Garmin Camper 1090 Caravan / Motorhome Sat Nav Review

The best sat navs on the market

While big names such as Garmin and TomTom tend to dominate the sat nav market, each model can vary greatly in terms of display size and the features on offer. This is why it makes more sense to buy a sat nav that is made for use with a larger vehicle, such as a motorhome or caravan, where you will need more navigation information and advice than a standard car driver.

The reason why caravan and motorhome sat navs tend to cost more than standard sat navs is because they will have more features that are valuable to the driver. The more features a sat nav has the more it is likely to cost.

The Garmin Camper 1090 Caravan & Motorhome Sat Nav while tending to be at the more expensive end of the market is nevertheless a great buy simply because of the extra value it offers and the larger – easier to read display that makes navigation easier and safer.

What extra benefits are included?

This Garmin motorhome sat nav is quite large in comparison to most other makes of caravan and motorhome sat navs. It comes with a huge ten-inch high-resolution touchscreen display that can be used either in portrait or landscape mode.

While the look and feel of the screen is more like a tablet rather than a traditional sat-nav, it does make reading maps and following directions so much easier. This model also includes built-in WiFi that makes map updating easy. This is a great bonus for those who don’t own a laptop.

Here is a quick rundown of what features are included:

• Voice control with hands-free calling
•  Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity for easy map and software updates
• Large 10″ Camper sat-nav with high-resolution touch display and options for portrait and landscape mode
• Preloaded street maps for UK and Europe
• Custom routing that uses the size and weight of your Caravan or Motorhome to find an ideal route
• Preloaded directories of Caravan and Motorhome parks and services from ACSI, CamperContact, and Trailer’s PARK, with search filtering to find your ideal stopover
• Provides road warnings to help keep you aware of steep grades, sharp curves, weight limits and more

Free updates for life

The Garmin Camper 1090 Caravan & Motorhome Sat Nav includes free map updates for life. This is helpful because a lot of road layouts can change over time, so your free map updates will always notify you of any changes, such as new roads, roundabouts and altered road junctions.

Free map updates include European maps, so for those who like to go exploring there is no need to pay extra for European maps to help find your way around.

You will also get updated speed camera alerts that will help you to keep your vehicle at a safe speed and not exceed the speed limit. Because this sat nav has built-in WiFi, it will continue to get over-air instant updates without the need for you to physically plug it into a laptop or desktop computer to update.

How sat navs add to your safety

Using a Garmin Camper 1090 Caravan & Motorhome Sat Nav is a whole lot safer than trying to drive and read a map book. However, care must be taken about where you position your sat nav because you don’t want it to obscure your view of the road ahead.

You can set your destination into the sat nav before you leave and all you need to do while driving is to listen to the verbal instructions given to guide you on your journey. The ten-inch screen is ideal for getting extra information with just a glance that won’t distract your attention away from the road.

Make sure that you configure your sat nav with the size and weight of your motorhome or towing caravan so the Garmin Camper 1090 can effectively plot a route that will avoid all major road issues, such as narrow lanes, low bridges, restricted weight roads and steep terrain or sharp bends in the road.

Remember to take a break from driving, so use the preloaded directories that contain all the nearby motorhome and caravan campsites from ACSI, iOverlander and Campercontact that are suitable for your vehicle and offer the extra services that you want, such as free WiFi, electric hook-ups, showers, entertainment facilities etc.

Customer feedback for the Garmin Camper 1090

The customer feedback for the Garmin Camper 1090 is generally positive. Customer comments include:

• I liked everything about the sat nav. It is ideal for my motorhome and tells me the best campsites to go to. I would recommend it to anyone.

• Towing a caravan means you have extra things to worry about. This sat nav alerts me to any roads that are too narrow for me to drive down and has saved me from getting stuck on a number of occasions.

• I never have to worry about how wide the roads are when I use the Garmin Camper 1090. I am confident that this sat nav will never steer me in the wrong direction.