Index
💡 Concepts
Section titled “💡 Concepts”These articles explain how Vanlife Assistant thinks about travel, gear, money, and places. If you’ve ever wondered why the app works the way it does, this is where to start.
Concept articles are not tutorials. They don’t walk you through steps — they build the mental model that makes everything else click.
Start Here
Section titled “Start Here”- How_Vanlife_Assistant_Works — The big picture. All the systems, how they connect, and why.
- The_Trip_Structure_Explained — How expeditions, drives, and check-ins fit together into your travel history.
- Check-ins_The_Engine_of_the_Travel_Journal — Why check-ins are central to the whole app and what they feed.
- Spots_vs_Check-ins_Whats_the_Difference — The most common confusion point, explained clearly.
- The_Manifest_System_How_Gear_Is_Organised — The Zone → Container → Item hierarchy and why it works that way.
More Concept Articles
Section titled “More Concept Articles”These will be added over time as the documentation expands:
Data Model
- Vehicles, Crew, and Trips (coming soon)
- The Ledger — How Spending Is Recorded (coming soon)
- Scenarios and Financial Forecasting (coming soon)
Travel Intelligence
- Schengen Tracking Explained (coming soon)
- Border Crossings and Country Detection (coming soon)
- Drives vs Navigation vs Route Planning (coming soon)
Design Philosophy
- Offline-First Design (coming soon)
- Two Databases — Why Spots and Trips Are Separate (coming soon)