Frequently Asked Questions

Tap the parameter strip at the bottom of the map screen — it shows your vehicle type, height, and weight as chips. Tapping anywhere on the strip opens your full vehicle profile where you can edit height, width, length, gross weight, axle load, number of axles, trailer type, fuel type, and hazmat class.

Dimensions are stored locally on your device and used for every route calculation until you change them.

HGV Nav supports 12 transport types. Only HGV types activate full truck restriction routing — other types use standard routing without dimension filtering.

• HGV Artic — articulated lorry with drawbar or fifth-wheel coupling
• HGV Rigid — rigid lorry with or without drawbar trailer
• HGV Drawbar — rigid with drawbar trailer (longer overall length)
• Coach / Bus — large passenger vehicle with height restrictions
• Minibus — lighter vehicle restrictions
• Campervan / Motorhome — height restriction routing enabled
• STGO Cat 1 & Cat 2 — abnormal load routing
• Car, Motorcycle, Bicycle, Pedestrian — standard routing

In the route planner panel, tap the + button to add a waypoint. You can add multiple intermediate stops between your start and destination. Drag the rows to reorder them. Each leg is routed using your full truck profile.

what3words divides the world into 3m × 3m squares, each with a unique three-word address (e.g. ///filled.count.soap). It's particularly useful for directing to loading bays and yard entrances that don't have a clear postal address.

Type /// followed by the three words in the search box. HGV Nav resolves the address and routes to that exact point.

Your vehicle dimensions (height, weight, width, length, axle count) and hazmat class are sent to the HERE and TomTom routing APIs. Both engines filter out:

• Bridges and tunnels with clearance below your vehicle height
• Roads with weight limits below your gross vehicle weight
• Hazmat exclusion zones matching your declared hazmat class
• Roads physically unsuitable for your vehicle category

In Auto mode the app runs both engines in parallel and returns the faster result. You can pin to a specific engine in Settings → Navigation → Routing engine.

• Fastest — minimises travel time, uses motorways and dual carriageways freely. Best for time-critical deliveries.
• Practical — balances time and road type. Good default for most HGV runs.
• Shortest — minimises total distance, may use slower roads. Useful when fuel cost matters more than time.

Routing data from HERE and TomTom is comprehensive but not perfect. Bridge height databases have gaps, and temporary restrictions (roadworks, emergency closures) are not always captured in real time.

Always obey physical road signs, which take legal precedence over navigation guidance. If you encounter a restriction not shown in the app, do not proceed past it.

To report a consistent error, email support@hgvnav.com with the road name and restriction details so we can flag it with our data providers.

Tap the Tolls or Motorways chips in the route options bar just above the map. Active avoidances are highlighted in green. The route recalculates immediately.

HERE specialises in commercial vehicle routing and has an extensive UK bridge height and weight database. It also provides lane count data used by the lane guidance strip.

TomTom has strong real-time traffic integration and is well-suited for urban routing and dimensional filtering.

Auto runs both in parallel and returns the faster response. This is the recommended setting for most drivers. Switch to a specific engine if you consistently prefer one provider's results for your routes.

HGV Nav includes STGO Cat 1 and Cat 2 as transport types, which adjusts dimension filtering for abnormal loads. However, HGV Nav does not provide statutory route authorisation — STGO movements require formal notification to National Highways and the relevant police forces. Always comply with your movement order.

The thin ring around the green turn icon is a manoeuvre countdown arc. It starts full at the beginning of each instruction leg and depletes clockwise as you approach the turn point.

It gives you a visual sense of urgency — a nearly-empty arc means the turn is imminent — without needing to read the distance figure. It resets automatically when the instruction changes.

HGV Nav extracts UK road numbers from your instruction text and colour-codes them to match the real road sign colours:

• M25 Blue — Motorway (M25, M6, M1, A1(M))
• A4088 Green — A-road (A40, A4088, A13)
• B2040 Cream/yellow — B-road (B2040, B174)

The badge appears inline with the current instruction and also in the "THEN" preview line so you can see which road comes after the turn.

When HERE returns lane count data for the upcoming manoeuvre, a lane guidance strip appears below the instruction panel. Each lane shows a directional arrow — left lane shows a left-turn arrow, right lane a right-turn arrow, middle lanes show straight arrows.

Lanes you should be in are highlighted in bright green; wrong lanes are dimmed grey. The strip slides away automatically when lane data isn't available. Lane guidance only works when routing via HERE (not TomTom).

HGV Nav queries the HERE speed limit database for the road you're on. When your GPS speed exceeds the limit by your chosen threshold (5, 10, or 15 mph over), the app fires a haptic buzz and an optional voice warning. The alert won't repeat for 30 seconds.

On National Speed Limit roads (no number posted), HGV Nav shows 60 mph for single carriageway and 70 mph for dual carriageway and motorway — the UK NSL values for HGVs.

Always follow the posted sign.

The thin green bar at the top of the bottom navigation card shows your progress from the route start (0%) to the destination (100%). It's derived from your position in the route polyline and updates smoothly as you advance through each instruction.

The daily walkaround checklist is in Settings → Vehicle Check. It covers lights, tyres, mirrors, coupling, load security, and more. Items reset automatically each day. Completing it before departure helps demonstrate due diligence under your duty-of-care obligations as a driver.

The load security checklist separately covers strapping, dunnage, doors, and weight distribution in line with Construction and Use Regulations.

When break reminders are on, HGV Nav schedules a local iOS notification when your set driving interval is nearly up. You can set the interval to 4 hours, 4.5 hours (EU tachograph limit), or 6 hours (WTD limit).

This is a convenience reminder only — not a legal compliance tool. Compliance with EU tachograph regulations and the Working Time Directive is your legal responsibility.

• Apple Maps — built in, no setup, excellent UK coverage. Best default for most drivers.
• Mapbox — vector tiles with custom truck styling and offline map download support. Best if you need offline maps or prefer a different visual style.
• Google — shows Apple Maps in-app but tapping Navigate hands off to the Google Maps app for turn-by-turn. Useful if you prefer Google's live traffic view in a dedicated app.

Switch in Settings → Map Display → Provider.

Go to Settings → Map & Display → Map orientation and choose:

• Heading Up — rotates the map so your direction of travel is always at the top. Most drivers find this more intuitive while moving.
• North Up — keeps north fixed at the top like a traditional paper map. Useful for planning and longer-distance overview.

Yes. During navigation, tap the Sat / Map button in the bottom action bar to toggle satellite imagery. This is only available with Apple Maps and Mapbox.

Yard Intel is a community database of driver-submitted notes for delivery yards, warehouses, and depots. Notes can include access codes, restricted-height approach roads, preferred bay numbers, site difficulty ratings, and photos.

Yard Intel markers appear on the map as coloured pins. Tap one to read the notes left by other drivers. Submit your own via the Yard Intel tab — no account needed. Reports are anonymous and contain only the GPS coordinate, your text, and any photo you choose to add.

Intelligence layers are toggleable in Settings → Route Intelligence. Depending on your settings, HGV Nav can show:

• Low bridge and restricted height warnings
• Level crossing locations
• DVSA and National Highways weigh stations
• Speed camera positions
• Fuel stations with live diesel prices
• HGV truck stops and parking areas
• Live traffic incidents and road closures
• National Highways variable message signs
• TfL disruptions and ULEZ zone boundaries
• Roadworks with expected delays
• STGO-approved abnormal load routes
• Yard Intel community pins

Check that the layer is enabled in Settings → Route Intelligence. Layers marked as coming soon are not yet live — data integration for those features is in development. Layers that require internet will not appear if you're offline.

The vertical bar on the right side of the map shows the density of alerts along your planned route. Coloured markers on the bar represent incidents, low bridges, speed cameras, and other alerts at proportional positions along the route from top (start) to bottom (destination).

Tap a marker to jump the map to that alert.

HGV Nav does not store your location on its own servers. Your GPS is processed on-device and transmitted to HERE, TomTom, and Mapbox to provide routing and maps — but HGV Nav itself holds no location history.

All app preferences and vehicle settings are stored locally on your device using Apple's standard storage. Read the full Privacy Policy for details.

Route calculation requires an internet connection (HERE and TomTom APIs). Speed limit alerts and intelligence layers also need connectivity. When using Mapbox as your map provider, you can download map tile areas for offline viewing of roads and terrain.

All preferences and checklist data are stored locally on your device and deleted when you delete the app. If you submitted Yard Intel reports and want them removed, email support@hgvnav.com with the location and approximate date of the report.

Check your internet connection. Try switching the routing engine in Settings → Navigation → Routing engine. If both HERE and TomTom fail, you'll see a brief error message — this usually means a temporary API outage. Wait a moment and try again.

If the problem persists, email support@hgvnav.com with the origin and destination you were trying to route.

Speed limit data comes from HERE and is regularly updated but may lag behind recent sign changes. On National Speed Limit roads (no posted number), HGV Nav shows 60 mph for single carriageway and 70 mph for dual carriageway and motorway.

Always follow the physical sign. If a specific road consistently shows the wrong limit, email us the road name and location and we'll report it to HERE.

The lane guidance strip only appears when: (1) lane guidance is enabled in Settings, (2) the HERE API has returned lane count data for the upcoming manoeuvre, and (3) laneCount is greater than 1. Many roads — particularly rural A-roads — don't have lane data in HERE's database, so the strip won't show on those roads.

Make sure the routing engine is set to HERE or Auto in Settings → Navigation → Routing engine.

• Force-close and reopen the app.
• Check you're running iOS 18 or later.
• Make sure you have a working internet connection.
• Delete and reinstall the app (note: locally stored preferences will be reset).

If the problem persists, email support@hgvnav.com with your device model, iOS version, and a description of what happened.