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Old 04-14-2016, 09:12 AM   #1
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2016 26' Flying Cloud
Punta Gorda, Florida , Florida
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Trip planning

I expect delivery of our new ASFC 26U end of April. It was ordered early Jan. and wife and I can't wait to get on the road. We have never camped and this is all new for us and have many questions that I hope the dealer can answer. But to get started, can anyone recommend a good trip planning app? Thanks
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Old 04-14-2016, 10:01 AM   #2
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First, congratulations on your new Airstream!

I'm not in to Apps but Airforums is probably the best resource you can find for camping and Airstreaming. Post where you want to go and what type of camping you want to try and the friendly folks here will give you lots of advice and recommendations.


For your first trip I would make the following recommendations:

1) make a reservation - you don't want to be turned away from the first place you try to stay at.

2) Find a park near home - Check out the park ahead of time without your Airstream to make sure you're comfortable backing in etc. My parents did this when they bought their 5th wheel, the park website said they could accommodate their trailer but it wouldn't have fit down the road! Also, you won't have to tow too far on your first time out and you can always run home to pickup something you forgot.

3) Make sure you are near an RV dealer (like camping world) or at least a Walmart - there will be things you forgot or didn't know you needed, my first trip I learned that I needed a special fitting to connect the sewer hose

4) Plan to arrive during the day - Backing in to a campsite is difficult enough for experienced Airstreamers, don't try to do it for the first time in the dark.

5) Meet your neighbors and make friends - RVr's are very friendly and helpful, especially Airstream owners. If you have trouble backing up, leveling, setting up your awning, turning on the furnace etc, I'm confident any neighbor will be willing to help, especially if they get to check out a shiny new Airstream.

Have fun!
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Old 04-14-2016, 04:39 PM   #3
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Congratulations!

I remember the anticipation before taking delivery... like Christmas morning when I backed it into the driveway!

Here's the apps I use, with varying results. Waze can be pretty helpful for avoiding traffic jams.


Hopefully your dealer knows their stuff to get you going... but, even if they don't, I guarantee you'll find loads of excellent info on this forum.
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Old 04-14-2016, 05:16 PM   #4
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Greetings from the Florida Panhandle

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us. Congratulations on your new baby. May you have safe travels and many great Airstream Adventures with her.

We use all of the above apps plus some others. The money that we save with Gas Buddy on long trips pays our cell phone bill. I would also suggest a few nights of orientation camping near the dealer. If there are any issues you can take it right back.

If your Airstream will be stored at the house, a few nights camped there would probably be a good idea, also.

Don't get discouraged. There is a bit of a learning curve to this RV thing, but it's not launching rockets.

You always have experienced help here on AirForums. Don't be afraid to ask.

Brian
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Old 04-14-2016, 05:25 PM   #5
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If I could eco Brian's words as they are wise ones.... Take your time once you get your trailer and if you do nothing else, have fun!
Next remember that your Airstream adventure is not about the destination, it's also very much about the adventure and journey. So again have fun with it

Cheers
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Old 04-14-2016, 05:51 PM   #6
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Trip planning tools

I have tried several trip planning tools and have settled on the following as my favorites:

For pre-trip planning I use Campendium.com to find campgrounds, RV parks, and boondocking sites. Campendium's site is so well designed and it focuses on the things I care about (location, activities, cell service, reservability, cost, etc.). You can also build a collection of "favorite" campgrounds.

On the road, I use Camp Finder by Camping Road Trip from my phone. One of my favorite features of this app is the ability to see the campground maps from the phone. This is really helpful if we're making reservations on the road.

To find dump stations I use the AllStays app, but I find this app clunky for finding campgrounds.

For planning itineraries and travel times I use google maps. There's a bunch of trip planning apps out there but none seem as robust and reliable to me as google maps.

Looking forward to learning from others as well!
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Old 04-15-2016, 08:05 AM   #7
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Smile Travel apps

Thanks all, really good info, we're looking forward to getting on the road and maybe meeting up with other AS travelers. thanks again.
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Old 04-16-2016, 10:31 AM   #8
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elevation

Don't forget about elevation/grade I use Google Earth to check the grade on the planned route. A grade of 5 is max for my rig. I'm in a Airstream 345.
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Old 05-02-2016, 11:00 AM   #9
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A good list of travel apps

Just saw this great post from Live Small Ride Free about their favorite travel apps and thought it was worth sharing with everyone here:
http://www.livesmallridefree.com/blo...r-the-traveler
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Old 05-02-2016, 12:36 PM   #10
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Congrats! I am going through this situation as well. I used the Good Sam website and Google Maps to plan my trip. I made all the reservations online (which meant bypassing some campgrounds that did not offer that option) but I made one on the phone. I am keeping a Note with all the site addresses, phone numbers, and confirmation numbers handy. I would also suggest the Walmart app just in case.
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Old 08-11-2016, 06:54 AM   #11
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I just read this thread and wanted to throw out a couple of resources which are sister sites to AIR Forums. One is www.campgroundreviews.com. RV Park Reviews is the oldest and largest campground review site. It has the most volume of reviews so you can hear many perspectives from other campers. Another resource that's really nice for planning is www.RVTripWizard.com. It allows you to map your route, find discounts, add attractions or points of interest to your trip and print out a nice copy for offline. You can also export your route so you can import it into a GPS system if you are into that.

Disclosure: I'm an Airstream owner and founded this site, AIR Forums, in 2002. It was hard to collect enough reviews of campgrounds from Airstreamers only so we acquired RV Park Reviews since it had the critical mass to cover nearly every campground. Last year we acquired RV Trip Wizard because it was so awesome. Now we are working to integrate them so all the data from RV Park Reviews will be available when planning inside of RV Trip Wizard. We just launched a new app for RV Park Reviews but this first version requires a connection. In the future it will work on/offline.
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Old 08-11-2016, 08:24 AM   #12
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Not quite there

Andy,

I just purchased your Trip Planner because I like trip planners and I want to support such efforts. But from my first effort, you are going to need to improve for me to renew.
Most importantly, your database is not as complete as Good Sam's planner and way short of Allstays. Though admittedly you cannot use Allstays for route planning. The database is important because a good planner allows you to see ALL of the campgrounds on your chosen route or you might as well use Google Maps.
Then there are some annoying quirks like going to a larger map changes the scale back to small scale and you must zoom in all over again. Moving the map with drag locks the map and requires a right click. And more.
I will stick with you hoping for improvements by my renewal date and will use my trusty Allstays to find campgrounds at my daily mileage points.
Larry
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Old 08-18-2016, 02:49 PM   #13
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not one app

we use several different web sites and apps. we have not found one all purpose app.

findfuelstops.com is great for finding places to get fuel. you can click on links to see diagrams and maps of the fuel stops so you can get an idea of the accessibility for your rig. Our as is 34' and TV 22' so we try to chose where we stop with care.

RV.net is a good source for information and good sam ratings on various parks.

this forum is great for personal experiences with anything AS related.

we also use google maps a lot to explore routes and the street view is great for identifying those turns before you realize you missed the turn and have to find a place to make a UTurn.

For general non-warranty maintenance learn what you can and see if you can find a non-dealer resource for what you don't want to do yourself.

We had such a horrible experience at the Portland, Oregon AS dealership when we were buying that we have avoided all of the dealerships owned by the same folks. Although someone recently posted a good experience with the Idaho branch. We have found that independent providers are much more interested in actually helping, doing a good job so they get the referrals, answering questions if you have a relationship with them and bill their actual time rather than book time minimums which of course provides an incentive to hurry the work.

From 6th grade through high school I worked for an independent dealer and the affiliated repair shop. the business was owned by a good friends parents. They never cut corners or billed for more time than was spent. there are good resources out there, it is just becoming harder to find them. but this is all just my opinion based on my experiences. others likely feel different.
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Old 07-12-2019, 12:46 AM   #14
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Young people today do not want to get their hands dirty. Dealership, repair shops are always desperate for good mechanics. Once upon a time it was a premium job.
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Old 07-12-2019, 08:38 AM   #15
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My favorite trip planning app is RVTRIPWIZARD. Many good features for planning trips. You can filter campgrounds or see all. I particularly like setting a maximum driving time for a day and it displays a circle for that time.

Have fun with the new rig.
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