Van lifers are constantly thinking ahead. They are always looking for locations to sleep for the night and resources to maintain their vehicles. All of these responsibilities can get overwhelming, especially when you’re in an unfamiliar area. Luckily, there are a lot of resources out there to help make travelers’ lives a little easier!
Here are the best apps for van life to help make your experience a little less stressful.
RV LIFE App
RV LIFE app has a van and RV-safe GPS! Many people who live on the road will encounter roads that have a height, weight, or even length limit. If you’re not familiar with the area, you likely won’t know how to get around these restrictions. Luckily, this app’s GPS will customize your route to show you how to get to your destination without any trouble!
This app also has a huge database of campgrounds and RV parks. It provides a lot of information about the campgrounds including:
- Prices
- Affiliations for discounts
- Amenities offered
- Cell service
- Pictures of the location
- And more!
Users of the app can share their reviews of the locations that they’ve stayed in. This gives you reliable feedback to choose the right campground for you!
RV LIFE Trip Wizard
If you’re the type of person who likes planning out your trips beforehand, this is the app for you! RV LIFE Trip Wizard allows you to plan out your route and helps you reach your destinations safely. It warns you of any hazards or road closures and you can customize your route to your van height and weight to avoid low clearances or restricted roads. This can save you a lot of time and worry by helping you avoid needing to reroute mid-trip.
This app also provides a multitude of locations for you to check out. You can find gas stations and campgrounds along your route to know exactly where to fill up or stop for the night. There are also points of interest so that you can explore new and unfamiliar areas!
RV LIFE Maintenance
This is a vehicle maintenance tracking app. It’s extremely important to stay on top of all required maintenance for your van to keep it healthy and running well. This app can help you keep track of past work done, set alerts for when new maintenance is due, and even track expenses to see how well your van is performing.
This is a great way to have some peace of mind while you’re traveling. You will know that your van is running at its best!
Tip: If you like the RV LIFE app, RV LIFE Trip Wizard, and RV LIFE Maintenance, you can save money by signing up for RV LIFE Pro! Combine the three best apps for van life for the price of one.
iOverlander
This is one of the most popular apps used by van lifers. iOverlander has a multitude of different resources listed so you can search for a wide range of necessities. It lists campsites, propane fill-ups, water stations, dumping stations, public Wi-Fi, showers, and so much more.
Not only does it list these resources, but it also provides a description of the area, GPS coordinates, amenities, pictures, and reviews from other campers including the date they visited. You are also able to filter out locations within the app to make it easier to find something specific! This can be extremely helpful for people traveling to new areas who might not know where to find all of these resources.
All Trails
This is an extremely popular and very useful hiking app. You can input a location and it will show you all of the hikes in that area! It lists them in the order of popularity so that you never miss out on top-rated adventures. It also shows you:
- Maps of the hikes
- Pictures
- Ratings
- Real-time reviews
- Weather forecasts
- GPS activity from previous hikers & more!
This app also provides GPS tracking so that you never get lost on the trail, even when you don’t have cell signal! This is a great app for van lifers who enjoy exploring and hiking in their free time.
Wifi Map
Van lifers who work on the road know how stressful it can be to find a reliable wifi source. Luckily, this app does that work for you! All you need to do is put in your location and it will pull up every free wifi source in the area. It also shows you the wifi speed and the password (if required).
The app is updated in real-time by other users, so you’re always getting reliable, up-to-date locations. This is a great way to save on cellular data and get your work done for the day without worry!
Vanly
This is a creative camping app (similar to Airbnb) where people open up their driveway space to road dwellers. Hosts can provide amenities such as electricity, wifi, water, pet play space, and more. Some hosts may even allow you to use their indoor bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities! The app provides a picture and map of the location, reviews, house rules, and availability.
This can be a great way to meet new people on the road as many hosts are friendly and sociable. Vanly is also a safer and cheaper alternative for van lifers who might be in a more urban area that lacks free campsites or aren’t set up for stealth camping.
GasBuddy
Van lifers are always driving to new places, which means they’re also spending a chunk on gas. This app will give you cashback on gas purchases! When signing up for free, you will get a card mailed to you that is linked to your bank account. All you have to do is use this card for all eligible gas transactions, and it will automatically apply a discount!
This app can also show you gas prices in your entire area. You can use this feature to find the cheapest gas nearby, so you know the best place to stop. This app can help you save a lot of money on one of van life’s biggest expenses!
With so much to be thinking and worrying about, van life can get difficult! But you don’t have to try to work it out all on your own. These apps for van life can give you all the information you need to travel safely and efficiently.
Never worry about being caught on restricted roads, not knowing where to sleep for the night, or not knowing what resources are in your area. Check out the best apps for van life to save time so you can have more time to adventure!
What is your favorite app for van life? Share in the comments.
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
You left out Sēkr, FreeRoam, Campendium, The Dyrt, Boondocking, RV Parky and Gaia GPS (better than All Trails).
Those are all great resources too!
Thanks! There were several apps mentioned that I wasn’t yet aware of that will be very helpful.
Two indespensible apps.
First, for those of us who still hope for some spontaneity, an app that allows campground operators to report capacity (vacancies, with details or no vacancies). Might be worth licensing to both campgrounds, existing rv/camping apps or directly to users.
Second, an app for users to report the good, the bad & the ugly where we can report & others can find repair shops & facilities. One, a poorly publicized, poorly supported user supported website, “www. rvservicereviews.com”, looks like a great idea in need of a little help.