Big Lap App Hack: Ditch the Dozens of Apps & Conquer Your Caravan Trip with ONE!
A look at keeping trip planning, weights, fuel and a logbook in The Lap Club while you are on the road.
Planning your Big Lap with a caravan or camper trailer? Forget the headache of juggling multiple apps; The Lap Club is the integrated solution you need. It streamlines your entire journey, from planning routes and managing your rig’s weight to finding the cheapest fuel on the road.
The sheer freedom of the Big Lap is addictive. Winding down dirt tracks, waking up to ocean breezes, and discovering hidden gems across this vast continent – it’s the Australian dream for so many of us. But let’s be honest, the “doing” part, especially when you’re towing a caravan or camper trailer, can sometimes feel like a logistical puzzle.
We’ve all been there. You’ve got your favourite navigation app for the road, a separate one for finding campsites, another for checking fuel prices, and maybe even a spreadsheet (yes, a spreadsheet) for tracking your rig’s weight. It’s enough to make you want to just stay home and watch Outback Opal Hunters. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Why The Lap Club Beats the App Avalanche for Big Lap Travellers
The team behind The Lap Club understands the unique challenges and joys of travelling Australia in a caravan or camper trailer. They’ve built an all-in-one platform designed to simplify your journey, giving you more time to actually experience the Lap, and less time fiddling with your phone.
Imagine this: one app where you can plan your entire route, check the weight limits of your caravan and its contents, and find the cheapest fuel prices along your way, all in real-time. Sound too good to be true? It’s not.
The Big Lap Trip Planner: Your Route, Your Way
Planning your Big Lap route is a monumental task. You’re not just thinking about the fastest way from A to B; you’re considering scenic detours, caravan park availability, road conditions, and potential points of interest.
Traditional Approach (The Multi-App Scramble):
- Mapping: a general maps app, which is not built around towing.
- Camps: a separate campsite listing, often another login.
- Notes: a spreadsheet or a notebook for weights, fuel and the budget.
The Lap Club Difference:
The Lap Club’s trip planner is built with caravan and camper trailer travellers in mind. It allows you to:
- Build custom routes: Easily plot your course, adding stops, overnight stays, and detours.
- Add stops: National parks and other places you already know can go on the same list.
- Needs a connection: The map is not an offline maps product. Remote stretches still need a plan made while you have signal.
This integrated approach means you’re not constantly flicking between apps. Your entire journey is visualised and manageable in one place.
Weight Manager: Towing Safely, Driving Smarter
This is one of the most critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of towing a caravan or camper trailer. Overloading your rig isn’t just illegal and dangerous; it can lead to serious damage to your vehicle, caravan, and even cause accidents.
The Problem with Manual Tracking:
Many travellers rely on manual calculations, guestimates, or spreadsheets to track their Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), Tare Mass, and Gross Trailer Mass (GTM). This is prone to error and doesn’t account for the constant addition and removal of items during your travels.
The Lap Club’s Weight Manager:
The Lap Club Weight Manager lets you:
- Input your caravan’s specifications: Tare weight, GVM, ball weight – all the crucial numbers.
- Log your belongings: Easily add common items (water, fuel, general gear) with their estimated weights.
- Real-time weight calculation: See at a glance how close you are to your legal limits.
- Alerts and reminders: Get notified if you’re approaching or exceeding weight capacities.
This intelligent system takes the guesswork out of safe towing, giving you peace of mind and protecting your investment.
Live Fuel Prices: Saving Your Hard-Earned Cash
Fuel is a significant expense on the Big Lap. For caravan and camper trailer travellers, these costs can add up quickly. While fuel price apps exist, they often require separate checks, and the data might not always be the most up-to-date.
The Disconnected Fuel Search:
- Opening a fuel app: You might do this before you leave a town, hoping for the best price in the next 50-100km.
- Inaccurate data: Sometimes the prices shown aren’t quite right by the time you pull into the servo.
- Missed opportunities: You might drive past a cheaper station without realising it.
The Lap Club’s Integrated Fuel Finder:
The Lap Club brings live fuel prices directly into your trip planning and navigation. This means:
- Integrated price checks: As you plan your route, see fuel prices at servos along the way.
- Real-time updates: Benefit from the most current pricing information available.
- Cost-saving opportunities: Make informed decisions about where to fill up and save money.
This simple yet powerful feature can put dollars back in your pocket, allowing you to extend your travels or enjoy more of Australia’s incredible experiences.
Why Choose The Lap Club?
The beauty of The Lap Club lies in its integration. Instead of having a dozen apps open, each serving a single purpose, you have a unified platform that understands the holistic needs of a Big Lap traveller. It’s about reducing complexity and maximising enjoyment.
It is free during beta. Create an account at https://lapclub.com.au.
What you can do in The Lap Club today
- Build a multi-stop trip and share the link.
- Record rig weights in the Weight Manager. The map still needs a connection; this is not an offline maps app.
- Check live fuel prices in NSW, QLD, WA and SA. VIC and the ACT only have a handful of stations, and NT and TAS have none yet.
- Keep a stay-based logbook and a budget.
More trip notes are on the blog at https://lapclub.com.au/blog.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does The Lap Club include for a caravan trip?
Trip planning, a weight manager, live fuel prices in NSW, QLD, WA and SA, a logbook and a budget. It is free during beta at https://lapclub.com.au.
How can I track my caravan’s weight?
Open the Weight Manager at https://lapclub.com.au/weights, enter the spec plate numbers you have, and log what you are carrying. You can save a partial setup and finish it later.
Is The Lap Club available now?
Yes. It is free during beta. Create an account at https://lapclub.com.au.
Do I need several tools for a Big Lap?
Plenty of people still use a maps app beside Lap Club. The planner, weights, fuel, logbook and budget are in the one site so you are not retyping the same trip in each of them.