Trip Planning

I have and use RV Trip Wizard. It's a good program and worth the money. With that said, it's not perfect. Use it as just one of the tools you use to plan a trip and you'll be fine.

RV Parky, GS Trip Planner, Google Maps, Streets & Trips if you can find it. First 3 are free 4 is no longer in production but can be found eBay or Craig's list.

RobWNY wrote:
I have and use RV Trip Wizard. It's a good program and worth the money. With that said, it's not perfect. Use it as just one of the tools you use to plan a trip and you'll be fine.

Thanks for that info, Rob(?).

Could I also ask, do you recommend a stand-alone GPS or do you use your phone for navigation?

Edd505 wrote:
RV Parky, GS Trip Planner, Google Maps, Streets & Trips if you can find it. First 3 are free 4 is no longer in production but can be found eBay or Craig's list.

Thanks for the reply, (Ed?). Same question to you: Do you recommend a stand-alone GPS or do you use your phone for navigation?

Steve

SteveWoz wrote:

Edd505 wrote:
RV Parky, GS Trip Planner, Google Maps, Streets & Trips if you can find it. First 3 are free 4 is no longer in production but can be found eBay or Craig's list.

Thanks for the reply, (Ed?). Same question to you: Do you recommend a stand-alone GPS or do you use your phone for navigation?

Steve

Love Trip Wizard I have planned 5 trips with it each trip has 25+ stops-I am even using it to plan a trip to Germany this fall - yes it work in Europe too

I have a Garmin RV GPS as we get to areas with no cell service

Steve, I plan my trip using RV Trip Wizard. I find locations along the way that I will need to get fuel based on what I've entered for MPG calculations. I also find campground stops along the way if it's a long trip. Then I use Google maps to get a satellite view of every stop so I know I can get in and out of the fueling places. Once I'm pretty certain I have everything entered and I'm happy with things, I use Google maps and re-trace what I've done in RV Trip Wizard. When I'm ready to go on the trip, I will text myself the Google map and route and use that as my navigation. I do have a stand alone trucker GPS (Garmin 760LMT) and I would use it except I can't get the saved RV Trip Wizard to transfer to the unit using Base Camp. It's not user friendly so I use my phone as I said. For me, RV Trip Wizard and Google maps is just the easiest solution. But as I said in my other post, these are just tools and not perfect. For instance, recently we went on a short trip and ran into a low bridge that RV Trip Wizard didn't have listed. I notified their support and they added it now but if I wasn't paying attention it could have been an ugly outcome.

RobWNY wrote:
Steve, I plan my trip using RV Trip Wizard. I find locations along the way that I will need to get fuel based on what I've entered for MPG calculations. I also find campground stops along the way if it's a long trip. Then I use Google maps to get a satellite view of every stop so I know I can get in and out of the fueling places. Once I'm pretty certain I have everything entered and I'm happy with things, I use Google maps and re-trace what I've done in RV Trip Wizard. When I'm ready to go on the trip, I will text myself the Google map and route and use that as my navigation. I do have a stand alone trucker GPS (Garmin 760LMT) and I would use it except I can't get the saved RV Trip Wizard to transfer to the unit using Base Camp. It's not user friendly so I use my phone as I said. For me, RV Trip Wizard and Google maps is just the easiest solution. But as I said in my other post, these are just tools and not perfect. For instance, recently we went on a short trip and ran into a low bridge that RV Trip Wizard didn't have listed. I notified their support and they added it now but if I wasn't paying attention it could have been an ugly outcome.

Thanks again! Are you saying that you don't believe a stand alone GPS is necessary? Does Google maps on a phone work even without cell service? Is it possible to transfer the Trip Wizard file to a GPS or are you just having technical difficulties? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you wouldn't need to cross check fueling facilities if you used the Garmin, right? I hope you don't mind all these questions.

No,there are times that a stand alone GPS would be beneficial because I don't believe google maps works fully when there's no cell service. Like real time traffic and accident locations. You need cell service to get that stuff. You can transfer the RV Trip Wizard file to a GPS unit but I can't get it to work. I have a Garmin so the protocol is to use Base Camp. It's not a user friendly program. Some people say they have no problem using it so it could just be that I have difficulty. I suppose I could manually enter everything into my Garmin but that's a lot of work if it's a long trip you're planning. Checking fuel locations for access is going to depend on the size of your RV. Obviously the bigger the RV, the more room you need to maneuver. I have a 34' 5th wheel so I need a decent amount of maneuverability and height clearance where a truck camper or class B won't have those concerns. Nothing is going to be fool proof. I found what works for me while others use different methods and find that works for them.

I believe the more tool at hand, the better. I have the Garmin RV660. It's pretty good. Using it in areas I already know, I do know better, shorter ways to get to the same place.
Our Ram truck's gps is worse. Google map on the phone when there is coverage is the best. I don't depend on any one of them. Just use them and look at the road signs.
Using a paper map for longer trips is easier to see the big picture. Then use the GPS or Google to fine-tune the trip.

The old Garmin map programs were great. Plot the trip in the program and then plug it into the gps. I would break the trip down by leg or day and use the GPS that way. Basecamp suck compared to the old mapsource program.

RobWNY wrote:
No,there are times that a stand alone GPS would be beneficial because I don't believe google maps works fully when there's no cell service. Like real time traffic and accident locations. You need cell service to get that stuff. You can transfer the RV Trip Wizard file to a GPS unit but I can't get it to work. I have a Garmin so the protocol is to use Base Camp. It's not a user friendly program. Some people say they have no problem using it so it could just be that I have difficulty. I suppose I could manually enter everything into my Garmin but that's a lot of work if it's a long trip you're planning. Checking fuel locations for access is going to depend on the size of your RV. Obviously the bigger the RV, the more room you need to maneuver. I have a 34' 5th wheel so I need a decent amount of maneuverability and height clearance where a truck camper or class B won't have those concerns. Nothing is going to be fool proof. I found what works for me while others use different methods and find that works for them.

Note first you have to transfer the Trip Wizard file to your computer then using Garmin "POI loader" transfer it to your Garmin - it is a really easy process - and yes it does work - it does not have to load using Base Camp