Motorhome owners - what's sat reception like?

Darren

We would welcome real world experience from motorhome owners with in-cab GPS Nav systems, is reception affected by an over cab bed layout? Have any of you installed external antennae etc.

GPS systems have had some mention in the popular motorhome magazines but only so far as OEM or fitted systems e.g. Carin. Perhaps we can encourage them to cover PocketPC systems, a system that provides GPS Nav, email, web, access to travel guides, translators and much more in one package.
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Darren Griffin

arturus · Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2003 9:00 pm Post subject: Sat reception in motorhomes.

Using Ipaq 3850, Emtac GPS Jacket and Tom Tom 2.24 and an active antenna.Arkon windscreen mount and slot cut into mount to allow active antenna to be plugged into rear of jacket.
Orginally found poor signal with aluminium clad luton over cab.Enough to get a 2D and very ocaisionally a 3D fix. Fitted active antenna on roof with a good blob of 'plumbers mate' and fed cable in through forward vent and around inside of luton and down the front edge of the bed.I've had 12 birds up several times now and fixes are well fast.
Ipaq and jacket also used out of van for walking and cycling.
Brilliant site. Keep up the good work.
Brian M

Nomad · Occasional Visitor Joined: 20/04/2003 16:10:44 Posts: 27

Nomad · Occasional Visitor Joined: 20/04/2003 16:10:44 Posts: 27

Nomad · Occasional Visitor Joined: 20/04/2003 16:10:44 Posts: 27

Sorry for the double posting about GPS reception, was having trouble accessing the site and couldn't get confirmation of the first posting.

Nomad

FERNBANK50 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 13, 2003 Posts: 3

I use a Haicom 203 mounted in the luton of my Autosleeper Talisman together with a PS2 extension cable to my Toshiba e350. The reception is excellent (the Talisman's body is all fibreglass) and is actually better than when using the same system in my Golf GTI with the Haicom mounted on the dashboard.

David

phily · Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 5:15 pm Post subject: Motorhome/RV

I have a Navman 4400+2210+Arkon amplified mount in an Autotrail Tracker EKS on a Fiat Ducato base. The 4400 is mounted on the dash at an angle and has always given a good signal. The overhang on this vehicle is not too long and by having the 4400 at an angle all seems to work well.....at lest until I hit the third or fourth roundabout Crying or Very sad

....lets hope that the new patch works!!!

Re articles on GPS in magazines, there is one due out shortly in the The Motorcaravanners Club magazine and another in the Auto-Trail Owners Club magazine in the next issue.
Keep up the good work. Thumbs Up

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phily

zappy61 · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 7:32 am Post subject:

I have no trouble with reception in our Autotrail 634 motorhome. It has an overhanging luton (fibreglass) and I use a 3970 with TTN2.
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Graham

tedkay · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2003 10:06 am Post subject:

Hi

I use TomTom Navigator2, and an Ipaq 5450, with a TomTom Bluetooth GPS receiver. (I tried Navman first but find TomTom superior in every way).The receiver has a clip which I fitted at the front of the dash in my Eura Mobil A class motorhome. I get excellent reception and the system works very well. There are a few points worth remembering:

1. Always check the planned route against a paper map. Navigation systems have a propensity to avoid perfectly usable major roads in favour of motorways and you can find yourself doing lots of extra miles this way. I think motorhomers very often prefer the more scenic route 'cos they're not in a mad rush. The easiest way to plan an entire route via waypoints is to use add-on software like GPSassist (details elsewhere on this site) which allows you to plan the route in stages before you set off.

2. Avoid the 'shortest route' option. You'll end up stuck in a farm track!

3. Remember that the Nav system doesn't know you have a wider/higher vehicle so you have to be vigilant to check the road signs for narrow roads/low bridges etc. The Nav system can lull you into a 'I don't have to do anything' frame of mind and it's easy to forget the height/width signs. Now that the missus doesn't have to do the map reading (phew) I tend to give her the responsibility for checking the signs so I can blame her when we get it wrong (well, life wouldn't be the same without the occasional row!).

Hope this is of some use

Ted

genes · Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2003 11:15 am Post subject: Sucess in motorhomes

Hi
I have the Holux CF270 with Dell Axim and Tomtom and it has worked faultlessly in my Bessacarr E745 and now in my Burstner i591 Elegance (Also fine in my Volvo S60) with locks onto between 4 and 9 satellites. I always use the active arial that came with the Holux kit.

I did an article on my set up and sent it to PocketGPS who responded that they would post it on this site but so far no show! The article was however published in The Motorcaravanners Club magazine and I have managed to negotiate a very special deal for club members with Holux UK.

This article was also circulated to all of the Motor caravan press and the other clubs but as yet they have not published - Probably dont want to upset the suppliers of built in systems that advertise in their magazines!

I use checkpoint and the pocket GPS radar camera database - Very good! and also have all of the Caravan Club and Camping and Caravan Club sites and CL's on the Axim.

My system knocks spots of of my friends installed Blue spot system that cost a couple of thousand pounds.

regards Terry

AndyD · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 22, 2003 Posts: 3

Thanks to Terry's Motorcaravanner's Club article, I now have a similar system (TTN2 + Holux GM270CF) but with an iPSQ 2210 PDA which I use with my Compass Avantgarde 400. However I most certainly do not have any success with the CF alone in the cab. Even with the active aerial connected right forward under the windscreen doesn't help much. I need to have the active aerial outside on the bonnet front (luckily it has a strong mag mount!) with the wire fed in through the door seal. This arrangement works well, but is subject to potential damage or vandalism in the long term so I might have to consider alternative options. At the moment I bring in the external aerial every time I have finished with it.

However, with this setup performance has been faultless once I acquire a fix - trees seem to have a serious affect with that regard.

Regarding TomTom, I have not suffered too many of its faults as yet, except once it refused to acknowledge a right turn that was patently quite legal. However, ignoring TomTom and turning right, it soon caught up with me and tracked the rest of the way to my destination.

As with other motorcaravanners/truckers, an ability to detect narrow/low routes must be high on my wish list, although probably at the top would be a desire for TomTom to rectify map mistakes and issue regular updates in line with road changes.

Regards,

Andy

Trigrem · Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 9:46 pm Post subject: Reception in Motorhome

I have TOM TOM used with the GPS receiver supplied with TT running on iPAQ 3950. Receiver fixed to magnetic base close to windscreen. motorhome is Auto Trail Tracker with very little cab overhang. Excellent results, only problem is with the cigar lighter fixing, it sometimes works loose and I loose a fix, I am going to fit a proper fused plug and socket.
Used it in France for 3000 miles no problems except where new roads or islands had been constructed recently. The UK maps do have errors and one has to remember GPS navigation is an aid NOT the driver.
Doug

goran · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 9:22 pm Post subject:

Hi.
I believe that in motorhomes "with very little cab overhang" can receive GPS signal but in "normal" motorhome with big cab overhang can not use GPS without an external antenna. Even mounted as in the picture http://zvrzina.net/slike/pocitnice-03-409.jpg the signal is not allways the best.
Regards,
Goran

Trigrem

Before I had TomTom mentioned in my last post I had a Garmin etrek connected to a laptop running Autoroute, the GPS was in a cupboard and I got good reception, perhaps the fact it was a fibreglass roof had a bearing on the good reception.

Doug

ROBBINS · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 8:52 pm Post subject: GPS in Motorhomes

Following the excellent article in Motor Caravanner Magazine - October 03 - by Terry Genes titled "Affordable GPS", I purchased a HP Ipaq 2210 PDA, GM270 GPS receiver with act ant and TomTom Navigator2 Software from Holux UK. Had initial problem with the PDA, but Holux UK were great and replaced it with no problems. I use an Auto-Sleeper Legend which has a fibreglass body, and using the act ant, I have no problems with the systems reception.
On a recent trip in the motorhome, I did have problems with directions from TomTom where traffic islands had splitter islands on their approaches. It seems to count these as two exits, and gives me the instruction for example to "take the third exit from the island " where it should be the second. - Any ideas?
I have downloaded various POI's including all of the Caravan Club and Camping and Caravanning Club sites.

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