You’re going road-tripping in your recreational vehicle, and the thing you need the most is information. Successful RV travel depends on the best forward-intelligence you can acquire. In the connected age, that often comes from mobile phone apps. But what are the best RV apps to guide your journey?
Like so many aspects of our daily lives, the RV experience is being transformed by the app economy. Chances are if you’ve thought about it on one of your trips, there’s an app for it.
First, though, a few definitions. What is an “app” anyway?
App is shorthand for application. They are mainly smaller versions of software programs created to achieve a specific single purpose.
The term entered our lexicon in the context of the mobile phone revolution. Apps commonly trace their origins to Steve Jobs, Apple, and the introduction of the iPhone. You might remember the company’s famous 2009 commercial, featured around a phrase that eventually became trademarked:
Though created for mobile phones, apps are now also common on our desktop and tablet devices. Apps will do more or less depending on the hardware platform, according to LifeWire, A Beginner’s Guide to Apps.
Many apps are free, though some require a single or recurring payment.
The first app store held 500 apps. Suffice it to say that app creation and usage has increased at a steep rate since that time.
In 2018, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store offered an estimated 5 million apps, according to Business of Apps. Those apps triggered more than 200 billion downloads.
Through sheer numbers alone, it’s safe to conclude that apps have changed how we live our daily lives — and especially how we organize our RV journeys. The best RV apps make those journeys more affordable, predictable, and efficient.
Travel can be both a blessing and a curse. You get to see a different part of the world, meet new people, eat different foods, hear different kinds of music.
Yet it also has its headaches — crowds, costs, confusion, and more.
The travel industry has embraced apps both as a way of easing those headaches as well as making more money.
In general, travel-related apps help make it easier to plan your trip, purchase what you need at a discount, get to your destination safely, and create beloved memories.
As it applies specifically to the recreational vehicle, the best RV apps help you get organized and pack, plan out your route, guide you to gas stations, campgrounds, and other attractions, maintain your complicated vehicle, communicate with loved ones, experience nature, and so much more.
With the growing popularity of RV travel, we consulted numerous sources and found plenty of suggestions for the best RV apps.
Some of these came from individuals who have lived the lifestyle, such as the couple behind the RV Family Travel Atlas, a site maintained by the authors of “The Idiots Guide to RV Vacations.”
Other RV, travel, or camping-specific sites we consulted include RV Miles, Campanda, The Points Guy, and TripSavvy. We also cross-checked our selections with more general interest media sources such as Curbed.
As our research unfolded, certain choices kept popping up, pointing us in the clear direction of the best RV apps. These are in no particular order, but you should just download them all.
The RV lifestyle has always been popular. Recently, though more and more people are hitting the road in search of the thrills and freedom of seeing America by highway.
But RV living also has its challenges. Thankfully, in the connected world, apps for mobile phones and tablets take the sting out of some of those challenges.
The best RV apps, we believe, are ones that will help make your journey go more smoothly, from the first mile to the last. But don’t overlook apps that also play a role in your daily lives as well.
Find the right mix of RV-specific and utility apps, and the miles will roll by with ease. Don’t hit the road without them.
What’s your favorite travel app? Tell us in the comments!
