What’s The Best GPS To Use ?

When you’re buying a GPS you need to understand that your GPS is going to work in a slightly different way as it needs to take into account that you’re driving a larger vehicle that will not fit under all the bridges on the road and is not allowed down many roads or streets.  For this reason when you’re buying a Sat Nav for your Truck or HGV you need to make sure that you by a specific navigation system that has been specifically designed for use with your Truck, HGV or Campervan.

Truck Sat Nav’s work by calculating your route based on a selection of criteria such as the length, width, height and weight of your HGV and therefore provide direction that will take you around low bridges or restricted roads.  These type of Satelitte Navigation systems also come with larger screens and points of interest databases that come with specific place where you can park your Truck or Campervan over night.

Below you will find our Top 5 Truck, HGV or Campervan Sat Nav Units that we think you should look at when you choose to buy a new Sat Nav.  As with all our Sat Nav’s that we recommend, we highly recommend that you buy yourself a brand named Sat Nav such as a Garmin or TomTom, as whilst these are often more expensive they often work better and last longer given they have been tried and tested over a long period of time.  Garmin and TomTom have sold millions of Sat Nav’s between then and have had years of practice at getting it right.

Garmin Dezi 760 LMT 

The Garmin Dezi range comes in two model’s the 760LMT and the 560LMT with the difference being that the 760LMT comes with a 7-inch screen and the 560LMT comes with a 5-Inch screen, however it’s our favorite Truck, HGV Camper and Caravan Sat Nav as it comes packed with features that are both useful and very easy to use.

The Garmin Dezi is Garmin’s range of Sat Nav’s and comes with super-sharp touchscreen, a fast processor that have been designed to deal with route calculations, Bluetooth, Traffic Alerts and even Free Lifetime map updates.  The high-resolution screen with WVGA technology that helps with colours helps with the detailed maps and turn-by-turn directions that will even speak street names through its in-built speaker.  

The out of the box device meaning that you simply need to put your Sat Nav on charge and enter your vehicles height, weight, length and width and the processor will calculate routes for you that will direct you around any difficult areas that are either not allowed to travel down or will not fit.  

With both models there is the option to use Garmin’s dual screen meaning that you can two sets of information showing on your screen at anyone time.  This means that if you come across a complicated junction the device will automatically split into two screens with one showing your usual direction and the other will use animation with arrows to help you pick the right lane to get you to your destination.  Garmin also has the added benefit of “PhotoReal” which uses helicopter views of the junction all to help you be in the right lane to take the correct exit on the motorway.

Extra features are included with the Dezi range including voice-activated navigation meaning that you can speak directly to your Sat Nav to change your location or access other features, and Blue-tooth hands free for connectivity meaning that you can use your navigation system as a hands free telephone.  For route calculations, not only does your unit take into account for your vehicles dimensions, it also takes into account for traffic alerts with any traffic jams.

Rand McNally TND 720LM 
 
The Rand McNallyTND 720LM is one of the best Sat Nav Models on the market that has not been designed by a main stream manufacture, however Rand McNally do have a wealth of experience from over 85 years in the commercial transport industry and over 40% more useful features when compared to other HGV satellite navigation units on the market today. 

The Unit comes with a super sharp, high resolution 7-Inch touchscreen and a superb built-in speaker meaning that you can hear your units directions even if you have the windows down.

The massive screen and super fast processor means that the maps are exceptionally easy-to-use and provide you with lots of information that is going to be useful in getting you to your destination.  The large screen also provides you with lots of information to help you with your directions such as junction view which give you a 3D display of an upcoming junction and active lane-guidance which uses bright arrows to show you which lane you need to be in.  

The Sat Nav also comes with WiFi connectivity which brings a selection of features such as your current and forecasted weather or up to date routing calculation which take into account Road Work updates and enhanced truck routing options such as Exit Quick View to help find truck-friendly locations along your route.

TomTom Pro 5150 Truck Review

If the Garmin Dezi is out favorite range, then TomTom Pro 1550 is a very close second.  You’re buying a Sat Nav device from one of the mainstream manufactures and as a result you know that you’re buying quality.  The device comes with a high resolution 5-inch screen and a super fast processor meaning that your route calculations are both quick and detailed.  As with all Truck Satelitte Navigation units, you can set your route calcluations to take into account your trucks dimensions, but with the TomTom Pro, you can also calculate routes that avoid tight road turns or use your unit as an online logbook to ensure that you’re always working within the UK regulations.

The interface is very simple and the touch screen menu with predictive text meaning that you can easily enter your destination into the unit.  The maps which are detailed are shown on the screen and come with turn-by-turn direction that take into account not only traffic jams, but also weather and the type of road that your driving on.  When you approach a difficult junction, your unit will automatically switch into junction mode which use TomTom’s active lane guidance  to show you which lane you should be in to follow your directions.

The built in computer, helps to power your GPS unit with a whole host of extra features such as speed alerts which show you where any speed camera are located, your current speed and the road speed.  It also powers a few other features that will help you with your navigation such as Bluetooth meaning that you connect your smartphone to the unit for hands-free phone calls or a database that your unit will use to store thousands of points of interest that are all trucking, HGV and campervan specific meaning that if you want to stop over night to sleep in your campervan, your sat Nav device will help you find one.