Let CoPilot RV GPS Be Your Guide

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RV GPS - How to avoid low bridges

2020 Update: We now use RV Life GPS which is bundled with our RV Trip Wizard subscription.

When it comes to RV GPS choices, there are many different options.

It’s a big decision since this is the tool that will help ensure you stay on the best roads while driving your RV. Not only do you want the best route to your destination but you also want to avoid low bridges and roads with weight limits.

When it finally came down to making our choice, we went with the app CoPilot.

We did research other options like the Garmin RV GPS and the Rand McNally RV GPS but they were just too pricey for us. We also wanted the ability to use our phones or iPad instead of having to purchase another accessory, which is why we started researching RV apps for the iPad.

Google Maps, Waze, and Apple maps have excellent GPS routing but don’t have the ability to route based on height and weight restrictions (really important!)

CoPilot had everything we wanted: updated offline maps (no data needed), height/weight restrictions, and the ability to avoid tolls all for a reasonable price.

So, what else does this GPS for RV routes do? Well, I’ll tell you!

First, you can put in the dimensions of your RV (height, width, length, weight) to help it determine the best route.

You also have the option to avoid toll roads, avoid ferries, and avoid propane restricted tunnels. These are all very important things to stay away from when you’re driving your RV.

We love the feature that allows us to select our road preferences.

We can let the app know if we prefer or oppose freeways, divided highways, primary roads, secondary roads, and local streets.

These preference choices help CoPilot determine the best path to take for us specifically and not just the fastest.

For example, we would much rather prefer a freeway that goes around a major city than drive through it just to save 10 minutes. This also helps us avoid traffic.

Lastly, we find the display of our route to be very clear. You can have a map view, listed directions, or both.

We use our iPad that is mounted on the windshield and select the “3D Map and Directions” option so that we can see where we are on the route as well as the next steps all on one screen. See what happened before we got CoPilot.

If you’re still looking for the best RV GPS then we highly recommend CoPilot.

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7 comments
  1. Looking to decide between the Garmin and this app, I know there is a huge price difference, but wondering does this app have live traffic and re-routing based on it if you are using the maps live?

    1. It has live traffic for an extra yearly fee and will reroute you based on that. Not sure what you mean about using the maps live but it will reroute you if you make a wrong turn. Overall I think they have the same trust level for me (about 90%) and CoPilot is 10X cheaper!

  2. Thank you for the write-up. I am researching a GPS for our new-to-us RV. I have used Tomtom in our cars for years and am happy with it. But, we now need an RV GPS that can handle weight, height, propane, etc. The reviews for dedicated RV GPS’s are not that encouraging. So, I am considering CoPilot. But I want a larger screen than my iphone. And, I do not want to tie up my iphone. I want a “dedicated” GPS solution. It sounds like CoPilot and an ipad would work well. Now, the question is: which ipad?

    The link to the ipad seems to be broken. What kind of ipad is needed? Does it need Wifi? Does it need a GPS component? Does it need cellular capabilities? We have a mobile hotspot that travels with us that provides Wifi to multiple devices in the RV. But how would the ipad know exactly where we are?

    1. CoPilot needs data to download the maps then it is all stored locally. We downloaded all the US maps so only need data when we want to update them. You do need GPS which is included in some iPads. Ours did not have GPS so we purchased the Garmin Glo (https://amzn.to/2PR8aN4) device that works amazing! Connects via bluetooth to the iPad or any device.

  3. We bought a refurbished RV GPS by Magellan on Amazon, right before we headed to Niagara Falls. It was only $60! Great deal right? Well it worked for a little bit until it actually routed us through downtown Pittsburgh. We haven’t had good luck with it at all. So we switched to iPhone apps and have had no issues. I’ve never heard anything good about the actual RV GPS devices. Great post!

  4. I cannot get it to work on wither my I phone or I pad. Have contacted copilot and heard nothing from them.

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