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Old 11-26-2021, 07:18 PM   #1
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RV Parky vs. RV Trip Wizard

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.
We are beginning the fulltime journey in February and are trying to have and purchase all the necessary items we may need. We have been RVing for many years and not new to long trips but have decided to be more proactive with the current amount of availability in parks now days.

We are specifically asking if you use either of these 2 apps or websites for your input. Which one do you use and why? What are the pros and cons of the app.

If you use both great, what do you use each for and why both?

If you use something different, what and why?

I appreciate all replies.
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Old 11-26-2021, 08:32 PM   #2
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I use RV Trip Wizard and am very happy with it. Once you get it set up with your preferences. Such as how many hours a day you like to travel, your fuel tank size, RV size, and approximate miles per gallon it will give you a route and will alert you to where your fuel stops will need to be and it will show you about where you will want to end your day. You then look in those areas for Fuel stations or campgrounds, use the satellite view and reviews to decide if it will work for you then you can add it to your route. It is like any other program, you have to set it up for what you like and you have to verify the results and it is extremely helpful on finding your way.
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Old 11-26-2021, 09:54 PM   #3
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I went with RV Parky, as we still work full time and our camping time is limited so are travel time is limited. By that I mean we have traveled as long as 11 hours to hit our destination to as few as a couple hours. Also the DW wants to do is travel, stop, travel again the next day so we drive until we get there. RV Parky works for use finding a campground at our destination with amenity's, cost and most with reviews, all I'm looking for.
As for the average millage well that is fine but have gotten from a high of 13 to as low as 7 depending on wind and travel direction. Finally for the two "long" trips, which are 10 days each, we take twice a year found it hard to justify spending the yearly membership fee. Now when we retire and spending month or more on the road we'll revisit RV Trip Wizard.
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Old 11-28-2021, 07:46 PM   #4
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Been using TripWizard for over 5 years. I'm full time and right now working on my spring/summer/fall 2022 project. I put in where I know I need to be the farthest away and when, then can work backward to fill in the blanks, choose my route and make decisions. I don't use their fuel mileage option because I drive mostly off the top half of the tank. Any place I stop, if I unhook and make side trips, then I fill up/top off. If I'm on a long haul I do use the POI for stations (or just do a search on my computer for the area). I also use the 'drag route' option a lot since I don't usually want to get somewhere the fastest way: Interstates. I look at other websites once in a while just to get a different perspective of a route or area, but my mainstay for reviews and routes works fine for me. Everybody has their reasons for using what they use, the good thing is you don't have to keep using it forever....you can always try the free trial of TripWizard and see what you think.
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Old 11-28-2021, 09:56 PM   #5
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We have used RVParky for the past 5 years 100,000 miles and we really like it. Now with that said we haven't tried anything else primarily because I dont want to learn something else When we are on the move the wife gets on Parky early afternoon and kinda looks down the road for a park to stay at around 3 or so. Their reviews are generally pretty accurate so she will call and book a spot. We only book a head on areas we know are busy or where we are staying for several days or week to explore. It works for us. Have safe travels.
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Old 11-28-2021, 10:29 PM   #6
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I use RV Parky. Has satisfied my needs when tied in with Garmin's Basecamp.

My process is to define both start and end points in Parky and then start looking for campgrounds along the way that fit my daily drive limit of 250-300 miles. Once I have the entire trip laid out, I export a GPX file into BaseCamp and set it up as a route. As needed I'll add additional waypoints in both Parky and BaseCamp to force the specific route I may want to take. At the end, I'm able to convert the route in Basecamp so that I can load it into my Garmin GPS for turn by turn directions, the ability to find rest stops, restaurants or gas stations along the way, and continuously updated miles/time to destination.
Pro's - FREE , most campgrounds have phone numbers and appropriate links to CG websites, easy to send a link to the trip to other people. Cons, stop name is what you used to start search for a stop (city name), which if you move the center of search by dragging the target on the map, can be wildly off, campground info and reviews are only as accurate as what the last submitter sent which may get old which can result in bad links to web sites.
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Old 11-28-2021, 10:41 PM   #7
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I'm cheap...but RV Trip Wizard is worth every cent. Nothing else out there has the complete package you need for making a trip then navigating it all tied together.

RV parky certainly gives you a lot of help finding a place to stay but when I have a 3 month trip to 10 states planned...nothing works better than the Wizard.
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Old 11-28-2021, 11:37 PM   #8
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I have been a big fan of RVtripwizard.com and have used it for several years to plan my trips. Before RVTW I was a big Microsoft Streets and Maps user. I loved that program but MS decided to not maintain it. I then phased away from PCs and went the Apple route(another move I’m happy with).

In searching for another complete route planner I found RVTW. RVTW is not an app. It is a web based program (rvtripwizard.com) that can be accessed from any device that connects to the internet.

RVTW requires some time to learn all the ins and outs. I’ve been using it for over 3 years and still learn new capabilities.

The trip planner capability of RVTW is outstanding in that it allows me to plan each stop, look at reviews for campgrounds, view them on satellite, go to the campground website to make reservations and have a complete itinerary with all the particulars without leaving RVTW. I can print the itinerary out and give it to my DW so she can plan accordingly and also know where our next stop is. It is a complete planner package.

If I’m traveling a day away or less I typically know where I’m going or have been there before so I don’t need a trip planner. Any gps will get me there. Longer trips are different and especially if you’ve never been there before. I then use a RVTW as a planner.

As an example. In 2019 I planned a trip out west. Our trip was from Florida to Arizona then north to Glacier NP and then back east thru the Badlands, etc.(over 7600 miles, 70 nights, 33 stops) so I used my home as the start and the first waypoint I entered was Tombstone, AZ, the actual campground I was staying in that I found on RVTW. That gave me a long leg that I knew would be broken up to daily legs. I knew I was also for sure stopping in Destin, FL, New Orleans, San Antonio, New Mexico. I search along the route that RVTW gives around those cities I know I want to stop and research the campgrounds along the way. I pick one then add it to my trip in order of travel (this is all part of the pop up screen to add a waypoint, #of days, insert after what stop, etc). Once you get your main stops loaded you may still have long legs. I like to drive less than 300 miles a day. RVTW allows you to enter driving radius rings so I select a stop and then look at the map for the 300 mile ring. I can then search for a campground that is around that ring. I can drill down on any campground and get all the info about it and most of the time I can even make the reservation without leaving Rvtripwizard.

Once I planned to AZ I then added my planned stops going to Glacier NP such as Grand Canyon, all, the big Utah NPs, Yellowstone, etc. then east thru Badlands and all there to see and finally back to FL.

I had everything in one place. Confirmation #, campground info, routing, added notes. Anything I wanted to add was there. I would have gone crazy using a spreadsheet or paper to keep all this data.

The nice part is you can change your route at anytime.

RVlife and RVTW are combined with RVlife Pro. You get both programs with one paid subscription and with RVlife you get your RVTW trips downloaded to a gps route. You can also download the state road maps so you don’t need to be connected to the internet. The route is each leg and you can either download a RV safe route or use other gps routers such as Apple Maps, google maps or Waze.

If you want to modify your RVTW route you can and it will automatically sync to RVlife for routing.

I just like the fact everything I need is in this program. There are so many other features I have not touched on but RVTW is my go to trip planner. Oh, I forgot to mention I use the truck lanes at the major truck stations and those can be displayed on you route and added just like any other waypoint….
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Old 11-28-2021, 11:52 PM   #9
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Used Both

Have used both. For a while, I favored RV Parky but Trip Wizard has made vast improvements and that is my goto. Plus RV Parky kept making me reset my password which is a pain with them. You have to wait for an email from them before you can reset it. When I am planning, I don’t have time for that mess.
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Old 11-28-2021, 11:57 PM   #10
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RV trip wizard (pro) has served us well. The last time I checked Parky some of the parks I checked were out of date in my area so did not trust it for areas I didn't know. RVTW has current info with links to websites and reviews. With anything on the internet we use personal filters and judgement to round out the trips. Have fun!
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Old 11-29-2021, 01:11 PM   #11
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For longer trips, RV Trip Wizard. New improvements like "Locking In" dates make it even better. Used Parky first and changed to this 5 years ago.
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Old 11-30-2021, 09:03 AM   #12
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I used RV Trip Wizard for a trip to upstate New York. Many areas did not have any cell service. (You will se a lot of old style phone booths there!) The suite of apps include a GPS routing app and if you download the state maps it will work without any cell service. Saved our butts on a few occasions. The entire app suite has a bit of a learning curve so be sure you watch their videos so you understand how each one works.
Have a great trip and enjoy all your planning.
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Old 04-13-2022, 11:22 PM   #13
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Do either of them give you elevation, grades and so on?
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Old 04-13-2022, 11:46 PM   #14
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Yes, here's a map of my latest trip with Trip Wizard...opened with the elevation and gradient.

Click image for larger version

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Old 04-15-2022, 10:48 AM   #15
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Another source of the elevation changes on a route is: https://www.flattestroute.com
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Old 04-16-2022, 06:27 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SailorSam20500 View Post
Another source of the elevation changes on a route is: https://www.flattestroute.com

Thanks for the link. I'll be doing some first ever trips through West Virginia in the fall and this should help me a lot.
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