We are full-time RVers who travel all around the United States. We have been to Mexico and Canada in our RV too. On my phone and my laptop are many apps. There are apps I wouldn’t plan a trip without. Some help provide safety for our travel and our stays. And some apps make the stays more fun and adventurous.
My Must-Have RV Travel Apps
Whether you are full-time or just absorbing all you can in bursts, here are the travel apps for RVers I think can enhance and protect your experiences. Enjoy them, because I’m confident they will make your travel planning a whole lot better before, during, and after your road trip to enhance your experience.
Fuel Apps: Open Roads and Mudflap
The Open Roads app will require you to be a member. But if you travel full-time or a lot of miles in your RV and you use diesel, this is one of the best apps for RVers because it helps you identify fuel stops. These fuel stops along with your membership will give you discounts on diesel. They have recently updated their app with a better map. You can see where you are on the map immediately and see your route so you can find the best fuel discount rate at gas stations and truck stops. As a member, you can also search your card transactions and history. The service is good across the United States and Canada.
Mudflap is another app for fuel discounts. They do not require a membership, but you will also need to provide your bank account information to set it up.
Where to Stay: RV LIFE Campgrounds
This the first place you should look. When we want to find campsites for your RV on public land or privately owned RV parks, RV LIFE Campgrounds is what we use. Search by state and zone in on the area you prefer. You can also read and submit reviews about the campgrounds. It’s easy to sort the results by the number of stars a campground has received from other campers, and filter for other criteria like amenities.
Once you begin looking at individual campground options, you will find an overview of the park, photos, lists of amenities, and reviews. I like the ‘tips’ area because you can get specific ideas here such as things to do in the area, nearby trails, or even things you want to be prepared for before you arrive at the campground. There are also suggestions of things to take advantage of while you are at the campground itself.
Harvest Hosts is another great option.
This app requires a membership, but it has access to a lot of one-night stay options. If you are moving from one area to another but the drive is just too far to make it in one day, Harvest Hosts stays are the perfect stop-over. With your membership, you will get access to the app as well as exclusive member discounts to other RV-related companies and services.
They include stays at wineries, farms, attractions, and breweries & distilleries. You can also upgrade and add golf course options or even boondocking stays. The stays are free, but it is required you patronize the business on the night of your stay and spend some dollars as a thank-you for the free stay. Also, consider adding their CampScanner app to your toolkit. This lets you make reservations at over 9,600+ campgrounds at national and state parks, and other awesome destinations with RV camping.
Trip Planning: RV Life Pro
This is the best GPS app because it turns your phone into an RV safe GPS. The big bonus is that this subscription-based app is designed by RVers for RVers. It’s better than Google maps alone, because unlike Google which doesn’t have an “RV-safe roads” setting, RV LIFE Pro directions are custom tailored to the height & weight of your RV. So, you will know ahead of time where there are steep mountains, low-clearance bridges, bridges with weight limits, and facilities like RV dump stations. You can even get turn-by-turn navigation help even when you may be without cell service.
This really is the best RV travel app that’s totally worth the subscription. It also includes a suite of helpful tools, like the trip planning app RV Trip Wizard, which is different from the Good Sam trip planner because it automatically includes all brands of private campgrounds and public parks (with Good Sam, you have to ask it to search for all brands). You also get access to many other helpful tools that make RVing better, like RV LIFE Campgrounds.
RV Travel Safety: The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel app is comprehensive even if you get the free version. Select your location and it will save it. You can regularly search the weather forecast between multiple locations. This is great if you are planning on leaving an RV stay and heading for a new location. You can make sure the weather works for your travels in both areas.
We have found the weather reports to be more accurate than any other weather reporting apps. But yes – no weather app is perfect. You can search for hourly or daily weather reports. The app will also give you weather warnings for your area. Scan the radar to track storm movements across time and location. You may not know about wind gusts in time to get your awning in, but you can also see wind speeds as well as sunrise and sunset times for your location.
Cell Coverage: Coverage?
We live in an era when RV internet is almost as important as water and fuel. Cell phone coverage apps for RVers are necessary for most of us. A great way to find out if you have coverage wherever you plan on going is the Coverage? app for Android or iPhone.
If you work from your RV or want connectivity for potential emergencies, it is important to know you have reliable internet coverage before you arrive. Of course, it is not always perfect. One time we arrived at a park to find we were down in a gully. Although cell service was in that area, the dip down behind the hills left us with no service. So be sure to read campground or area reviews too.
Smart RV Control: Lippert OneControl
This app by RV parts manufacturer Lippert helps you control many of the aspects of your RV. Many RVs have Lippert products, and it makes it easier to control these features in one place. There are a lot of features it covers – everything from monitoring tire pressure to controlling your slides. You can also receive real-time notifications based on your app settings.
Here are just a few of the features you can control with the app: antennas, routers, monitor panels, leveling, propane sensors, keyless door locks, temp sensors, cameras, and even anti-lock brakes. So it is convenient to be able to monitor multiple items in one app. If you have a lot of products by one brand in your travel trailer or motorhome, you may look to see if they have an app available for monitoring multiple products.
Fun RV Apps for RVers
Identifying Species: Seek
This is a neat camera app. Point and click your phone camera at any plant, animal, or fungi. The Seek app will identify it. Enter your location and learn about the species you observe. This can also be a safety app because it can help avoid poisonous plants and animals. It can be fun for kids. They can earn badges for identifying different types of species and participating in challenges.
The app will also give you a list and photos of various species in your location to identify them in advance and even look for them on hikes. You can track your observations by editing and managing them in the app. It is easy to use. Here is a camera button right at the bottom of the main app. So, take a photo and follow the steps for identification or managing your photo. It is a great way to go back and remember experiences and sightings along your walks or travels. Great for bird watchers or any animal or plant enthusiasts!
Language Translation: Talking Translator
This one of the best apps for RVers who go to Mexico. It’s also easy to use. Once you install it, you pick the language for yourself and who you would like to translate. It is simple to see which way to point your phone. You will need to permit it to translate. When the other language speaker talks, it will translate it into your language. If you turn the volume up on your phone, you can click a microphone that will play it out loud for you too. I don’t find this necessary, but it is a great app to learn useful quick sentences for basic communication.
Stargazing: Stellarium
Here’s a star map app for night sky viewing and learning about astronomy. After you download it, select the constellations option on the menu. Not only can you move your phone around and see the lines for the constellations, but they also have a very light shadow behind the constellations that represent the “asterism” of the group of stars pattern. In other words, the animal, person, or object depicted by the star grouping. Click on any constellation and get interesting facts about it like distance and the meaning of its name.
I hope you try out any of these trip tools, because I know they have brought a new level of satisfaction to our full-time lifestyle.
