New sat nav question

[Craigyoung]

Hi all , my family and I are off to France this year with the caravan , and have gettin a new Tom Tom caravan european sat nav , as I was sitting getting used to it I was plotting various destinations in Britain which were found straight away , but was worried when It couldn't find where we were stopping in France . Is this normal and would it start finding my French locations when we alight from the ferry ? ? Obviously our first time driving abroad and don't wanna get lost ! Will be thankful for any advice & knowledge . Craig .

 

[otherclive]

I know this might sound obvious but does it need to be set to France? My Garmin requires me to tell it when we arrive in France after that it will take us all the way to Poland without any further input required. If I just arrived in France without setting it then it would navigate me via the principal routes but would not have loaded all of its POIs. I pre programme mine off the Mac so that it takes me precisely on the route and 'landing approach' required to best approach the various sites.

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi & thanks for your reply . You were right ! But I'd realised my mistake . Whilst looking for my French location I was still on uk maps setting , but soon as I put in the French setting and post code , it found it straight away , phew ! This sat nav totally different to my recent 10 years old one !!! Thanks again

 

[RayS]

Don't have a Garmin so don't know which mapping system it uses but some others use American based mapping systems which - to put it kindly - can be a little behind the times when it comes to even major European roads. I have been assured I'm 'off road' for some years now while travelling on a major section of Spanish autopista which to my certain knowledge has been opern for about 8 years, although my satnavs have been updated regularly,
More reasonably, they are not usually up to date with the numbering system of French roads which has been in some confusion for years now with the RN numbers being changed to D numbers but to different figures depending on where they are and with the old RN number still in use in places. The kilometer stones frequently show the old RN.
The good news is that the 'Green Sign' method for major cities like we have in UK is now much more commion and is shown on the Michelin maps. However much you trust your satnav I would always (and do) have the current Michelin map in the car too.

 

[otherclive]

Garmin and tom tom use European maps which for Garmin are updated at least every three months. I use mine for off road even though it doesn't show the byways. I download .gpx files from my sons iPhone which tracks our off road routes. The import to the Garmin then allows me to store and modify routes on their Basecamp software which allows us to follow the route at a later date by tracking between the waypoints. This is on a Garmin purchased in 2009 so heavens knows what the latest ones can do. The interface between the Garmin and Google is very useful too although putting Google waypoints into Garmin is tricky!

 

[Woody3]

Take a tip: look at the map or use viamichelin to find the main routes, then use the satnav as a glorified street map. That way you will undoubtedly get the best route.
The problem with satnavs is that you only get the option of shortest or quickest route - the latter will insist on motorways even if it is out of your way, the former will draw a line from A to B and go on the nearest road/lane/track to it. Ideally you want a 'main routes' option which will do the A-B option but then try to get you there by a combination of motorway and main roads only going on to minor roads when there is no alternative - but that seems to be too easy for the manufacturers to grasp. On my TT I set it to limited speed (50mph) and it seems to give a better solution.
One thing that it took me a long time to get my head around is diversions. I live in Harrogate and used to go to St Helens occasionally. TT would tell me to go through Bradford, then M62 and M57/A57. My preferred route was A59 to Skipton, A56 to Colne, then M65/M6/M58/M57 - longer much much less traffic and far fewer holdups. If TT had decided to go the M62 route it would do everything it could to get me back onto the M62, the last attempt being the A556 between Burnley and Blackburn. Only when I got on the M65 would it decide there may be a better route. However stop near Skipton, clear the original route and ask it to calculate from there and it would take my preferred route immediately.
The one thing a satnav is good for, wherever you are, is to tell you how far it is and how long it will take to your destination - and it is usually right within a few minutes whichever way you go!

 

[emmerson]

But isn't getting lost part of the fun? Herself and I have found some lovely hidden-away sites and villages by getting lost.
We even finished up in the middle of a market once, and the traders had to fold the stall roofs up to get us out.
We went back through the market on foot with some plastic cups and a couple of bottles of wine. A good time was had by all.

 

[otherclive]

Take a tip: look at the map or use viamichelin to find the main routes, then use the satnav as a glorified street map. That way you will undoubtedly get the best route.
The problem with satnavs is that you only get the option of shortest or quickest route - the latter will insist on motorways even if it is out of your way, the former will draw a line from A to B and go on the nearest road/lane/track to it. Ideally you want a 'main routes' option which will do the A-B option but then try to get you there by a combination of motorway and main roads only going on to minor roads when there is no alternative - but that seems to be too easy for the manufacturers to grasp. On my TT I set it to limited speed (50mph) and it seems to give a better solution.
One thing that it took me a long time to get my head around is diversions. I live in Harrogate and used to go to St Helens occasionally. TT would tell me to go through Bradford, then M62 and M57/A57. My preferred route was A59 to Skipton, A56 to Colne, then M65/M6/M58/M57 - longer much much less traffic and far fewer holdups. If TT had decided to go the M62 route it would do everything it could to get me back onto the M62, the last attempt being the A556 between Burnley and Blackburn. Only when I got on the M65 would it decide there may be a better route. However stop near Skipton, clear the original route and ask it to calculate from there and it would take my preferred route immediately.
The one thing a satnav is good for, wherever you are, is to tell you how far it is and how long it will take to your destination - and it is usually right within a few minutes whichever way you go!

Your comments re satnav routing are not strictly true as on some you can develop your own route ( using Google, Garmin Basecamp etc) and import it into the satnav. Mine is a 2009 satnav which has this feature and will also track my route so that I can then use it to store a library of off-road routes for days out in my Pajero..This is very useful when towing as it is possible to ensure that your approach to the site is as detailed by the site owners instructions. Of course a map in the car is essential just in case of a road diversion where the satnav will do its damndest to get you back on track but using roads that you have no idea what they may be like. So the fall back of map is essentail plus a 'navigator' who is up with it....!

 

[Craigyoung]

Cheers Emmerson , and for reply , I don't mind getting lost whilst at my resort , but giving the fact I have two young kids who'll been traveling in the back for nearly 24 hours , I don't fancy getting lost for a bit of fun ! Holiday destinations plotted and saved on sat nav now.