Frequently Asked Questions

I switch from an iOS to Android or vice-versa, where are my purchases?

Google and Apple both manage the area licenses independently (so they get a cut of the revenue in exchange for taking care of all the technical details of who has a license, verification, etc..). I don't have visibility of who owns which license, or any way to transfer licenses between the two systems.

Purchases don't transfer between Apple and Google, only between devices of the same os.

What format are the waypoints it?

All waypoints are in UTM format. Wikipedia has a good introduction. UTM is a meter based system, and very easy to use. For example, lets look at the waypoint:

12S 537214mE 4201255mN

12S indicates the coordinate is in zone 12, latitude band S. These are given and cover a fairly large geographic area. For instance, most of southern Utah is in zone 12, latitude S. The mE and mN numbers indicate the meters East and meters North in that zone. If, for instance, your GPS read 12S 537200mE 4201255mN, you would know you are 14 meters (about 50 feet) off from that waypoint.

What Datum does the site use?

WGS84

What is a gpx file? And how do I use it?

GPX is short for GPS eXchange format. In technical terms, it is an XML Schema that provides a standard way of storing GPX waypoints, routes, and information.

In much more practical terms, it is a format that many software tools, such as National Geographic Topo!, Babelfish, and others support. This allows you to import the GPX file into Topo!, for instance, see the waypoints on the screen, as well as transfer those waypoints to your GPS without having to type them in.

Didn't the site used to be called ajroadtrips? Why the change?

When I started this site, it was outdoorzen.org, which quickly changed to Average Joe Road Trips. I thought it a good name for my vision of the everyman's trip site. The most common comments I get when meeting people, however are one of two things: "Your name isn't AJ?" and "You should rename the site, it is incredible, and way above average."

After much though and being referred to as AJ one to many times, a name change seemed appropriate. Road Trip Ryan (.com) is thus born, and hopefully a permanent name. The third time is the charm. Old links will still work fine, and will just move you along transparently to the new name.

Lots of new content is being added, with plenty more coming in the future. Thanks for visiting! The site continues to grow far beyond my initial hopes and vision.