Read a few posts on this forum about satnav’s but I still don’t have a clue which of the current offerings would seem to be the best option for HGV divers.
I have just passed my cat C and about to do my cat C+E and then I will be thrown in the deep end. I would guess that I will have to start out with agency work driving to unfamiliar locations and and in different sizes of vehicle so i want get used to any one size if vehicle. I want to keep my days as uncomplicated as possible.
So I am looking for a very good Hgv specific satnav that will help me avoid all the problems Hgv drivers face…
It seems to be a choice of Snooper, TomTom or Garmin for HGV’ing… But I am struggling to work out which is best for the job. I am not after the cheapest option as the misses and I already have a car TomToms (which had been temperamental, the batteries don’t last and never hold there charges) and a Garmin motorcycle satnav which has been good…
What would you guy recommend as the unit with the best hgv mapping, hazard and problem avoidance, that is an easy to use, reliable bit of kit that will take your vehicle weight and size into concideration■■?
The simple answer is they all work well, until they don’t. I’m currently using the Tom tom 5150 truckmate, it’s simple to use, let’s you set it up to various vehicle sizes and gives updates on traffic problems and re routes if you want. I go all over the country & a little bit of Europe & I’ve not had a problem with it, yet.
I believe the snooper will do the same & give you tv & dab radio if that’s your thing. Then it just come down to what you’re willing to pay. Never used a garmin so no idea.
Its the driver not the sat nav that gets you into trouble. Look at road signs. If a turning or what its turning you into looks tight. DONT. Look for clues like is it a bus route or are the leaves on trees carved out where hgvs have been. If in doubt stop an walk or ask.
m_attt:
Its the driver not the sat nav that gets you into trouble. Look at road signs. If a turning or what its turning you into looks tight. DONT. Look for clues like is it a bus route or are the leaves on trees carved out where hgvs have been. If in doubt stop an walk or ask.
Also looking to avoid driving miles down a country road only to find there a bridge I can’t cross due to weight limits or height restrictions ect, but the first clue is 500 yards before the bridge forcing you to reverse long distances and then have to take 10 mile reroutes…
Thruxton . I have the Snooper S8000.Expensive but worth it.
It does all the sizes of your vehicle.
I can enter up to 16 delivery locations.
Bluetooth handsfree which pairs up a mobile phone so you speak in to the sat nav.
Freeview TV. Ideal for nights out watching films.
Adr routing.Adr tunnels and bridges.
Most motorway service stations sell Snoopers in a Phonebitz franchise.I got £40 off the sat nav.
It is very robust and designed for drivers.
Strong wires and attachments.
Chesterfield truckstop off J 29 MI are selling them for a good price on discount.
Don’t use a car sat nav in a truck.If the road gets shut and you are diverted you may hit a bridge or get stuck with the cast from the film “Deliverance”.
m_attt:
Its the driver not the sat nav that gets you into trouble. Look at road signs. If a turning or what its turning you into looks tight. DONT. Look for clues like is it a bus route or are the leaves on trees carved out where hgvs have been. If in doubt stop an walk or ask.
Also looking to avoid driving miles down a country road only to find there a bridge I can’t cross due to weight limits or height restrictions ect, but the first clue is 500 yards before the bridge forcing you to reverse long distances and then have to take 10 mile reroutes…
That’s why you use a truck sat nav! They don’t take you down those places as long as you input the correct weights & dimensions of the vehicle you’re driving.
Personally I think these “HGV” sat navs are massively overrated,a car sat nav combined with a pair of eyes has seen me through 10 years of HGV driving.
BillyHunt:
The simple answer is they all work well, until they don’t. I’m currently using the Tom tom 5150 truckmate, it’s simple to use, let’s you set it up to various vehicle sizes and gives updates on traffic problems and re routes if you want. I go all over the country & a little bit of Europe & I’ve not had a problem with it, yet.
I believe the snooper will do the same & give you tv & dab radio if that’s your thing. Then it just come down to what you’re willing to pay. Never used a garmin so no idea.
Same here, not much between them but I would always carry my Philips truck atlas and the odd local map like Shropshire as I often get deliveries to god forsaken parts of that county that time forgot (and sat navs), I am fine anywhere else
Google maps are a good resource to use if you have a signal, but a book doesn’t need a signal and is the ultimate back up.
toby1234abc:
Thruxton . I have the Snooper S8000.Expensive but worth it.
It does all the sizes of your vehicle.
I can enter up to 16 delivery locations.
Bluetooth handsfree which pairs up a mobile phone so you speak in to the sat nav.
Freeview TV. Ideal for nights out watching films.
Adr routing.Adr tunnels and bridges.
Most motorway service stations sell Snoopers in a Phonebitz franchise.I got £40 off the sat nav.
It is very robust and designed for drivers.
Strong wires and attachments.
Chesterfield truckstop off J 29 MI are selling them for a good price on discount.
Don’t use a car sat nav in a truck.If the road gets shut and you are diverted you may hit a bridge or get stuck with the cast from the film “Deliverance”.
Ive just got this and its bang on,got it off the back page of truck and driver ,its from a firm called capital stores,its a bit expensive but comes with lifetime road updates so when youve got it youre sorted,i really cant find a fault with it,easy to use aswell
the cheap ebay ones are good, but… tend to wanna take you off the motorway sometimes to bring u back on and have let me down once or twice trying to take me down cycle paths resulting in a 15 mile round trip to get to where i wanted to be, but no more than a tom tom or snooper has, so id say go with one, only 43 quid with lifetime updates, and the updates are the tom tom maps
toby1234abc:
Don’t use a car sat nav in a truck.If the road gets shut and you are diverted you may hit a bridge…
They have invented things called signs that warn you of low bridges saves them getting rammed by Hgvs being driven by sat navs.
And to help us more they announced today that the signs are all going to be metric and imperial…lets just hope they put the signs for bridges and weight limits in more sensible locations where your not already committed or behind a hedge.
Hi
I’m using tomtom pro 5150 and I have to drive to new locations in London and south east,
It’s getting me to all new locations and especially avoiding low bridges and with barriers.
However if it’s given a choice between slightly longer but HGV friendly route, and a short narrow and slow one it will suggest the latter.
good sat nav but must be used with a truck map.
good luck
