Hey folks im a fairly new trucker and im very much sat nav dependent I have 2 hgv sat navs and a powerful external charger incase the sat nav breaks or the 12/24V charger packs up or doesnt work I do have a hgv atlas but I dont use it very much I really want to build up my geographical knowledge so im not so dependent the sat nav has anyone got any tips or things to help me get a better understanding of the uk road network as I would really like to be one of these who can get all over the country without aid… thanks guys
Plan your route first on the atlas, or at the least research the route and memorize it. Have your sat nav set up and plugged in but face it down for if/when you get lost.
I think it would work more for the motorway network though. I tend to be delivering to right out the way places so it doesn’t work too well for me.
I bought a sat nav off ebay a week ago one of those chinese 7" truck ones, got it this morning, had a play about with it, the software installed was iGo Primo Truck version 1.2 with maps from 2011. I’ve updated it to version 2.4 and Q4 2012 maps.
If your not computer savvy then the above is not an easy task to do, but so far so good, I’ve entered a few test routes and it’s pointed out all height/width and weight limits on the routes and in some examples also re-routed around certain local areas just fine.
For 58 quid it is so far an absolute bargain.
You are saving fuel by using a sat-nav, as you get advanced warning of when to turn off, so this gives time to plan the braking and gear changes if in a manual truck.
You are more relaxed as a driver, if the phone goes and you are asked how long to such a place you can tell them straight away as time to the destination will be on the sat-nav.
If low on fuel, you will know how far you can go untill you reach a garage.
Thanks for the posts guys im going to start using my phillips navigator atlas a lot more … and toby1234abc I do agree it does help like that a lot…I just dont want to be reliant on it thats all I would never considered driving without one no matter how good my geographical knowledge was… thanks again guys appreciate the posts
The sat nav I bought above had a little test today, using routes I know have restrictions for width, weight and height and warned me about every single one of them before I had even set off.
hey dude 
I think that you’re “over thinking” the issue. I take your point about the Sat nav and looking at the atlas will speed up knowledge retention, but it will just naturally come in time you tend to remember numbers really, m1, m11, junction numbers and a road numbers. I used to collect from a place in harlow Essex, and I could take you to the door in my sleep! but for the life of me I can’t remember what the firm was called :-/ I had that every friday for 2 months, so I only went there 8 or 9 times.
don’t worry about it and give yourself a headache, it will come naturally in time, and it don’t take long! looking it up on the map will speed it up, but even totally relying on the sat nav it will just fall into place hth
Most days i set my sat nav but rarely do i take any notice of it until I’m near my destination or if there’s traffic on my route…
Also i think it helped that I was one of those drivers that had a box full of a-z and red books that had to be carted about from truck to truck
Just give it time and you will start to get to places and realise you didn’t look or take any notice of your sat nav,
You might find that writing the road numbers/names down and glancing at them instead of using satnav will help memorise them, this method saved me having a couple of maps open while on the move.
lol
I remember those days and I don’t miss em one bit! its so much easier with sat nav and you can get them for peanuts nowadays.
I had an entire holdall chock a block full of a to z’s. weighed about 50k’s bloody ridiculous! it was ok when you knew where you were going, but on agency I had to cart the whole lot around with me 
it took bloody ages to sort the route on multi drop, then you’ve got the legal issues of trying to balance the book on the steering wheel while squinting at road signs! the good old days
now I only carry an atlas for emergencies, and that’s not a truck type, just a cheapo 2 quid garage job. don’t think I’ve ever used it! mind you I don’t use the sat nav either, get the same runs every night, when you’ve been a few times auto pilot kicks in.
I wouldn’t want to go back to paper maps, I love sat nav! I’m lazy! 
I know im waking up an older post just thought I’d offer my penny’s worth…
I always use my sat nag (yes I said sat nag its worse than my bloody wife to be, always thinks its right and telling me what to do ) with caution and also check in my idiots guide ( road atlas with bridge heights in it) just to make sure when I go places I haven’t been before has helped me pick up things quicker, But note even using both can still lead you down the wrong road.
For example both the sat nag and the idiots guide said I wouldn’t have a problem getting to lenham with a 15"6 trailer till I found that the bridge at lenham had been dropped to 15"3 1/2 a mile from where I wanted to be
Didn’t know that bridge on the A20 had been dropped to 15’3" … Mind you, haven’t been down that way for a while 
samstone90:
anyone got any tips or things to help me get a better understanding of the uk road network as I would really like to be one of these who can get all over the country without aid… thanks guys
yep, get a truckers atlas and turn the fekkin sat nav off!
seriously! I ONLY use my satnav (a standard tomtom) to get me the last mile or 2 from the main road to destination… its not a fancy truckers one, just a bog standard tomtom!
use the map and a piece of paper to plan the route and write it down, stick it to the dash and off you go! when you know your within a mile or 2 of the destination, fire up the satnav! Simples!
B…