Why You Can’t Always Trust Using Street View Online

For years I have shared the benefits of Google Earth to RVers, as the digital images (satellite, street view, and user posted photos) can let you know what to expect prior to traveling to an area.

Our boondock for the evening

Some of the useful advantages include:

• Determining the true length of the campsites in advance
• Figuring out which car washes are drive-through self-service that can accommodate your RV and automated ones that can’t
• Finding out if the campground you plan to stay at is located next to railroad tracks, a major highway or airport
• Locating places to visit along your route
• To determine the clearance of parking garages and bridges
• Most importantly, for me, it can be used for locating and navigating to boondocking campsites during my travels.

However, while the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is true, things can and do happen after a photo is taken.

Burnt vegetation on both sides of the road

In the most recent case, my wife and I were traveling through Oregon and planned to boondock for the night in the Crooked River National Grasslands.

Using Google Earth, I located a campsite along Road 57 just a few hundred yards off our route on Highway 26. After exiting the highway and coming over a rise near our intended campsite, we were greeted by scorched earth.

It seems a wildfire had ravaged the area very recently. Juniper trees were either charcoal sticks or singed brown, the grass was turned to ash and the ground was a layer of very dry dust as any moisture in the ground had been vaporized by the fire. In other words, it wasn’t a very attractive place to camp.

Fortunately, it was just an overnight stop and still promised to be much quieter than camp Walmart.

After a little scouting, I even found an area the fire had jumped over leaving it (other than a couple small spot fires) unscathed. I later checked the satellite dates of the area on Google Earth finding the photos were taken on April 19th, 2015 (more than two years before we camped there) reminding me that photos online are never a guarantee.

Always search for the most up-to-date news and weather in areas you’re visiting.  Another great tool to plan your trips and find attractions & campgrounds along the way is RV LIFE Trip Wizard.

Visualizing your campsite looking a certain way and being surprised otherwise… just another adventure in RVing!

Dave Helgeson

Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.