Think your fuel bill is high?

This rig is probably a bit larger than yours. It certainly is faster than any I've seen and cost more too.

Even though this is an aircraft, it's been completely outfitted as living quarters. Don't look for it to pull into the site next to yours; besides you wouldn't want the noise when they pulled out in the morning.

Be there without going there

There are lots of mapping applications available including Microsoft Virtual Earth, Mapquest, all of the GPS enabled applications, and Google Earth. Today, Google announced its latest addition to its online mapping application, 360 Streetside Views.

It's only available for a few locations right now, with more to come soon. And it won't help you find your way to the closest campground either. But if you need to see... I mean actually SEE... the street corner to tell whether your rig will make it around the turn, this might just help you out.

Personally, I think I'll route around downtown San Francisco, but at least now I know how bad the tight the turn would be if I had to go there.

Not sure where to go?

OK... this isn't specifically for RV travels, but if you are just itching to go somewhere but don't have a destination in mind, Tripbase may be just what you need. You can tell Tripbase when you're leaving, where you're leaving from, what your budget is, and what kinds of things you're interested in (nightlife, dining, attractions, nature...) and it will find locations for you.

Be sure to select only North America from the destinations search list. I don't know about your RV, but mine is strictly land-based.

Vehicle Expenses and Performance Tracking

Keeping up with a car's maintenance history is a good thing, but with an RV it's a necessity. Iambic's Vehicle Manager was designed for typical car maintenance tracking, but it's flexible enough to keep your tow, coach, or dinghy records all in one place... on your mobile phone.

You can record information about multiple vehicles, add custom categories like awning replacement, and get quick statistics. Once you've added enough history, the system will issue reminders for maintenance. All that for only $20.

International Calling Anyone?

Calling outside the US can get expensive. It can get even more expensive if you're tied to using a cell phone's service rates. Yak4Ever.com's service lets you make international calls at no charge at all other than your cellular rate.

Route Planning and Campground Finding

I've tried lots of software and services including Google Earth, Microsoft Visual Earth, DeLorme Street Atlas, Microsoft Streets, and too many others to list. They all have some good features and some that fall short. None of these are designed specifically for campers though they do allow for searching along the way for "points of interest" with keywords like 'campground' or 'RV' and other likely keys.

The problem I've had with most of these is that they find all kinds of points, many of which are not so interesting... at least for trip planning. I've found mobile home parks, boy scout campgrounds, and RV service centers; none of which I really wanted to spend the night in.

But I just got a promo mailing (you probably did too) to join CampclubUSA. Never mind that they offer saving 50% on campgrounds, the real gem is their trip planner tool. It's based on MapQuest and displays campgrounds along the route.

Two things to know about this service:
1- It only displays member campgrounds.

• That's bad because there aren't a lot of them. I found only 2 on a route between my home in North Carolina and Cape Cod.
• But that's good because (if I join the club) the rates are only 1/2 the normal retail day rate.

2- The MapQuest service they link to is a watered down version that doesn't allow you to specify non-direct routes, so you need to create multiple trips if you don't like where the route goes. In my case, I don't like traveling through NY City up I-95, so I made two routes, avoiding the Bronx.

The service is free to use, but you have to sign up at a fee in order to get the discounted campground rates.

Navigate from your cell phone

I've used a lot of GPS units; dedicated handheld units, dash mount portables, and built-in consoles. Telenav's offering made me a believer in using a smartphone (in this case, my Cingular Blackjack) as a navigation device.

Of course, in addition to the $10/month service you need either a bluetooth GPS receiver or a fully-GPS enabled phone.

On some phones, like the BlackBerry, Telenav can use the internal GPS radio, but most phones don't allow third party applications to access their GPS. I'm sure there's a reason for that but I doubt it's a good one. Regardless, linking up a Bluetooth GPS is simple and quick. It may even be the better choice since you can put the GPS unit on your dashboard where it can pick up a better signal from the satellites than it can inside the car.

First I'll tell you about maybe the only drawback. Since Telenav uses your phone connection, you need to be able to get a signal on your phone. That's different from the unconnected navigators, but I'm willing to live with.

Now here are some of the nice things about using Telenav:

• Its maps and database are NOT on your phone until you need them.That means they are always up to date.
• Since the service is online, you can also use it from your computer. And what's nice about that is making changes, such as adding new addresses and locations.
• Voice prompts sound like they are being spoken by a real person.
• You can phone your destination address in to Telenav rather than thumbing it into your phone. This means you can actually set up a map while you're on the go. The service sets up the directions and the route shows up on your phone.
• The "Biz Finder" lets you find pretty much any kind of business or service within an area you define. Categories include stores, medical facilities, businesses by name, parks, restaurants, and anything else you might need.
  

And here's the thing I like the best... find the closest, lowest price gas, then get a map to it. Telenav gets daily updates on gas stations and pricing, so even if you're in a strange city (or driving down I-95 in a different state) you can find the best price on gas.

There's more, like traffic conditions and rerouting, but that feature isn't available on my Cingular Blackjack yet. I found the service easy to use and even fun. It sells for $10 per month through most carriers, or directly from Telenav.

Campground WiFi Sucks

More campgrounds are installing WiFi services all the time. Some offer it as a free incentive to visit while others charge a separate fee (just like cable tv). In my experience, very few camprgounds install the right kind of equipment needed to provide adequate coverage to the entire site. Even those that do make the investment in site evaluation and placement of multiple access points with advanced antennae don't (or can't) deliver decent speed to every location.

I'm staying at Bear Creek park in Asheville, NC this week. Bear Creek is one of those parks that has put the effort into installing top notch equipment (Cisco outdoor access points). My spot is about 150 feet from the nearest antenna, and I'm able to get what my laptop reports as a 'poor' connection at about 1MB/sec.

But when I plug in my hField Wi-Fire and point it in the right direction I suddenly get a 'excellent' connection. The Wi-Fire has its own connection analysis tool that helps aim the directional antenna to the best angle. It shows that this campground has 3 access points within range (not to mention 2 other WiFi routers that must be inside some other RVs close by).

The Wi-Fire sells online for $109. If you depend on WiFi connections, even at Flying-J truck stops, this may be just what you need.

Banking All Over

Getting to the bank when you're permanently located can be a chore. But when you're not in the same place for longer than a few weeks, you may be better off not having a bank at all.

I'm not suggesting you should stuff your cash in a wheel well, but if you've already handled the issues of being connected to the Internet, managing your checking account (including bill paying, transfers, etc.) is probably the next step.

Lots of banks offer online services, so you may be able to pull this off without changing banks. RVBank.com at least specializes in RVing with its name.

And where have you been?

Some of us are obsessed with where we are about to go. Others may be equally enthusiastic about just where they've been. Then there are those that want to know how much the trip cost, plotted on a map, what their fuel mileage was, and so on.

For those of you with that kind of desire (and the right kind of cell phone) try Driving Log from Concrete Software. It runs on your cell phone, links to your GPS, and collects data for display and analysis. And you can even let all of us more casual travelers in on your adventures by displaying your results online.