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Gasman6529 · 12-30-2016, 08:36 PM

Looking to drive from western Mass. to Patrick AFB. What is the best RV trip planner??

Just For Fun · 12-30-2016, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gasman6529

Looking to drive from western Mass. to Patrick AFB. What is the best RV trip planner??

While you'll get many different answers, sometimes simply knowing the direction you're going and the time to get there and back are enough.

RVing is about the journey.

But, if timing is of the essence, Google Maps, GPS's, Road Atlas, Good Sam's Maps, Escapies Maping, etc. There are a plethora of options.

jfran304 · 12-30-2016, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gasman6529

Looking to drive from western Mass. to Patrick AFB. What is the best RV trip planner??

Can't say which is the best trip planner since we plan our own trips. We have In Laws in N. Hatfield, MA and when we go visit them we plan our trip to avoid the major cities like New York and Washington DC.

We take the I-91 to I-84 to I-81 to I-77 to I-26 to I-95.

TonyDi · 12-30-2016, 09:33 PM

The best trip planner bar none, is you. There is more to a trip then just getting there. We love to see the things that are worth seeing along the way. I plan my trips to take advantage of the sights. There are many tools for this, Google Maps, Mapquest, Co-Pilot, FMCA trip planning etc. IMHO the planning is half the fun.
Good luck!!

pop-sicle · 12-31-2016, 12:20 AM

Well I like RV Parky, you tell it where you are starting and end destination, but you can add stops along the way then you can check for places to stay at any of the stops.

Also by telling it any particular town you can lead it how you want to go instead of the fastest which will generally be interstate.

Trip Planner

Here is a link with a sample route from Mass to Patrick AFB with a couple stops added in, as said you could pick any town to make it take you around any city you want to avoid.

Also it will let you save the trip in its data base so when you log in you can pull the trip back up for later reference or just to have it as a memory of the trip.

jbrv · 01-02-2017, 01:12 PM

Google maps and some google searching does pretty much everything we need.

We use an rv gps for turn by turn directions only because the rv came with one. if it had not I would prolly just use waze or some other navigation app for turn by turn. I kinda like the extra large screen on the rv gps and that it knows my height and low clearance bridges, other than that it does what any other gps app does. (rand mcnally i think)

Most any gps or navigation app will let you input multiple destinations at one time and route you from waypoint to waypoint.

I have found google sat and street view to be very helpfull when looking at places we want to stop at either for sighseeing or fuel or an overnight stop. Lets me get a real good idea on if i have room to get in and out and if there are obstacles I need to avoid.

I tend to plan stops that are near areas that i know will have wifi so I can again check google maps for the next leg of my trip. Hotels, most chain resturants, wally world, coffee shops and so on.

Google for pre planning, GPS for turn by turn..........more google.

srogers · 01-02-2017, 01:46 PM

I agree that planning trips is a good part of the fun!

We've been using a combination of All Stays (the app is much better than the laptop/desktop version, from what I can tell), Google Maps, and the additional My Maps feature of Google Maps (see info here if you are not familiar with My Maps--requires Google account, but who doesn't have one of those these days!?). There is a certain degree of mindset/skill set required for My Maps, but those who consider themselves digital natives will be fine, in my opinion.

I will also consult Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome, and a Frugal Shunpiker guide, if I have one for the area.

I used a more dedicated "trip planner" application, Roadtrippers, for a trip last summer and it was fine, but I like my above mentioned system better. It also looks like TripMaker from Rand McNally may be more user friendly for the digital immigrants.

I will decide generally where we want to go and how to get there via All Stays (and its convenient linking to websites, reviews, images, etc.), Google Maps (I find Street View is hugely helpful, as others have mentioned), and the other online research tools noted above, then I'll create a My Map with the route, so I can pull it up easily on my phone when we're on the road. The My Map I create also is saved indefinitely on Google's servers so I can revisit it, tweak it, reminisce, etc. any time in the future.

Then we go have fun, and make adjustments on the fly whenever we feel like it since that's a big part of the awesomeness of having a vacation home on wheels!

PatStab · 01-02-2017, 02:50 PM

I usually just aim in the direction I want to go. Put some destinations in the gps and off we go.

Now if we plan on Florida between Jan to Mar I do make reservations down there but that is the only place really.

DD and I are taking off probably day after tomorrow and heading to Arizona, we will go to Quartzite and Vegas this year. Plan to take more short trips in the spring and summer now too.

I just like meandering along and I usually find a park about 4PM or if I can't a truck stop will do. I try not to drive after dark as I don't see so well.