As an RV'er, trip planning has it's own challenges. It isn't always a simple matter of going from Point A to Point B in a straight line. We need to be cognizant of our rig height, weight and even length. So how do we make it easier for ourselves?
RV Life Pro is a useful tool to make your upcoming trip less stressful. Their trip planning software allows you to enter your RV information to help guide you to your destination while avoiding those low bridge hazards or weight-restricted bridges. You can research campground information and read reviews from people who have stayed there. Many will include tips to make your stay even better like what site they were in or places to visit.
My husband and I took a trip from our home in Washington state last summer to the Grand Design National Rally in Elkhart, Indiana. It would be our longest trip with our Solitude fifth wheel. I logged into my RV Life Pro account and created a new trip in Trip Wizard. I love how Trip Wizard walks you through step by step with setting up a new trip. Although there is a look-up function for published specifications for your RV, it is on you to know your actual measurements and weight. It is a good starting point though. I entered our travel boundaries of how many miles or hours each day we wanted to travel. Then the fun started!
After entering my final destination and my boundaries set, I could start looking campgrounds along my initial route. The map shows my min-mid-max boundaries. It also shows hazards based on the RV info I had entered.
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| Seeing range lines on the map |
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| Checking out Campgrounds |
I did this for each day/night along our route. Easy peasy! Based on tips from other RVers, I wanted to avoid taking the interstate through Chicago to avoid tolls and more importantly, road construction. I was able to drag the planned route to the route I wanted to take. With a little trial and error, I was able to set up the trip we wanted to get to Indiana. Then it was time to make reservations.
I will say on the actual trip out to Indiana, I struggled a little with the app. We have a Garmin RV GPS unit and I also travel with a trucker's atlas (I love looking at maps). The app directions were sometimes not very clear so I supplemented with our truck GPS and the atlas to make sure we were going in the correct direction. The app isn't as clear as the Garmin GPS but I still appreciate the planning aspect.
I personally recommend RV Life Pro to any RV'er as a tool to help us in our travels. Now get out there and explore!
Thank you to RV Life Pro for being a part of the 2024 Rally @ Sea! Learn more about them at www.rvlife.com.
