SORRY! i’m having issues with google on my laptop, I was trying to search for satnav reviews on this forum but google isn’t playing ball when I click or copy & paste links
what’s the best satnav for a newbie multidrop London obviously I want to do a good job, keep the the boss happy (wishfull thinking I know )
my current satnav has NEARLY packed up, there again its a 10 year old binitone which aint truck specific, but its been bloody faithfull & I bought it 2nd hand for £20 from a cabby, its gonna keep me going for another couple of weeks I hope, I’ve had to solder the power lead on permanatly!!! case has cracked from it being dropped a few times but its going still “just”
SO in the market for a truck hgv specific satnav that I HOPE will make doing multidrop around London & derby a little easier
i’m not that fussed on brands, aslong as its fast & keeps me out of trouble & “diddy” roads
I have been reading reviews but to be honest, I feel more confused on what to go for, I’ve put £250 aside for a new one but may stretch the budget a little, i’d want somat with free map updates & something simple to use for updates & extras as i’m not a genius on a laptop at all, hope you guys/gals can help
so far I have been recommended a snooper s2500 pro but reading reviews, people say they aren’t great & you have to get snooper to post a cd to update the satnav? which is a bit oldschool even to me
I have just been using the snooper s2500 pro this week and its not let me down…fingers crossed I have not jinxed myself
I updated the maps online simples
Its not so little. Those rigids with their limited turning circle can be harder to punch thru London than an artic.I did trucking in London & also chauffeur work,but London knowledge is useless;you stop going for six months & everything is changed making your knowledge completely outa date. Best of luck anyway.
I gotta say the old days were easier;the Gatso’s had film in them,when the reel was used up nothing was recorded -now its digital.
tis true on the DAF turning circle, I think they are great little trucks, its the same as what I trained for my class2 in, but London, ya right some places are a blummin nightmare, swing wide to make bends & nobs on scooters, motorbikes, pushbikes come up ya passenger side I wouldn’t mind but I have my big bike licence, i’m a pretty keen cyclist too so I see things from both sides of the argument so to speak but when other road users blatantly ignore indicators it makes me beg the question is it the hgv driver at fault most of the time, I don’t think so!!! anyhoo that’s my rant out the way
Are the garmin satnavs much cop guys n gals, I have been doing some reading of reviews, a few folk on here use them, they seem to have a lot of decent features?
i’m not about if the maps have free updates though
more info reading apparently the snooper pro s2500 is the pro s5000 but with the Bluetooth removed & a smaller screen the features are basically the same between the two which is interesting so leaning in the direction of a snooper 2500 with lifetime updates & a Chinese £40-£50 truck satnav as a backup which I can use in my car also
opinions?
I used the Snooper pro s2500 and as with all sat navs a dose of common sense.
I didnt need the features on the higher spec Snoopers as my tablet does everything else.
Though I do check the junctions of a drop I am unfamiliar with on google maps to make it easier to recognise when I am there.
Some guys dont seem to like the technology and prefer paper maps so each to there own as I just find the gizmo’s make life a bit more easier for me and thats what counts.
how good/bad would you say the snooper 2500 is drift, I presume you have had other satnavs!
I do use google maps now & again & like ya say, some common sense, knowing before setting off where railways/bridges are in relation the route & making changes where needed, I’ve had to do this as I’ve never invested in updated technology to be honest
got stacks of maps from the driving work I have done before which I used to backup my crappy satnav but lorry work is a lot different to as ya know simply due to there size, I just want to be prepared enough so I don’t go down roads with low bridges in areas I haven’t been before
just some unbiased views on satnavs really, i’m drawn to the snooper & the garmin in the lower price bracket, being a newbie yeah i’m keeping an a check on myself & my lanes but I like the idea of lane guidance on the newer satnavs, just because as ya know some islands simply aren’t laid out properly or signposted incorrectly, not that anyone in cars/vans follows lanes correctly anyways but i’m proud to get my license and wanna keep it, personally I think anything that adds to help & backup the common sence I have is worth it…wouldn’t mind a dash cam also incase I do have an accident, if i’m doing what I am doing correct it aint me getting the bollocking, well ya still get the bollocking but if aint ya fault ya don’t have to listen do ya
Hi, I have used car based sat nav for years such as TOMtom and memory map for my hobby green laning with my 4x4.
The Snooper is the first truck orientated sat nav I have used and I have been using it about two weeks.
The tomtom interface is far better but once you get used to that and the graphics on the snooper they are just fine.
Mine has the traffic update thing but its an aerial wire you plug into the unit, I haven’t bothered with that though.
I only had one issue last week where I was going to a place in Battlefield and it wanted me to turn into a housing estate just before my location but when I went back the same place a couple of days later it took me to the correct location…I couldn’t figure that out
But other than that I like the lane guidance and verble instructions on it.
I just didnt have the cash for the expensive tomtom but still wanted something with a customer back up.
cheers drift, that’s great, being a newbie I don’t have too much cash to play with, so I’m stretching going to the £300 mark but the snooper/garmin seem to have what I want on the face of it & they seem to be £250 or less with lifetime maps & traffic reports of some description
satnavs aint perfect but if it get you in the ball park area ya need to be with less worry of of hittin bridges without having to resort to pulling in checking maps or google so often it makes life a little easier
Best get yourself a Phillips atlas of london and learn the main routes round town, keep saving for a tomtom
i wouldn’t recommend any new driver go multi dropin round there with a satnav
I have both Phillips & AA maps plus a stack of a-z’s for various places around the uk from my previous line of work, I’ve held off buying a satnav as I only use them to get from place A to place B, I have held off buying one due to previous reviews saying most weren’t much more than a car nav, I need a new one & maybe its possible they are a bit more truck specific since I bought my car based binitone one donkeys years ago…if you guys with experience that know London/Nottingham/derby should all know already it can be a nightmare to get around
my old nav doesn’t cope in those citys too well anymore so just after an un-biased opinion on which sat navs seem to work well in those areas really
obviously I want to do a good job, keep the the boss happy (wishfull thinking I know 
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