RV Country apps for survival

We’ve all heard it “you’re not really camping if you bring your phone.” But then there’s the other side “You should always carry your phone for safety reasons.”  Well, here are some apps that can bring some ease into your RV or camping trip.

1) TrailBehind ($.99) : User-generated maps with info about specific trail heads, summits, streams, state park landmarks, and more.

2) Park Maps ($.99): GPS maps of 250+ national parks and recreational spots in the U.S. The reviews are mixed.

3) Flashlight (FREE) Literally a flashlight that takes up the whole screen. You can even change the color of the light.

4) Google Earth (FREE) Google Earth lets you zoom in and browse the entire world, using your fingers to zoom, pan, and tilt in a way that is so much more intuitive than any desktop application. Use Google Earth to scope out the road ahead, and the places you  have been – it gives a great overview of the towns and terrain you have passed through.

5) Zyrtec (FREE) Who will show up to your outdoor gatherings? Or follow you to work in the morning? Ragweed? Bluegrass? Will it be sunny or cloudy? Now you’ll know, with AllergyCast from the makers of ZYRTEC®.

6) State Lines ($2.99) a single resource for all those laws and regulations that change as you cross state lines. Use it as you cross state lines to find out if gas taxes will be cheaper in the next state, if you can overnight at rest areas, if you can buy beer in grocery stores on a Sunday and other such information.

7) RV Dump Stations ($0.99): Where's the closest RV Dump station? RV Dumps checks your location and displays all points on a map view. RV Dump uses the database from AllStays.com and its Camp & RV app and filters all points that have a dump station as an amenity - lists 4,428 dump stations.

8) Dog Park Finder Plus ($1.99):  Partnering with Adopt-A-Pet.com and from the #1 dog park app comes the expanded Dog Park Finder Plus. App lists 2400+ legal off-leash dog parks plus 2500+ dog friendly beaches and hikes along with pictures and reviews.

9) Star Walk ($2.99) is a star gazing app like no other. The application feels very natural on the iPhone platform and performs flawlessly. So what can you do with the app? A bunch of things like learning constellations, stars, planets and more.

10) Pocket Universe ($2.99) There can never be too many stargazing apps and Pocket Universe is a worthy competitor to Star Walk. Pocket Universe works in a very similar manner to Star Walk, once you launch the app the geolocation information is collected and with the iPhone's GPS and compass features the app orients the night sky on your iPhone with all the necessary labels. You can track through the night sky virtually on your iPhone, locate stars and constellations, and obtain information about planetary bodies. The "time travel mode" on the app is pretty cool, it allows you to look at how the night sky will appear on a future date. Pocket Universe also keeps its users informed of any expected meteor showers, lunar phases and similar celestial events so that you can get a first-hand view on a telescope at home or at an observatory.