RV Life RV Safe GPS

[wtmtnhiker]

To those of you who have used the RV Life RV Safe GPS app did it perform well? Pros and cons? Thanks.

[LouLawrence]

Michelle.S wrote:
40 - 50 years ago there were fewer roads, RVs were not neat as big as they are now. 50 years ago I drove from the Cal Bay area to Western NY with just a few paper maps as there wasn't anything else.
But today Driving a 1 ton Dually puling a 43' 20K 5er I want to stay on major routes while Google and many other APPs will just give you the fastest or shortest route and don't care if its a narrow 1 1/2 lane roads.

While the 40-50 year thing is right, most everything else is not. Google will not take you off a safe route. It might take you on a less describable route but you should have known in advance what roads made the most sense for the way you like to travel.
I have said it before and I will say it again. If you plan on using nothing but your GPS (any GPS) you are going to get into trouble and it will entirely be your fault. On the other hand, I have been using a GPS as an assistant for the last 22 years and I have never been so stupid as to take the "road less traveled" when I knew the Interstate made a whole lot more sense!

[Michelle_S]

40 - 50 years ago there were fewer roads, RVs were not neat as big as they are now. 50 years ago I drove from the Cal Bay area to Western NY with just a few paper maps as there wasn't anything else.
But today Driving a 1 ton Dually puling a 43' 20K 5er I want to stay on major routes while Google and many other APPs will just give you the fastest or shortest route and don't care if its a narrow 1 1/2 lane roads.

[valhalla360]

Michelle.S wrote:
Which won't know they were driving an RV. I quit using Mapquest long ago.
You need something that will allow inputting details about your ride to keep you off roads you shouldn't be on.

Or maybe pay attention to what's outside the window.

What do you think people did 40-50yrs ago?

[Michelle_S]

Which won't know they were driving an RV. I quit using Mapquest long ago.
You need something that will allow inputting details about your ride to keep you off roads you shouldn't be on.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Michelle.S wrote:
Ever think that missing couple that was found, one alive the other dead, might have been following Google Maps and that's what got them into a world of S?????

Actually, they were using a printout from Mapquest, along with an atlas...

[Alan_Hepburn]

Gdetrailer wrote:

If it is 100% "cloud based" then it must have 100% Internet connection all the time and to use it on a iPad that means you would have to have a cellphone Ipad or a Ipad tethered to a cellphone data stream..

It has the ability to download maps for the states you're travelling in so it can be used when there's no cell signal.

Why go through all that hassle and expense, why not just use your cellphone Internet and use Google Maps? Its free..

Can you explain how to input your RV dimensions into Google Maps so that it doesn't route you on roads that are not RV-friendly?

[Michelle_S]

Ever think that missing couple that was found, one alive the other dead, might have been following Google Maps and that's what got them into a world of S?????

[Gdetrailer]

Sailingnuts wrote:
I have just started using the RV Life App. It is very good and allow you to use the power of the smartphone, the easiness of having a computer for planning or an iPad for a bigger screen. It is cloud based and online. As such it’s database is always updated for all information such as road blocks/ construction, campgrounds, fuel stations, etc.
It is the best of both worlds. I have used the Garmin RV GPS before and this is superior as it gives you everything the Garmin does plus ease planning and full integration with Car Play or Android so you can follow on you big screen if you have the newer radios.
I hope it helps. Please send me a PM if you need additional information.

Doesn't make one bit of sense..

If it is 100% "cloud based" then it must have 100% Internet connection all the time and to use it on a iPad that means you would have to have a cellphone Ipad or a Ipad tethered to a cellphone data stream..

Why go through all that hassle and expense, why not just use your cellphone Internet and use Google Maps? Its free..

At least CoPilot works 100% offline (IE no Internet required) as you download and install the maps directly to your tablet or phone and CoPilot uses the built in GPS radio.. Once the maps are loaded you can remove the device from the Internet. Of course if you have a non cellphone version of a Ipad you won't have any GPS radio so you are out of luck..

[Sailingnuts]

I have just started using the RV Life App. It is very good and allow you to use the power of the smartphone, the easiness of having a computer for planning or an iPad for a bigger screen. It is cloud based and online. As such it’s database is always updated for all information such as road blocks/ construction, campgrounds, fuel stations, etc.
It is the best of both worlds. I have used the Garmin RV GPS before and this is superior as it gives you everything the Garmin does plus ease planning and full integration with Car Play or Android so you can follow on you big screen if you have the newer radios.
I hope it helps. Please send me a PM if you need additional information.

[valhalla360]

Gdetrailer wrote:

LouLawrence wrote:
Never heard of it. What's it all about?

Its a GPS "App" for your phone..

I never heard of it.

But personally, have tried GPS App CoPliot free version yrs ago, it was very highly recommended by many GPS owners here on this forum.

For us, GPS on a mobile device it sort of worked and in typical Android fashion of quirkyness and flubs it was clunky to use, took a lot of time to acquire sat signals and best of all the screen location often failed to meet with reality often placing our position off the side of the road and in fields.

And that was the highest most recommended GPS App 5 yrs ago on this forum, one could only hope that has improved some.

Maps and accuracy, if it is free or substantially low cost, it may not be as good as a dedicated GPS or even using Google maps (cellphone Internet data) on your phone.

What's special about this app?

Using a phone/tablet for GSP mapping is really the way to go 99.9999% of the time but as some of the features such as delays, accidents & speed traps are crowd sourced, using the big players is the best option (Waze, Google Maps, etc...). With crowd sourcing, the bigger the "crowd" the faster and better it updates live conditions.

Some notes:
- All GPS take time to get an initial fix from a cold start. Generally if your phone is on and you haven't turned off the GPS, it's not a cold start. Only time we have a minor issue is getting of a plane and starting the mapping...but had the same issue with our old dedicated GPS unit.
- For road based chart plotting, if it's showing you off road (and you aren't clearly well off the road in reality), it's a poor app but haven't seen that in years. Since selective availability has been turned off, it's amazing how accurately they place you. The only time it may have an issue is if you have a closely spaced service drive paralleling the main road but again, this isn't any better with a dedicated GPS unit.
- The big players are free and do great. For a while we ran a dedicated GPS while considering the switch and because the dedicated unit needed manual updates and often the live traffic updates didn't work, we eventually stuffed it in the glove box...it might still be there.
- Most mapping apps have offline options if you will be away from cellular service but still need driving directions. But it's rarely is an issue.

So back to my original question: What is special about this app?

[Michelle_S]

I have found very few of the GPS Apps give you the ability to input your info, Length, Height, and weight, not saying they are all like that, just the ones I've tried.
I'm running a Garmin 785 that has the built-in Dash Cam. It allows me to input all my info and review the route with the ability to re-direct, like using City outer loops vs straight thru the City. Has lifetime map updates and usually updates several times a year.

[Gdetrailer]

LouLawrence wrote:
Never heard of it. What's it all about?

Its a GPS "App" for your phone..

I never heard of it.

But personally, have tried GPS App CoPliot free version yrs ago, it was very highly recommended by many GPS owners here on this forum.

For us, GPS on a mobile device it sort of worked and in typical Android fashion of quirkyness and flubs it was clunky to use, took a lot of time to acquire sat signals and best of all the screen location often failed to meet with reality often placing our position off the side of the road and in fields.

And that was the highest most recommended GPS App 5 yrs ago on this forum, one could only hope that has improved some.

Maps and accuracy, if it is free or substantially low cost, it may not be as good as a dedicated GPS or even using Google maps (cellphone Internet data) on your phone.

[LouLawrence]

Never heard of it. What's it all about?