But I don’t think there’s a 30 mile difference, is there? More like 10 miles? I suppose it depends on exactly whereabouts in Speke and Hucknall you are starting and finishing.
I’ve just tried it with car mode and its give me the route that I actually took.
I started out the journey at 6am yesterday morning so I don’t think traffic would have been a problem with it deciding what route to take.
I’m at a loss I just don’t trust it. I’ve got a truckers atlas too to consult.
Roymondo:
Most truck satnavs try to come up with a Motorway route if there’s a sensible one available. Does it still give the same suggested route if you switch to car mode?
Having said that my TomTom 6000 suggests the M6/A500/A50/M1 route for a 38T artic.But I don’t think there’s a 30 mile difference, is there? More like 10 miles? I suppose it depends on exactly whereabouts in Speke and Hucknall you are starting and finishing.
Does it still give the same route if you use it plan the journey now?
Yes it gives the same route.
I’ve updated it with the current software but I’m thinking that it must be faulty software.
Its one of the more expensive sat navs too.
Roymondo:
Does it still give the same route if you use it plan the journey now?
Nothing wrong with it really - It’s just Garmin being Garmin. I did have the opportunity to run one alongside a TomTom for a few days a couple of years ago and wasn’t really impressed with the Garmin routing. Nothing really dodgy about it - in many ways it was simply being almost too cautious for the bulk of the journey. Then for the final mile or two it would have you diving off down some totally unsuitable roads (the drops were to residential properties).
FWIW I put the same journey into the Freight Journey Planner website and it also comes up with the M6/A500/A50/M1 route.
The £40 jobbie I have will if asked throw up countless alternatives if asked
So it sounds like its Garmin`s shocking routing. It looks like I’m going have to cross reference it every time with my truckers atlas.
I’ve been told on a few occasions by other drivers not to blindly follow a sat nav as it can get me into trouble and this is probably one of the reasons why.
Just on another note its not sent me down any low bridge routes or weight limits yet so I suppose that’s a plus.
Thanks for your advice there Raymondo.
Roymondo:
Nothing wrong with it really - It’s just Garmin being Garmin. I did have the opportunity to run one alongside a TomTom for a few days a couple of years ago and wasn’t really impressed with the Garmin routing. Nothing really dodgy about it - in many ways it was simply being almost too cautious for the bulk of the journey. Then for the final mile or two it would have you diving off down some totally unsuitable roads (the drops were to residential properties).FWIW I put the same journey into the Freight Journey Planner website and it also comes up with the M6/A500/A50/M1 route.
I understand what you mean as there are a few roundabouts on that particular route and the M62 being HGV friendly but not really fuel friendly which is what pretty much all companies expect of their drivers nowadays. Looking on google maps it shows roughly 30 miles difference but I suppose that’s just a guide and not 100% accurate. Cheers.
xichrisxi:
There’s 5 mins difference and tbh I’d say via Leeds was more HGV friendly due to the stop/start at the roundabouts once you hit the A50 and the M6 roadworks.
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" I just don’t trust it", MattH, is the correct response.
Sat Navs are good tools to give advice, but they are not there to give you orders.
The times shown for the different routings are projections. They are not “written in stone” facts. Depending on time of day when you set off will you encounter holdups around cities and bottlenecks? Does running roadworks mean there`s more chance of time and fuel costly accidents/delays?
You make a good point about fuel usage. But does your company look at m.p.g. figures alone, or at fuel for a particular job, or at total cost? After all running more miles to use a smoother route can give better mpg but cost more overall in fuel. Add in questions of whether or not youre costing more in brakes tyres etc (R & M or company maintained?) and were into a complicated problem.
I have a Garmin have used 1 for a long time now also used Tomtom although mine like nick2008 is a £40 car 1 I do read the road sign also my map
Remember the sat nav is only an electronic map not set in stone you can change the route if you want or start going the way you eat to the sat nave will re route
Had 1 fitted in a cab I had for 2 weeks while mine was off the road ( long story ) used it once as was going to take me down a road that had a low bridge yep put the hight etc into it used it along side my Garmin which took me the right way in to where I needed to be
I have used a Garmin and trust her absolutely around Towns/Cities doing Class 2 multi-drop (but it has OSM maps on an SD card). I have a phone app truck app on TomTom maps which has failed to find some places like Hotels. When it comes to routing I have found Here maps worth using (albeit car also OSM) and tends to be quicker than the Garmin satnav. Here maps are very clear and one can check for any bridges and then refer to the Trucker’s atlas if in doubt (and/or weight restrictions).
I have found OSM far better than either TomTom or Garmin maps. Never considered a TomTom satnav as they don’t have an SD-card slot (unless recent models have incorporated it). Anyone wanting to use OSM on an sd-card message me and I’ll give you the info. (You don’t wipe the Garmin maps away if you try the sd-card and name the directory carefully).
Franglais:
" I just don’t trust it", MattH, is the correct response.
Sat Navs are good tools to give advice, but they are not there to give you orders.The times shown for the different routings are projections. They are not “written in stone” facts. Depending on time of day when you set off will you encounter holdups around cities and bottlenecks? Does running roadworks mean there`s more chance of time and fuel costly accidents/delays?
You make a good point about fuel usage. But does your company look at m.p.g. figures alone, or at fuel for a particular job, or at total cost? After all running more miles to use a smoother route can give better mpg but cost more overall in fuel. Add in questions of whether or not you
re costing more in brakes tyres etc (R & M or company maintained?) and were into a complicated problem.
The company I work for manages “style” rather than mpg. We are encouraged to take a longer (within reason!) Route which is smoother rather than a stopstart up and down gears route. Not saying thats the, right way to do it but as they pay the fuel and my wages I’m happy doing it their way
I’ve found Copilot pretty good thus far.
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I’d have been happy to have used either the M62 or A50 route, and would have based my judgement on time of day and knowledge of usual bottlenecks but mainly on what the overall traffic search came up with (if your satnav has this facility).
As said the satnav is only there as an advisory, and should never be relied on.
As for ‘traffic’ facilities on satnavs, i seldom program a route in (until very close to the delivery if it’s a new one), instead i run the thing on the general traffic page so able to keep a watch on the whole journey area, a severe delay not actually on your route can have massive effects on your route in short order, programming the route in means you can miss early traffic warnings because your machine won’t register the problem until your programmed route is affected.
Instinct is king with these devices. If the route suggested (I’m mainly on about when you reach towns here) looks a bit ropey, then it usually is.
Sometimes your destination is only 1 mile away and the sat nav will desperately try and make you avoid a 7.5t limit for example, use your loaf and think about it. If the obvious route IS a 7.5t and there are no height problems, USE it. It’s extremely unlikely you will get in trouble with a copper (even IF you were to get stopped which in itself is highly unlikely), and it’s easily arguable that it’s REASONABLE to use the 7.5t road for SAFE ACCESS.
If the alternative looks like you are being taken into a housing estate or down a teraced street, you are simply asking for trouble, double parked cars etc.
Look out for tyre scrub marks to indicate wagons using a particular turn/junction etc. It’s IMPERATIVE in my view that you develop an understanding and an instinct for road layouts.
IF IT DOESN’T ’ FEEL ’ RIGHT, IT USUALLY ISNT 
eagerbeaver:
Look out for tyre scrub marks to indicate wagons using a particular turn/junction etc. It’s IMPERATIVE in my view that you develop an understanding and an instinct for road layouts.IF IT DOESN’T ’ FEEL ’ RIGHT, IT USUALLY ISNT
I had a hair raising run into a new customer in the fens recently, this place literally in the middle of nowhere.
Lots of lorry tyre tracks on the corners, even down onto the single track roads that appeared to be the best choice of a bad bunch of routes in 
, asking at the site it’s the route most use.
Coming out i tried a longer not so obvious route, yes the roads were straighter and slightly wider (still needed both to use the verge if you met a lorry), but the surface was like something seen in the third world, completely destroyed, will use it going in loaded when i go again but at anything above 30mph severe danger of the vehicle developing a pendulum roll when loaded, i didn’t think surfaces like this could be found on open public roads in England.
Incidentally, company fitted lorry satnav favoured the single track just wide enough to fit the lorry on route 
Juddian:
eagerbeaver:
Look out for tyre scrub marks to indicate wagons using a particular turn/junction etc. It’s IMPERATIVE in my view that you develop an understanding and an instinct for road layouts.IF IT DOESN’T ’ FEEL ’ RIGHT, IT USUALLY ISNT
I had a hair raising run into a new customer in the fens recently, this place literally in the middle of nowhere.
Lots of lorry tyre tracks on the corners, even down onto the single track roads that appeared to be the best choice of a bad bunch of routes inComing out i tried a longer not so obvious route, yes the roads were straighter and slightly wider (still needed both to use the verge if you met a lorry), but the surface was like something seen in the third world, completely destroyed, will use it going in loaded when i go again but at anything above 30mph severe danger of the vehicle developing a pendulum roll when loaded, i didn’t think surfaces like this could be found on open public roads in England.
Incidentally, company fitted lorry satnav favoured the single track just wide enough to fit the lorry on route
I’m pretty sure a jedi master of your ilk can find their way around mate
Any knowledge that I have learnt over the past 4 years is from my own experience/foul ups and listening and learning from guys like your good self J.
I know as a new driver a few years ago, it was helpful for me to follow both new AND old drivers to get an understanding of what’s what. Strange how the initial concerns over bridge heights, sat nav routing and ’ getting stuck with nowhere to turn round ’ start to evaporate rather quickly 
This is in my view where developing driving instinct and learning from others is an essential skill for driving heavies.
Dunno Beaver, i’d have been up crap street like any other bugger had i met another lorry on the single tracks bits. luckily being fens you could see a fair way not like our old mate Robroy mincing around the Devon lanes which are usually blind, visions of featuring here in glorious technicolor did cross me mind cos it got to one point i was wondering if the bloody road was going to peter out in a field