Not too long ago we were talking with some fellow RV’ers and the question of “what apps do you use” when traveling was posed. Everyone seemed to have their favorites, and much of that was driven by the type of traveling each couple favored.
Since we have so many friends and family jumping into the mobile community, I thought I would share our favorites. We have Android based phones and our app store is Google Play, but I’m sure you can find most of these apps for any platform. We also have a couple of publications that we use regularly.
Lets start with the apps, since these are the ones we use most frequently.
1. ALLSTAYS Camp and RV Campgrounds Plus – $9.99
In our discussion, this seemed to be the go-to-app. If you can park an RV overnight somewhere, it is most likely in this app. Here is the link to their website if you want to read everything this app can do. There are several versions of this app, some of them free, that only show you certain types of destinations. However, the Camp and RV app encompasses ALL the types of destinations covered in the other apps. It also shows low clearance areas, and where the steep grades are, which is kind of important to us.
Truck Stops and Travel Plazas – $9.99
Camp and Tent – 5.99
Walmart Overnight Parking – $2.99
Rest Stops Plus – $0.99
Big Truck Stops – FREE
Military Campgrounds – FREE
2. GasBuddy – FREE
Even if you are not a cross country traveler, this is an excellent app. It is user driven and 99.9% of all gas stations are represented. It will show you every gas station, their price for each grade of gas, and the last time the price was updated. We like it because people post pictures of the gas stations and it helps us decide if we can get our big rig in and back out again. Combined with Google Maps satellite view and we haven’t gotten in a bind yet. When heading down the road, it gives us peace-of-mind so we don’t panic about where to fill up in the middle of Kansas….where there is NOTHING….and lots of it.
3. Free RV Campgrounds & Parking – FREE
We use this app much less than our ALLSTAYS app, but it is nice to have an app that shows ONLY free camping. ALLSTAYS has almost every RV site where you can park, but maybe not all. It is a nice cross reference.
4. Yelp – FREE
When you spend a lot of time in areas that are unfamiliar, finding the best places to shop and eat is like playing darts blindfolded. Locals are your best source of information, but sometimes you need more help. Google has a wide range of location reviews and we use that a lot for finding good Laundromats to rock shops. What I like about Yelp is for those that create accounts and do reviews, it takes into account their “home” location. Thus you can see what “the locals” have said about the place. We have found this to be very accurate.
5. Coordinate Converter. – FREE
Everything these days seems to have GPS coordinates. For outdoor enthusiasts, we know you have run into this problem….coordinates can come in several formats. AAAGHHH. This app will reduce your frustration. Plug in the coordinates given to you and it will show you several other formats. The arguments this little app has prevented.
6. The last two apps we use the most are US Zip codes Lite (cause sometimes we aren’t sure where we are) and Satellite Director. These we use to dial in our Direct TV dishes, the automatic one on the roof, and in unfortunate cases, our external.
There are other we use but not frequently, and they are more specific to our situation. Such as our campground membership networks, and our Pilot/Flying J RV Plus locations. Remember, these are our favorites. There are TONS of apps. Check them out and see which ones you prefer.
Now for publications. Why do we even bother with printed copies that are out of date before they are released? For the simple fact that we do not always have cell and data service.
Our second reason is that though the apps I listed above do show us everything we could ever want, being able to spread out visual maps of where campgrounds are next to each other is helpful to John and me. Besides, the apps show you what is around you and it is sometimes hard to look states away on those tiny screens! So what are the publications we use?
1. The Next Exit. – Absolutely recommend this to every RV’er. Yes it only covers major interstates and not the smaller byways that many of us prefer, but as a resource it can’t be beat in our opinion.
2. Camping with the Corps of Engineers. – This book isn’t as useful to us as we had hoped. Many of the Corps campgrounds we have visited are GORGEOUS! If you like to fish/boat/kayak, and have a rig that is 34 foot or less, this is the book for you. Most of these sites are along streams, rivers and lakes. At 40 feet, there are few we can fit into. (sad face) The prices are pretty good at these parks too.
3. Guide to Free Campgrounds. – This is one of John’s favorite books. It covers the whole USA and includes only campgrounds that have RV and tent-only campsites, so if you are a tent-only camper you will want a more comprehensive book. It includes thousands of public campgrounds, National Forests and Parks, and John’s all time favorite: BLM lands. It does include GPS Coordinates of the locations. Nice.
4. Road Atlas. – Always have one, because sometimes that darn GPS wants to make you drive through a lake. We prefer Rand McNally Large Scale, but choose your favorite, just make sure you have one.
5. Delorme Atlas & Gazetteer Topo map books. – These are for our off-roading friends, and those who just like to explore the wilderness. These show comprehensive detail of back roads, backwater lakes, trailheads, public land borders, prime hunting and fishing spots, boat launch areas….yeah outdoor stuff. We have one for each state we have visited so far.
I also keep a small 3-ring binder, with pocket dividers by state, that I make notes about places and lists of things we wanted to do but didn’t get to do, and in some cases, bi-fold maps and brochures. Our memory isn’t what it used to be, and things do tend to run together after a while.
So there you have it.
Is there a travel app you like? We would love to hear about it! Comment or email the webmaster!
