Keeping records

Capt. Gadget

Obsessive & Compulsive Gadget Man
Dec 1, 2011
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Does anyone besides me keep a record of their travels in their van? I’ve kept a spread sheet of how many k’s we’ve done, services, how many nights we’ve stayed in it and fuel economy on each trip. Maybe I’m just weird o_O
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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I keep notes in a yearly diary, mostly noting where, when and how much spent, the fuel/distance is kept in the vehicle log book, I can track fuel/distance/cost use going back to 1971, the problem is locating the diary amongst so many and the when did we go away and where question, invariable it takes hours to pinpoint a certain trip as we get diverted all the time............................pen and paper recording stands the test of time, an electronic spread sheet done in 1991 is useless now, the program doesn't exist and the medium used has decayed........I try to longhand it as if I abbreviate stuff it can cause some headshaking years later.
 

bigcol

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Nov 22, 2012
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I started to, many many years ago...................... I brought that "Nomads Notes" (good program for those interested)
always forget to fill the bugger out while away (too busy relaxing) and when I get home, I cant be bothered
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi @Capt. Gadget,
we have an exercise book which we keep in the Jayco folder containing all the manuals for the Penguin. In it we log:
1: any expenditure
2: details for each : locations, date out, date back, kms travelled,
3: gas bottle changes, nights per bottle and cost, date filled, date connected, date taken off,
4: significant repairs, date, and cost,
5: all serial numbers, useful data: tyres, battery, weights, solar regulator, solar panel, contact phone numbers: RACV, Jayco, etc,

All in an exercise book since we also read and update it while are out and about.

It was really interesting to look at the summary after our first year.
We still think it is worth the effort.

cheers
Mike
 
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chartrock

Forum Patriarch
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Sep 26, 2010
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I started to, many many years ago...................... I brought that "Nomads Notes" (good program for those interested)
always forget to fill the bugger out while away (too busy relaxing) and when I get home, I cant be bothered
I'm the samre @bigcol , I bought Nomad Notes a few years back and have only used it twice seriously but if used to its full potential, it is a useful program.
 
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MDS69

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Jul 6, 2014
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I started to but then misplaced the exercise book I kept the details in. Got to go back through photos just to ge
 

bigcol

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Nov 22, 2012
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I'm the samre @bigcol , I bought Nomad Notes a few years back and have only used it twice seriously but if used to its full potential, it is a useful program.


I know, was ok for the first couple of days........ sit down in the evening and write about the day, add piccies update expenditures etc
then, I was tired at night, I'll do it in the morning
then, bugga, havent updated it this week, I'll do it later

then I forgot where I left the Laptop (its in the Van, just couldn't be bothered getting it out)
excuses excuses

I know

but it is a great program, and I may upload it to the tablet we use when travelling............
we shall see.....
 
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Drover

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Thats why I like handraulic recording, just stick receipts between the page, some with mileage scribbled on them, easy to play catch up later on.........like a month later when it's raining.
 
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twscoot

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Jun 9, 2013
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I keep a short record of every place we stay a night. Not costs, problems or expenditure but just small anecdotes from our stay. Makes for marvellous reading years later.
 
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Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Does anyone besides me keep a record of their travels in their van? I’ve kept a spread sheet of how many k’s we’ve done, services, how many nights we’ve stayed in it and fuel economy on each trip. Maybe I’m just weird o_O
Ive kept a detailed log of our current and last vans lives, so around 10 years. It lives in the car glovebox because on average the car seems to be most places the van is. (probably just a coincidence)

Its quite a good feeling the more the km's and nights away mount up. In the last 10 years we've spent more than two years of that in the vans, and around 70k km I think from memory

Your weirdness must come from elsewhere ;)
 

straydingo

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Jul 4, 2011
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I keep a spreadsheet just cos I like to know how far we've actually travelled with the thing. No expenditures etc other than receipts in the filing cabinet where suitable.
Then I use Fuelly for recording fuel and tracking economy and stuff (and for tax records since it is a work car)
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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@1DayIll and @bigcol, come on guys its only numbers in 8 boxes on a piece of paper, 3 at the start of the trip and 5 at the end. On one particular trip the end 5 boxes were filled out 14 months after the start boxes .... and I promises you can drink whilst you write it. ;)
 

bigcol

Well-Known Member
Nov 22, 2012
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@1DayIll and @bigcol, come on guys its only numbers in 8 boxes on a piece of paper, 3 at the start of the trip and 5 at the end. On one particular trip the end 5 boxes were filled out 14 months after the start boxes .... and I promises you can drink whilst you write it. ;)

so where was the information for "14 months" before the last 5 boxes were filled

oh, right

written down................

or I could be soaking up the view from some camp ground enjoying the peace, quiet and serenity
instead of looking for some receipt floating around somewhere
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
I forgot to mention, that in addition to keeping basic information in an exercise book (my job), my other half writes a comprehensive diary. It is really quite fun reading about past trips etc. But it can come in really handy when we want to find out where we had those great pies, vanilla slices etc, or where we saw the goannas.

cheers
Mike
 

Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
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Hi,
I forgot to mention, that in addition to keeping basic information in an exercise book (my job), my other half writes a comprehensive diary. It is really quite fun reading about past trips etc. But it can come in really handy when we want to find out where we had those great pies, vanilla slices etc, or where we saw the goannas.

cheers
Mike
If I seen Goannas eating pies and vanilla slices, I don't think I could ever forget where that was. 8-)

(its a bit hard to select an appropriate smilie when only 10 of them work)
 

bigcol

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Nov 22, 2012
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I must admit, remembering who had good or bad food is easy................

remembering to write down fuel usage and other costs.. meh............
 

mikerezny

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2016
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Hmm, as it happens, I don't keep a record of fuel usage or cost. No particular reason.

The Falcon keeps a track of total fuel used and average litres/100km and I monitor that and reset it each year. Last year it was 10.5 l/100km, So far this year it is currently on 10.4 l/100km.

But we do record the distance traveled for each individual trip.

cheers
Mike