Apps have made nomadic living exponentially easier, but there are a lot of duds out there. View our favorite vanlife apps to make your life on the road better!
By Bekah Whitney & Sawyer Lane
There are a ton of Apps out there for everything, but sometimes you end up with 5 different apps on your phone that do the same thing as the other ones and you ask yourself why even bother. Here is a list of our favorites and some extras that are worth investigating
For finding free campsites, freecampsites.net is our favorite. A lot of apps have tried to do what free campsites do, but if all you are looking for is free parking look no further.
Similar Apps worth investigating:
We have talked about Boondockers Welcome a lot because it is one of the best apps out there for free camping at someone’s house. Honestly I don’t know of any other apps that offer this service, but I doubt it is as large or as amazing as this. Think Couch Surfers for Rvers.
Boondockers Welcome was recently bought by Harvest Hosts. There are a lot of people worried about how it will change the community and on the flip side, excited on how it will grow the community. As new members the biggest downfall we have seen is the phasing out of Boondockers App. Why any company would get rid of an app that works wonderfully for one that has many problems and isn’t as easy to use is beyond me. But we are hoping they will restore it to its former glory.
Similar Apps worth investigating:
As an unmarried couple on the road, splitting finances can get really hard to keep track of. Before we started using Splitwise I kept notes of who paid for what last, I tried to make a google doc, and Venmo-ing each other back and forth, all of which failed miserably. Splitwise has made keeping track of who owes who has made it so easy.
When buying groceries we will just open the app, see who is in “debt” to the other, and have that one buy groceries. I have been so happy with Splitwise that I haven’t looked for any other apps. I tried a few when I first started looking but deleted them shortly after.
There is a paid version, but the free version literally does everything I need.
I love AllTrails for finding hikes. It has honestly never failed me when it comes to hiking. I love that you can choose to filter out trails that are not dog friendly and choose if you want to go on a hike with waterfalls, fishing, and/or views.
I actually have not downloaded any other hiking apps because of how much I love AllTrails.
Note: I would not use it for finding mountain bike trails.
Before I praise MTB Project, I want to share that I would not use it as your only resource. We first hand experienced a trail that was so washed out after finding it on the MTB Project.
Because of this, I use the MTB Project App as a secondary resource after someone has already recommended an area.
Once you have an area from someone’s recommendation MTB Project has recommended routes with mileage and elevation gain. It also shows you exactly where you are on the trails in case you get a little confused on which ways you need to turn at intersections. You can also download whole states at a time, so the internet is always necessary.
Similar Apps worth investigating:
Finally! The app is finally here! I have noticed that not every single park is complete on the App, but the most popular ones seem to be very accurate.
Many of the large National Parks do not have service inside them so being able to download a whole park at a time is such a great feature.
As someone who is very conscious about her carbon footprint on the world, I had been waiting for the app to replace all the maps they hand out. You may still ask for maps, but now that the app has more information it is an amazing resource that doesn’t take up any extra paper.
These are all the Apps we use on a regular basis. There are a few random ones that I have downloaded and deleted over the years, but these are my absolute favorites that never seem to fail us.
Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts on these apps and if there are any you think we should add!
We wanted a watercraft for a long time, but didn’t quite know what to pull the trigger on. We wanted something that was durable and folded up nice and small. After watching videos of a jeep driving over the kayak and hit it with a hammer, we knew it was the one for us!
We have a full review on this Kayak if you want to learn more!
If you don’t already have a hammock, you really need to get on it! The Eno is a lightweight, packable, and durable hammock perfect for anyone living on the road. We have a single nest because neither of us seem to want to be in the hammock at the same time, but they do make a Double Nest if you are looking to cuddle up with your significant other in it.
Listen, everyone with photos of their van door wide open has flies. Adding a screen door was an absolute game-changer for us, plus it is attached through velcro so that you can easily remove it when you are ready to take those idyllic photos. If you haven’t hit the road yet, just get one. If you already have, this is the answer to your fly problem, you’re welcome.
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