Trip Planning & Apps

We use a number of apps and websites for RV-ing.

Everyone has their favorites, and rightly so – the features I enjoy may not be important to you!

But if it helps, here are some of the things we use (and why).

GPS

We tried the GPS Navigation part of RV Trip Wizard (see below, under Trip Planning) for a year but didn’t like it. It had issues picking up a trip already in progress (it wanted to route us back to the starting point first). I also wasn’t thrilled with the interface.

I’m likely to keep Trip Wizard for planning on my laptop, but we are currently looking at other options for GPS navigation in the truck.

Fuel

OpenRoads (TSD) Fuel Card

We use the fuel card from OpenRoads (aka TSD). There is a ton of info out there about this program so I will keep it short.

Diesel fuel only.
Uses the trucker lanes in truck stops, no worries about rig size.
Allows you to pay at the pump in trucker lanes (usually can’t without a fleet card).
Can also purchase DEF fluid at the pump.
Offers discounts at select stations (use the app to locate them).
Is not a credit card – they pull from your bank account (usually within 24 hours) when the card is used.
There are two card fees – a flat transaction fee that is usually around 60 cents, plus a percentage of the gross discount.

We’ve used it 10 times so far and saved almost $90 (after card fees). The average (net) discount was 47 cents per gallon.

I guess while I am at it I may as well add the warnings:

Trucker lanes boast high capacity fuel pumps, so use caution when filling up! I found that the larger diameter nozzle did fit in my Ram, but I had to be certain the nozzle was fully inserted or fuel would spray back out.
The DEF pump is soooo convenient compared to filling with jugs from the auto parts store! It can be purchased in the same transaction as fuel, but the same warning applies — be careful when pumping not to overfill, it is easy to do!
Don’t block trucker traffic! If you need to leave the pump (store, restroom, whatever) PLEASE pull forward out of the way so the next truck can fuel! Not only is it courteous (I get soooo irritated when people do this at regular pumps!), but time is money for them – literally!

Other Fuel Apps

T/A, Pilot, and Loves all have their own phone apps to help find their brand of truck stops. Honestly we don’t use these at all, but do have them installed on my phone just in case. Instead, I use the OpenRoads app to find stations that accept our discount card.

CAT scales also has an app you can use to pay for a weigh while sitting in your rig on the scales. I have used this a few times to ensure we are within the GVWR of the truck and the trailer.

Trip Planning

Overall Process

We use RV Trip Wizard to show us the route that is ok for our specific RV measurements.

Then we use other planning tools to add waypoints such as overnight stops (Harvest Hosts), dump stations (if need be), and fuel stops (OpenRoads). Each of these we then add to the plan in RV Trip Wizard.

We are now experimenting with RoadTrippers.com (free version). At the bottom of this tool we can set the number of miles to either side of our route to look for stuff. Depending on our mood we might have it show us National Parks, restaurants, or other entertainment stops such as museums.

We are now investigating apps we will use for actually guiding us (GPS) while on the trip. We were using the Trip Wizard app but have not been happy with the navigation part of it.

Trip Wizard (planning website)

My favorite app for planning is Trip Wizard by RV Life. I believe the current rate is $65 per year. It can export your route (.gpx) to use in other apps but I have not tested that yet. Things I love about it:

I can see travel ranges based on fuel or by number of miles we prefer to travel per day.

I can click and drag to alter the route if I want.

I can toggle POIs on and off, see the trip elevation profile, use a regular map, satelite background, or terrain background.

It optionally shows all the campgrounds from CampgroundReviews.com, and you can filter which ones appear on the map.

Weather (radar, windspeed) is available (currently in beta) so you can check it before you hit the road each day.

Harvest Hosts

When breaking a trip up into multiple days, we typically overnight at Harvest Hosts. We pay about $90 or so per year for it, and they recommend spending at least $20 or so at each stop. We really like how much more scenic and fun it is than staying at a Cabelas or Wal Mart parking lot!

Dump Stations

In our travels we rarely need to find dump stations. When we have multiple days of boondocking or Harvest Hosts, here are the sites we use.

RVdumpSites.net – map based and offers filters, sorting by distance.

SaniDumps.com – map based and color coded by cost.

Campendium – Click on a state to open the map, including filters.

RVShare.com – Not map based but has some good info.

Other Apps

Checklists

I am all about the lists!
I blame it on my poor memory but in reality I think its a personality defect =)

We are currently experimenting with Workflowy as our checklist app. There are tons of checklist apps out there but we landed on Workflowy because it seemed to check most of the boxes for us. Ha ha.

Works on Android (me) and iPhone (Brenda), preferably with a web site so I can use my laptop to make lists faster.
Can share lists between people.
Can organize (separate) lists – e.g. one for departure, one for set-up, winterization, spring-erization, etc.
Can check things off, but easily reset lists for repeated use.
Preferably use indentation, colors, or something to add sub-lists for easier organization.
Free. Not a huge requirement, but with all the apps we are using the less we are paying for, the better!

Propane

We purchased this propane tank sensor and it has a phone app to go with it. The sensor is magnetized to attach to the bottom of your propane thank, and the app shows the current level of propane in your tank. Once that tank is low/empty, we will move the sensor to the other tank and open the valve on it.