Garmin Caravan Club/

[muso68]

Since returning to caravanning, the old navigation issue has raised its ugly head again! We have a basic tomtom satnav, but it can only be set to the fastest or shortest route, both of which sends us down inappropriate roads for a caravan.

I see there are phone nav apps for caravans, but my iphone 5 is quite small, i would need to upgrade my sim package and there are times when there is no signal.

So, I wondered if anyone has tried the Garmin Caravan Club/Avtex satnav at £300? There are plenty of roads that are technically OK for a caravan, but I would rather avoid, so can it really select a caravan-friendly route?

Thanks for reading.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hi Muso,
I bought the Garmin Camper Sat Nav from ALDI who offer it at £199-00 and it worked really well on our last two trips to Europe. I don't know iof it is currently available but on my last visit to my local store in Bedford they had one in the glass case
I was very luck when I bought mine last year as it was the last one and I got it for £129-00, so may be worth a visit to your nearest store to see if they have any left. If nopt look on their recently updated app that allows you to buy from the recent ranges they have offered.
Well worth investing in one as it will save a lot off aggro from the person sitting next to you.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

All satnav systems have their quirks and can tell you to do silly things, so ALWAYS cross check the stated route with a paper map before you set off.

 

[muso68]

Hi Muso,
I bought the Garmin Camper Sat Nav from ALDI who offer it at £199-00 and it worked really well on our last two trips to Europe. I don't know iof it is currently available but on my last visit to my local store in Bedford they had one in the glass case
I was very luck when I bought mine last year as it was the last one and I got it for £129-00, so may be worth a visit to your nearest store to see if they have any left. If nopt look on their recently updated app that allows you to buy from the recent ranges they have offered.
Well worth investing in one as it will save a lot off aggro from the person sitting next to you.

Thanks for the info, but unfortunately aldi are not showing that model anymore (greyed out in the list) and the latest version is about £260- You got a great bargain!

 

[ProfJohnL]

If you check the satnav route before you set off, if its going to send you down an unsuitable road then set a way point or "Via" to create an intermediate destination that will keep you going on the roads that you want to use.

 

[Parksy]

The Garmin Camper satnav works well with the caravan setting activated but it's still wise to browse the route it chooses before setting off and cross checking it using Google Maps.
Some time back I bought my Garmin at a reduced price from Aldi, Click Here for the various prices paid by forumites and Aldi re-stock their bargain offers from time to time so if you want one for about £100 less than Halfrauds keep an eye on their website.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hi Muso,

Just got back from our weekly shop in ALDI Bedford, and they have the Garmin Camper 760 LMT-D Sat Nav at £199-95. This is the one I bought and it was excellent over 12 weeks of touring in Europe in France, Germany & Austria. I have full mapping updates available every 3 months so can not see any disadvantage over the latest model. May be worth having a look in your nearest Aldi.

 

[Mel]

If you have a smart phone the Co Pilot app which ( I am told) has a version that takes towing into account, is getting some good press. Haven't used this towing variant myself but did use the ordinary version to navigate in the USA, it was good
Much much cheaper than the sat nav, even from Aldi.
Mel

 

[muso68]

Hi Muso,

Just got back from our weekly shop in ALDI Bedford, and they have the Garmin Camper 760 LMT-D Sat Nav at £199-95. This is the one I bought and it was excellent over 12 weeks of touring in Europe in France, Germany & Austria. I have full mapping updates available every 3 months so can not see any disadvantage over the latest model. May be worth having a look in your nearest Aldi.

Thanks for the heads-up about your local Aldi. Their website shows out of stock, but customer services have located 2 in Bristol, left over from their March specialbuy, so I'm hoping my son-in-law can pick one up for me tonight!
Anyone know if the Aldi version is the full europe or western europe?

 

[DeliDave_]

It is full Europe but the latest update has more detail so it requires an 8gb micro SD card parts of Europe can be selected andfandf fit without card

 

[muso68]

Update - my son-in-law turned up tonight with the Garmin Camper 660 LMT-D europe 45 satnav bought at the Bristol Aldi. Not for the full price of £270, not for £200 as expected, but for £130-! Im blessed!
It was a leftover from their March special buy, so I guess they are selling it cheap to clear.
There is still one left in the Bristol Bradley Stoke branch!

 

[muso68]

Thanks for the advice about the Aldi special buys - i got one yesterday for £130- too!

 

[NigelHutson]

Back to the original question, just before we left home for our holiday, at Kay's insistence I bit the bullet and bought the Caravan Club/Garmin sat nav unit. Expensive, comparatively, maybe, but it works brilliantly. We have built in sat nav in the car, but of course it doesn't take into consideration the caravan. With the new unit, you can use it for solo car, or car and caravan, or motorhome. You put in dimensions and weights and it works out the routes accordingly. The lane guidance is almost like having a video of the exact junction. Plus, there's free lifetime (of the unit!) map upgrades. It's very easy to use, and even the voice commands work! I can thoroughly recommend it, despite what seems a pretty high price.

 

[muso68]

Thanks Nigel. Im still exploring the unit, but would I be right that I would have to subscribe to a Traffic service for the live traffic function to work?

 

[NigelHutson]

Hi muso68,

I registered our unit online when it arrived, but haven't had to subscribe to the traffic updates. Everything worked straight out of the box.

Nigel.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

I got the Tom Tom Caravan Club version a couple of years ago and Traffic was only free for the first year, but I have not bought the subsequent year. Other off-the-shelf makes seem to now come with free map updates and traffic for life.
Tom Tom have discontinued the caravan version.

 

[Raywood]

Hi muso68,

I registered our unit online when it arrived, but haven't had to subscribe to the traffic updates. Everything worked straight out of the box.

Nigel.

The usual problem with sat navs is the exact destination as they can lead you astray there. Might be worth checking if the CC one gets you to the Chatsworth site and not the nearby village and if Carsington Water gets you to the front or the back.

 

[Hutch]

I have the Snopper 2000S , 5 years old, it's , been fine, but had to pay 80 £ for a life time updates, ( not speed cameras) it has CC, CandCC, Cl's and Sl's . Acsi, Bord and Campervan sites Full Europe. Very happy with it but small screen 4 inch. But dont mind just put the the car on map and the wife asleep. And , I get to the nearest pub, to the site, and wife goes from there.
EPLS.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hello Hutch & Muso,

I had the Snooper 6000S bought 6 years ago with the larger screen, and was under the impression I had map updates, but it turned out I only had software updates. When I found out that they wanted £85 for the updates I decided to just carry on without, as things don't change that much. After 5 years I was considering biting the bullet and purchasing the updates, when I found the Garmin Camper Sat Nav in Aldi at £129-00, which I purchased as this offer the updates, and much more. It also gives me the traffic information which has proved useful in Germany, and as far as I know I have not and hopefully will not have to pay for this service. I still take the Snooper with me, so I have a back up should the Garmin give me any problems. Therefore for just over £40 I got an up to updated model offering much more, including lane guidance and the traffic, it was a no brainer.

I was not happy when Snooper joined forces with the CC a few years ago, and included the updates free. I did write to them asking if they would consider offering this to existing customers, but they said no, so I am doubly delighted about buying the Garmin.

 

[Hutch]

Know, where your coming from George, uptil now, the 2000 hasnt taken me down stupid roads but i have it set to 3 meters wide and 15 meters long. For now this one is ok, and it gives me the piccys of the acsi sites, in europe, so with the acsi app ,
I can get lost in most of Europe. And just find the next municiple site.
Hope to see you in Loche, ( see garden rally folks).
Hutch.