since the last time i was on (as a newbie) i have applied for my starter pack from J Coates and eagrly await its arrival to start the ball rolling. They have included a CPC part and i am a little unsure of what that entails, i have read a little about it but it seems unclear on why it is required, hoped somebody could throw a little info my way.
While im on im pleased to say that i have been upgraded in van from a fiat scudo to a larger long wheel base, although and this is a big although, i suffered a satnav failure, malfunction, brain ■■■■ whatever you want to call it. I had to deliver to southampton in the wyre forest (i think it was) my satnav A-didnt pick up on the M3 change to the M27 and B-sent me down a lane for 6.5 miles resulting in me being unable to turn and go back . But not all bad it made me want to raise the question (and feel free to laugh) is there a satnav designed purely for large goods vehicles detailing low bridges or weak roads etc.
now im not a lazy guy and would never want all the work done for me, but as im a standard tomtom owner in the car/van world if and when i pass my cat c1 it would be nice to know i could rest easy that i could avoid that low bridge!!
Hi - There are quite a few threads on here about TomTom for trucks, in fact there is a very recent one in the prof drivers forum.
In my opinion, the only way you can ‘rest easy’ is if you’ve checked the route suggested by your satnav against a bridge height map. Even then, you still need to be alert. I once went down a road knowing that I had a few inches clearance on an expected bridge, only to find a solitary roadworks sign (which I almost missed) saying that due to re-surfacing, the bridge clearance was lower. Unfortunately, the bit of the sign that gave the new height had blown off I had to do the ‘head sticking out of the window creeping under manouvre’ and then also had to lower the trailer suspension to get under as, typically, the sign was at the point of no return
So much good luck to you man…once you start working hgv…lol…you get no second chances…lol…look ahead…look ahead…look ahead…these words i know now to be so true lol…good luck friend and just relax lol (and dont depend on sat navs!)
I’m pretty new to the game and have already learnt for sure that sat navs should only be used as guidance, and you should be sceptical about every move it asks you to make. There have been many occasions where my sat nav has tried taking me on short cuts through residential areas, over weak bridges, down bus only routes in town centres etc etc. On one occasion it tried directing me into the entrance of a multi-story carpark.
I do multi-drop work for a retailer and after a few near disasters and frustrating days caused by my sat nav, now try and make sure I know exactly where I am going and what to look out for before I go. I asked my boss for a list of all the stores that I am likely to be delivering to and spent a few hours on Google Maps finding where they were, and using StreetView to find the delivery access. Finding the store is one thing, but finding the loading bay is a whole other story a lot of the time, especially with high street stores.
Serious now matey, i run a tom tom (200 quid) and i downloaded a map colour scheme foc. This scheme runs as a map book will, you know blue for motorways etc. Flick this on 2d and you can see where you need to go with your artic nevermind where tomtom says. Its sounds so simple but it has really worked for me. I’m not paying 600 quid for a snoop, even if it has tv…i like zzzzzzzzzzz’s in my break
i’v only ever used one of these a couple of times , not mine tho i dont own one , and i just dont trust them not even as an aid . we have several drivers using them at work and the rest use maps and pencils . the ones using satnav are the ones getting lost and unsure if they are where satnav says they are .
several people have visited my house recently using satnav and without exception they cant get to my house , there are only six houses on my block all with the same postcode but none of them has managed to get here , the closest they get is 300 yards away in a street not connected in any way to my postcode even though all of them drove past the front of my house to get too where they ended up , baffles the hell out of me … . they are not for me i’m afraid i’ll stick with my map thankyou.
it seems to me you loose the ability to think about where you are going and to make a plan with satnav , i think you become too reliant on them and you dont pay attention to whats going on in front of you . if they work for you then fine but they aint for me and until they get better i’ll stick with my maps
p.s … i’v never been good with technology stuff anyway so that wont help …
al_P:
after my run in manchester the other day i stopped using the satnav and bought myself a phillips truck atlas and its bl00dy fantastic
That’s the one I’ve got and I must admit I’ve been a little dissapointed in it a few times when my route’s looked good but I’ve come to a weight restriction that wasn’t on the map. Having said that, I’ve near enough stopped using my satnav now I’m getting onto the artic’s because there’s times you just about get away with in a rigid but you’d be stuffed in an artic!
you can get a download for sat nav called low brifges.com havent used it myself as use the sat nav combined with aa truckers atlas sat nav is good but not perfect you still need to use yer head
Always set it to the quickest route if you can. (navman) and if you have a preference, choose it to use motorways more often. It then uses dual carriage ways.
Stay on the A roads until the last moments. On the whole, A roads tend to be clear. If your distance to go is a lot don’t go down B roads.
kentman117:
i always carry a good london and kent map.
only looked at a map 3 times in 3 years.
i use a garmin nuvi 350 i installed low bridges and all the supermarkets
and industry estates works a dream.
So low bridges.com works then does it work show when you scrol throught the route was thinking geting it on mone along with the other restrictions did you load it on an expansion card if so what size
I had to do the ‘head sticking out of the window creeping under manouvre’ and then also had to lower the trailer suspension to get under as, typically, the sign was at the point of no return 
