# Big Pitch Guide??? Snooper S700 Ventura???



## BreweryDave

The BPG seems like a great idea, quite expensive - any comments???

The Snooper S7000 ventura seems like a no-brainer - especially as a newbie to RV's and terrified of getting a route wrong and being stuck! Again, theres lots of advice and comments o these, and I don't begrudge the £400 or so price if it will do what it says on the tin and give me peace of mind! (I'll use a map book too for back-up! Are there any map books tailored towards large vehicles???)

Again - comments???

Thanks guys! (and gals)


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## Zepp

BreweryDave said:


> The BPG seems like a great idea, quite expensive - any comments???
> 
> The Snooper S7000 ventura seems like a no-brainer - especially as a newbie to RV's and terrified of getting a route wrong and being stuck! Again, theres lots of advice and comments o these, and I don't begrudge the £400 or so price if it will do what it says on the tin and give me peace of mind! (I'll use a map book too for back-up! Are there any map books tailored towards large vehicles???)
> 
> Again - comments???
> 
> Thanks guys! (and gals)


We use the snooper and never got stuck before , we also use a

Philip's Navigator Trucker's Britain 2011 (Road Atlases)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Nav...1438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317899714&sr=8-1

You can also get the addons for tomtom ie truckers POI

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Safety-Sp...S_Accessories_Software_ET&hash=item519b1e26fa


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## BreweryDave

Thanks Zepp - ordered the Navigator atlas from the link, arrived today - excellent road map book!


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## mygalnme

Hi Dave getting hubby a snooper for B,day have found them cheaper on Amazon...  
Margaret


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## mygalnme

Hi again have just bought the Snooper S900 Ventura recommended in the MMM magazine got it from Chameleon for 239.99  
Margaret


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## BreweryDave

Looks like a god deal Margaret - hope it wasn't supposed to be a surprise!!! (...unless he never visits here!)

Went for the S7000 for the 7" screen - anything smaller would be lost in the vast expanse that is the cockpit of my RV! Also - for the gimmick of watching TV on it - handy in the bedroom when madam is watching Corrie!!! :lol:


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## MicknPat

The Big Pitch Guide IMHO is *the Bible for ALL large RV owners.* 

I have both the UK & European guides.

Finding a UK large RV friendly site in the UK isn't to hard as you can usually telephone and speak to a staff member, not so easy abroad if you don't speak the language or the site staff don't speak any English.

As for the Snooper S7000 Ventura I personally have no experience and welcome reports from current owners, any GPS device is only as good as those who have programmed it.

I find driving a large RV the problem isn't the actual road but the others road users especially those who travel towards you who don't slow down and every time the road narrows and there is a bend I can guarantee meeting a vehicle head on  but if you expect it will happen it isn't such a shock 

Mick.


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## 98452

This site shows potential and is already proving useful at locating large piches http://www.rvfriendly.co.uk


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## 631MTT

*Big Pitch Guide*

Big Pitch Guide

Wouldn't be without it - either in the UK or in Europe

As Mick above advocates - phone ahead to check pitch availability

Our driving of the RV's isn't the problem - we value our investment - as Mick says "it's the others you have to worry about"


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## BreweryDave

Thanks for that. Cashflow is gonna be tight for the first month or two - gotta pay for the Mirada, pitch fees (hopefully seasonal for year round, just over £2k) and the insurance (£524 with Sureguard), maybe I'll ask Mrs. brewerydave to get it for my Christmas present! ...now theres a thought!  :?:


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## BreweryDave

*S7000 - first thoughts.*

Well the Snooper arrived (purchased from the Sat Nav company - with a £20 discount from this site - thanks MHF!).

Immediately peed off - no paper instructions - not even a small glossy quick start guide. Nope - just a CD Rom. Therefore, stuck on the laptop most of the night reading! (yes - could print it - but 73 pages!!!!)

Secondly peed off - it asks you to register the device. Great - good idea - but the only way to do that is to subscribe to the camera download facility, bang goes more dosh! No- you can't register it, and just expect map updates - have to sign up to the AURA. Oh well, I guess another £30 won't hurt - too much!

Thirdly peed off - comes with a TMC antenna, an external aerial which has a 5mm jack plug, used to recieve live traffic updates. The instructions say - plug into the socket on the base of the unit. There isn't one! There are 2 sockets on the side, one for earphones and one for video input. Stumped on that one!

Forthly peed off. Input vehicle dimensions (33' long, 8' wide, 12' tall and 7.5T) and set up a route I knew. It sent me a way which made sense, but one which with local knowledge I wouldn't take. (personal choice I guess, I know the road is a tad narrow at one point, but do'able, so I guess I'll forgive it that.) In order to re-route on the motorway was not straightforward, but I managed it.
HOWEVER!!!! I then changed the vehicle dimensions. I set up that I was 50 metres long, 5 metres wide, and 50 tons. I then asked it for the same route. ........it sent me the same way! I fully exopected it to come up with something along the lines of 'there is no suitable route' or similar - but no! Now, bearing in mind the primary reason I bought this was for the very reason that I didn't want to be routed on small roads, it doesn't seem to understand this!

Fifthly peed off - it's supposed to have all of the CC and CCC main sites in its database. Well, a simple check showed that's wrong! My nearest CCC sites are Kelvedon Hatch and Hertford, niether of which are on there!

Having said all that - it's a sat nav - it does what it's supposed to do, the bluetooth hands free phone facility is good and works well, the built in TV is usefull and works really well, and the 7" screen and user interface is very good.
I will never trust it 100%, and will always look at the map aswell, but apart from the negatives above - it is a very nice piece of kit!

I think the advertising of it is VERY misleading, but I'll stick with it, and am sure after I iron out the bits and pieces I don't still fully understand will grow to love it!
.....heres hoping - it cost 10 times more than my current cheapo £40 Mio from Wilkinsons, lets see if its worth it after a few months!!!


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## coppo

You have hit the nail on the head saying its a sat nav and you'll never trust it 100%.

We have a Tom Tom Truck and its the same, ok most of the time but does get it wrong occasionally. Last week going to Newton Millsite in Bath it tried to take us under a bridge which would have been very very tight due to the angle of approach straight from a main road. 

There was a perfectly good route on wide roads and no bridges which when we phoned the site discoevered we had passed a few minutes earlier, how frustrating.

Paul.


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