Low clearance in 2 miles: clearance and grade warnings

A low bridge is the one mistake an RV can't drive away from. Routing around them has always been the point of RV Compass. Now the app also shows you every clearance near your route, and says it out loud before you get to one.

Routing on your rig's height and weight still does most of the work: low bridges and weight-limited roads are designed out of the route before you ever see it. But map data isn't perfect, plans change, and sometimes you end up on a road the router didn't pick. So we added three more layers of checking, and a grade warning for the descents.

Every route gets a clearance check

When you plan a trip on the web, every road leg is checked against the height and weight limits in OpenStreetMap within about a mile of the route. Each limit is compared with your rig, with a 3-inch safety margin. One your rig can't pass is flagged on the leg, on the map, and in the itinerary. One with less than a foot to spare is marked tight, so it never surprises you.

Open Why this route and there's a Clearances section with a line for each one. Tap a line and the map flies there.

The Clearances layer

Turn on Clearances in the map tools and every posted limit in view appears, from zoom 9 in, colored against the trip's rig: red if it's too low or too heavy, amber if it's within a foot, gray if it clears. Click one for the posted number. It's the fastest way to check a campground approach or a downtown fuel stop before you commit to it.

Out loud, in the cab

In navigation, RV Compass looks up the limits on your route and says each one your rig can't pass twice: 2 miles out, and again at half a mile. "Low clearance in 2 miles: 12 feet 6. Your rig is 13 feet 6." A limit with less than a foot to spare gets one warning, a mile out.

If you leave the route, it doesn't stop watching. Off the route, the app checks for a low structure straight ahead on the road you're on, and says it once. It's careful not to warn you about an overpass you're driving over instead of under.

Grades, one drive at a time

The elevation panel used to show the whole trip as one long profile. Now you can pick any single drive and see its own profile, with every steep grade listed under the chart: "Mile 42 · 6% downgrade for 4.1 mi · drops 1,300 ft." A grade counts once it's 5% or steeper for at least half a mile, and 7% or more is marked as a danger. Click a grade and the map goes there.

In the cab, steep grades are said once, about a mile before they start: "Steep grade ahead: 6 percent downgrade for 4 miles." That's enough time to pick your gear at the top instead of halfway down. For more on driving them, read our mountain grades guide.

What it can't do

Every clearance here comes from OpenStreetMap, which is very good and not complete. A bridge with no height tagged is a bridge we can't warn you about, and repaving can make a posted number optimistic. Read the signs, and believe the lowest number you see. See how to avoid low-clearance bridges for the rest of the checklist.

Navigation is part of Pro. The clearance check, the Clearances layer, and grades by drive are in the web planner for everyone.