Only a fool would pay £200 for a TomTom, get a cheap £30 job off ebay and save yourself some money if you want a stand alone satnav. They are actually as good if not better.
Muckaway:
I find the address but don’t press for directions, I prefer to use it as a live A to Z ie just look to see when the blue dot is near my destination. Never used the navigate mode as I’d guess it eats up data allowance.
Nope, the maps themselves eat up your data so the way your doing it pretty much uses same amount of data as navigating if you’re leaving it open all the time. If you don’t cover a wide area and have a phone or tablet with decent storage you can download areas on Google Maps
UKtramp:
Only a fool would pay £200 for a TomTom, get a cheap £30 job off ebay and save yourself some money if you want a stand alone satnav. They are actually as good if not better.
I don’t understand why they are so cheap though. It certainly raises questions. I start my first job soon and this is a topic im worried about, as I’m skint as fudge atm so can’t afford one really
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IronWolf237:
UKtramp:
Only a fool would pay £200 for a TomTom, get a cheap £30 job off ebay and save yourself some money if you want a stand alone satnav. They are actually as good if not better.I don’t understand why they are so cheap though. It certainly raises questions. I start my first job soon and this is a topic im worried about, as I’m skint as fudge atm so can’t afford one really
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I spent £45 on a novatec from ebay as something to get me started as I am also new. The main issue is it doesn’t have traffic but I check Google maps for that. The maps aren’t the most up-to-date hence price but I haven’t had to many issues with it.
It isn’t perfect with weight limits but I just keep my eyes open. Talking to other drivers who have spent hundreds theirs is also prone to questionable routes so I am happy with this for now.
Regardless what you buy, ensure that you get a proper atlas and learn to read it if you don’t know how. I have found that to be more help than the satnav
How the hell did we get to a new drop without causing mayhem before the advent of satnavs ■■ did we not look at a map and ask people if they knew where it was where we wanted to go …
Yeah but we also used to go to the toilet outside/or in a hole in the floor. We also once had things like dysentery and the plague.
Sometimes the world evolves.
There’s nothing wrong with looking at a map but likewise there’s nothing wrong with wanting to use available technology alongside it is there?
IronWolf237:
UKtramp:
Only a fool would pay £200 for a TomTom, get a cheap £30 job off ebay and save yourself some money if you want a stand alone satnav. They are actually as good if not better.I don’t understand why they are so cheap though. It certainly raises questions. I start my first job soon and this is a topic im worried about, as I’m skint as fudge atm so can’t afford one really
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The reason that they are so cheap is that they don’t have the TomTom logo added to it. You are paying for a name and not for the technology. They are essentially all the same. If you are strapped for cash why not just download CoPilot truck where you can try the full featured app for free for 30 days, you get to use it and then save yourself some cash by buying it at the end of the 30 days. It costs around £130 for IOS (apple products) or £100 for android and windows. It is better than any TomTom or Garmin, failing that the £30 ebay ones are as good as a TomTom.
UKtramp:
Only a fool would pay £200 for a TomTom, get a cheap £30 job off ebay and save yourself some money if you want a stand alone satnav. They are actually as good if not better.
Everyone’s entitled to there opinion , Ive used the generic Chinese ones and wasn’t impressed the quality was nowhere near TomTom level from my experience but again that was a few years ago now maybe they have improved? I was a IT technician for many years and the software I had on my Chinese satnav certainly wasn’t great or better than TomTom.
Not keen on copilot either , Mainly don’t like the idea of having it on my phone and didn’t really gel with it ( did the 30 day trial ). My current satnav is a 10 year old TomTom and I’m going to upgrade to a newer version.
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It is personal choice of which satnav you use. I fail to see the relevance of your findings from a few years ago, things have certainly changed since then. Software in terms of years is like dog years in terms of humans. Nowadays a TomTom is no better than a cheap Chinese satnav. Very little to what you would notice anyway. Depends on how savvy you are with technology and its use, being an IT technician for years as you stated bares little relevance to a stand alone satnav. The thing with TomTom or Garmin that you are paying for is their advertising. The cost of a cheap Chinese £30 would rise tenfold if they advertised them with the same money that these companies pay out. Doesn’t make their product any better other than trying to convince you that it is.
danny_mk2:
UKtramp:
Only a fool would pay £200 for a TomTom, get a cheap £30 job off ebay and save yourself some money if you want a stand alone satnav. They are actually as good if not better.Everyone’s entitled to there opinion , Ive used the generic Chinese ones and wasn’t impressed the quality was nowhere near TomTom level from my experience but again that was a few years ago now maybe they have improved? I was a IT technician for many years and the software I had on my Chinese satnav certainly wasn’t great or better than TomTom.
Not keen on copilot either , Mainly don’t like the idea of having it on my phone and didn’t really gel with it ( did the 30 day trial ). My current satnav is a 10 year old TomTom and I’m going to upgrade to a newer version.
Thats right mate , you get what you pay for ,cheap chinese trash are about as much useful at that co pilot crap. tomtom is quality and buying direct from them you get all the warranties and help you need , if you do that is ,
i had an old tomtom truck sat nav , the go 7000 , had it for 6 years , now i have the go professional 520 truck one (£195) and the improvements in the technology is unbelievable
I am not saying the TomTom is crap, I wouldn’t make a statement like that, I am saying they are way over priced and at £200 that isn’t too bad a price. I am pointing out that you are paying for the advertising and they are convincing you that they are somehow better than a cheaper model. Some Chinese models are better than others in terms of quality.
I use google maps 99% of the time occasionally i come across a low bridge but I just check an overview of google maps and pick another route or more often just follow road signs for high vehicles. (Occasionally I drop the suspension and just go under it. 
)
The problem with HGV sat nats is they will take you miles out of the way just to avoid some B road or a slightly narrow road/lane.
Some companies are banning sat navs now and are handing out written instructions.
I went for an interview at Tesco Thurrock/Dagenham and they said if you get caught using a sat nav/phone you could get the sack.
adam277:
I use google maps 99% of the time occasionally i come across a low bridge but I just check an overview of google maps and pick another route or more often just follow road signs for high vehicles. (Occasionally I drop the suspension and just go under it.The problem with HGV sat nats is they will take you miles out of the way just to avoid some B road or a slightly narrow road/lane.
Some companies are banning sat navs now and are handing out written instructions.
I went for an interview at Tesco Thurrock/Dagenham and they said if you get caught using a sat nav/phone you could get the sack.
To be fair, I would say if more haulage contractors adopted this stance, then we might see less numptys sat in trucks, there really is no need for a satnav other than for the traffic alerts.
Google maps…
A large portion of common sense.
No bridge strikes, no 7.5 limits and no ‘you won’t get down there with that driver’ incidents to report in 35+ years. That includes many years of collecting spuds/delivering fertilizer to and from farms.
yourhavingalarf:
Google maps…A large portion of common sense.
No bridge strikes, no 7.5 limits and no ‘you won’t get down there with that driver’ incidents to report in 35+ years. That includes many years of collecting spuds/delivering fertilizer to and from farms.
+1 I have tested many satnavs against google maps, if you adopt common sense and you can read weight limit and low bridge signs then all you need is google maps and an atlas.
UKtramp:
yourhavingalarf:
Google maps…A large portion of common sense.
No bridge strikes, no 7.5 limits and no ‘you won’t get down there with that driver’ incidents to report in 35+ years. That includes many years of collecting spuds/delivering fertilizer to and from farms.
+1 I have tested many satnavs against google maps, if you adopt common sense and you can read weight limit and low bridge signs then all you need is google maps and an atlas.
I find the 7.5t Limits open to interpretation personally, 90% of them say expect for loading or access and even fewer have cameras that register trucks that are over the limit.
I have yet to get stuck down a road yet although a few times I’ve wanted too, so I could moan at the tm for giving me stupid drops.
so apparently they only give 10% discount now instead of 25 of the GP 520 ,
thats 26 quid instead of 65 ,
so at £233 with a free case , its still a right bargain for the best truck sat nav on the market
ten times better than that co pilot crap on your phone
Garmin Nuvi 58 is a great bit of kit, no need for a dedicated ‘truck nav’, it doesnt do bridge heights but dont have issue with that, cost me 90eur…
villa:
so apparently they only give 10% discount now instead of 25 of the GP 520 ,
thats 26 quid instead of 65 ,
so at £233 with a free case , its still a right bargain for the best truck sat nav on the market
ten times better than that co pilot crap on your phone
How on earth is £233 for a slow 5" TomTom satnav be described as a right bargain? My god TomTom marketing have certainly achieved their goal with you haven’t they. Can you not read a map or use CoPilot?