TomTom Camper

WHAT IS IT?

A new unit from satellite navigation specialists TomTom.

As the name suggests, this particular unit has been developed with a specific market in mind - drivers who own campervans or caravans.

As well as the usual suite of TomTom’s navigation systems the Camper is designed to offercustomisedguidancebased on the vehicle size and weight, avoiding unsuitable roads.

It also features campingrelated points of interest, live traffic info, wifi, Bluetooth smartphone connectivity and lifetime map updates.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

One the surface it’s much like any other TomTom unit. The firm is one of the best-established players in the sat nav marketandhashoneditsinterface, mapping and routing systems to an impressive degree.

As with any system there are times when a little local knowledge outstrips the machine but by and large the plotting is accurate and it quickly reroutes should you take a wrong turn or meet an unexpected obstruction.

The Camper unit features live traffic information, speed camera locations and the usual food, drink, fuel and accomodation points of interest. But it also adds camper-specific POIs including campsites so you can pick a suitable spot near your destination or find somewhere to stop en-route.

That’s only part of its camper-specific abilities, though. You can also quickly and easily programme in your own vehicle’s dimensions, weight, top speed etc and the system will take this into account when plotting a route.

The theory is it will help avoid scenes of massive campers trapped down tiny country lanes by avoiding unsuitable roads. Our own van isn’t big enough to face such issues so I used the specs for the biggest model I could find - the Hymermobil Starline. Even with its 8m length and 2.35m width the TomTom confidently plotted routes around Europe. While it adhered to posted restrictions, there were some roads it recommended that I know and would be very wary of taking such a vehicle down. There’s still no replacement for proper research and paying attention.

Changing the vehicle’s specs is simple so you can still use the Camper unit in your day-to-day transport as well without taking unnecessary detours.

The six-inch screen is bright and clear and big enough for all the displayed information to be easily visible. It’s a big unit, though and takes up a chunk of windscreen real estate. A suction mounted cradle and quick-release magnet system makes it easy to mount and remove.

Using TomTom’s MyDrive app or web portal you can plan routes on your mobile device or computer and send them to the in-car unit. While the unit itself is easy to use, the option of plotting routes from the comfort of the sofa is a welcome one.

MyDrive also features community-created road trips, meaning with a couple of clicks you can draw on the experience of other drivers to find the best routes wherever you are in the world.

The smartphone connection brings call and message facilities and is great for any vehicle that doesn’t have Bluetooth. Annoyingly, though, you still need to press an onscreen button to activate voice control so it’s not totally hands-free.