tango boy:
No sat nav no work
lol girl 
switchlogic:
Bamblemash:
I’m quite new to the industry and I have to say that the £300 sat nav I purchased is well worth the money and time it has saved me.. I have an old fashioned map for back up (dated 2016) and my only panic is that the cigar lighter becomes inop and the batt dies on the nav. The last thing I want to do is turn up late for deliveries/collections because of the time it takes to navigate using the map- I also find it difficult to stop (anywhere) in London just to check what turning I need. Of course common sense is needed and nav should not always be relied upon. When this market is so competitive for jobs
I don’t want to be the driver that keeps running late or gets lost.
Have you a smartphone? Use that. In my opinion Google maps on my phone is way better than any dedicated satnav these days. Don’t even need addresses just pop company name and town in and off you go.
Not every company is listed on Google Maps.
burnley-si:
tango boy:
No sat nav no worklol girl
I don’t have a sat nav 
Radar19:
switchlogic:
Bamblemash:
I’m quite new to the industry and I have to say that the £300 sat nav I purchased is well worth the money and time it has saved me.Have you a smartphone? Use that. In my opinion Google maps on my phone is way better than any dedicated satnav these days. Don’t even need addresses just pop company name and town in and off you go.
Not every company is listed on Google Maps.
Took 3 weeks for Virginias new depot to appear. As soon as it’s on postcode map it’s on Google, sooner if company itself adds it
Bamblemash:
Tis true Luke and you make a fair point however my whispers Iphone4 is too unreliable and I would now like to purchase a classic Nokia. I think I spend too much time looking at the phone rather than engaging with humans.
Yes I get your point. I spend way too much time looking at my phone
Bamblemash:
The last thing I want to do is turn up late for deliveries/collections because of the time it takes to navigate using the map- I also find it difficult to stop (anywhere) in London just to check what turning I need. Of course common sense is needed and nav should not always be relied upon. When this market is so competitive for jobs
Best ask for an auto transmission too in case you lose too much time selecting the wrong gears. I heard this past week of a driver refusing to take out a Renault demonstrator tipper because it had no reversing camera.
No wonder any Tom, ■■■■ or Pavol can get a job these days.
Muckaway:
Bamblemash:
The last thing I want to do is turn up late for deliveries/collections because of the time it takes to navigate using the map- I also find it difficult to stop (anywhere) in London just to check what turning I need. Of course common sense is needed and nav should not always be relied upon. When this market is so competitive for jobsBest ask for an auto transmission too in case you lose too much time selecting the wrong gears. I heard this past week of a driver refusing to take out a Renault demonstrator tipper because it had no reversing camera.
No wonder any Tom, ■■■■ or Pavol can get a job these days.
Yep I guess the Renault would have definitely been a big issue!
switchlogic:
Radar19:
switchlogic:
Bamblemash:
I’m quite new to the industry and I have to say that the £300 sat nav I purchased is well worth the money and time it has saved me.Have you a smartphone? Use that. In my opinion Google maps on my phone is way better than any dedicated satnav these days. Don’t even need addresses just pop company name and town in and off you go.
Not every company is listed on Google Maps.
Took 3 weeks for Virginias new depot to appear. As soon as it’s on postcode map it’s on Google, sooner if company itself adds it
My favourites are central London building sites. And it usually gets even better on arrival when you are backed in off a main road on the blind side by a Romanian builder waving his arms about.
Trouble:
Am I the only person who still doesnt use a SatNav, ever?!! Cant stand the ■■■■ things
Nope… but I’m retired. But still reckon they’re a pain.
Tris:
Couldn’t find my sat nav.Although I’m old enough to have driven in the days before Sat Navs I now realise I’m utterly reliant on the bloody thing to guide me into places I don’t know - especially London and other big cities. Before the usual knobs start, I don’t just put a postcode in and go - I use google maps, ring up the delivery point for route advice in certain situations (farms), and input way points - basically programme my route into it.
Got a feeling that even the old timers on here would think “[zb]” if they suddenly had to be without one again?
I’ve done the same thing - making mine own route with pen, paper and trucking atlas, no sat nav. Always used a dispatcher direction to the place or called customer for advise, observing the road signs etc.
I can understand sat nav for London to e certain extend, beyond that no I cant, especially from British drivers with years of experience.
switchlogic:
Radar19:
switchlogic:
Bamblemash:
I’m quite new to the industry and I have to say that the £300 sat nav I purchased is well worth the money and time it has saved me.Have you a smartphone? Use that. In my opinion Google maps on my phone is way better than any dedicated satnav these days. Don’t even need addresses just pop company name and town in and off you go.
Not every company is listed on Google Maps.
Took 3 weeks for Virginias new depot to appear. As soon as it’s on postcode map it’s on Google, sooner if company itself adds it
The little blip will appear if you punch in the postcode but it doesn’t always bring up the business details. Plenty of addresses I get don’t have business details with them.
Dolph:
I can understand sat nav for London to e certain extend, beyond that no I cant, especially from British drivers with years of experience.
There’s the rub. If you’ve only just started, or only have a small amount of experience, what then? I’m only a year in and use maps and the Co-pilot app built into our PDAs. If the PDA goes west (like the time it dropped off the Moffett and got run over…) I use a Satnav app on my phone. It’s not a dedicated app for trucks though, so I always check to see how many lanes it routes me down…
Dolph:
I can understand sat nav for London to e certain extend, beyond that no I cant, especially from British drivers with years of experience.
It all depends what you use it for.
I have a lorry version with live services, so I use mine to see what is the fastest option, including traffic.
It gives alternative routes, so what on the map looks like a small road, might be a good alternative, and opposite, what looks like a good route on maps, might make you loose a lot af time.
I will not blindly follow it, but compare with a paper map before departure.
It is tempting tough, when you have five drops and running out of time, to just punch in the next adres and go.
I did notice, before satnav, once when I had found a place, years later I could still drive to it, while when relying on satnav the first time, you do not remember reference points as well and have to rely more on satnav.
Can i go without one ? Yes,… but I would certainly miss it 
edit: spelling
I realise some guys on multidrop or whatever might argue they don’t have time, but as some others have said pre-trip Google Maps & Streetview research on your phone is the best way & in my opinion the most intelligent modern way to find places. Hell, you can even see what direction you need to approach somewhere in order to be on your good side, use satellite imagery to see where the back yard is at a superstore etc etc. The tools are there in your pocket, why not use them?
I’ll sometimes pop my sat nav on in the background if my destinations a bit tricky, but generally I have found my way around without a sat nav for as long as I can remember now. I just feel 1000x more comfortable knowing exactly where I am going.
bald:
I did notice, before satnav, once when I had found a place, years later I could still drive to it, while when relying on satnav the first time, you do not remember reference points as well and have to rely more on satnav.
That’s the thing about navigating by sat navs isn’t it? The route just doesn’t sink into your brain. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t use sat nav, I find it a useful tool for the last few miles to a new drop, but due to starting in this game a long time ago I can guarantee that I could efficiently navigate with no map or electronic aids between any two towns in Britain. When I get handed my delivery notes I’m mentally visualising the route I’ll take even before getting back in the lorry. The only reason I can do that is because of many years without sat nav. So all in all, an extremely useful tool of the trade, but I’d urge new starters to try switching it off a bit, especially on regular runs. You’ll be surprised just how much more you’ll notice of your surroundings.
rambo19:
3 wheeler:
vikingpete:
Same applies to my flask. Well goosed without it.Flask I can understand …Sat nav, oh well , Hello faithful mind memory and map books !
Agree!
+1,never needed one,as you say a good memory and good map books,
the maoster:
bald:
I did notice, before satnav, once when I had found a place, years later I could still drive to it, while when relying on satnav the first time, you do not remember reference points as well and have to rely more on satnav.So all in all, an extremely useful tool of the trade, but I’d urge new starters to try switching it off a bit, especially on regular runs. You’ll be surprised just how much more you’ll notice of your surroundings.
Are you joking? Some would crap themselves if they had to go as far as out of the yard without their sat nav.
I know one young driver who actually carries a spare
robroy:
the maoster:
bald:
I did notice, before satnav, once when I had found a place, years later I could still drive to it, while when relying on satnav the first time, you do not remember reference points as well and have to rely more on satnav.So all in all, an extremely useful tool of the trade, but I’d urge new starters to try switching it off a bit, especially on regular runs. You’ll be surprised just how much more you’ll notice of your surroundings.
Are you joking? Some would crap themselves if they had to go as far as out of the yard without their sat nav.
I know one young driver who actually carries a spare
robroy:
I know one young driver who actually carries a spare
Think I posted here once about a driver at our place who did his last drop in Somerset, phoned the TO for instructions and was told they were bringing him a change over down with five drops Cornwall. He refused this saying he had to come straight back as his sat nav had packed up! He then took two days off until his two (one as a spare) sat navs were delivered! He still works here!
the maoster:
robroy:
I know one young driver who actually carries a spareThink I posted here once about a driver at our place who did his last drop in Somerset, phoned the TO for instructions and was told they were bringing him a change over down with five drops Cornwall. He refused this saying he had to come straight back as his sat nav had packed up! He then took two days off until his two (one as a spare) sat navs were delivered! He still works here!
Mate…nothing surprises me anymore in this job.