The Top 3 Alternatives To Good Sam Trip Planner

 

The popular Good Sam Trip Planner will no longer be available as of April 10, 2019. Luckily, there are still some very useful resources for RV trip planning that will help you map out your travels, find campgrounds and more.

3. Google Maps

Google Maps provides free basic directions and the option to include multiple stops, but it is not specifically designed for RVs. The app can also tell you current traffic information and the fastest routes around accidents and construction delays.

trip Google Maps: free, but not RV-specific

Google Maps also gives you the option to avoid highways, toll roads, and ferries. It can even help you find local public transportation in the areas you’re visiting. However, it does not show the campgrounds along your route or warn you of low clearance bridges. You also can’t use it to find points of interest like dump stations or Walmarts that allow overnight parking.

Pros:
  • Easy to use
  • Free
  • Has current traffic information
  • Search for restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and more along your route
  • Shows directions for car, public transportation, walking/biking
  • Street view can be very useful
Cons:
  • Not RV specific
  • Does not track expenses
  • Does not show campground discount club affiliations
  • Does not show the best campgrounds on your route
2. Furkot

Furkot is another free trip planner that is not specific to RVs, but it does show you campgrounds and more points of interest than Google Maps. The trip planner has a bit of a learning curve and can be confusing if you are not used to its many features.

trip Furkot: Free, with integrated ratings on campgrounds from Campground Reviews

You can easily sign up for an account by connecting your Facebook or other social media. For each trip, simply enter your specific or estimated dates along with your mode of transportation (no RV selection, but you can choose by car/motorcycle/bike/foot) and your preferred overnight accommodations including hotels, campgrounds, and apartments.

The campgrounds show ratings from Campground Reviews much like RV Trip Wizard. However, Furkot does not allow you to filter them like RV Trip Wizard to find RV parks with hookups, within a certain price range, with specific features (like pull-thru sites), or where you can get RV club discounts.

Pros:
  • Free to use
  • Shows hotels, campgrounds, and apartments for overnight accommodations
  • Campgrounds show integrated ratings from Campground Reviews
  • Allows you to import and export data
  • Shows the current weather forecast at each stop and the time of the sunrise & sunset
  • Plan routes by mode of transportation, car, motorcycle, bike, or walking
  • Find restaurants, breweries/wineries/bars, coffee shops, farmers markets, grocery stores, fuel stations, and airports
  • Shows points of interest including museums, parks and natural features, outdoor sports and activities, beach and water recreation, scenic byways and backroads, unpaved roads and off-road trails, events and entertainment, and more
  • Set daily limits on travel time
Cons:
  • Not specific to RVs
  • Does not track expenses
  • Does not show live traffic
  • Does not allow you to filter campgrounds by price/features/amenities/etc.
  • Does not show campground affiliations/discounts offered
  • Steep learning curve/not as simple to use
1. RV Trip Wizard

The best trip planning tool made specifically for RVers is RV Trip Wizard. This planner shows all of the campgrounds and RV parks along your route, with integrated reviews and information from Campground Reviews. It also calculates a safe route based on your rig’s exact measurements, so you know when to avoid low clearance bridges.

The campgrounds can easily be filtered by price, amenities, or features. Users can click on a campground to learn more about the amenities, some also have photos available.

Good Sam Trip Planner Road trip from Seattle to San Francisco, planned on RV Trip Wizard

You can also search for points of interest including rest areas, fuel stations, overnight parking, dump stations, as well as places like casinos with campgrounds and Walmarts. The points of interest can include attractions like amusement parks, museums, ATMs, laundromats, liquor stores, dentists, pharmacies, etc.

Unlike other trip planners, RV Trip Wizard shows all campground affiliations. You can also rank the memberships in your account preferences based on what affiliation (i.e. Passport America, KOA) will save you the most money.

RV Trip Wizard isn’t free like the other two planners, but it’s a very affordable $39 a year, especially when you consider how much it saves you in time.

 Pros:
  • An RV-specific tool that uses your vehicle’s measurements (height, weight, etc) so you can track expenses and plan safe routes for your rig.
  • Browse from ALL campground affiliations (Passport America, KOA, etc.). No restrictions like other tools. You can also rank your memberships based on what offers the biggest discount.
  • Find campgrounds along your route with integrated ratings from Campground Reviews.  The planner has over 17,000 campgrounds and resorts in their database and lists the phone number, address, amenities, and photos.
  • Filter campgrounds to find ones that are pet-friendly, big-rig friendly, 55+ and over, within a price range, etc.
  • You can set Driving Distances to help you limit how many miles you’re driving in a day.
  • Trips have no limit on the number of stops.
  • Routes can easily be exported to your GPS or sent to your Facebook, friend, e-mailed, calendar, Excel, or printed.
  • Over 57,000 points of interest, including area attractions and RV services like where to find gas stations, dump stations, etc.
  • Very easy to use and updated often.
Cons:
  • Not free, but a very affordable $39/a year. You can try their free demo before you sign up.
  • No mobile app yet.
  • No live traffic information.
Read more about how to plan your route using RV Trip Wizard on Do It Yourself RV.

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