Skip to content
Vanlife Assistant

GPX Import

🗺️ GPX Import

Section titled “🗺️ GPX Import”

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Vanlife Assistant flawlessly tracks your van’s movements, but your adventure doesn’t stop when you turn the engine off.

Using the GPX Import Wizard, you can bring your external adventures—like a 3-day hike recorded on Strava, a mountain bike trail from Garmin, or your historical trip data from Polarsteps—directly into your Vanlife Assistant timeline.

How the Import Engine Works

Section titled “How the Import Engine Works”

GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is the universal file type for maps. When you upload a .gpx file, our engine doesn’t just blindly copy the lines onto a map; it intelligently dissects the data to fit perfectly into your vanlife journal.

1. Smart Waypoint Parsing (<wpt>)

Section titled “1. Smart Waypoint Parsing (<wpt>)”

If your GPX file includes saved locations or pins, the app converts them into Check-ins. Even better, it reads the names and symbols of those waypoints to automatically categorise them for you!

  • If the waypoint contains words like “camp” or “tent”, it becomes a Campsite.
  • Words like “wild” or “nature” categorise it as a Wild Camp.
  • Words like “aire” or “parking” categorise it as a Free Aire.

2. The 4-Hour Auto-Split Rule

Section titled “2. The 4-Hour Auto-Split Rule”

Many users export massive, multi-month GPX files from other apps. If we imported a 3-month journey as one single “Drive Log,” your app would grind to a halt trying to display it.

Instead, the engine looks at the timestamps of your route. If it detects a gap of more than 4 hours between two GPS points, it assumes you stopped for the day and automatically splits the route into a brand new Drive Log. A week-long overland trip becomes a clean, accurate log of each individual day’s drive.

3. Elevation Hysteresis

Section titled “3. Elevation Hysteresis”

Just like the live Drive Recorder, the GPX importer protects your stats from messy data. It applies a strict 5.0-metre hysteresis filter to imported elevation data, completely ignoring tiny, jagged elevation changes under 5 metres. This ensures your imported “Total Ascent” is an accurate reflection of the mountains you actually climbed—not GPS noise.

Common Questions

Section titled “Common Questions”

How do I get a GPX file into the app? The Import Wizard lives inside Drive History, which you’ll find in your Van details:

  1. Export the .gpx file from your fitness or travel app and save it to your iPhone’s Files app.
  2. In Vanlife Assistant, open the Van tab.
  3. Tap into your van’s details and find the Drive History card.
  4. Inside Drive History, tap the ⊕ (plus circle) button in the top-right toolbar.
  5. Select Import GPX File from the menu.
  6. Choose your file, review the preview in the Wizard, assign it to an Expedition, and hit save!

Tip: While you’re in Drive History, you’ll also notice a Sort button for ordering your drives by date, distance, ascent, or descent—and a Map button that opens your full Unified History Map. Worth a browse!

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

”My imported file is missing its Trip Name!”

Section titled “”My imported file is missing its Trip Name!””

The importer tries to be helpful by reading the <metadata> tags hidden inside your GPX file to suggest a name and notes for the import. However, many apps (like Strava) strip this metadata out. If the name is blank, simply type in your own name (e.g., “Dolomites Hike”) during the Import Wizard process.

Section titled “Related Articles”