As the RV lifestyle explodes in popularity across the United States, I see
many people asking the same question on social media. What program or app does
everyone use to log their RV trips? I prefer Google Maps to keep track of all
my trips to America's National Parks, State Parks, RV Resorts, Restaurants,
and the list goes on. It's FREE and easy to use and it's NOT filled with ads
for you to support the app developer. If you have a Google account, you can
use Google Maps to create your very own interactive road map. You can even
make it "public" and share it with the world like our RV
Trip Maps below:
Let's get started showing you how to create your very own
RV Road Trip Map.
This tutorial will be much easier if you use a desktop or laptop computer
rather than your smartphone. It can be done, but this tutorial will use
screenshots from the Google Maps desktop version.
First, navigate to www.google.com and log
in to your Google account. Once you are logged in, up in the right top corner,
click the Google Apps icon in between Images and your Account Icon. This will
open a panel containing icons. Locate the icon with the word Maps below it and
click the icon to open the Google Maps website. You should now be looking at
Google Maps default screen. It will look similar to the screenshot below:
On the left side of the screen, you should see the Saved icon. The black arrow
is pointing to this icon. Click Saved to reveal the menu options side panel.
Your computer screen should look like the screenshot below:
To create our own map, you want to click on the Maps icon. This will load all
of your maps you've created like you can see in the image below. I create a
lot of maps with Google Maps and this is where your maps will be listed.
You are now ready to create your own Google Map. Click
CREATE MAP
at the bottom of the side bar and the screenshot below is what you will see
next.
Here comes the fun part. To add your first marker to your map, search for
the places you went. I stayed at the El Tovar Hotel on the South Rim, so
that is my search above. Hit ENTER and Google Maps takes you to your
location as seen in the screenshot below.
To add this hotel to your trip, click + Add to map. Notice the hotel is
now listed under the Grand Canyon trip on the side bar and the marker has
been added to your map as seen in the screenshot below. (marker changed
from green to blue)
Adding markers is the easiest way to create your own Google Map. The first
map in this tutorial is a marker map with 62 National Parks listed, and
you may have noticed the markers are
RV icons. To change your icon from the default marker, hover over the words "El
Tovar Hotel" in the side bar and a paint can will pop up on the right side
of the panel. Click the paint can and a panel pops up that will let you
change the color of the icon and choose from hundreds of different icons
as seen in the screenshot below.
The screenshot below shows three different trips listed with activities
under each trip. Notice the different color icons represent the same trip.
To create a new trip, click the ADD LAYER button on the side bar. To add
new destinations to a trip, make sure the layer is selected before adding
locations to your map.
There is so much more to learn in Google Maps, so I urge you to go poke
around and have some fun. You can use your Google Maps to SHARE with your
family so everyone knows your itinerary. You can pre-plan your trip
complete with directions and follow your map on your smartphone. If you
still think you need another driving app, I would reconsider. Give Google
Maps a chance and create your own interactive log books.
Feel free to leave your comments and/or questions and I'll be happy to
answer them to the best of my knowledge. I hope this tutorial helps you
log all your travels living the right lane life.
Jacks Up! I'm out!
MORE RV THERE YET?
