Trying out a Garmin Campervan

As per the title I am trying a Campervan Satnav. Just out for a day trip and can't find an option I would expect.

Initially set up a route destination on the Garmin App which was uploaded to the Satnav fine. The Satnav then calculated a route based on the default "Fastest" which took me on a fairly extensive detour based on major "A" roads and motorways.

As the venerable beast is not speedy and therefore cannot make best use of the route I looked for "Shortest" instead only to find the only two options appear to be Fastest or Straight Line. As not only is she not fast but also not a helicopter the second option is somewhat pointless.

Am I missing something? How do I program it to use the shortest route?

It’s your choice but usually 'shortest' uses minor roads whereas 'fastest' may be a bit further but will select major roads probably more suited to our vans.

I’ve never come across 'straight line' but I guess it’s the same as 'shortest', ie more direct but may use narrow lanes. No doubt somebody will correct me if I’ve got it wrong. 

Tinwheeler wrote:I’ve never come across 'straight line' but I guess it’s the same as 'shortest', ie more direct but may use narrow lanes. No doubt somebody will correct me if I’ve got it wrong. 

No Straight Line is exactly that. A pink line on the map from A to B, no road following whatsoever, I tried setting it to that. Apparently the system is supposed to be compatible for aircraft.

Not being a slave to satnavs (and learned to navigate long before they existed) I know of a route at least part the way which is more direct, more suited to the speed of a 22 year old van and passable for the size of vehicle. In fact it used to be the main HGV route into Norfolk before the likes of the A14 dualing and the northern section of the M11 above Stansted being completed.

The alternative is going to be to use waypoints but shouldn't be needed in my mind. A previous vehicle I had even used "intelligent" shortest routes, around the M25 to get past London but M3, A303 etc. to the West Country.

I am fairly sure I am missing something because the guides also refer to being able to enter vehicle parameters which I haven't found. Height is almost a prerequisite else what bridge is too low?

A mystery for sure, HF.  Sorry, I’m out of ideas.

I don't know that model, but on Garmins that I've owned in the past, there was a setup screen which allows you to select the type of "transport" you are using - on the ones that I have used that's where you can choose "on foot" and it will permit alleyways and footpaths if you select that option. Is it possible that there is also an option on that screen for "straight line" or equivalent?

Another possibility is that there is a different setup screen which allows you to choose the type of permitted road - it's possible that this setting will not allow it to choose anything other than motorways?

I know these settings can produce some pretty odd results, because I once borrowed my Dad's Garmin and got the weirdest of routes out of it - he had it set to "No motorways"!

I've learned not to set my Garmin to "shortest" because it has a nasty tendency to take shortcuts down extremely narrow single-lane tracks. But with the camper model set with the right vehicle width, perhaps that won't happen to you...

Have you tried looking for YouTube video tutorials for the Garmin? There seem to be loads out there.  
In my experience, never use the 'shortest' option on a satnav - unless, possibly, you're on a motorbike - using this by accident we've ended up on some very narrow single-track roads with grass growing along the middle. Not great in our car, but it would have been much worse in a motorhome.

My use of shortest has always been coupled with a little research using a map book.

You should hear my somewhat one sided conversations with them.

Sounds to me that it's not working properly. All navigation systems draw a straight line between 2 points then find the roads along that line to suit your preference, you shouldn't see it once the route has been calculated.  Try a cold reboot or look up a factory reset.  
Rich.

On one of our trips the trusty old Garmin worked faultlessly till we were a mile past the Italian border heading into Slovenia... I had no idea the mapping didn't cover eastern Europe. All that was shown was a straight red line from my position to the programmed coordinates. This must be Garmin's default when not supported.
Al.

I only have 2 calculation modes.

I have posted a question to Garmin.

Weegie wrote:
There's options for Faster Time, Off Road (shows straight line) or Shorter Distance.

This is exactly the same on my motorbike specific Garmin Zumo too.

My motorbike specific Tom Tom has an option for 'Winding Roads'. I've never used it.
The sat nav fitted to my car invariably sends us to the nearest motorway when set to Faster Time no matter what the destination, even if it's in the opposite direction.. Whereas Shorter Distance it's on to the nearest cart track.. 
I wish sat navs had a 'Sensible route' option. 
Al.

From the fastest route option you can set avoid motorways and you should get a 'sensible route'. You can still go on the motorway during the journey and get off when you like.

In Scotland we like following the roads running next to the motorways for a change of view and the ability to stop at laybys.

Motorhome satnavs aren't like normal car ones as they will purposely avoid smaller roads to keep you on a nice major route, even if it takes a detour.

Have you entered your vehicle details in the setup?

I.e. - you should be able to enter the dimensions and weight of the vehicle and also you can set the priority of certain roads e.g. avoid gravel roads, prioritise motorways and dual carriageways etc. Once setup the satnav can prioritise certain sizes of roads to your preference.  If you haven't done this it may be setup with a default vehicle size that is a major sized motorhome and only taking smaller roads where there's no other choice.

Once setup it will create a route to try to avoid certain roads and keep you on a major road as much as possible.

Whereas a car satnav could end up taking you down a single track road for a few miles, these may take you on a 10 mile route around it so you don't end up getting stuck trying to avoid an oncoming tractor.

At first it seems they are adding a huge amount to your journey, but if you have a big motorhome they are very good at stopping you ending up in an embarrassing situation with the MH stuck in a ditch.  The HGV ones do similar things to try to avoid small towns etc.

Weegie wrote:

bikeralw wrote:
My motorbike specific Tom Tom has an option for 'Winding Roads'. I've never used it....

Garmin call it 'Adventurous routing' on their bike specific sat navs. Used it coming out of Eurotunnel a few weeks ago, and, after about an hour, I could still have hit the train line with a decent throw of a stone. It had to explore every curve it could even if it meant cart tracks!

You probably had the slider set all the way up.  If you slide it down a bit it will be more destination focused.

On maximum setting it's more for when you want to go out for a ride just for fun with no real destination, simply set a route at max 'adventurous' and see where it takes you.

I don't use it much on my Zumo in normal use but have occasionally when somewhere new and just want to find out the fun local roads.

Greyhound wrote:Motorhome satnavs aren't like normal car ones as they will purposely avoid smaller roads to keep you on a nice major route, even if it takes a detour.

Have you entered your vehicle details in the setup?

I.e. - you should be able to enter the dimensions and weight of the vehicle and also you can set the priority of certain roads e.g. avoid gravel roads, prioritise motorways and dual carriageways etc. Once setup the satnav can prioritise certain sizes of roads to your preference.  If you haven't done this it may be setup with a default vehicle size that is a major sized motorhome and only taking smaller roads where there's no other choice.

Once setup it will create a route to try to avoid certain roads and keep you on a major road as much as possible.

Whereas a car satnav could end up taking you down a single track road for a few miles, these may take you on a 10 mile route around it so you don't end up getting stuck trying to avoid an oncoming tractor.

At first it seems they are adding a huge amount to your journey, but if you have a big motorhome they are very good at stopping you ending up in an embarrassing situation with the MH stuck in a ditch.  The HGV ones do similar things to try to avoid small towns etc.

I can't even find options to set the vehicle up in.

Weegie wrote:Garmin specifically say that the Campervan Sat Nav is "Designed for adventurous travel in smaller vans", so, they probably see no need to provide a facility for vehicle sizes in this unit.

Not many places a car could go that a small van couldn't.

Ah yes, I have the 'full' motorhome version which allows the vehicle dimensions to be entered - if the campervan version is designed for smaller vans as you say, they may have removed that option.