Forum Discussion

jeffcarp94's avatar
jeffcarp94
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2025

Android 8" tablet for navigation

If you've been looking for a small Android tablet to use in an RV for navigation, I also have been looking for a long time but I finally found a great one.

I wanted a 8" Android tablet which is pretty hard to find to begin with, and even harder when it needs to have a GNSS receiver for navigation. I used the Lenovo Tab M9 for two years but the performance was not great, which is to be expected for a $100 tablet.

I learned of the Headwolf FPad 5 Pro. It's clearly a Chinese import but for $179 and since Walmart was the online retailer, I decided to take a chance. I'm very impressed. The benchmarks for this tablet blows the Lenovo away and my experience with both of them confirms that.

The performance is very good. No lag whatsoever. It has 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage. It charges with USB-C with a power adapter included in the box. It even comes with a factory-applied screen protector. I mounted in it our Class C using a RAM X-Grip.

Since I'm a bit of a navigation enthusiast and do some beta testing, I have the tablet loaded up with offline truck maps for CargoTour, Sygic Truck, Trimble CoPilot, HERE WeGo, TomTom GO, Magic Earth and MapFactor Navigator. I haven't even used up half of the storage yet.

If you're looking for a tablet, I definitely recommend this product.

 

  • curious as to why you wanted a odd ball 8" size as opposed to the 10" variants that have more features but are lower in cost because of the popularity of that size?  it is a space factor or some other reason?  I thought about using my 10" Samsung but I already have built in nav in the truck so it would just be more clutter, and in my car I have been forced to use android auto but I found waze and really like that one, why isn't that on you app list, have i settled for a lower level nav app in the car? 

    • jeffcarp94's avatar
      jeffcarp94
      Explorer II

      Yes, it's a space issue. The Ford Transit has the perfect spot to mount a tablet but it's a very tight spot. The lower dash, the air vent, the grab handle and the door create a pretty tight spot. Plus the 10" tablets tend to be pretty heavy so they bounce a lot more. I also don't want to cover that AC vent.

      I am not a fan of Waze. Personal preference. I don't think the crowd sourcing of traffic results in very accurate traffic except in the largest major cities. I use an RV-specific navigation app that take the dimensions, size and existence of propane into account in the routing.

       

      • way2roll's avatar
        way2roll
        Navigator II

        Curious why you need an RV specific GPS. If you're Rving in a Ford Transit based RV, they're pretty small and your route shouldn't be at all affected by road constraints. I've been Rving most of my life in everything from a Class A, to FW to our current sprinter based Class C. I know my height/weight etc. I have never been in any situation that would have made any difference with an RV specific GPS vs Waze (which I find far more accurate in in up to date info than most of the others). I pay close attention to road signs, bridge warnings etc. but it's really never been issue. I feel like you are developing solutions in search of a problem. 

  • I'm confused, your post comes across more as an advertisement than anything else.

    8" tablets are a dime a dozen and you would have to search to find one without GPS (yes, GNSS is common). For navigation, no real need for a more expensive model.

    I have a 5yr old samsung that I'm only replacing because the USB port is going bad (have to fiddle with it to get it to charge). I can get an updated version of the same for $100.

    • jeffcarp94's avatar
      jeffcarp94
      Explorer II

      I guess I'm sorry if my post came across as an advertisement though it's quite a stretch to suggest that I'd have some reason to promote an imported Chinese tablet from Walmart.

      8" Android tablets are not a dime a dozen. Samsung has not released an 8" tablet since the A7 Lite in 2021 and it's performance is horrible. I owned it also and it's worse than the Lenovo Tab M9.

      If you think that an 8" high-end Android tablet with GPS is a dime a dozen then please help others in this forum that are looking and post a list of them.

      • valhalla360's avatar
        valhalla360
        Navigator

        Sorry, it was just an oddly spec heavy and specific post.

        If the primary use is navigation, any cheap tablet will do fine. No need for a high end model. Just search amazon/walmart (or your preferred supplier) and there are plenty of 8" tablets and they all come with GPS and will run, any of your common navigation apps. Never had a performance problem with my old Samsung and before that I had an off brand that worked fine.