Welcome to Vanlife Assistant Help Desk
🚐 Vanlife Assistant Help Desk
Section titled “🚐 Vanlife Assistant Help Desk”Use the search bar above to find any topic instantly, or browse by section below.
💡 Concepts — How the App Thinks
Section titled “💡 Concepts — How the App Thinks”New to Vanlife Assistant, or trying to understand why something works the way it does? Start here. Concept articles explain the mental models behind the app — not step-by-step instructions, but the ideas that make everything else click.
The App Itself
Section titled “The App Itself”- How_Vanlife_Assistant_Works — the big picture: all the systems, how they connect, and why
- Offline-First_Design — why the app is built for mountains, forests, and no signal
Travel & Places
Section titled “Travel & Places”- The_Trip_Structure_Explained — how expeditions, drives, and check-ins fit together
- Check-ins_The_Engine_of_the_Travel_Journal — why check-ins are central to the whole app
- Spots_vs_Check-ins_Whats_the_Difference — the most common confusion point, cleared up
- Drives, Navigation and Route Planning — What’s the Difference? — three map-related things that do very different jobs
- Schengen_Tracking_Explained — the 90/180 rolling window, what it actually means, and how the app calculates it
- Border_Crossings_and_Country_Detection — how GPS border transitions are recorded automatically
Gear & Van
Section titled “Gear & Van”- The_Manifest_System_How_Gear_Is_Organised — the Zone → Container → Item hierarchy
- Vehicles_Crew_and_Trips — how vans scope your data, why switching vans changes everything, and how crew affects payload and Schengen
- The_Dynamic_Background — how the background scene, moon phase, and sky animations are chosen in real time
Money & Planning
Section titled “Money & Planning”- The_Ledger_How_Spending_Is_Recorded — transactions, categories, vendors, and accounts explained
- Scenarios_and_Financial_Forecasting — budget plans, runway simulation, inflation compounding, and What-If Events
Voice Assistant
Section titled “Voice Assistant”- How_the_Voice_Assistant_Works — context, multi-turn conversations, and what the assistant can actually see
🗺️ Browse by Section
Section titled “🗺️ Browse by Section”Getting Started
Section titled “Getting Started”New to the app, or setting up a new device? Start here.
- Welcome to Vanlife Assistant — what the app does and how the modules fit together
- Onboarding Guide — walkthrough of the first-time setup screens
- Permissions Explained — why each permission is needed and what happens without it
- Sync and Backups — iCloud sync, offline-first design, and how to restore to a new phone
🚐 Van & Fleet
Section titled “🚐 Van & Fleet”Your vehicle profile, health, and history.
- Van Index — all Van tab articles
⚡ Smart Van
Section titled “⚡ Smart Van”HomeKit integration, modes, automations, and the Van Brain.
- Smart Van Index — all Smart Van articles
📦 Manifest
Section titled “📦 Manifest”Inventory management, zones, containers, payload, and QR labels.
- Manifest Index — all Manifest articles
🗂️ Glovebox
Section titled “🗂️ Glovebox”Secure document storage, border mode, and the document scanner.
- Glovebox Index — all Glovebox articles
🗺️ Trips & Navigation
Section titled “🗺️ Trips & Navigation”Expeditions, check-ins, drive recording, border detection, and Schengen.
- Trips Index — all Trips articles
📍 Spots & Route Planning
Section titled “📍 Spots & Route Planning”The Spots Vault, Trip Planner, datasets, and route conditions.
- Spots Index — all Spots articles
💰 Money & Runway
Section titled “💰 Money & Runway”Ledger, accounts, scenarios, budgets, and financial forecasting.
- Money Index — all Money articles
🌤️ Weather
Section titled “🌤️ Weather”The solar tracker, route forecasts, and SmartVan weather automations.
- Weather Index — all Weather articles
🎙️ Voice Assistant
Section titled “🎙️ Voice Assistant”Everything you can ask and how to phrase it.
- Voice Assistant Index — all Voice articles
📋 Whiteboard
Section titled “📋 Whiteboard”Task lists, reminders, and location-based triggers.
- Whiteboard Index — all Whiteboard articles
⚙️ Settings
Section titled “⚙️ Settings”Units, notifications, privacy, crew, fleet, and data management.
- Settings Index — all Settings articles
🚨 Emergency Mode
Section titled “🚨 Emergency Mode”The SOS dashboard, smart dialling, and setup.
- Emergency Mode Index — all Emergency Mode articles
🔬 Advanced
Section titled “🔬 Advanced”CloudKit sync, background behaviour, permissions, and data integrity.
- Advanced Index — all Advanced articles
❓ Common Questions
Section titled “❓ Common Questions”- How do I get started? → Onboarding Guide
- What does the app actually do? → How_Vanlife_Assistant_Works
- What’s the difference between a Spot and a check-in? → Spots_vs_Check-ins_Whats_the_Difference
- How does the Schengen counter actually work? → Schengen_Tracking_Explained
- Why did my van data change when I switched vans? → Vehicles_Crew_and_Trips
- How does the financial forecasting work? → Scenarios_and_Financial_Forecasting
- Does the app work without a signal? → Offline-First_Design
- How do I plan a route to a campsite? → Planning Your First Route
- How do I import a spot dataset? → Importing a CSV Dataset
- How do I set up HomeKit automations? → The Van Brain
- What does each permission actually do? → Permissions Explained
- How do I move the app to a new phone? → Sync and Backups
- Why is my data not syncing to my other device? → CloudKit Sync Behaviour
- How does the voice assistant work? → How_the_Voice_Assistant_Works
- Something looks wrong with my data → Data Management and Database Cleanup
🔬 Deep Dives
Section titled “🔬 Deep Dives”For when you want to understand exactly how something works under the hood.
- Schengen_Tracking_Explained — the rolling 180-day window, the three data sources, and how the calculator handles gaps
- Scenarios_and_Financial_Forecasting — how the runway engine, inflation compounding, and What-If Events work
- Border_Crossings_and_Country_Detection — GPS stabilisation, the transition store, and how borders feed the Schengen window
- CloudKit Sync Behaviour — what syncs, when, and what can interrupt it
- Background Behaviour — what runs when the app isn’t in the foreground
- How Weather Alerts Work with SmartVan — weather triggers in the Van Brain
- Understanding the Payload Heatmap — how weight distribution is calculated and visualised
- What is Border Mode and how do I use it? — the secure document display system