While many bemoan digital communication as a giant waste of time, and it certainly can be, it’s also a positive way for those on the road to keep in contact with others. While the merits of posting your location all the time for all of your social audience to see are dubious, at best, you can use a variety of digital tools to help a trusted inner circle know where you are in the event of an emergency. 

One of the down sides that some cite when talking about going on the road is the loneliness factor and also not having that community there for you. Surprisingly many find that, after even a short time on the road, this isn’t the case at all and they become connected in ways they never thought possible before. But that’s not everybody.

Solo travelers, in particular, should establish a network of people to whom they can turn if something goes awry and here are four tips for doing just that. 

While some might see this as being paranoid it’s also helpful. While RVing is a very safe way to see this wonderful country, even for solo travelers, it never hurts to be cautious and have people who have your back.

The core of this whole idea is that you have a group of trusted friends and/or family members whom you can include in a digital circle. I’ve also incorporated tools here that are simple enough for those in your circle who aren’t technology enthusiasts. 

The good thing about all these methods is that your trusted circle doesn’t have to do anything and doesn’t even have to really keep tabs on you, but the information is there if it needs to be. 

Of course these are also ways of interacting with your inner circle as well as being good digital tools to have as part of your plan for safety and security. 

Facebook Groups

While Facebook Groups is a great way to share information and goofy graphics with like-minded individuals, did you know that you can set-up a Facebook Group and only invite very specific people? For example, if you have a trusted inner circle of friends or family members you can set-up a private Facebook Group of just those trusted individuals that is not visible to the general Facebook population. 

With this group you can announce travel plans and check in to places and even share images. 

For example, if you’re a solo traveler you could check in to places where you’re planning to go. Then, when you arrive, you could take a photo of your surroundings and post it to that group. That way your friends and family could see what’s around you. 

The beauty of this is that it’s free and you can do it with a smart phone or a computer or tablet. 

On a smart phone it’s easy - just go to the “hamburger” menu at the bottom and tap “groups.” Then tap “Create” and give your group a name. Make sure your group is private and tap the “Hide Group” option. 

This will create a group that only very specific people whom you invite can see. Also make sure that you check the setting disabling others from inviting people to the Group. Again, the idea is that this is a part of your security system. 

Google Calendar

You can share a specific Google Calendar with your trusted inner circle as well. On that calendar you can put travel plans and such so they know where you’re supposed to be at any given time. Again, this is something that can come in handy if you don’t show-up where you’re supposed to be. It also doesn’t require that your inner circle do anything and doesn’t even require that they interact with the calendar unless something goes awry. 

Sharing a Google calendar is much easier to do on a traditional computer but, once it’s done, it’s set and you don’t have to do anything more than update that calendar itself. This is also a good planning tool for you so you know where you’re going if that’s your thing - there is definitely a lot to be said for serendipity as well. 

You can also have multiple calendars so one could be a travel calendar, one could track birthdays, one could be business appointments or whatever works for your world. 

On a traditional computer (desktop, laptop, whatever) go to calendar.google.com and hover your mouse over the name of your calendar on the left of the screen (see picture). You’ll see three little dots to the right of the name of the calendar - click on these. 

From there you can set sharing options, permissions, and invite people to be part of your calendar. 

This is also the place where you can create a new calendar to reflect just specific events as mentioned above. 

Apple Find My

As you may have learned from other posts and podcasts we’ve done, we’re big fans of Apple products most of the time. Apple’s “Find My” (which used to be “Find My Phone”) is another way to share your location with others. Or, at least, the location of your devices. 

With Apple’s Find My you can find phones, computers, watches, AirPods, iPads, and more. 

To make this work all the devices have to be logged into the same iCloud account. 

On a computer (laptop, desktop, iMac, etc.) go to System Preferences and then iCloud and then click on the master account and enable “Find My.” 

On an iPhone or iPad tap the settings, then tap your ID (first thing listed) and then tap “Find My” and make sure this function is turned on. 

There is a setting there that reads “Use this iPhone as my location” and you can tap that to make that so. 

The cool thing about this feature, of course, is that it helps you if you’ve misplaced any of these items and, in the case of a phone, tablet or computer, enables you to remotely wipe these devices out. 

That also means that if the people whom you’ve trusted to be in your inner circle suddenly fall out of favor with you they can also remotely wipe out your devices. 

Apple Calendar

Like Google calendars, Apple calendars can be shared as well and you don’t even need for your trusted circle members to be on the Apple platform. You can create Apple calendars that only have specific events in them and also create a calendar for specific needs. 

Peggy and I have gone a little nuts with this and have a calendar for recurring items like “take your vitamins” and “Lions Club meetings,” we have one that’s subscribed to the local Chamber of Commerce for local events so we always have a handle on what’s happening locally, we each have our own calendar (for example, I just put an eye appointment on mine), and we have a travel calendar. 

This last calendar is the one we share with others and reflects where we’re supposed to be, what reservations we have and that sort of thing. Often times our journeys are a mixture of serendipity such as last-minute bookings at Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts locations, stops at places we know we can stealth camp (such as Pea Soup Andersen’s), and paid stays at RV parks which tend to be planned well in advance. 

Having a calendar of these things which we can update moments before we arrive could help someone else find us if we lose touch with the world. After all, what would happen if suddenly my feed of ridiculous posts stopped populating on Facebook? People would know something is wrong!

The Bottom Line

One of the key components to making this all work is not requiring your inner circle to really have to do anything. Aside from one notable news story, I don’t know anyone for whom this would have served a purpose. Which shows that camping can very well be a safe journey. 

But if you do happen to need others to know where you are these digital tools can be a great way to help you. 

Let us know if you have any other suggestions and we wish you the best of happy and safe travels.