Keeping a Diary

[DRosedale]

When we bought our new coach, we started keeping a diary of our trips. Does anyone else do this and what sort of information do you keep? We keep mileage traveled, gas purchased, CG information, problems with coach, if any, and what sites we saw, etc.

[dinahkeith]

Originally Posted by DRosedale

When we bought our new coach, we started keeping a diary of our trips. Does anyone else do this and what sort of information do you keep? We keep mileage traveled, gas purchased, CG information, problems with coach, if any, and what sites we saw, etc.

We bought an '85 Class C a few weeks ago--it came with 2 notebooks of all that info from the day that the previous owner bought it in '94. So COOL! We know how often the oil was changed, when it had new tires last, when it had engine work, what kind of gas mileage it gets, and much more.

I think a journal like that is kind of like provenance on an antique...raises the value of a used RV, if yu ever want to sell it.

[Neumann]

Since we retired and started RVing we have kept a journal of all our trips on our lap top.
Includes where & when we went. How far between RV parks. What we thought of the campground, cost of campground, what we did, weather.
We keep them filed by year.
I keep a separate list for motorhome repairs & milage & how much we spent for gas.

Sometimes we think we'd like to go back someplace we have been & can look it up to remember if we liked it. It's fun reading about some trips we took years ago and saying hay, lets go back there. Also some places we said never return to.

Hal

[BZam]

Originally Posted by Neumann

We keep them filed by year.

Sometimes we think we'd like to go back someplace we have been & can look it up to remember if we liked it. It's fun reading about some trips we took years ago and saying hay, lets go back there. Also some places we said never return to.

Hal

We go the cheapo route. My wife has a three ring binder with notebook paper and keep comments as to parks, sights, refuel and other stuff. Like who we visited along the way.

We have 22 years and joke this will make good reading when we are in the nursing home. She has had to file and reload a few times.

But have to say this notebook has come in handy a few times, like asking for a good site in a campground we liked years back.

I keep files on computer for fuel, maintenance and all invoice history. But that is perishable. I started with spreadsheets like Super Calc and now have Quantro Pro, etc.

[Meandering Retiree]

We kept a diary when we went west for 6 weeks in 1972 and I kept a log of fuel costs also. Found these the other day....really interesting reading. $3.25 a night camping, $0.25 extra if we wanted electricity....averaged less than $.30 a gallon for gas....some meals we spent as much as $5 or $6 for the two of us...comments regarding Devil's Tower (broke a sandal strap halfway through the hike around the tower) and many other things...really brought back the memories....should do the same thing now when we travel but we don't seem to have enough time. :-)

[Cat320]

We keep a log of all places, miles, RONs, etc.

[WheelingIt]

We go the online route and keep a blog. That way we can keep track of pics, stories, routes and campgrounds all in one PLUS we get to share it with others.

The only other thing I keep is a budget, but I've been doing that for years. So we have excel spreadsheets with all our costs (camping, gas, maintenance etc.)

[krnlueck]

I keep a blog. It's free and easy from blogger.com.

It takes about 2 minutes to get one started and if your memory is like mine, you will refer back to it often.

You can keep track of where you went, add pictures, links and anything else you like.

You can open it up for others to read, or just for yourself.

We have made a lot of friends through our rv blog.

[njs42]

I keep a large spiral notebook, basically daily entries when traveling and updates containing service information oil change, generator run times, tire pressures, oil level, etc; I also do a running account of interesting happenings a narative. I list things to do---problems I discover---stuff like that since the day we picked it up new. Since joining this website I have been making notes in it on the things I have learned so I will not forget. Additions I want to make, ways to repair or maintain things.

[Rom]

Yes. I do and have started doing this with our first Class C in 2001. I have the dates/time of every departure/arrival at each destination; routes that we took; gas and mileage information, and of course, campgrounds/parks information also. I kept a separate log for the coach maintenance and services, too! All in all, these written journals are quite valuable for the information that it contained.

[UFO Pilot]

My wife blogs our travels. She posts pictures of the campground and the places we visit. Our friends and family and many online friends follow our exploits. I keep a folder in the MH with all of the receipts for repairs, oil changes, etc.

[cliff841]

With my new rig I started using RV Tracker which is a free template for Excel. It makes a good place to keep most of the information listed above in a nice format.

[jimpat4649]

As a second generation RVer: my Dad kept a daily handwritten journal. They part-timed for 18 years until his passing in 2000.
I should put the numerous books on a cd so I can read them while we're traveling. The books are all the same with each page per day and included area, campground, site, weather, guests, activities, MH upkeep etc.
I also have their National Park Passport Stamp book which now contains both of our stamped ink date visits. I often show the Ranger my parents' entry who usually have a tidbit info to share about the date or the stamp.
I enjoy reading the books and it's fun to follow their footsteps- well, actually their tire tracks!
I hope everyone's families enjoy your records and share the memories.

[RovinOn]

I started one,but then I forget to fill it out!