Should the app route around low bridges?

Only if you license truck-routing data; consumer map APIs do not carry clearance information, and a wrong answer here destroys a roof. In a first version, show the rig height on every plan and let the user record clearance notes per stop and per leg. Be explicit in the app that routing is for drive time, not clearance.

How is this different from a travel itinerary app?

The data is about the vehicle and the campsite, not the sights: hookup amperage, dump stations, maximum site length, tank capacities, and drive-time limits per day. A general itinerary app has none of those fields and treats a 40-foot motorhome like a rental car.

How to Build an RV Trip Planner App with AI (2026)

What a RV trip planner app needs

Trips as an ordered list of stops with dates and nights at each
Per-leg drive time and distance with a warning when a leg exceeds the daily limit
Campground details per stop: hookups (electric amps, water, sewer), dump station, max rig length, reservation number
Rig profile: length, height, weight, propane, and tank capacities
Pre-departure checklist per stop (awning in, steps up, antenna down) with reset on arrival

The screens

Screen	What it does
Trips	Upcoming and past trips with dates, total miles, and nights
Trip Plan	Ordered stops with nights each, leg drive time between them, and over-limit warnings
Stop Detail	Campground info, hookups, reservation, check-in and check-out, site notes, photos
Rig Profile	Dimensions, weights, tank sizes, and a note card for low-clearance checks
Checklist	Departure checklist for the current stop with tap-to-check and reset

The data model

Rig: name, lengthFt, heightFt, weightLbs, freshWaterGal, greyGal, blackGal, propaneLbs
Trip: name, startDate, endDate, rigId, notes
Stop: tripId, order, name, lat, lng, arriveDate, nights, type (campground | boondock | fuel | attraction), reservationRef, siteNumber, notes
Campsite: stopId, electricAmps (0 | 30 | 50), water, sewer, dumpStation, maxRigLengthFt, costPerNight
Leg: fromStopId, toStopId, miles, driveMinutes
ChecklistItem: label, order, checked, isDefault

The build prompt (copy this)

Paste this into ShipNative and it becomes a working React Native app with these screens, navigable in a live preview, in about two minutes:

“An RV trip planner. The user first creates a rig profile with length, height, weight, and fresh, grey, black, and propane capacities; the height and length are shown prominently on the plan because they decide which roads and campsites are usable. A trip is an ordered list of stops, each with an arrival date and a number of nights; between consecutive stops the app computes miles and drive time and shows them on the plan, highlighting any leg that exceeds a daily drive-time limit set in settings (default five hours). Each stop has a type (campground, boondock, fuel, attraction) and, for campgrounds, hookup details: electric amps as 0, 30, or 50, water, sewer, dump station, maximum rig length, cost per night, reservation reference, and site number, with a warning if the campsite max length is shorter than the rig. Stop detail holds check-in and check-out times, notes, and photos. A pre-departure checklist (awning in, steps up, antenna down, propane off, jacks up, and user-added items) lives on the current stop and resets automatically when the next stop is reached. Trips show total miles and nights. Works offline once stops are entered, with map tiles cached for the route if possible. Screens: Trips, Trip Plan, Stop Detail, Rig Profile, Checklist.”

Then iterate with small, screen-specific prompts (“make the primary button bigger”, “add an empty state”), preview on your own phone, and export the full Expo project whenever you want. The full method: how to build an app with AI.

How it makes money

Yearly subscription ($20-30) is the norm in this category and travellers accept it, with a free tier of one active trip. The honest extras people pay for are offline maps, exporting the plan to a shareable PDF, and syncing between two phones in the same rig. Low-clearance routing is a separate licensed data product; do not promise it unless you have the data.

Implementation and the revenue math for every model: how to make money from an app. When you’re ready to ship: App Store and Google Play publishing guides.

Build it now

The prompt above is free to run at shipnative.dev — working RV trip planner app on your phone today, full code export.

How to Build an RV Trip Planner App with AI