Two things end more RV trips badly than almost anything else: a bridge that is lower than your rig, and a grade that is steeper than your brakes want. Both are avoidable with the right route. This guide covers how to read grades and clearances, and how rig-safe routing keeps them off your path automatically.
Low clearances and steep grades cause a wildly outsized share of RV mishaps, and both are avoidable at the planning stage. A bridge you cannot fit under is a hard stop; a grade steeper than your brakes and cooling can handle is a slow-motion one. The fix for both is the same: choose a route that never puts them in front of you.
Measure your rig at its tallest point — A/C shroud included — and treat that as your number. Then route with an app that knows it too, so anything lower is off the table automatically. Relying on spotting every posted sign at highway speed is how the number-one RV insurance claim happens.
A percent grade is feet of rise per hundred feet of road; 6% and up is where heavy rigs want to slow down, gear down, and watch temperatures. The trouble is you often cannot see a grade coming on a map. Camp Roostly shows per-leg elevation and grade before you drive and offers a flattest-route option, so you can trade a few extra miles for a climb your rig will thank you for.
Enter your dimensions once and Camp Roostly routes around low bridges, weight limits, and steep grades on every leg, on your phone and in-dash via CarPlay and Android Auto. The safest grade is the one you were never routed onto.
Camp Roostly plans around low bridges and steep grades, then navigates turn-by-turn on CarPlay and Android Auto — with a connectivity verdict on every campsite. Free to start.
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