Straight to the point ! I’m Looking to start working artics but was curious to know from those with experience. Please can anyone tell me what is the optimal way to planning routes ■■ As currently I’m thinking to use the most recent ‘Truckers A to z’ to write down the key roads/junctions etc and also a truckers satnav just for traffic updates…
Currently been driving a 10.5 metre flat bed, 26t hiab lorry predominantly in the city of London with the occasional trip outside the M25 and have been using Google maps… obviously wouldn’t be audacious and try to drive a artic using Google maps…
Your the 2 nd person lately who’ve said you’d buy a lorry sat nav just for the traffic updates , Why , if your buying a lorry sat Nav then why not use it for what it’s designed to do , you can get the traffic off matrix , radio easy enough
If I didn’t know better I’d think people are frightened to admit they use a sat - nav ,so try to cover themselves by saying they only use one for traffic , which to me is more stupid than not using the sat nav for what it’s designed to do
Straight to the point ! I’m Looking to start working artics but was curious to know from those with experience. Please can anyone tell me what is the optimal way to planning routes ■■ As currently I’m thinking to use the most recent ‘Truckers A to z’ to write down the key roads/junctions etc and also a truckers satnav just for traffic updates…
Currently been driving a 10.5 metre flat bed, 26t hiab lorry predominantly in the city of London with the occasional trip outside the M25 and have been using Google maps… obviously wouldn’t be audacious and try to drive a artic using Google maps…
Your the 2 nd person lately who’ve said you’d buy a lorry sat nav just for the traffic updates , Why , if your buying a lorry sat Nav then why not use it for what it’s designed to do , you can get the traffic off matrix , radio easy enough
If I didn’t know better I’d think people are frightened to admit they use a sat - nav ,so try to cover themselves by saying they only use one for traffic , which to me is more stupid than not using the sat nav for what it’s designed to do
Nah i see his point. I’ve nothysed my satnav for months now but at my old place obviously used it every day. I didn’t ‘need’ it for 99% of the day as I was quite intending going where or close to somewhere I’d been before, but by having it running I could see if its worth avoiding a delay or sticking with it or if a delay is growing or shrinking and I’d get an accurate ETA.
For what it’s worth I occasionally drive fridge rigids for the last 6 years. I’ve managed with directions paperwork from the company and google maps, but mostly my knowledge of roads and towns built up over twenty years driving cars and vans (yes I know not the same) but more importantly reading road signs. Do occasionally get caught out when 2 mile from destination a low bridge sign appears but just pull up and re route myself.
TBH been thinking of investing in Truck atlas or truckman nav in case I get an artic run or for some extra help.
Good luck either way but keep your eyes on the signs as like most here have said sat navs and maps can lie!!!
Straight to the point ! I’m Looking to start working artics but was curious to know from those with experience. Please can anyone tell me what is the optimal way to planning routes ■■ As currently I’m thinking to use the most recent ‘Truckers A to z’ to write down the key roads/junctions etc and also a truckers satnav just for traffic updates…
Currently been driving a 10.5 metre flat bed, 26t hiab lorry predominantly in the city of London with the occasional trip outside the M25 and have been using Google maps… obviously wouldn’t be audacious and try to drive a artic using Google maps…
Your the 2 nd person lately who’ve said you’d buy a lorry sat nav just for the traffic updates , Why , if your buying a lorry sat Nav then why not use it for what it’s designed to do , you can get the traffic off matrix , radio easy enough
If I didn’t know better I’d think people are frightened to admit they use a sat - nav ,so try to cover themselves by saying they only use one for traffic , which to me is more stupid than not using the sat nav for what it’s designed to do
Nah i see his point. I’ve nothysed my satnav for months now but at my old place obviously used it every day. I didn’t ‘need’ it for 99% of the day as I was quite intending going where or close to somewhere I’d been before, but by having it running I could see if its worth avoiding a delay or sticking with it or if a delay is growing or shrinking and I’d get an accurate ETA.
But he’s on about buying a lorry sat nav then just using it for traffic alerts , that makes no sense to me
A decent truck sat nav will set you back £300+ anyway with some of the more expensive ones being like £600.
A weeks wages on a sat nav is a lot.
I haven’t used a truck HGV sat nav in a while but I remember clearly if you are driving in London it will often try to take you stupidly long ways to avoid weight limits. Which is a pain in the ■■■ when the only way to some of your deliveries is though multiple either 7.5t or 18t weight limits.
The sat nav will not know you have permission to takes these roads.
adam277:
A decent truck sat nav will set you back £300+ anyway with some of the more expensive ones being like £600.
A weeks wages on a sat nav is a lot.
I haven’t used a truck HGV sat nav in a while but I remember clearly if you are driving in London it will often try to take you stupidly long ways to avoid weight limits. Which is a pain in the ■■■ when the only way to some of your deliveries is though multiple either 7.5t or 18t weight limits.
The sat nav will not know you have permission to takes these roads.
That’s my point , would you really pay £300-£600 just to get traffic alerts , more money than sense spring to mind
I can understand if you brought one to use as a sat nav then changed job to say a a-b trunk run so then just used it for traffic alerts , tv ( snooper ) though
I used mine all over London ( snooper ) , building sites mainly , and I didn’t notice it going the long way round to be honest
adam277:
A decent truck sat nav will set you back £300+ anyway with some of the more expensive ones being like £600.
A weeks wages on a sat nav is a lot.
I haven’t used a truck HGV sat nav in a while but I remember clearly if you are driving in London it will often try to take you stupidly long ways to avoid weight limits. Which is a pain in the ■■■ when the only way to some of your deliveries is though multiple either 7.5t or 18t weight limits.
The sat nav will not know you have permission to takes these roads.
That’s my point , would you really pay £300-£600 just to get traffic alerts , more money than sense spring to mind
I can understand if you brought one to use as a sat nav then changed job to say a a-b trunk run so then just used it for traffic alerts , tv ( snooper ) though
I used mine all over London ( snooper ) , building sites mainly , and I didn’t notice it going the long way round to be honest
Maybe they are a bit better now.
I’ve had it even with google maps though. Although to be fair I’ve had deliveries in which I have to drive through bus gates/ bus only roads
I have tried using Road Lords which is a free app only available to Android phones (they have confirmed no iOS app available anytime soon). It does ok at best. It has sent me down a couple of roads that I had to turn around and double back because of a low bridge so their mapping data isn’t stable. The app has also frozen on me in the middle of driving and had to be force stopped and re-started. It has become so troublesome and undependable that I stopped using it. Such a shame as it has some really nice features. I recently bought a Carvass 9" HGV GPS (2nd hand for £20! What a deal…he thought!). Turns out Carvass GPS systems are spoofed Chinese knockoffs so they won’t update my mapping and it’s 3 years old now. I use Google Maps alongside it now to check traffic and ETA’s. I’m fairly new to driving so I don’t know the roads well yet. I’m still Agency driving as well so no companies provide me with a real satnav. I do find that using the two systems together is a pain in the arse…but it typically works. I have also sent in a feature request for Google to look at developing their own HGV app and charging a low monthly fee of around £4.99 so everyone can afford it. They have actually taken the idea onboard and are looking at the prospect of development. There is always Sygic which is iOS and Android but it is a paid app. I used it briefly as a trial and it seemed OK…but still not 100%…but better than Road Lords. There still seems to be no clear cut solution as of yet unless you want to part with that week’s salary mentioned previously.
A truckers road Atlas to see the primary routes (green) vs secondary A roads (red). Also bridge heights.
A Truck Satnav. Chooses safer routes based on vehicle dimensions.
Google maps. Has a good location search, also displays congestion so can give valuable warning of traffic around the next corner or accidents for better route planning.
the local govt here in Northern Ireland have been giving out prepaid £100 credit cards to kick start the economy apres Covid . mine arrived last week and on looking round I found a Garmin dezl satnav reduced from £300 to £200 so along with some winnings from the poker machine on the boat - I am currently setting up a new sat nav for £30 Result.
WHY ? after 25 years - well for £30 why not , but seriously bridge heights are the reason I’ve got this and to try and avoid weight restrictions .
We will see how it goes .
I’m considering these £80 truck sat nav from amazon. they’ve got mixed reviews - either it works for you or it doesnt.
there’s also truck co-pilot app available for the phones too which is an annual subscription of £85. i’ve used some variance of it from a sat nav provided by work and it was good - traffic updates etc. you get a 2 week trial of it when u install it
Do you have an android phone. I just found out about an app called road lords, it is free, has live traffic and seems to be OK. It has low bridges weight limits etc. I haven’t really been able to test it properly because my job involves going down weight limits and country lanes on a daily basis and I don’t want it to route me away from somewhere I am trying to get to.
shullbit:
Do you have an android phone. I just found out about an app called road lords, it is free, has live traffic and seems to be OK. It has low bridges weight limits etc. I haven’t really been able to test it properly because my job involves going down weight limits and country lanes on a daily basis and I don’t want it to route me away from somewhere I am trying to get to.
From this thread:
Postby nynemout42 » Sat Nov 27, 2021 2:53 pm
“I have tried using Road Lords which is a free app only available to Android phones (they have confirmed no iOS app available anytime soon). It does ok at best. It has sent me down a couple of roads that I had to turn around and double back because of a low bridge so their mapping data isn’t stable. The app has also frozen on me in the middle of driving and had to be force stopped and re-started. It has become so troublesome and undependable that I stopped using it. Such a shame as it has some really nice features. I recently bought a Carvass 9” HGV GPS (2nd hand for £20! What a deal…he thought!). Turns out Carvass GPS systems are spoofed Chinese knockoffs so they won’t update my mapping and it’s 3 years old now. I use Google Maps alongside it now to check traffic and ETA’s. I’m fairly new to driving so I don’t know the roads well yet. I’m still Agency driving as well so no companies provide me with a real satnav. I do find that using the two systems together is a pain in the arse…but it typically works. I have also sent in a feature request for Google to look at developing their own HGV app and charging a low monthly fee of around £4.99 so everyone can afford it. They have actually taken the idea onboard and are looking at the prospect of development. There is always Sygic which is iOS and Android but it is a paid app. I used it briefly as a trial and it seemed OK…but still not 100%…but better than Road Lords. There still seems to be no clear cut solution as of yet unless you want to part with that week’s salary mentioned previously."
If it works for you, great.
But it may not be for everyone. (Of course nothing is!)
