Planning an RV road trip can be fun. And what makes it easier these days, are the many apps we can use to make the planning go much more smoothly.
Whether you’re going camping, cruising, or visiting family, there are plenty of things to consider when planning a road trip with an RV.
Regardless of where you plan to go, here’s our advice on getting the most from RV trip planning apps.
What are RV Trip Planners?
You may think you have no need for an RV trip planner, after all, you can just enter your destination into Google Maps on your smartphone, and your journey will be mapped out.
However, RV trip planners are designed with RVers in mind.
Some enable you to enter the details of your rig, like height and weight. They will then lay out the trip in a way that is safe for your vehicle. A regular planner like Google Maps could send you in a direction your rig can’t cross, like a small underpass.
RV trip planners will give details of campground prices, amenities and more.
They can also let you know about interesting sightseeing opportunities along the way.
As well as tell you where to access RV services along the way. Services such as propane, dump stations, repair centers and more.
What Features to Look for in Trip Planner Apps
With the variety of RV trip planners available, it is important to choose the ones that best fit your needs. Here are the top features we feel make a trip planner worth having.
Campground Information
A good trip planner will have campground details that enable you to plan out where you will stay ahead of time.
You can check along the route you plan to travel and see all the available campgrounds with the amenities and facilities you’re looking for.
Even if you don’t plan so far ahead, and are traveling at a moment’s notice, a trip planner with campground data will show you all the potential places there are for you to camp.
Site seeing Information
With RV trips, you never have to wait until you get to your destination to start making memories.
A good trip planner will highlight all the popular and not so popular site seeing opportunities along your route.
With a regular GPS, you will miss out on so many potential memory making locations.
Routing Information
It’s also incredibly useful for your trip planner to help you out along your journey.
This can guide you on an RV safe route, where you won’t run into issues with propane restrictions, overpass height limits, bridge weight limits etc.
Top 5 RV Trip Planning Apps
The Dyrt Pro
The Dyrt PRO gives you offline access to a database of more than 44,000 campgrounds with their reviews, details, and amenities. You can also download additional map details for areas you plan to camp at, before you go, so they are accessible when you are offline.
The Dyrt PRO users also get up to 40% off at select campground partners!
RV Trip Wizard
Gives you a visual display of your route along with Campgrounds, Gas Stops, points of interest and more.
It customizes RV safe Routes to the height & weight of your RV. Avoid low clearances, steep grades, and propane restrictions.
Roadtrippers
The Roadtrippers app will allow you to plan out a route, calculate your driving time between stops, calculate your estimated gas cost, tell you about gas stations, rest stops, attractions, restaurants and accommodations along the way, and more.
Allstays
The ultimate camping app that lets you find Campgrounds, RV Parks and related services with or without internet. Extensive map filters let you view only what you want to see.
Now into its 13th year, the most popular camping app gets better all year. It is the revolutionary app that lets you find and filter places and services with or without internet. From resorts to parking lots, extensive filters help you find exactly what you want.
Campendium
Created by campers for campers, Campendium has tens of thousands of places to camp, from swanky RV parks to free remote destinations, vetted by our team of full-time travelers and reviewed by our 600,000 plus members. Campendium features map overlays for cell coverage as well as public lands, so you can always find the perfect campsite.
Honorable Mentions
Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts have almost 3,000 wineries, farms, breweries, and museums that provide you with a complimentary overnight stay on their premises.
You buy something from your host in exchange for the stay to help support their local business, which means you get a place to stay and a unique camping experience in exchange for buying a desirable item.
Boondockers Welcome
Boondockers Welcome is a platform that lets you find private properties where you can park your RV for free and connect with fellow RVers.
At its core, Boondockers Welcome is a social platform dressed up as an RV-parking service.
Summing it Up
So you may find you need to combine more than one app in order to get all the features you need. This is perfectly fine and not as cumbersome as it may first seem.
These apps are made to make your journeys better, and I’m sure you’ll soon have your favorites and find them invaluable.
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