Trip Reports

[Jackiemac]

I was very good at keeping more or less daily notes of our 6 month trips until 2022. Since then I started off well, but ended up just putting notes into a calendar of where we were each day.

I decided a few days ago that I really needed to catch up with last year's notes before we set out on this year's trip in May.

So here I am procrastinating as it is just taking me ages.

I then thought I would just check the last couple of years notes too, and realised that I haven't actually properly completed those either. Big sigh. I do have lots of photos (which I take for reference as well as memories), so I can probably remember a lot of what we did, but I am a bit annoyed that I didn't keep them regularly updated. Lesson learned I guess.

I had started doing voice to text but the app I was using needed the internet to function, so I ended up not using that. I have recently updated my phone so thought I would try doing it again to shorten the time. It took me longer to edit it than it would have just to type it. Must be my accent, even the voice note doesn't understand me

How many of you keep trip reports? If so, what format do you use? Handwritten, voice notes, typed up, blog? Any good suggestions?

 

[workinonit]

I don't. I'm not disciplined enough to do that. Plus I work when we travel and don't have time. That said, if I were going to keep records they would be in the form of recordings and attached to either Notes on my phone or a spreadsheet.

 

[rvlifer]

We collected small souvenirs from where we travelled rather than keep a log. Didnt work as well as a log though cause i cant remember the story behind too many of the souvenirs.

 

[Tom]

I do have lots of photos (which I take for reference as well as memories), so I can probably remember a lot of what we did, but I am a bit annoyed that I didn't keep them regularly updated. Lesson learned I guess.

I used to keep a log in a spiral bound notebook, athough I'd had computers and PDAs for years. One thing that made a little more disciplined was to post a running log of longer trips here in the forum I also did that for extended boat trips in our old tub. I also attached some pics.

I have recently updated my phone so thought I would try doing it again to shorten the time. It took me longer to edit it than it would have just to type it. Must be my accent, even the voice note doesn't understand me

Many moons ago I tried using a small recorder to leave notes and letters for my CA-based admin. The edits were too numerous (guess why) and I typed everything myself.

 

[UTTransplant]

I keep a blog mostly just for myself as memories. Also so the kids know where to look for the bodies if we disappear off the earth <grin>. It is nice to be able to look up what was the name of that good restaurant we ate at in location X or what store had that neat gadget. And the pictures give me good memories. At first I updated every two or three days, but I have gotten lazier in the last year or two, and I only update occasionally. That means I sometimes have already forgotten where we stayed or ate! I also have made myself post more often. Easy to get a bit distracted though.

 

[CamperAL]

Good Subject. I keep a log on my computer of each trip. I'm not so concerned about writing a note each and every day but put things down that we did and a little bit about the day when we went somewhere and so forth. Some days are just not much to say or are catch up days to do things in the RV and not much sense writing about it. I figure it will be the only thing we have to re-live the trips when we stop traveling along with the pictures we take.

I keep our trips in folders along with our directions for travel. With each folder I have a log dated for that trip so easy to go back and look when we want to.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

After retirement and our first long trip from WNY state to Key West just after Covid I started a detailed daily trip log. Halfway through the trip, I spent so much time at night before bed trying to write down every detail I gave up. For subsequent trips, I've learned to just track expenses for each day, fuel, campground costs, and tourist-type expenses. My wife does a really good job of jotting down notes of what we did each day.

 

[TonyL]

Anne used to be really good at doing a write up each evening on the laptop and adding in some photos from the day.
Then we started bumping into this couple from Scotland.
The drink would flow, discussions had, card games played and so you can probably guess the rest

 

[Jackiemac]

Anne used to be really good at doing a write up each evening on the laptop and adding in some photos from the day.
Then we started bumping into this couple from Scotland.
The drink would flow, discussions had, card games played and so you can probably guess the rest

They sound awful. Do NOT introduce us to them!!

 

[Jackiemac]

After retirement and our first long trip from WNY state to Key West just after Covid I started a detailed daily trip log. Halfway through the trip, I spent so much time at night before bed trying to write down every detail I gave up. For subsequent trips, I've learned to just track expenses for each day, fuel, campground costs, and tourist-type expenses. My wife does a really good job of jotting down notes of what we did each day.

Now you've really depressed me. I forgot I've got the finances to do as well!!

 

[tanglemoose]

I have a binder with a camper on front.. I have kept up since we bought 2nd camper, 2017. I like to write down gas prices, where we camped, how much sites were and some tidbits of what we did with who.. it is always fun to see when did we go to Kodakrome sp.. etc... the last snowbird winters, I list each night we stay and cost of our trip camping trip. in my phone in the Calendar feature I keep important dates and all my reservations, empty time, etc.. keeps my sanity! Easy to change and I never forget birthday or grandkids birthdays! Pink is open nights on my picture.

 

[TonyL]

They sound awful. Do NOT introduce us to them!!

You forgot one emoji!

 

[CharlesinGA]

When I retired the crew I worked with gave me a notebook that was designed for RV'ers to make a trip log/notes in. Somehow I never did get started doing it. Sometimes I wished I had, but its just something more for someone to throw away after I'm gone. I do keep the pics for a trip in separate albums on the phone and move them to the desktop the same way. Some trips I take a lot of pics, other trips, very few. After making two or three trips to the same place, you slow down on the pics.

I do keep a spreadsheet on the refuelings of all of my vehicles. My travel buddy makes fun of me writing the trip odo and the regular odo on the gas receipt (and later entering the info in the spreadsheet. But I keep track of exactly everywhere I have fueled and If I ever get any bad fuel, I have some good evidence to back me up. Its also neat to see the change in fuel mileage due to wind, terrain, etc on the Diesel. It also helps me to keep track of when to refuel, as the diesel's fuel gauge acts a lot different now that I installed the in tank lift pump/sending unit, and deleted the prone to failure engine mounted lift pump. The fuel gauge on my Ford Ranger has not worked since I got it in 2000 (and most Rangers have bum gauges) so the spreadsheet also helps with how far I can go on a tank.

Charles

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

The drink would flow, discussions had, card games played and so you can probably guess the rest

Tony, do I need to remove the grandkids from the room before guessing......LoL

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

For fuel expenses, I would like to know how much I spent on diesel each camping season. Then I'll look at the savings from the Open Roads Fuel Card. I average out my cost-per-mile for fuel and compare it to the previous year. Finally, it's nice to know the mpg., and average cost of fuel (gross) paid for the year. I don't do spreadsheets, I keep everything in a notebook with yearly totals.

I don't dwell on my expenses because I feel "they are what they are" if my DW and I are going to enjoy the lifestyle. Yeah, the records (along with campground expenses and tourist money spent) form a budget basis for next year's travel, but that's about it.

Most of my wife's family and mine still think we're wasting money on our RV, and RV traveling. It is nice at these times to pull some figures out of my thick scull to compare what similar destinations would cost by air travel or car. And for the kill shot, I'll ask "Where have they gone lately?"

 

[CharlesinGA]

This is the part of the spreadsheet that has the trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota last May.

I do not always run the tallys to the far right, but this trip was long enough to justify doing it.

I do better mileage wise when traveling by myself. My buddy likes to go 2 or 3 MPH faster and it makes a huge difference in the MPG. This trip was all following him.

Charles

 

[TonyL]

Tony, do I need to remove the grandkids from the room before guessing......LoL

Don't panic, in our case just thinking about what your thinking about would mean reaching for an oxygen mask