Traveling can get complicated, whether you are in a camper van, RV, or are car camping. Finding places to park overnight, fill up your water tanks, dump trash, and constantly having to learn new areas and what all there is to do can be overwhelming at first. Luckily we’ve found many van life apps that can help.
When we first hit the road, we constantly stressed about where we would end up after a long day of driving, where we would be able to fill up our water tanks, and where we would dump our wastewater.
After the first few weeks, we quickly found what apps helped us find camping, water, and things to do in the area. Many of the apps we use are even crowdsourced, meaning they constantly are updated by the communities that utilize them to keep them up to date.
Whether you are taking a road trip in a car, a weekend warrior, or traveling full time, these are our most-used apps designed for the camper van life, RVs, and casual travelers alike. Make sure also to check out our list of vanlife gadgets that help make traveling better.
Best Camping Vanlife Apps
Finding a safe place to park that preferably has good views is a big part of traveling. These are our favorite vanlife apps we use for finding the best camping spots.
1. Sēkr
Our most used van life app is Sēkr, previously known as the vanlife app. Sēkr is a crowdsourced app that shows everything from free and paid camping, water fills, laundromats, public toilets to propane refill locations. We have found most of our free camping locations using this app. In addition to the interactive map, Sēkr has recently added a calendar section where people from across the country can add events. We have seen all sorts of events, such as van and skoolie meetups to caravans to Alaska.
There is also a connections section in Sēkr where you can turn on your general location on the map to find fellow travelers to connect with. We have not used this feature ourselves to meet other people. Instead, we use it to see how many people are in an area we want to visit. This way, we know how busy it will be and if we’ll have difficulty finding an open free spot to stay.
Pros:
- Cell signal strength
- Free and paid camping
- Locations of water and dump stations
- Community powered so generally up to date
- Able to add locations that you find
Cons:
- Not as populated as other crowdsourced apps
- Not able to edit locations that you find are incorrect
- Still fairly new so not as many places have reviews like other apps
2. Freecampsites.net
Freecampsites.net is one of the most widely used sites for people on the road and by far one of our favorite van life sites. While not technically an app, on Android, you can add the site to your home screen, and it will show up and function much like any other app on this list. Freecampsites.net shows both free and paid camping locations.
We found freecampsites.net to be great in the southern and western states, but there are not as many locations as on other apps in this list in some areas. States like Michigan are incredibly sparse, with freecampsites.net mostly only showing parking at casinos and not much else, even though there are dozens of free spots on National Forest Land.
Pros:
- Massive list of free camping
- Has been around for a while so most spots have at least one review
- Able to add and edits spots you have found
- Shows cell signal strength
Cons:
- Not very mobile friendly with the site crashing often for us
- Not easy to leave a review, with it taking up to 4 weeks for a review to be approved
3. Recreation.gov
Recreation.gov is the one-stop shop for anything related to federal programs. Everything from the National Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, to the Smithsonian. You can purchase fishing permits, buy tickets or tours at a National Park or from the Smithsonian, and reserve sites at any National Park, National Forest, or Army Corps Of Engineers campground.
There is even a trip builder for planning out a road trip. You enter your start date and location and where you want to go, and it will show everything available along that route. You can then plan and purchase any tickets, passes, or campsites needed on one website.
Pros:
- Easy trip planning with all purchases on one site
- Over 110,000 campsites listed
- Able to buy tickets, passes, tours, and fishing permits
- Has both a website and mobile apps
Cons:
- Does not show free camping
4. iOverlander
iOverlander is one of the most widely known and used crowdsourced van life apps for finding free camping. iOverlnader shows everything needed when on the road, such as camping, hotels, propane refills, gas stations, water, hospitals, laundromats, pet services, and more.
With iOverlander being so widely used, almost every spot has a review, so you can know what to expect when arriving. The biggest issue we’ve had is that iOverlander does not show you what cell signal is at each location, which is essential if you work online while traveling. Also, iOverlander was initially for the Overlanding community, so make sure to check the reviews to know if what you are driving can make it down the road as a lot of spots listed are four-wheel drive recommended in our experience.
Pros:
- Large section of free camping
- Shows locations for every need
- Easy to use and navigate
Cons:
- No cell signal information
- Often 4 wheel drive could be needed
5. The Dyrt
When we first started traveling, The Dyrt was initially one of our go-to van life apps; we even bought the pro version. The Dyrt is an excellent app for finding paid camping, but it lacks on free sites. Our biggest complaint about The Dyrt is that it does not clearly define if a campground is free or paid. With paid sites only marked with a “Reservable” tag in the features list.
We quickly realized that it wasn’t the best app for our travel needs as we prefer to do as much free camping as possible. Yet, we still recommend The Dyrt for its ease of use and the ability with the pro version to overlay National Forest, Beru Of Land Management, and National Park Service layers on the map. Plus, it is an excellent resource for finding county parks and state parks along your route.
Perhaps the most helpful feature for those who are okay with paid camping is The Dyrt has an autoroute planner where you add a starting point, endpoint, and how far you want to drive each day. It will automatically develop a route and stops for each night that you can then modify if desired.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- NFS, BLM, and NPS map overlays
- Auto route planner for when you are in a hurry
Cons:
- Doesn’t clearly say if a site is free or paid
- App can be buggy when first opening
6. Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts is one of our favorite van life apps on this list but also requires a yearly subscription to use. With Harvest Hosts, you can stay at farms, wineries, breweries, and museums for free, though they ask you to patronize the business you are visiting.
Harvest Hosts does have restrictions, though, so it will not work for everybody. Pop-up campers, sleeping in your car, rooftop tents, and regular tents are prohibited at all harvest host locations. If you are in a van, skoolie, or RV through Harvest Hosts can be a great way to stay at some incredible spots, especially in and around cities. Some places you can show up to without a reservation, while others you have to put in a request 24 hours in advance, so make sure to check the listing.
Pros:
- Able to stay at unique locations
- Lots of options around larger cities where free camping can be hard to find
Cons:
- Tents, both rooftop and ground based are not allowed
- Pop-up campers not allowed
- Subcriptuion based
Best Non Camping Vanlife Apps
Everything is not always about finding a spot to park when traveling. Here are our top van life apps that are not camping-based.
7. Geocaching
Geocaching is one of our favorite van life apps to use when we get to a new area. It is essentially a worldwide treasure hunting app where people hide geocaches and upload the GPS coordinates with a hint. The goal is to find the caches and sign the log before returning the cache to the hidden location.
Some larger caches also have small items inside that you can trade out with something you brought. There are also trackables that have a goal attached to them, such as traveling to a different state or even to another country. Some caches are also multipart that will lead you around a city, learning about the area’s history.
Pros:
- A great way to explore a new area
- Can be a lot of fun having to find where the caches is hidden
- A great activity for any age group
Cons:
- Does have a paid subscription for access to higher level caches
8. Coverage?
Coverage? is one of our go-to van life apps to see if an area will have good cell coverage. Coverage? was made by the people who run the Mobile Internet Resource Center. Coverage? shows overlays for all the major network carriers that can be filtered by 5G, 4G, and 3G coverage so you can know what to expect once arriving at the campsite.
For those who work online while traveling, having a reliable signal is essential. We have found that the maps are regularly updated and seem to be very accurate. Although we have had a few spots where Coverage? said we would have signal turn out to have very little to no signal. So if the location in question is near the edge of where Coverage? says there is a signal, make sure to have a backup spot further into the covered area if the signal strength is not enough. We recommend using this app with Open Signal to understand better what internet speeds are in an area.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Generally accurate
- Able to be filtered by network carrier
Cons:
- Detailed maps cost extra
- Does not give signal strength or speeds in an area
9. Open Signal
Open Signal is recognized globally as producing an independent view of mobile internet connectivity in any given area. With the Open Signal app, you can see the reported signal strength and the average speeds other app users have reported. Open Signal also has built-in speed tests and video speed tests to understand the network connection better.
When looking for a spot to stay, we first check Coverage? to know in general if there is a signal there, and then we use Open Signal to get a better idea of the exact strength and speeds the area has.
Pros:
- Gives signal stregnth
- Gives network speeds
- Has built-in speed tests
- Has video speed tests to know if streaming will work
Cons:
- Map only gives data for spots a speed test has been run
- In remote area data is lacking
10. Roadtrippers
Roadtrippers is the ultimate van life app for planning a roadtrip. With Roadtrippers, you can search an area to find all sorts of activities. From finding abandoned locations, and scenic overlooks to restaurants and museums. Roadtrippers is an excellent tool for exploring a place and even planning a route with stops along the way.
Plus, Roadtrippers has fuel estimates for your planned route, so you can have an idea of costs before hitting the road. The only issue with Roadtrippers is that the Android app can be confusing at first, with most destination types being nested multiple times inside menus.
Pros:
- Find points of interest
- Estimate fuel expenses for a trip
- Built in navigation
Cons:
- App for Android can be a bit confusing at first.
11. AllTrails
AllTrails is an excellent van life app for finding local trails to hike. From easy to multiday hikes, this app seems to have it all. Plus, people can leave reviews for each trail so you can know what to expect before you get there. Trails are sorted by how difficult and what kind of terrain there is. We use AllTrails to find hikes close to us to get out and explore the local area. There is also a pro version of AllTrails that costs $30 a year to access more features.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Large collection of trails
- Reviews for each trail
Cons:
- Have to pay for the pro version to unlock all the features.
12. PictureThis
PictureThis Is an AI-based app that can identify almost any plant with just a picture. While this may not seem very relevant to campervan apps, I can’t count the number of times we have been at a campsite and wanted to know more about the fauna around us. Plus, the app can warn you if a plant is toxic to pets to avoid any accidents.
If you travel with plants, PictureThis can also help diagnose any issues the plant may have and give a detailed care guide to help the plant become healthy again. The only downside is PictureThis is subscription-based at $20 a year.
Pros:
- Identify plants with just a photo
- Toxic plant identification
- Care guides
Cons:
- Subscription based
13. GasBuddy
GasBuddy helps you find the cheapest gas that is nearby. It also tracks if your vehicle has any open recalls and can help track your fuel efficiency, giving you a better idea of what kind of mileage you are getting. Something that can be helpful when traveling full time. GasBuddy also has a reward program that can save you up to 25 cents per gallon.
The most helpful feature GasBuddy has for us is being able to search for fuel type along a route. We’ve quickly learned that good diesel can be hard to find in some states, and GasBuddy helps us find the closest place to fill up.
Pros:
- Able to search for fuel type along the route
- Saves you money
- Recall alerts
Cons:
- Does not have a maintenance log feature built in.
14. CARFAX Car Care
CARFAX Car Care is a must-have van life app for us. It gives maintenance reminders, shows your vehicle history, and has tools to find out the average cost of repair, along with helping you find a trustworthy local shop if needed. CARFAX Car Care also alerts you to any open recalls and tracks mileage and time since the last oil change and tire rotation. The best part is since the app is powered by CARFAX, your maintenance schedule and reminders get automatically updated whenever you have your vehicle serviced.
Pros:
- Maintenance reminders
- Find out the average cost of repairs for almost any breakdown
- Automatically get updated when your vehicle is serviced
Cons:
- Does not have general expense tracking
