Best Satellite Navigation Systems for Caravan and Motorhome Owners

For most owners of caravans and motorhomes, a satellite navigation system is a welcome edition to their holiday equipment. If you've not made the decision to buy one until now, here's our top devices.

First off, let's look at the budget end of the market with the Navman S100. Prices online range from just £89 to £170 including delivery. Although it's in the budget range, the Navman still comes with plenty of features including a 4.3 inch widescreen format touchscreen, 1 Gigabyte of hard disk space and 'text to speech' which will read out road names to you as you drive. The Navman also has pedestrian mode, for when you've pitched up and want to investigate the local area on foot. It also comes with the Traffic Message Channel to keep you up to speed with the travel news in your area and warn of any potential hold ups on the way to your destination. It can also give you up to the minute weather forecasts!

The maps for the S100 are provided by Navteq, and cover just single countries, which is perfect if you don't plan to take your caravan or motorhome out of the country. If you want to go abroad in Europe, you might be best looking at the Garmin NÃœvi 255W, which our next sat nav to investigate.

The Garmin NÜvi 255W is still within the budget price range with online prices ranging from £104 to £165. It too comes with a 4.3 inch 16:9 touchscreen. The Garmin, however, lacks the extra features that the Navman comes with such as pedestrian mode, Traffic Messaging Channel and 'text to speech'.

Maps for the 255W are again provided by Navteq, but the Garmin has the added benefit of covering a single continent.

Next we look at a mid-range model - the Navigon 7310. Prices range from £215 to £240 online, but you'll find you get a lot more in the way of added features. The Navigon comes with a USB connection, Bluetooth and 4 Gigabytes of hard disk space. It also has the functionality to be used as a hands-free device for your mobile phone - handy if you want to phone ahead to your camp site destination. As well as having 'text to speech' and Traffic Messaging Channel, the Navigon also has a 3D landmark and 3D elevation mode, should you wish to get a different view of where you're heading.

The maps for the 7310 are also provided by Navteq and cover a single continent, so you're getting the same coverage as the Garmin, but with a lot of extra features.

At the top end of the market, and probably your budget, is the Tom Tom GO 940 Live. Tom Tom are probably one of the most famous names in satellite navigation systems, so you'll be expecting the best in terms of specification - you won't be disappointed!

Prices for the GO 940 Live range from £250 to £557 online so it pays to shop around for this one. The features on this Tom Tom are vast, so here goes: it comes with iPOD control and internet connectivity so you can get online whilst away from home via a wi-fi connection. It is capable of connecting to other devices via USB or Bluetooth and can be used as an in car phone! The GO 940 also has an FM transmitter and MP3 playback capabilities, not to mention voice control, Traffic Messaging Channel, and map sharing facilities.

Like the other three models reviewed, it comes with a 4.3 inch 16:9 touch screen, which seems to be the norm for new sat navs. One thing that's different about the Tom Tom is that the maps are provided by Teleatlas and cover more than 1 continent.

If your towing outfit or motorhome are super-sized, you could look for a device such as the Snooper Ventura, which calculates practical routes based on the vehicle's width, length, height and weight and includes a unique search facility of 8600 campsites across 29 European countries! It's not a budget option, though, with prices ranging from £350 to £450.

Verdict

If you want a budget sat nav with ample features, the Navman S100 is the one to go for. However, if you want a budget, no-nonsense sat nav that will take you around Europe, go for the Garmin NÃœvi 255W. If you're into your gadgets and want something that's more than just a sat nav - the Navigon provides heaps of added extras at a reasonable price. The Tom Tom is for those who want to get the most out of their sat nav or want to travel further a field than Europe in their caravan or motorhome. Finally the Snooper Ventura is for owners of larger outfits that need special guidance as to which roads they can travel on.