Touring Brain — free New Zealand trip planner for caravan, campervan and motorhome travellers

The free, all-in-one New Zealand caravan, campervan & motorhome road trip planner

Planning a trip is hard work. Weather in one app, roads in another, campgrounds somewhere else — then you cross-reference the lot. Touring Brain is a free, ad-free New Zealand trip planner that does it all in one place, built for caravan, campervan, motorhome and tent campers around Aotearoa — and just as useful for overseas visitors planning a New Zealand road trip with a rental campervan.

We also cover the safety basics most owners forget: caravan towing weights and ball loads, motorhome GVM checks, tyre age (most caravan blowouts come from old rubber, not low tread) and a pre-flight checklist for before you roll.

Visiting New Zealand with a rental campervan? The planner works identically whether you're driving your own caravan from Hamilton or picking up a Britz, Maui, Jucy or Apollo rental at Auckland or Christchurch airport. Same routing, same weather, same camps — just type your collection city as the starting point. (Americans: a "campervan" in NZ is what you'd call an RV; same vehicle, different word.) Self-drive New Zealand is what we're built for, end to end.

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New Zealand touring tools, all in one place

🛣️ Road trip planner Multi-day NZ itineraries with weather per day, suggested overnight camps and Cook Strait ferry handling. 🌦 Weather briefing 3-day outlook for any NZ place or route. Subscribe and get a daily morning briefing emailed to you. 🏕 Campsites Search NZ campsites — DOC, council, holiday parks — filtered by the facilities that matter to you. ⚖️ Towing & loading check Caravan towing weights, ball loads and GCM against legal NZ limits. Catches common overloading mistakes. 🚐 Motorhome loading How much usable payload your motorhome has after water, gas, gear and passengers. 🛞 Tyre safety DOT-code age checker (most caravan blowouts are old rubber, not low tread) plus load-based pressure reference. ✅ Pre-flight checklist Walkround tick-off before you roll, customised to your rig type — caravan, motorhome, tent or roof-top tent.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free app for caravan touring in New Zealand?

Yes — Touring Brain is a free, ad-free web tool for NZ caravan, campervan and motorhome road trips. It runs in your browser (no app to install), and bundles multi-day route planning, 3-day weather briefings and campsite search in one place, with weight-and-tyre safety checks alongside.

How do I check caravan towing weights for NZ roads?

Use the caravan towing calculator. It checks ATM, GVM and GCM, ball weight, tow rating and tyre limits against the lowest applicable rating, and flags whether the combination stays inside Class 1 NZ driver licence limits (6,000 kg GCM, 3,500 kg trailer GVM). For motorhomes the equivalent check is the motorhome GVM and loading check.

Is there an ad-free NZ camping and route planner?

Touring Brain is completely free and runs no ads. We pay for Mapbox routing, Open-Meteo weather and Resend email out of pocket. The campsite finder blends Department of Conservation, OpenStreetMap holiday-park and freedom-camping data so you see the lot together rather than juggling separate apps.

Does it work for both caravans and campervans?

Yes — and motorhomes, fifth-wheelers, tear-drop trailers, even tent campers and roof-top tent setups. The route planner doesn't care what's behind the tow ball, the tyre safety check works on any rig with a DOT code, and the pre-departure checklist adapts to what's relevant for your rig.

How do I get daily road and weather briefings for my NZ trip?

Plan a trip on the weather briefing page or any of the other tools, give us your email when prompted and (if you opt in) we'll email a fresh briefing every morning at around 6am NZT. You'll get the day's wind, rain and gust outlook for your route — alongside alternate destination suggestions if conditions look rough. Unsubscribe is one click in any email.

I'm visiting New Zealand and renting a campervan — does this help me?

Yes — a meaningful share of our users are travellers from the US, UK, Europe, Australia and Asia planning a NZ road trip with a rental campervan from Britz, Maui, Jucy, Apollo or one of the other major operators. The planner, weather briefings, camp finder and route maps all work identically whether the van is yours or a rental. Pop in your collection city (Auckland or Christchurch most commonly), pick the towns and regions you want to visit, and the route planner lays out a sensible day-by-day itinerary with weather and camps along the way. It's a much better starting point than generic mapping apps that don't know you're driving a 7-metre rental and care which roads are sealed.