-Let's talk about RV trip planning.
We're gonna clear the air, and help all of your anxieties when it comes to what you need
to know when it's time to sit down, and plan your RV vacation.
-Guys, we have a lot of information coming at ya. So, get ready for it all.
But if you haven't been to our channel yet,
we want to introduce ourselves by saying, welcome to HappilyEverHanks.
My name is Kyle. -My name is Renee.
-And we're here showing you everything you need to know about RV living
to get you out on the road, and living life to the fullest.
So make sure you hit that subscribe button.
And if you are new to our channel, throw a comment below, and introduce yourselves
to us, so we get to meet you, cause we love learning about
where everyone is in their journey. So tell us about yourself.
What are you up to and what are you learning right now?
So listen, we understand how stressful it can be...
planning your RV trip. Whether it is your first time, or you've been doing this multiple times,
We still find ourselves thinking, how can we make this a little bit easier on ourselves?
We'll today, we want to clear the air, and talk about everything you need to know...
and things that we use, that make your life just a little bit more simpler, when it comes to RV trip planning.
-And if you're in that planning phase. Maybe you haven't even bought your RV yet.
Then this video is gonna be perfect for you, cause we're gonna help you just...
skip around all those crazy steps, and just get right to the point.
-Oh, the meat and the potatoes, I love it.
-Listen, it took us about two or three years to find the perfect RV app,
that makes planning our trips, go really really fast.
-So getting right into it. What are people using out there for apps when it comes to RV trip planning?
What's available? What is everyone raving about on the streets? -What?
Okay, there's a program that's out there, that a lot of people rave about.
We have yet to try it, but we're very excited to try it some day. It's called RV Trip Wizard.
-Huge. Man that's a big one out there.
-Yeah. I was looking into it. To do the homework for you guys.
It is $49 and I think that is for the year. You can get a free trial,
and just test it out. Which is always a smart thing to do.
And I believe it has a GPS...like a route... it gives you on the GPS too, which is cool.
-Because you were mentioning before that also like, when you actually plan your route,
you wanna know about like, gas stations. Where are some good places to fuel up your RV and everything.
Maybe some rest stops out there. I mean, you got a big family, you need to make frequent rest stops, take breaks.
I think this RV Trip Wizard, kinda has it all.
If you guys do have any experience with RV Trip Wizard, let us know your thoughts on it.
Like, do you guys enjoy the app? Is it worth the investment of paying $50 into it?
Throw some comments down below, and engage with us.
Cause we wanna know, is it something we should be looking more into?
But getting more into what we have been using, on the road.
Our ultimate go to, that we've been using, is AllStays Pro.
-AllStays Pro is awesome. I used to use a ton of like, free apps on my phone... -Yeah.
-To plan where we're going and what parks we're gonna stay at but it just took forever.
Because I like to have a computer in front of me, where I can see stuff.
-Totally. And it's really nice when you're able to keep it organized, systematically on the computer.
And just be like, yo I want this, but I don't want this. I want this. I don't want this.
You know what I'm saying? -Yeah.
-How much are we talking with the RV Trip Wizard versus the AllStays Pro?
-I think RV Trip Wizard is $49 a year and AllStays pro is $35, give or take. -Yeah.
-You can also get the app for AllStays. It's not the pro version but it's like the AllStays app...
only for iOS, meaning like your Apple devices. -Yeah.
-And it is about $10.
-And we used that before but we kinda steered clear of that as well
because we noticed some restrictions with the actual app on the phone...
wasn't as broad as what you could get on the computer.
-You can't filter per ratings and you can't filter for price.
And price is big for us because...-That's a big one.
-This lifestyle can be expensive.
And you don't want to be always going to the bougie resorts all the time. That adds up.
Plans change so easily. You can get...one thing can happen to your RV that sets you back, hours.
And if you just put all that work into planning multiple days and which route you're gonna go... -Yeah.
-You just wasted all that time, so with the AllStays Pro app,
it gives me everything I need and then I can be the one to decide, okay well...
We're gonna go this way. We're gonna stop at this rest stop...
you know, along the way if we need to and...
It just works for us, and if you think it'll work for you...
we'll put the link in the description and we'll also put it above for you guys.
Not only is finding where you want to stay a little bit stressful but
knowing if you need to make reservations or how far in advance to make reservations.
That is another big one that people are stressing about on social media.
-The sites are booked up. Where can I find a site?
How long in advance do we need to plan on booking?
Do people actually cancel these bookings?
Do I have to lose all hope if I just bought an RV and I can't find a spot?
-Yeah, that is a big concern. We get it. We hear ya.
A lot of people are looking to get solar and generators because
they know they're not gonna be able to find sites at RV parks.
-Yeah for sure. -I want to make you guys feel better and know that for the past couple years...
we have been getting by fine without making reservations really far in advance.
-For sure. Yeah, people are gonna have these spots reserved...
but there are just so many other places out there, that you can look into.
So, what are we talking about? You have to do your homework.
-When it comes to booking a place near an area of interest you want to go to, like a national park. -Yeah.
-The closer to the national park, the more you're gonna pay.
And the more in advance you're gonna need to make a reservation.
-So a huge inside tip if you wanna know is...
Renee and I never stay within the national parks.
Reason being is number 1 our camper can't fit in there.
But an even bigger reason is we can usually find cheaper camping outside the park.
Where the fees won't be jacked up. The gas prices will be more reasonable.
And, the only downfall would be, I have to drive just a few extra minutes to get to the actual national park.
Listen, we don't need that convenience of being right there.
And if you do need that convenience, are biggest recommendation is, hit it early.
Know what dates you wanna plan for. And try to book in advance.
-Now we've been to some state parks across the country where we booked maybe a week or two in advance.
This isn't to say every state park needs like far out reservations.
-For sure. -There's just a lot of factors that go into it. -Yeah. -The time of the year and all that stuff.
-We never realized how much more these parks become available to people when it's the off season.
We're talking, go to Yellowstone during some of the winter times.
Maybe when it's not as popular during the summer.
More beautiful views. Less people. Hey, I'm loving that.
So if you do get stuck in a situation where the reservations are all booked up.
Don't worry we have a solution for you.
You can use a program called, Wandering Labs.
We got the inside tip from AlliChuck at AlliChuck Adventures...
of this app where you pay a little bit of money...
and it gives you first-hand knowledge of when anybody cancels a reservation at like a state campground.
-This is great because sometimes you'll be put on a waiting list.
-Yeah. -And you're just hoping that they're gonna call you when...
-And you just never get that call. And you're like, ugh... I only have this time off for vacation.
-Sometimes people book...
-Yeah. -They'll book a place cause they're so nervous
and they really don't think they're gonna go there and they end up canceling.
You'd be suprised how many people cancel. So, be put on the waiting list and just keep looking around.
-You have to do your research. Think of it as in terms of other people out there.
Yeah, it may seem unlikely that people are gonna cancel but...
you gotta think of how many thousands of people are out there in RVs. There's so many things that can happen
that leads to someone cancelling. So...
Take full advantage of it. Check out Wandering Labs.
We'll also throw a link in the description so you can have quick access to that.
-Okay, lets keep this rolling and let's talk about GPS for RVing when you're driving around the country.
-That's a big one. But before we get into it.
We honestly just want to say, thank you guys so much again for your support.
Every week, you guys continue to show us some amazing feedback and suggestions.
And your support is just incredible to us.
So we wanna invite you to subscribe down on the bottom right hand of your screen.
And follow us because every week, we are bringing you the most valuable content about RV living.
And how to get you out here, and experiencing this life.
So let's talk a little bit more about the actual GPS. What are we talking here?
-If you're the navigator in the tow vehicle or the RV, you're kinda like...
ya got your little NASA set up there.
-That's you. You're NASA. -You got...
You got like multiple apps going, checking your resources, making sure everything looks clear.
There's not just one program that does it all. -No, totally not.
I wish it was that easy where you just buy one program, all included, you don't have to worry about anything.
But listen, there's hundred of apps out there...
-I would still use multiple ones. -I know you would. -You know me. -No I do know you. I know her.
But we wanna bring some apps, that we actually like to use, that are free, to your attention.
Something that is super simple and keeps us pointed in the right direction, while on the road.
-Very simple. We like to use, also, just Apple and Google Maps.
-Easy. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
-It's great because a lot of businesses you go by or Walmarts, they're all in there.
-Yeah. -And they are just very easy to use, included apps that come on your phone, when it comes to having a GPS.
-Take full advantage of that seriously. -Simple. -It's free, just use it. It will steer you in the right direction.
-So there's another app we like to use called TruckMap.
And it is designed for width, height restrictions. So you can plug in your width and your height.
It's mostly for truckers, hence the name, Truck Map. -Sweet.
-But it's perfect cause it keeps you on the route that the truckers are going. -Oh that's perfect.
-Here's a good exercise. If you have not hit the road yet but you're planning on it. You just bought your RV.
When you and your family, you and your spouse are driving around in your regular vehicles.
Start looking at bridges that you go under and just paying attention to them and saying what the height is.
And saying if your RV that your gonna buy is fine for that. -That's so true.
-I mean I feel like now, every time we drive around and I see a bridge that's under 13 feet...
when I'm with my friends or family, I'm like, oh we wouldn't fit there.
-Yeah, totally. -It's just gotta be wired in your brain that every time you go under some kind of bridge...
that you are hyper-aware of it. Don't just depend on your GPS to like, clear the air.
Something else I wanna talk about when it comes driving and GPS and all that fun stuff. -Yeah.
-People like to ask, how many miles is reasonable to drive in one day?
-Oh my goodness. Oh. That is... just touchy. -I'm sorry. -I'm sorry.
-I wanna talk about the difference between what I say is car traveling or car miles versus RV miles. -Huge difference.
-If you plug in point A to point B on Apple Maps, it's gonna tell you, oh...
it's just gonna take you 12 hours to get there. And you're like, I'll do it in a day and a half. - Yeah.
-You gotta tact on extra time because you're not gonna be going as fast as that. That...
That GPS is calculating that for a car going the speed limit.
So if we are looking at our route for the day and it says it's gonna take us 8 1/2 hours...
I'm like, okay ten... nine, ten sounds pretty reasonable. You gotta tact on, I think for every...
four hours, you gotta add an hour. -Yes. -Is kinda like, what we like to say. That's just from our experience.
Everyone wants to know, what's a reasonable amount of miles to go each day. -Exactly.
-Alright. It depends. When we first started RVing, and we were like...
gung-ho let's get across the states to California from Pennsylvania...
we thought we were gonna just drive drive drive drive drive.
And I think the most amount of miles we went in one day was like 750. We drove all day.
-We've come to realize that maybe three to four hundred is about our max.
So if you're also out on the road and you're RVing, and now that you heard how much we drive in a day...
let us know how much you guys are driving. Are you driving less or more than us?
Because we kinda wanna know, what's the average? What's the normal?
Are we just like being super unreasonable by only driving...
four to five hundred miles or are we being like, are you serious, like hello? Take a chill.
-Is that a lot or is that a little? Tell us. -Seriously.
So touching a little bit more on the base of GPS. Hand in hand, I think a big topic is fuel considerations.
-Mmhmm. Yay. -That's like, uhhh...what?
-First of all, if you are pulled over for the night and you're disconnected from your tow vehicle. -Yes.
-Go fill up your vehicle before you connect, because normally...-Why?
-Well I'll tell ya why. -Okay.
-It's usually cheaper. -Yeah. -It's easier. -It is. -And...
then when you hit the road, you don't have to worry about it.
-Seriously, like the last thing you wanna do...
I speak from actual personally doing this. -Do you? -Is you pull into the campground and you're like, I'm just...
I'm too tired, I'll get it in the morning.
And then that morning comes, and I'm like, ugh. I gotta go fill up, ya know,
cause you hit up the road with the trailer hooked up and you're like...
Okay, where's the nearest fueling station that will accommodate our rig? -Yeah.
-Take advantage of having the rig unhooked at a safe campground.
Go fuel up, and like Renee was saying, save on some gas prices.
-That's great, when you say do it the night before. Because ya know, I tell you do it before you hook up in the morning.
But that's just adding to your list of a million things to do when you're packing up. -Yeah.
-When you get to your spot and you're just there overnight and your disconnected.
Before you get too settled in your jammy jams. Go fill up the truck.
-Yes, for sure. -Another app that can be very helpful when you're in this scenerio is an app called Gas Buddy.
-Oh sweet, yeah. -We use it a lot. So when we get to a place and we wanna kind of compare gas prices,
you know, we use diesel for our truck, so you can filter it for the type of fuel. -Sweet.
-And then we get to see, like, where can we go and get the best price for diesel.
-Oh even sweeter. So talking a little bit more about what we personally do for fuel.
I'm telling ya, I love truck stops. Yes , if I don't take advantage of fueling up the night before...
and we're on the road, truck stops are our go to. I like the accommodations that it has for big 18 wheelers.
Knowing I can safely pull in and pull out, without causing all sorts of havoc.
-And some of them will have dump stations, and a place for you to fill water. So there's just...
a lot of resources. Also a place to park so you guys can take a little break, eat some food.
We have a Good Sam membership and if you have that...-Yes. -You get 8 cents per gallon off of diesel.
-Which is so sweet. But, you also have to take into consideration, that Good Sam is only...
applicable at certain places like, Flying J's...
-And Pilot, for now. -Pilot, that's the other one. -You know, that can always change, if this becomes outdated.
-So we always use the AllStays Pro to like, kinda narrow our search down to where are the Flying J's?
Where are the Pilots? Where can we use this and save the most money on the gas, while on the road?
-What about rest stops? -Rest stops are huge. There are so many rest stops along the way.
And it's a great place to grab some lunch, use the bathroom.
Run around. Walk your dogs. Walk your cats. Fly your birds. Whatever you want.
So definitely make full use of those apps out there on the road. And just plan as you go.
You don't have to have everything planned out hour by hour.
-No we don't. I'm telling you. We don't plan everything out exactly like he's saying.
We figure it out as we go and there are so many resources out there.
Yeah. -And one of the resources we're talking about
is places to overnight camp when you're headed to your destination.
-Really cool. So what places? Where can you find these places?
-Well...since we're experts at mooch-docking...
-Oh I like that. We are experts at mooch-docking.
And if you don't know what mooch-docking is, it is basically boondocking on your friend or family's property.
Now they may or may not have hookups but...
-Bonus if they do. -Yeah, seriously. -And if...
If you have hookups, we're probably not gonna leave for awhile.
-What app is best to use out there for finding these spots?
-Okay, if you're looking for a really cool camping spot. -Yeah?
-I would probably download an app called Campendium.
-Oh yeah. I mean you are the app queen, so you would know.
Campendium. I've heard some good things about this.
-Like I said, I don't just use one program.
Lots of different resources out there so you can find the best fit for your style.
-For sure. That's really cool. So what is Campendium kind of like, what's all entailed in Campendium?
-What I love about Campendium is that it always has lots of photos and reviews.
It's a big one. I want to know what people are saying about these spots because
it'll say big rig friendly and you're like, really is it? And then people in the reviews will be like,
I would not bring a big rig here. And you're like, thank you, you just saved me a headache.
What I love is sometimes it won't say anything about big rig friendly.
But the photos show lots of big rigs, like big class A's and fifth wheels and I'm like, cool.
-Got some peace of mind. -Yeah we found some great spots because of the photos people have left about it.
-That's really cool.
-Yes, we'll put it in the description. We'll put all of this stuff in the description, so it's easy for you guys.
-And if you didn't know that it's in the description.
We'll mention it 15 more times that everything's in the description below.
-I want to touch on staying at rest stops and truck stops. We have never, like...
overnighted at a rest stop and a truck stop. And the reason is that we just like to give that space to truckers.
-Yeah, for sure. I mean, unless we're in a pinch, like we would take advantage of it. -Yeah.
-But we don't usually rely on it, while on the road.
-And there're actually more than that specific reason. -Yeah. -There's a couple reasons.
A lot of the times, these rest stops, you know, have a certain space, and...
you might be surrounded by big, large trucks and they can be pretty loud, if they're running their engines all night.
-Super loud. So I wouldn't count on a good night's sleep or anything like that, staying at one of them.
-Also, you really shouldn't be putting your slides out if you only have a little space.
Like sometimes you can't cause you don't have room to.
And it's also like bad etiquette to maybe put your slides out at a truck stop / rest area.
I'm putting those in the same category cause that's where you see all the truckers pull over, overnight.
So we just avoid it. -Yeah. Absolutely.
Well speaking on other considerations Mrs... How about the weather?
Because that's a big one. A lot of people are out on the road.
You only this much time to get to where you're going. Cause your job only gave you this much time off of work.
And there's some bad weather coming.
-You know take into account that the weather might still not be so friendly if your going over, like...
a big mountain with your RV. It could snow.
-It could snow at any time. Expect the unexpected.
-So be prepared to have extra time to maybe take the longer route.
-Yeah. -You know, I just want you guys to like, look ahead and think, alright, there could be a hurricane
if we're south in Florida during hurricane season. Or yeah, tornado season.
Like just look at the possibilities, take weather into consideration and give yourself some extra time.
-For sure. We found ourselves in these sticky situations where we realized, oh it's supposed to snow tomorrow.
So we left early, we gave ourselves more time to get to where we were going.
We arrived there early before the snow occurred. So don't put yourself in a bad position if you needed to delay...
things or get an early jump on them, do so to prevent any hazards.
-Safety is the biggest priority so don't get yourself stuck in those situations.
-And if you guys are looking for some more valuable content. Don't worry it's waiting right here for ya.
We'll see ya next week. It's HappilyEverHanks checking out. Love ya guys. -Bye. -Bye.