Free, no ads, no upsell
There's no subscription and nothing locked behind a tier. If a feature exists, you can use it. The fuel fund banner is the only money on the site, and it goes to diesel, not to me building a paywall.
The Founder's Story
Hi — I'm Joe.
Founder, Joe's RV Planner · Arvada, Colorado — often on the road
I built Joe's RV Planner, and I also live in it — this is the tool I open every morning from wherever the wheels stopped the night before. Here's how that happened.
Why I built this
I've been starting things my whole life. Some worked, some didn't, and every one of them taught me the same lesson: keep building forward, even when the plan meets reality. These days that lesson is my job — I run You Build Forward, a speaking business, and I run it from a motorhome. The office moves.
Every planning app I tried had the same quiet assumption baked in: you're going somewhere for a couple of weeks, and then you're going home. Two weeks out, two weeks back, done. But I don't take trips — I live on the road. I needed a tool that knew about drive days and speaking windows, that tracked diesel the way it tracked memories, and that understood that tonight's campground might change by lunch.
I couldn't find one. So I built it.
Joe's RV Planner is the planner I actually run my life with — the routes, the fuel log, the campgrounds, the maintenance, the birds. Everything on the features page earns its place by getting used, week after week, mile after mile.
Life from the driver's seat
Home base is Arvada, Colorado. Home, though, is wherever the rig is parked. Kona rides along, usually supervising. The office has a windshield, the commute depends on the weather, and the week's big decision is often just which way to point the hood.
I write Field Notes from wherever the wheels stopped — the good days, the wrong turns, and what they taught me. When I'm not on stage or behind the wheel, we're outside: mapping the next window, logging birds for the life list, and finding the next quiet place to park.
The rules of the house
Every tool has a philosophy, whether it admits one or not. Here's mine, in three rules:
Your trips stay yours
What you plan is private by default. Budgets, confirmation numbers, notes, documents — none of it ever appears on a public page, even a shared one.
The road is shared, not sold
Public road pages, Field Notes and bird sightings only ever show what a member chooses to show — town-level places and chosen photos. Sharing the romance of the road shouldn't cost anyone their privacy.
The bigger work
You Build Forward
Quiet the noise. Listen inward. Build forward.
In 2020, a car crash changed the shape of my life. Recovery did not return me to who I had been. It asked me to design who I would become next.
You Build Forward is where I speak and teach from that experience — the patient's chair and the designer's desk, nature as a way back to yourself, and the next honest move when the old plan no longer fits.
Joe's RV Planner is part of that same story: a practical tool built for a life that keeps moving forward, even when the route changes.
Around that sits the Joe Jackson Creative Network. Different rooms, same builder:
From the glovebox
Take Joe's story with you
For event organizers, collaborators, or anyone who wants the longer version on paper.
STORY BOOKLET · 4 PAGES
Joe’s story — Build Forward
A four-page founder story about the crash, the rebuild, the road, and the connected work that followed.
SPEAKING PDF · 1 PAGE
Speaker one-sheet
Joe’s talks, formats, audience fit, technical needs, fee range, and booking details in one printable page.
RÉSUMÉ · 3 PAGES
Résumé
Three decades of design, creative direction, product work, leadership, awards, and education.
The Invitation
Plan your next trip with it
The same planner I run my life with, free for yours. No ads, no upsell — just calmer trips.