Many RVers have kept up with new electronics to make traveling even easier. Several years ago I was an early adapter and bought an iTouch shortly after their release. While the apps were very interesting and easy to use, I recently upgraded to the bigger screen the iPad offers users! It is basically an iTouch on steroids. There are so many great apps available to make your traveling fun and efficient.
The App Store on the iPad
Here are some of my favorites apps I have used while RVing:
Gas Buddy: Fantastic app! See fuel pricing is along your route, it is easy to discover you can take a left for two blocks and save .10 a gallon! With this app you can also set your MPG, fuel capacity, refill frequency and route. As a result, Gas Buddy will show you where to fill up. It can save you quite a bit on a cross country trip. It also has online reporting, so if you see changes, report it. The database is maintained by users, so reporting price changes are important for other travelers. Free
National Park Apps: I have the Yellowstone app, but there are others. This is a great tour guide offered for free! Set up so you do not have to have a signal, and the app will show a map of the park. Touch your location and listen to a ranger give a great talk on the area. Free
Star Walk: This was the app I saw that pushed me into buying the iPad. One of the wonderful things about RVing is getting to an area with great clear skies. I used to look up, try to see constellations and wonder what the ancients were seeing. Enter Sky Walk! This app knows where you are and will give you a map of the sky, outline a constellation or will even inform you when SkyLab (NASA Space Station) will be visible. Best of all, if you hold it up so it becomes part of the sky, it aligns – as you turn, it will follow. $6
AllStays Camp & RV: This is the app we rely on the most. This app has maps, satellite images and depending on what kind of campground you are looking for, it will populate a map. Touch the icon and details pop-up, including phone numbers, rates and number and size of sites. I am still playing with this one, but so far, it has worked great. $6
The Weather Channel: This app links to the Weather Channel, giving you local weather, real-time updates, animated radar and 10-day forecasts. A great tool to help plan your drive and travel plans. Free
AllRecipes: I enjoy cooking. You may have tried some of my recipes in ‘Hey Grandpa, What’s For Dinner’. Well I don’t create every recipe I use, but this app helps me look like a brillant chef. You can search by ingredients, dish name, or course. The app also offers a cooking clock as well – it is like having an animated cookbook. Carrying a lot of cookbooks with you is a weight issue, so having an almost limitless cookbook in a one-pound tablet is priceless. Free
Local News: I have links to a couple stations around the country that I have called home at one time or another, nice to see a local story now and again.
Pandora Music App on the iPhone
Pandora: This is a service which allows you to create your own custom ‘radio station’, pick an artist or genre you like and let Pandora find like-minded music. Free
eReaders: The Nook, the Kindle, have made big splashes in the eWorld. I have both reader apps on my iPad with the added advantage of color being available. I like photography reference books, and if using a Kindle, the color is rendered in shades of grey. These readers make it very nice. Free
I could go on, but time to wrap up. There are ton’s of apps out there, most are free, the ones that have fees are likely to also have a trial version, so try before you buy.
Do you have a favorite? Please reply in the comment section and share.
iPads are available with wifi and or with a 3G connection. I have the wifi version and can use with my MiFi. Can be used stationary or traveling so long as you have cell service.
Click here to read more helpful tips from the World of Work Camping by Bill Whetstone.
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