Everybody’s definition of “Camping” and “Travel” is different. I usually camp so I can travel. Other people travel so they can camp. Some people cook over an open fire, others dine at a restaurant in the area. Some people camp with the bare necessities, others bring a trailer full of “toys.” Some take a few long trips, others stay closer to home and go more frequently.
My goal for creating these awards was to recognize customers for reaching significant milestones. Each award recognizes a different aspect of camping/traveling with your Camp-Inn.
My goals in writing the rules for these awards were:
1. Keep the amount of bookkeeping (for the customers and Evan) to a minimum.
2. Allow flexibility of the rules so we don’t have to account for every possible scenario.
3. Allow customers to get credit for trips already taken.
4. Have the Goal significant without being impossible.
5. Allow the customer a chance to share their experiences with others.
In your posting you said your side trips account for 20-25% of your overall trip. In the “Rules” FAQ section, I state that side trips usually account for 10-20% of the overall. I chose this range since my experience has been about 10% so I thought I was being generous going as high as 20%. On a 5000 mile trip 10% is 500 miles and 25% is 1250 miles. This variation could easily make the difference between qualifying and not qualifying for the Long Haul award. So the “Rules” state that side trips are allowed as part of the totals and leave it up to the customer to estimate based on their experience.
Anyone that makes it to 25,000 miles including side trips, will probably make it to 25,000 “trailer only miles” shortly thereafter. Allowing side trips only makes the customer eligible a little sooner. You can choose to hold-off your application until you have accumulated 25,000 “trailer only miles”, but doing so does not diminish the accomplishment by others that choose to include allowed side trip miles.
I have stayed in hotels while on trips with my Camp-Inn . In my case one time it was due to illness (need to get out of extreme heat) and another time I was unable to find a camping spot and did not feel like driving further or backtracking. While I counted the miles to and from the hotel in my “Total Miles” I didn’t count the nights as “Nights”. If I said the “miles” to the hotel didn’t count, where did those “miles” officially start? From the previous nights camping spot? Or, do I only count miles from the point that I decided I needed to get a hotel room until I actually got to the hotel? See Goal #1 above.
We could add a rule that stated that the trailer had to be parked in close proximity to the hotel to disqualify someone if they “park it & run off for days in a NYC hotel” but that would be contrary to Goal #2 above.
The only way to keep exact miles traveled, while still meeting Goal #1, would be to install a hub odometer like the semi-trailers have. Of course this would conflict with Goal #3.
Craig
