RV Trip Planning Books And Software

RV Trip Planning Books And Software

Must Have Books For The Road

Throughout our travels, we have purchased many RV travel books and software to assist us in our travel plans, routing and in selecting RV parks and campgrounds.  Taylor likes to use the software products in planning our routes before we travel. When we are on the road, I use the physical books listed here as I don’t always have my computer on while we are on the road and I want to be able to look up information as we travel. To be honest – Taylor is a computer geek and loves to play with software and I’m more old fashion preferring physical books.

These books and software also make great gifts!  Below is a list of books and software we have used and recommend. 

Taylor, our trip planner and driver, uses Microsoft Streets & Trips software to plan our RV trips.  The  Microsoft Streets and Trips software provides driving directions to just about anywhere in the U.S. and Canada with updated maps and extensive trip planning features and you can choose between the product with GPS or the one without GPS.

The Next Exit 2011: USA Interstate Exit Directory: the Most Complete Interstate Exit Directory

I call The Next Exit my “Traveling Bible” as I am never without it when we are traveling on interstates. It lists the services on major interstate exits. The Next Exit provides these available services by exit number. It includes food, gas, hospitals, lodging, camping, rest stops, truck stops, Wal-Marts and more. No more relying on the last minute interstate signs to find the services you need and not knowing how much further it will be to the next available services. It is a wonderful travel planning resource that we use all of the time.

Mountain Directory East for Truckers, RV

The Mountain Directory East is the companion book for Mountain Directory West. The directory “includes the locations and descriptions of over 300 mountain passes and steep grades in eleven eastern states”. The states include Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Most of the mountains we have driven have so far have been in the western U.S. so we have used the Mountain Directory West more often. If you will be driving in the mountains in the states listed in the Mountain Directory East, we highly recommend this book so you can make informed decisions on the appropriate routing and avoid any surprises.

Mountain Directory West for Truckers, RV, and Motorhome Drivers

“The Mountain Directory books tell you where the steep grades are, how long they are, how steep (%) they are, whether the road is two lane, three lane, or four lane, if there are escape ramps, switchbacks, sharp curves, speed limits, etc. With this information, one can know ahead of time what a pass is like and make an informed decision about whether to go over or around.” The Mountain Directory West includes “Locations and Descriptions of over 400 Mountain Passes and Steep Grades in Eleven Western States.” The states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Mountain Directory West book has saved us many times from making bad routing decisions. We highly recommend the Mountain Directory West and the Mountain Directory East if you will be taking routes that require climbing mountains. Several times we have changed routing based on the information in this book to avoid steep grades. Even when we decide we can safely navigate the grades, we knew what grades to expect and we were prepared for the roads ahead.

Trailer Life RV Parks, Campgrounds, and Services Directory 2011

The Trailer Life Directory lists thousands of RV parks featuring their exclusive triple rating system.   It also contains listings of service-and-repair facilities and tourist attractions.  It  designates which RV Resorts, RV Parks, and Campgrounds offer the Good Sam Discount which we are members.  We have used Trailer Life for years in helping us select RV parks and campgrounds.  The parks and campgrounds listed are rated on three categories:  Completeness of Facilities; Cleanliness and Physical Characteristics of Restrooms and Showers; and Visual Appearance and Environmental Quality.  The directory also provides information on the number, type and average size of the RV sites; the type of hook-ups; and any facilities and recreation offered at each park. 

Big Rigs Best Bets Campground Directory Eleventh Edition

The Big Rigs Best Bets book focuses on RV parks that can accomodate large RVs.  It has been a very useful resource for us even though it does not contain the number of listings as the Trailer Life Directory since the RV parks listed have been personally visited by the authors.  They give good details on which sites will accomodate larger RVs and any ingress and egress issues.  This book can be hard to find but we can sometimes find it in the office of some of the RV parks which accomodate “Big Rigs”.

Empire State Railway Museum’s Tourist Trains 2006: 41st Annual Guide To Tourist Railroads And Museums (Tourist Trains Guidebook)

Taylor is a train buff. His father and uncle worked on the railroads years ago. We are always looking for railroad museums and train excursions. We use this 2006 Tourist Trains book to locate museums and excursions on our routes. I haven’t found a later version but I doubt the information has changed that much.