Recording trips

[MartinF]

Hello everybody,

my wife and I ordered our first airstream (19FC, black ultraleather) and its gonna be delivered in a few months.

I would like to record all of our trips: mileage, route, time, etc.

What do you use? Pen and paper, map, gps, phone app?

Thanks for sharing.

[masseyfarm]

Welcome to the Forums.

Record keeping is important for many reasons. I use a spiral note book that I can easily jot information down in while underway.

I also have a still camera and now a DVR to record where we go.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f313...ml#post1316351

I keep past books on board so I can go back and research anything I might want to know. The system works great and I acturally like it better than computer entry which you always forget to do at end of day.

On our just completed cross country tour, I have saved all the DVR to a portable hard drive for future reference. (I'll need something to do when I'm old and grey)

Dave

[NWGreyhound]

I have owned 7 rvs since 1974. for each I have kept a written log book recording each trip mileage and cumulative mileage, trip nights slept in and cumulative trip nights, trip route, campground and site #. Plus notes on weather and what we did.

the data is usefull when considering maintenance on tires and axles and the historical info is great when thinking back about past trips.

my log books are simple plain page books I buy at the book stores.

[AWCHIEF]

When I started out with my Airstream I kept a log (old habit from sailing days). However as time progressed I found myself making less entries. Now I do not even bother with it. I do keep a folder with all manuals and receipts for warranty purposes.

[mandolindave]

The Airstream corporate webpage sold a spiral journal on the online store.
It's cover was aluminum. I got one as a gift. I think that I will use it more when I start to go on long road trips. I wish that I had used it to document the best routes to the Bluegrass festivals that I go to.

[Woosch]

We keep a 4x6 journal where I jot down little things about our trip. Places we stayed, spots we parked in. (spots we dont want if we go back) Mileage. Names of people and where they are from. Fun to go back and look at the things we done.

[MartinF]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

I think I'll go with the camper's daily log binder from camping world and good old maps!

[Beer Snob]

Count me as another "old school" spiral notebook guy. We've been out roughly 100 days this year and last. I can give you the when, where, how long, how far etc for all of it. In addition to helping with maintenance we findit helpful in rating where we camp, what we pay and the roads we travel.

[gaylejoe]

My keeps logs on every trip we take with our Airstream. She keeps track of all expenses including diesel, camping expenses, mileage, and extras. All this data is into aspread sheet for future reference. Information on points of interest is also added to the spreadsheet.

[bukib]

I use a very well designed app for my iphone called "Day One." It transfers data to your computer automatically thru the sync process. Allows unlimited length messages and most of all...you can attach photos from your phone in unlimited quantity.

Very cool. Very easy to use. Notebooks are totally 20th century.

Join us in the present.

[masseyfarm]

No Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will stick with the pen and paper.

Dave

Originally Posted by bukib

I use a very well designed app for my iphone called "Day One." It transfers data to your computer automatically thru the sync process. Allows unlimited length messages and most of all...you can attach photos from your phone in unlimited quantity.

Very cool. Very easy to use. Notebooks are totally 20th century.

Join us in the present.

[Skater]

The first question is: What will you use the information for? That will help figure out how and what to store.

I don't keep a log in the manner you're describing. I record our mileage every time I fill up, but I do that for all of our vehicles. We also have a spreadsheet where we note what campgrounds we've been to, and what sites we like/don't like. And my wife eventually scrapbooks the things we do, using pictures we've taken.

[MrUKToad]

Although I'm a techno-nerd, I've kept a handwritten log with some basic details like places, distances, nights camped and fuel economy.

When I'm home I do enter the data onto a spreadsheet but in slow time.

Not primarily as record keeping, I've also written a blog during each of our trips. It's really been for my family; a sort of detailed postcard, but I've realised that it's also a very good log of our travels.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by bukib

Join us in the present.

I am about a geeky as they come and have worked in the technology sector for a considerable time. This meant that I've embraced pretty much all new technology as it became available. Palm Pilot, Nokia Communicator, iPhone, now Android, I had access to the latest toys the day they came out.

What do I use now? Pen and paper. Why? Because pretty much every single research paper I've read talks about better memory retention, higher productivity due to less distractions and a host of other benefits by going back to analogue.

Don't get me wrong, I am no Luddite, and I still use technology very extensively, both at work and at home.

But I have returned to writing first drafts with a pencil on paper, my calendar is a bound book rather than an electronic version and I am enjoying the experience. I forget fewer things. I can't just hit accept to a meeting request and then find out I double booked myself five minutes prior.

With keep a family diary where we all add entries. The kids draw and/or doodle, my wife and I add recipes, photographs, trip diaries. If we want to share a part of that book, I take a quick photograph and off it gets emailed to the grandparents.

[ROBERT CROSS]

We use the older version of this....

Bob

[Breezin']

Originally Posted by andreasduess

With keep a family diary where we all add entries. The kids draw and/or doodle, my wife and I add recipes, photographs, trip diaries. If we want to share a part of that book, I take a quick photograph and off it gets emailed to the grandparents.

What a great idea !

[mstephens]

Small spiral notebook and pen and pencil. Never needs charging, or batteries, very fast to make small entries, or long. And, I can tape pictures, brochures, or other things right on the page. It's more fun to browse through later on than computer screens.

[JDnBeastlet]

I take notes during the trip - nothing too specific most of the time though I do note the mileage and the voltage at the campsite and our impressions of the trip. It all gets compiled into the Trips section of our website.

[AirEgger]

We tend to be paper and pencil people, although we use the computer to house all the photo's we take. I start a folder for each trip and use it to note mileage, etc as we travel. For those longer trips, 1000 miles or more, that have a specific destination and schedule, I make a trip plan that includes the various roads/exit no's, camp grounds, etc, and a gas plan. We like to stop about every three hours and try to match those stops with fuel stops and rest areas. Works well for us and the dog. I use a paper book to record things of interest or events along the way. Always say we'll go back and look it over some day, but it's ten years old and hasn't had many reviews. We keep the campground info and site maps in the trip folder for future reference. The best trip log is the one that works for you.

[Safari Streamer]

I have kept a journal since our first trip with our 1999 Safari. The book (2nd edition now) has numbered pages and for the most part I only use a page/trip. I list location, time to get there, who is with us, cost of CG, and number of rigs (at rally). I then write a very brief list of activities we do each day. I go back often to research where we went or name of CG, etc. If I need 2 pages for a longer trip I try to share 2 pages for 2 weekend trips so my numbering stays fairly accurate.