Thanks to everyone who responded to my last blog post about a crowdsourced map called “RV Parking for City Tourists,” which has now grown to 32 locations in North America. Each pin on the map has information on where you can park a small motorhome near urban landmarks, museums, historical districts, restaurants, etc.
The most common question I've been getting about the map website is "Can you turn this into an iPhone app?" That would make sense, since you'd like to have access to these locations while you're traveling, and your iPhone's GPS mapping software could help you navigate to the parking destination.
I know nothing about constructing smartphone apps, but anyone with an iPhone can quickly create a "web app" that features a fully functional map with all of the useful features and options. Here's an illustrated guide to the four easy steps:
1. Using your iPhone's Safari web browser, navigate to the map site at https://zeemaps.com/map?group=1945617 and press the "Share" icon at the bottom of the screen (circled in the first image below).
2. In the pop-up window, press the "Add to Home Screen" button.
3. On the first line, you'll be prompted to name your new app. This needs to be something short enough to fit under the app's icon; I chose "City RVing."
4. Press "Add" to create an app icon that will be added to your iPhone screen. That's all!
The web app behaves a lot like any other app, thanks to its scaleable ZeeMaps graphic interface. Here are a few tips:
5. The new app icon works like any other icon on your iPhone screen; for example, you can hold it down to move it to another location. Press the icon once to open the app and display the map.
6. The map will respond to the usual iPhone Multi-Touch gestures, such as pinch-to-zoom. Pressing on any pin will . . .
7. . . . open detailed information for that parking location. Pressing the "Directions to here" button will activate your iPhone "Maps" app and automatically plot a course from your current location.
8. A drop-down menu shows other options, including the ability to add your current position (and a photo) as a new parking location on the map.
I am sure there's a method to make a similar web app for an Android phone, but I'm not the person to ask. At least for iPhone users, this is an easy and portable way to access the latest version of the crowdsourced map, which hopefully will continue to grow.
Update (April 24, 2018):
Unfortunately, public access to the Zeemap website is being discontinued -- please see the explanation at the bottom of the "Motorhome parking for urban tourists" blog post.