Sanity check?

[BVJandJ63]

Hi folks:


My wife and I are new to the RV world but very excited to get rolling! I purchased the RV Trip Wizard app/membership before we even had our RV believing that it was going to be an invaluable tool for our trips. However, I've had some trouble getting it to operate as expected even after viewing several "how to" videos and reading through the help and some posts. Maybe someone here can help set us straight?


I needed to drive our "new" (2009) 40' Newmar Ventana to our local DMV the other day for a VIN verification. So there was no need for campgrounds, fuel stops, or anything else other than our starting point (home), the DMV, and back home again. I set this all up on my laptop as recommended but I couldn't for the life of me get this to load on my phone with the GPS app after I finished creating the trip. I don't think I need to "send it" to myself, right? No need to export--just log in on the RVLife app and the trip is there (which it was). But no matter how many times I tried to open the trip in my RVLife app, it kept telling me that there was no routes available due to my filters (but the only filter I had on was to avoid dirt roads; and I turned that off momentarily to see if it would make a difference--it did not).


Any ideas what I was doing wrong (or not doing) to get my trip and RV route on my RVLife GPS app on my phone?


Thanks!

[TXiceman]

Trip Wizard is not exactly intuitive and takes some learning. I have been using it for a couple of years and every time they do an update, I have a new learning curve as some of the features have changed.

Be patient and experiment, setting up make believe trips and make changes. I have never had any luck getting it to work well on my phone.

Ken

[BVJandJ63]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

Trip Wizard is not exactly intuitive and takes some learning. I have been using it for a couple of years and every time they do an update, I have a new learning curve as some of the features have changed.

Be patient and experiment, setting up make believe trips and make changes. I have never had any luck getting it to work well on my phone.

Ken

Thanks for the quick response, Ken! And for the confirmation that I'm not simply overmatched by a software app. ;-) The odd thing is that I set up a trip when we took possession of our RV down in Palm Springs and was able to set up the route to get us back to Modesto (our storage site), including a stop for fuel along the way, and it worked on my phone to perfection when I accessed the trip from there so that I could use the RVLife GPS app. But I spent 10 minutes futzing around with it for this 10-minute trip to DMV and had no luck at all--finally gave up and used Waze (although that won't help us avoid 40-foot RV obstacles!).



But I will keep playing with it, for sure. Thanks again!
--Bill

[pbucha]

If you give the support team the name of the trip in question, they can check/test it to see what might be going on. Did you put in accurate RV information into the app? I've heard of folks inflating the actual RV height "just to be safe" and then no route could be found.

[Indy Glenn]

Originally Posted by pbucha

If you give the support team the name of the trip in question, they can check/test it to see what might be going on. Did you put in accurate RV information into the app? I've heard of folks inflating the actual RV height "just to be safe" and then no route could be found.

I'll have to agree.......the support team is excellent and will correct any issues, if need be.

Let me add, you did the right thing in regards to getting the RV Trip Wizard (RVTW) - it is an invaluable tool to help planning an RV trip.

I just use it to plan, I do not download anything to my devices. I use a Garmin 760 RV GPS in the rig, which is my go to when actually moving down the road. There is an option, I believe to download the RVTW trip onto the Garmin. I have not done this.

The Trip Wizard is great to plan long trips and actually plan a trip per miles wanting to travel and what's there when you get there. Camp grounds, fuel stations along the way, sites to see.

There is also a app & web site called, Camp Ground Reviews. They are owned by the same company and give you some good info on the camp ground you are looking at. I believe one of the changes to RVTW was to link you to Camp Ground Reviews as you plan......

Yes - there is a learning curve with RVTW, but the benefits are well worth it.

I am a planner from hell, an old occupation hazard, there are so many apps & web sites to help you, here are a couple:

Good Sam web site has a trip planner for members.

Pilot/Flying J has a trip planner on their web site, you can plan your fuel stops if you use either of these stations. They also give a discount to Good Sam members.

AAA: Once you have your trip planned, you can get on the AAA web site and using the Trip Tik option, print out your custom trip in a page by page map. It's a great back up for when your getting to your exit and want to see the actual lay out of the exit.....helps in some cases. These Trip Tiks are NOT rv friendly.

Waze, I have started to run Waze on my iPad. Not for trip planning but for warnings. Waze will notify you of accidents, construction, a hazard in the road, police, etc. Gives you a great look ahead. NOT rv friendly.

Being new to the rv world, welcome to the family. Always remember, what is said here is all subjective to the author - but a great learning and advice tool. See what works for you!

Happy New Year,

g

[Roy-c]

I also use RV Trip Wizard for planning and my Garmin for actual navigation. Never tried downloading to my phone.

[BVJandJ63]

Originally Posted by Indy Glenn

I'll have to agree.......the support team is excellent and will correct any issues, if need be.

Let me add, you did the right thing in regards to getting the RV Trip Wizard (RVTW) - it is an invaluable tool to help planning an RV trip.

I just use it to plan, I do not download anything to my devices. I use a Garmin 760 RV GPS in the rig, which is my go to when actually moving down the road. There is an option, I believe to download the RVTW trip onto the Garmin. I have not done this.

The Trip Wizard is great to plan long trips and actually plan a trip per miles wanting to travel and what's there when you get there. Camp grounds, fuel stations along the way, sites to see.

There is also a app & web site called, Camp Ground Reviews. They are owned by the same company and give you some good info on the camp ground you are looking at. I believe one of the changes to RVTW was to link you to Camp Ground Reviews as you plan......

Yes - there is a learning curve with RVTW, but the benefits are well worth it.

I am a planner from hell, an old occupation hazard, there are so many apps & web sites to help you, here are a couple:

Good Sam web site has a trip planner for members.

Pilot/Flying J has a trip planner on their web site, you can plan your fuel stops if you use either of these stations. They also give a discount to Good Sam members.

AAA: Once you have your trip planned, you can get on the AAA web site and using the Trip Tik option, print out your custom trip in a page by page map. It's a great back up for when your getting to your exit and want to see the actual lay out of the exit.....helps in some cases. These Trip Tiks are NOT rv friendly.

Waze, I have started to run Waze on my iPad. Not for trip planning but for warnings. Waze will notify you of accidents, construction, a hazard in the road, police, etc. Gives you a great look ahead. NOT rv friendly.

Being new to the rv world, welcome to the family. Always remember, what is said here is all subjective to the author - but a great learning and advice tool. See what works for you!

Happy New Year,

g

Thanks, Glenn (& Angie)! Great input! I do live & swear by Waze and have for many years as a 4-hour/day commuter--I love it! Very accurate for arrival times and great "heads up" notifications, as you mentioned. But I do realize that there is no "RV" setting that will help you ensure a safe route for your RV so that is only a backup when in the RV.

I did see the export option in RVTW and I've considered repurposing my old Garmin for the RV if I can download from RVTW--it would be nice to have a dedicated GPS instead of using my phone. Or are there better/more RV-specific versions of Garmin or other GPS devices that folks use in their RVs?

I'll also keep the AAA Trip Tik option in mind... sounds helpful! As for fuel, I have the TSD card so I try to use their (EFS) app and the RVTW app to determine the best deal for fuel along my route. That, too, seems to be a little difficult to navigate--couldn't find the matching fuel station in RVTW after I identified the best one on the EFS app--addresses didn't match (but it still got me nearly $0.50 off on that first fill-up when I got there!

I've also poked around the Campground Reviews site--so far, it seems very useful. But we haven't actually started planning a trip, yet (haven't decided about Thousand Trails membership, yet), so I haven't spent much time there but thanks for the reminder! To this point, it's been information overload! But we will keep digging until we've got it down.

Thanks again for the input! Hope to run in to you (figuratively of course) at some point down the road. Happy New Year!

[BVJandJ63]

Originally Posted by Roy-c

I also use RV Trip Wizard for planning and my Garmin for actual navigation. Never tried downloading to my phone.

Thanks, Roy! I asked in my reply to Glenn, too, but maybe you'll have some input, too... are there preferred Garmin or other dedicated GPS units that are made specifically for RVs? Something where you can input your rig details like you can on RVTW? (And without replacing the stereo/head unit in the dash?)

[Mike8253]

Originally Posted by BVJandJ63

Thanks, Roy! I asked in my reply to Glenn, too, but maybe you'll have some input, too... are there preferred Garmin or other dedicated GPS units that are made specifically for RVs? Something where you can input your rig details like you can on RVTW? (And without replacing the stereo/head unit in the dash?)

Yes, Garmin and Rand Mcnally make RV specific GPS units that you should check out. I have a Garmin 770 (2 years old now) for my RV that I use and like. There are many threads on here about RV GPS unit that you can investigate.

[aiken rver]

Originally Posted by BVJandJ63

Hi folks:


My wife and I are new to the RV world but very excited to get rolling! I purchased the RV Trip Wizard app/membership before we even had our RV believing that it was going to be an invaluable tool for our trips. However, I've had some trouble getting it to operate as expected even after viewing several "how to" videos and reading through the help and some posts. Maybe someone here can help set us straight?


I needed to drive our "new" (2009) 40' Newmar Ventana to our local DMV the other day for a VIN verification. So there was no need for campgrounds, fuel stops, or anything else other than our starting point (home), the DMV, and back home again. I set this all up on my laptop as recommended but I couldn't for the life of me get this to load on my phone with the GPS app after I finished creating the trip. I don't think I need to "send it" to myself, right? No need to export--just log in on the RVLife app and the trip is there (which it was). But no matter how many times I tried to open the trip in my RVLife app, it kept telling me that there was no routes available due to my filters (but the only filter I had on was to avoid dirt roads; and I turned that off momentarily to see if it would make a difference--it did not).


Any ideas what I was doing wrong (or not doing) to get my trip and RV route on my RVLife GPS app on my phone?


Thanks!

Doesn't look like you are doing anything wrong. I just tried RVLife on my android phone and I can not find anyway to access my trips in RVTW. I have used both of these apps pretty much from their beginning and have found RVTW to be very good but have often struggled with RVLife. I export the trip to my Rand McNally GPS, which is built in. I like the 10" screen. You need to be aware that except for RVLife, when you export to a GPS system the route will be recalculated and may not the same as you planned. You can add waypoints to the RVTW to force the other GPS systems to follow your intended route. Kind of a nuisance sometimes but it works.

As far as the RVLife problem I would suggest sending a trouble ticket. I am going to send one as soon as I send this.

George

[aiken rver]

I received a response from RVLife concerning not seeing my RVTW trips in RVLife. I needed to logout of the app and login again. I logged out, closed the app, opened the app, and logged in. My trips all showed up and I was able to open one as a test.

Don't know if this will work for you but worth a try.

On the Android app at the bottom of the opening screen is a re banner saying Campground Map. Tap this banner and a menu comes up. Select RV Trip Wizard. If you are signed in you should see your trips; if not signed in you will be ask to sign in and then your trips should show.

Happy travels!

[ByeTheWay]

Originally Posted by BVJandJ63

Hi folks:


My wife and I are new to the RV world but very excited to get rolling! I purchased the RV Trip Wizard app/membership before we even had our RV believing that it was going to be an invaluable tool for our trips. However, I've had some trouble getting it to operate as expected even after viewing several "how to" videos and reading through the help and some posts. Maybe someone here can help set us straight?


I needed to drive our "new" (2009) 40' Newmar Ventana to our local DMV the other day for a VIN verification. So there was no need for campgrounds, fuel stops, or anything else other than our starting point (home), the DMV, and back home again. I set this all up on my laptop as recommended but I couldn't for the life of me get this to load on my phone with the GPS app after I finished creating the trip. I don't think I need to "send it" to myself, right? No need to export--just log in on the RVLife app and the trip is there (which it was). But no matter how many times I tried to open the trip in my RVLife app, it kept telling me that there was no routes available due to my filters (but the only filter I had on was to avoid dirt roads; and I turned that off momentarily to see if it would make a difference--it did not).


Any ideas what I was doing wrong (or not doing) to get my trip and RV route on my RVLife GPS app on my phone?


Thanks!

I too don't get it. RVTW has its own forum because there are so many questions about the product. Navigation systems should be easy.

[BVJandJ63]

Originally Posted by Mike8253

Yes, Garmin and Rand Mcnally make RV specific GPS units that you should check out. I have a Garmin 770 (2 years old now) for my RV that I use and like. There are many threads on here about RV GPS unit that you can investigate.

Thanks, Mike & Cindy! I think I will probably invest in one of these. And I've always been happy with my Garmin units for past trips and commuting. I'll also look for some threads with more tips before I pull the trigger but do you know off-hand if they offer the same type of filtering and way points that RVTW has? Although I'm hoping that I can export RVTW trips to whichever unit I purchase and then it won't matter much about locating things in the GPS unit. Still, it is very handy to be able to pull up rest stops, restaurants, and other points of interest that are along your route while you're enroute, which I was able to do very well on my Garmin; not so much on RVLife app after opening an RVTW trip. =)

[BVJandJ63]

Originally Posted by ByeTheWay

I too don't get it. RVTW has its own forum because there are so many questions about the product. Navigation systems should be easy.

Ain't that the truth! Things that make you go "Hmmm..."