Does anyone know whether or not the Caravan and Motorhome Club online route planner calculates routes suitable for caravans?
Or is it just a copy of the free AA route planner?
Or is it just a copy of the free AA route planner?
Route planning for caravans
- Thread starter noelbailey
- Start date
Sorry, can't answer your question but if its of any use there is a way to get routes specified for your outfit with tomtom. (£20 a year for the phone app).
I have it's rubbish. I tried one time for a route to Abbey Wood and that took you through the middle of London. The site has a disclaimer to cover them.
Another time I tried the computer came up with "you have travelled for two hours, stop and have a rest". The next instruction was "turn left into the site".
To be fair if you are travelling some distance across country it will give you some idea as to the route and distance, but do be wary.
Another time I tried the computer came up with "you have travelled for two hours, stop and have a rest". The next instruction was "turn left into the site".
To be fair if you are travelling some distance across country it will give you some idea as to the route and distance, but do be wary.
I have used the C&MC route planner several times and found it very good and helpful.
It’s like all standard navigators you need to look at the route it is offering you. Also sites have specific arrival instructions so I always checked them out with Google Street View and if necessary printed that section for quick reference.
Have a good look at a decent road atlas and plan your route beforehand.
We do use a HGV sat nav which we set up as though it's an arctic BUT still don't trust it 100%
We do use a HGV sat nav which we set up as though it's an arctic BUT still don't trust it 100%
When I had a 8m Bailey Autograph motorhome I invested in a Garmin Campervan Satnav where you input the dimensions of your vehicle to supposedly avoid narrow roads / bridges etc. I've never seen such crazy routes in all my life and cursed it on many occassions. It was just trying to be too clever. I now use it simply on the 'car' setting and its perfect.
Having said that I always do plenty of research prior to setting off using Google Maps / Streetview to gauge the width of approach roads to the sites and only really use the Satnav to guide me in the last few miles.
Having said that I always do plenty of research prior to setting off using Google Maps / Streetview to gauge the width of approach roads to the sites and only really use the Satnav to guide me in the last few miles.
Thanks. I tried the TomTom thing, but couldn’t work out how to get the route onto the TomTom Go app on my phone. Saved to My Routes on the website, but there was no My Routes option in the app. Was i using the wrong TomTom app?
I use tomtom 'MyDrive' app on my phone or tablet to set the route (and my caravan length etc), it's very similar to the pc app in the video I linked to. I then use 'TonTomGo' app to navigate on my phone.
On MyDrive go to My Routes, press Add Route, enter start an end destinations. The next bit caught me out for a while. It will give you 2 or 3 different route options, you have to select the one you want before the Save to My Routes button appears. Press the button and give the route a name (and description if you want to). Press save and another screen pops up. There's a slider button 'Sync this route as a track with my devices' make sure it's on. The route should then appear in My Routes on the TomtomGo app.
Okay. Thanks! Il give that a try. I’ve got TomTomGo on a seven day trial at the moment.
Strangely I’ve got TomTomGo to work now.
However, the yearly subscription is a bit steep, so if I could be sure that the CAMC planner is tailored for caravans/motorhomes I’d stick to that. - it’s free after all.
I don’t think it is tailored for caravans. But I’ve never had a problem using it but I do plot my own landing approach from 2-3 miles out using Google street view. When you get CMHC route planner to generate a route just review it to see if your happy with it.
Caravans have been going to sites for many years before satnavs. Yet they mostly managed to arrive without problems. Even if I had a satnav that purportedly dealt with caravans I would still check the route it’s offering to ensure I was happy with it.
Caravans have been going to sites for many years before satnavs. Yet they mostly managed to arrive without problems. Even if I had a satnav that purportedly dealt with caravans I would still check the route it’s offering to ensure I was happy with it.
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I switched to the TomTom app around 10 years ago when my old SatNav died. At the time a new standalone unit with traffic reporting was around £200, I think the app was around £12 a year. Waze and Google maps were around but they relied on downloading the maps as needed where as the TomTom app stored all the maps on your phone so didn't have such high data usage or need a data connection to work (apart from the traffic). Times have changed, free satnav is probably as good as 'paid for' now and mobile data is way more reliable and cheaper. I don't think £20 a year is steep, but I have to concede that it is compared to free satnav.
I think driving was less stressful in those days. Way less traffic on the roads and the road network was much simpler - you didn't tend to have 3 or 4 lane approaches to roundabouts so being in the correct lane 200 yards before you reached it wasn't necessary. Almost every road through towns and smaller cities was single lane, now two or three lanes through the middle of small towns is normal.
I rarely got lost navigating by map if I was alone. When I had a passenger distracting me or doing the navigating for me it was a different story.
We have the TomTom Go and downloaded site locations all across Europe including the UK from a site called Archies. It was far more accurate that the CAMC POIs. Sadly the site is no longer operational.
However we have found the TT a lot easier to use than the Garmin. We can add in the POIs for numerous different businesses in addition to being able to input the dimensions of our outfit. No idea of the app as never had a need to use it.
As I found out today in Gloucester, the TT Go is much better at directions than the car's built in satnav which is fairly up to date.
However we have found the TT a lot easier to use than the Garmin. We can add in the POIs for numerous different businesses in addition to being able to input the dimensions of our outfit. No idea of the app as never had a need to use it.
As I found out today in Gloucester, the TT Go is much better at directions than the car's built in satnav which is fairly up to date.
The caravan club always had recommended route to approach each site is the handbook - with the advent of sat navs it's even more important to use the recommended route and ignore the sat nav - that only leaves the main part of the haul from home to site, for which an ordinary car sat nav plus mk1 eyes is all anyone needs.
I use a Tomtom Go 600 in the car. I've also got Tomtom Mydrive on the computer. I set up a route that I intend to drive and click the HGV option. I can save the route on the computer and also send it to the device in the car. The route is in "My routes" the next time I start the car.
Sighs again.
Sat Navs ONLY know the data that is on their maps.
If you enter your vehicle weight for example then you will not be routed over a bridge that can't take it.
IF the road under a railway bridge is too low for your outfit/motorhome then you won't be routed under it.
If the road narrows beyond the width of your vehicle you won't be routed down it.
BUT
If the road has no "too narrow" bits, no low bridges and no weight restrictions you MAY be routed down it although you might not be so pleased as you drove it.
How many times have you been on a wide major road with say a 40 mph limit and the SatNav has diverted you along a narrow de-restricted lane because it thinks it will be faster, shorter, more scenic etc depending upon your stated preferences.
Someone actually wrote on a forum - might have been this one - that the makers of his model of SatNav claim to have checked the roads so they must be ok. I'll leave you to think about that one!
All the other advice is found in previous posts and needs no re-writing.
Sat Navs ONLY know the data that is on their maps.
If you enter your vehicle weight for example then you will not be routed over a bridge that can't take it.
IF the road under a railway bridge is too low for your outfit/motorhome then you won't be routed under it.
If the road narrows beyond the width of your vehicle you won't be routed down it.
BUT
If the road has no "too narrow" bits, no low bridges and no weight restrictions you MAY be routed down it although you might not be so pleased as you drove it.
How many times have you been on a wide major road with say a 40 mph limit and the SatNav has diverted you along a narrow de-restricted lane because it thinks it will be faster, shorter, more scenic etc depending upon your stated preferences.
Someone actually wrote on a forum - might have been this one - that the makers of his model of SatNav claim to have checked the roads so they must be ok. I'll leave you to think about that one!
All the other advice is found in previous posts and needs no re-writing.
Strangely we have never had that issue with our TomTom Go Camper. We input the dimensions of complete unit which is car & caravan.
However if solo, we have been taken on the scenic short cuts, but it has never been a problem. The in car Satnav gets us there, but sometimes in a very round about way.
However if solo, we have been taken on the scenic short cuts, but it has never been a problem. The in car Satnav gets us there, but sometimes in a very round about way.
Only time Google Maps has been odd for us when we were towing was when it routed us down the A382* through Moretonhampstead and Bovey Tracey because the A30 was blocked.
Luckily we followed a tipper truck and they cleared the way for us.
* Despite being an A road the A382 has lots of single track road with passing places
Luckily we followed a tipper truck and they cleared the way for us.
* Despite being an A road the A382 has lots of single track road with passing places
It's not strange at all. The "strange" bit is some people think because it hasn't happened to them it never will.
"Oh, we use "Neverlostcaravanrouter" and it's never let us down".
If you seriously believe your SatNav has built into it the specific route difficulties YOU would avoid for whatever reason - road too narrow, don't like high hedges on narrow roads, aunt Gertrude told us never to come this way and the rest, then there's nothing much anyone can say except "good luck!"
You've entered your dimensions, the SatNav has avoided all instances of road restriction that your specified dimensions identify using the data it has on its built in map AND in addition it's avoided a few other bits of a route that have no constraints shown on the map but you personally want to avoid then I'm gobsmacked!
Maybe those sneaky little boffins at TomTom have at last found out the secret of miracle making.
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