Motorhome Water and Gas Usage Log

Who this is for

How long a tank and a bottle really last you. Each fresh water fill and each gas bottle gets a line with the day it started and the day it ran out, and the log works out days lasted, litres per person per day and what the gas cost per day.

Motorhome, campervan and caravan owners who tour off-grid or on sites without services, and anyone planning how many bottles to carry or how often to find a water point.

What this helps you track

• When each fresh water fill started and when it ran out
• Litres used per person per day on your own tour
• How many times the waste tank was emptied during each fill
• How many days each gas bottle lasted and what it cost
• Average days per tank and per bottle across the season

How to use it

1. Write the vehicle, the fresh tank capacity and the gas bottle size you use at the top.
2. Start a water line each time you fill: the date, the litres put in and how many people are aboard.
3. When the tank runs dry or you refill, write that date on the line and the number of waste empties in between.
4. Start a gas line when a bottle is fitted, with its size and cost, and write the date it ran out.
5. Days lasted, litres per person per day and gas cost per day are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, count the days and divide.
6. Use the averages to plan the next trip; the browser version saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How do I know how many litres went in?

Use the tank capacity if you fill from empty, or read the gauge before and after. Some owners use a hose with a flow meter. Whatever method you use, keep it the same so the averages compare.

Why record people aboard?

Because water use scales with people. Litres per person per day lets you compare a trip for two with a trip for four, and plan from your own figure rather than a general one.

Does the gas log work with refillable cylinders?

Yes. Treat each refill as a new line, enter the litres or kilograms in the size column and the cost of the refill in the cost column.

Why does gas last so differently through the year?

Heating and hot water use most of it, so cold weather shortens a bottle's life. The log will show your own pattern; note the weather or heating use against each line.