Navigating Gas Stations and Restaurants While Towing

[WannaBeFree]

Thanks DesertRat,

Backing up is on my agenda before I take the trailer out for a trip. I'll be grabbing some UHAUL boxes and setting them up in a parking lot close by the storage unit and practice, practice, practice :-)

[WannaBeFree]

Thanks chily3,

I just got my Good Sam's permanent cards. They have Pilot and Flying J on them. Since Pilot works I'm hoping Flying J will provide the discount as well. Thanks for highlighting this benefit for me :-) Gas gets really expensive with that giant 8'x11' wind brake of a trailer behind me :-)

[rcharrette]

"When we travel and want to stop and eat I will pull the place up on a satellite view on my phone to see what the situation looks like"

I'm the driver and my wife the navigator, she has no interest in pulling our 27' TT. She is a wizard with her iPhone checking satellite views for available parking at places before we pull in. It saves us a lot of stress! Getting in and out of gas stations etc will just be a matter of practice. After 3 years with our's I'm comfortable getting it in and out of just about anything. Just don't rush or panic. The more stressful the situation, the more you need to slow down. Get out and have a good look around, etc.
Good luck and take your time!
Randy

[chily3]

Originally Posted by WannaBeFree

Thanks chily3,

I just got my Good Sam's permanent cards. They have Pilot and Flying J on them. Since Pilot works I'm hoping Flying J will provide the discount as well. Thanks for highlighting this benefit for me :-) Gas gets really expensive with that giant 8'x11' wind brake of a trailer behind me :-)

Yes Flying J also gives the discount.

[Pirate]

I do research on the web before we head out. Often times we can figure out where the fuel stops are that we can negotiate. And often times there are pics, so one can get a feel for whether its worth it to stop.

I put in a waypoint for each good stop...and keep them in BaseCamp!

Pirate

[lcv800]

My final word on backing. You can do all the planning you want, use only pull through sites, etc., but eventually you will have to learn to back up. You don't have to be a pro. So what if if takes three or four attempts to get it right, but you need to get some level of proficiency as sooner or later you're going to get jammed. Take your time, and practice.
Rusty
PS Merry Christmas to you all.

[chily3]

Originally Posted by lcv800

My final word on backing. You can do all the planning you want, use only pull through sites, etc., but eventually you will have to learn to back up. You don't have to be a pro. So what if if takes three or four attempts to get it right, but you need to get some level of proficiency as sooner or later you're going to get jammed. Take your time, and practice.
Rusty
PS Merry Christmas to you all.

So here is a thought, hook up the TT and go to a large vacant parking lot. Use the striped spaces to practice your baking up. Try and do this from all four sides. Keep it up until you feel good about it. Then when you get to a campground you will be an expert. Plus no one will be around to watch your attempts to get it "parked" .

[WannaBeFree]

Thanks chily3 & lcv800,

I definitely need some practice with backing up this trailer. Gotta say I was embarrassed just TRYING to back it up with my wife watching :-)

[WannaBeFree]

Thanks Pirate,

The BaseCamp that you mentioned, is it https://basecamp.com/? I checked out the demo and it looks pretty cool. I use Microsoft's OneNote which does a good job of keeping images and notes available on disparate devices but certainly does not have the rich group capabilities that I'm seeing in BaseCamp.

bill_covert mentioned "next exit" (https://thenextexit.com/) in this thread. I looked it up and it looks like a great resource. Basically it uses a red font color to designate vendors on a given exit which are RV friendly. I could use something like BaseCamp to record the RV friendly vendors identified in "next exit" along my path :-) It would be a bit of work but when gas is getting low and exits are few and far in between, having BaseCamp loaded with RV friendly exits along my path would be a huge stress reliever.

[Pirate]

Yup, and you can use BaseCamp to tell you when the next "waypoint" fuel stop is, and with that info you can glance at the fuel gauge and decide if its time to stop.

BaseCamp is free, and its the PC interface with Garmin GPS units.

I also carry a Garmin Rino655t unit. It has a geotagging camera. So if you stop at a good place, or see one as you're rolling down the highway, you can snap a pic and when you upload to BaseCamp it will show up on the map exactly where you took the pic, the waypoint coordinate will be there, and you can add notes to the waypoint.

Very handy!!

[WannaBeFree]

Thanks Pirate,

I found a link to the BaseCamp you referenced, BaseCampâ„¢ | Garmin | United States. This is much better than the idea I had of storing all the POI's in OneNote or the other BaseCamp website I referenced. The fuel stops are right there as waypoints on the GPS. Very nice.

I really like the idea of the Garmin Rino655t. I did a search on the Google Play Store and found GPS Map Camera, https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...y.gpsmapcamera. It seems like it will capture a phone and embed the location for future use. I'll definitely be downloading this to the phone :-)

Though my Coleman 192RD is only 9'11" high I was thinking it would be a good idea to have an app designed to keep me out of trouble with bridges and tighter roadways (42' length including the F150). Do you use any apps for navigating around lower bridges/tunnels and tighter roads?

[BarryD]

Originally Posted by WannaBeFree

Thanks Pirate,

The BaseCamp that you mentioned, is it https://basecamp.com/? I checked out the demo and it looks pretty cool. I use Microsoft's OneNote which does a good job of keeping images and notes available on disparate devices but certainly does not have the rich group capabilities that I'm seeing in BaseCamp.

bill_covert mentioned "next exit" (https://thenextexit.com/) in this thread. I looked it up and it looks like a great resource. Basically it uses a red font color to designate vendors on a given exit which are RV friendly. I could use something like BaseCamp to record the RV friendly vendors identified in "next exit" along my path :-) It would be a bit of work but when gas is getting low and exits are few and far in between, having BaseCamp loaded with RV friendly exits along my path would be a huge stress reliever.

I am going to check out thenextexit.com. So far I have not had any issues with the places I have stopped but this sounds like a good tool to use when traveling. My wife, bless her heart, is not real good at giving directions for me when I am backing up. I swear that when I look in the mirrors at her it looks like she is swatting flies. We definitely need to practice our teamwork a bit when it comes to backing up with a trailer.

[RVNevada]

Because our Rv and Tow Vehicle is 60ft and 13ft.6" High, I use the Rand McNally Motor Carriers Road Atlas to double check the roads we travel. I feel if Commercial Trucks use the road, then our large RV can use it also.....It shows updated Restricted routes, low clearance routes..

[WannaBeFree]

Know what you mean BarryD,

My wife and I could benefit from better communication when backing up the RV. We'll definitely have walkie talkies next time.

[WannaBeFree]

Thanks RVNevada,

That Rand McNally Motor Carriers Road Atlas sounds like a great resource. An Amazon reviewer noted that it helped them avoid roads which are difficult to turn around on in addition to the height

The price for the Atlas, $50, is quite a bit lower than the Garmin RV 760LMT - almost $270 at WalMart. I think a YouTuber Nomadic Fanatic was talking about an app he was using for navigating the North East with this RV. Like the Garmin you can enter RV length/weight/height but according to the Fanatic and reviews on the Android Play store it has some issues.