Subscribers RV Travel Newsletter for Sunday, July 6, 2025

Issue 1216
Ads have been removed in this newsletter
for our much-appreciated volunteer paid subscribers.

Today’s thought 

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” —Ray Bradbury

When Cracker Jack gave away two Winnebagos

By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Did you know Cracker Jack once gave away two Winnebagos as grand prizes? In the early 1980s, two lucky snackers cracked open a box of caramel popcorn and peanuts to find a winning ticket for a full-sized motorhome. One of them was a U.S. serviceman stationed in Germany—and, yes, Cracker Jack shipped the RV overseas. We spoke with the collector who helped promote the campaign and has over 5,000 prizes to his name. This is one sweet piece of RV and snack history.

Why RVers need a maintenance calendar, not just a checklist or log book

By Emily Woodbury
I recently saw a post on an RVing Facebook group about the importance of not just RV maintenance checklists, but maintenance calendars. This was a good point, I thought. Most RVers keep track of all your RV’s maintenance in a log book so you can see when your last oil change was, when you last resealed your roof… all that stuff. But what if, instead of looking back at when you last completed something, you could easily look forward and see when it needed to be done again?

What can an RV water softener do for you?

By Cheri Sicard
Are RV water softeners worth it? Here to answer the question is certified RV inspector Duane from RV Inspection And Care. Duane starts by explaining exactly what a water softener does, which is the first step to determining if you need one. Without a water softener, hard minerals in the water like calcium, magnesium, iron, etc., can build up in your RV’s water system. You’ll notice the difference right away.

Today’s RV review…
Updates on the AEONrv—an all-season, electric, off-road, new and modern RV

By Tony Barthel
Today’s RV review is of the 2025 AEONrv. What in the world is an AEONrv, you ask, and who are they? AEONrv is a Reno-based company founded by Jim Ritchie, who was dissatisfied with the RV rentals he found while renting. Being a serial entrepreneur, he decided to build his own darned RV. The name AEONrv is an acronym standing for All-season, Electric, Off-road, New and modern RV. Continue reading.

Yesterday’s top news for RVers

• It’s official: Foreign visitors will pay more to visit national parks
• No, California gas isn’t jumping to $8 overnight
• Amazon Prime members save $1 per gallon at the pump this weekend
• Love’s opens RV-friendly stop in Winslow, Arizona
• Poop in the parks: A backcountry, backside, problem hits home

Read the rest of the news in yesterday’s newsletter here.

RANDOM RV THOUGHT: Owning an RV is a lot better than owning a mountain cabin because it can move. So it can be a mountain cabin one day, a seaside cottage the next, and then an oasis in the desert. Bad weather where you are? Move!

Why RV stabilizer extension matters more than you think

By Russ and Tiña De Maris
When it comes to RV stabilizers, there’s a common thread among many RVers: The less you crank them down, the more stable they are. When you pull into your campsite and start setting up, it’s tempting to get the stabilizer jacks down quickly and call it good. But how far you extend your jacks can make a big difference in how stable—and comfortable—your RV will be.

Traffic lights: How they work, how they waste your time

By J.R. Montigel
If I told you that you will spend close to half a year of your life waiting at traffic lights, would you believe me? Well, believe it. Assuming you spend 10 minutes a day on average for 60 years, that’s more than 150 days of your life—about five months—waiting for red lights to turn green. Again: FIVE MONTHS! Continue reading.

How to pick out the best sweet corn

By Gail Marsh
I’m proud to be an Iowa farm girl! That said, I still have a difficult time picking out sweet corn from the grocery store. Recently, I came across this video. It shows specific steps you can take to find, test, and purchase the very best sweet corn. These tips really work!

MORE LIKE THIS:

• How to choose a watermelon: Three things to look for in perfect melons
• How to choose a perfect pineapple in 3 easy steps

Reader poll
Would you recommend RVing to a friend?

Respond here.

MORE POLLS FROM THIS PAST WEEK:

• Who will decide when to hang up your RV keys?
• Does your RV serve as a spare guest room?
• Do you enjoy riding scenic railroads?
• When you bought your towable RV, did you also buy a vehicle to tow it?

Sunday giveaway 

How would you like to win a copy of the 2025 “the Next Exit”?

How to win
We’ll select a winner at random out of all entries we receive today by 7 p.m. Pacific time. You can only enter once and after we notify you by email that you won, you have 24 hours to respond.

Click here to enter or see last week’s winner.

Word search

Can you find all the words in our 4th of July word search? To play an interactive version, click here.

NEED AN EXCUSE TO CELEBRATE? Today is National Fried Chicken Day!

Travel destinations
The “other Grand Canyons” are worth a stop, too. Check these out

By Gail Marsh
While doing some research for an extended RV trip, I Googled “Grand Canyon.” I’d hoped to find information about the Grand Canyon in Arizona. (The only Grand Canyon I thought existed!) Imagine my surprise when I found a map of the U.S. dotted with more Grand Canyons than I could count!

Brain teaser

Susan and Lisa decided to play tennis against each other. They bet $1 on each game they played. Susan won three bets and Lisa won $5. How many games did they play?

(Answer below.)

Highlights from this week’s RV Daily Tips Newsletter

• Stinky freshwater hose? Here’s the solution
• Why RVers should get hooked on self-stick RV hooks
• Plug your RV into a generator? Watch out for this!
• Clean your RV window screens without water
• Unusual uses for cat litter when RVing

HOOOOOLD UP THERE! You mean to say you’re NOT signed up for our RV Daily Tips newsletter? Well, that’s just not right! Read a few issues here, and if you like what you read, sign up here. We promise you’ll learn so much!

In the RV shop with Dustin
Rusty wheel bearing grease? What it means and why RVers should care

Wheel bearing maintenance might not be the flashiest topic in the RV world, but it’s one of the most important, especially if you’ve ever found rust-colored grease inside your hubs. If you’ve pulled your RV’s hubs apart and noticed grease with a reddish or brownish tint, that’s not just old lubricant; it’s a sign of moisture contamination and potential corrosion. Learn more.

It’s a bad tick year! Protect yourself from the disease-spreading bloodsuckers!

By Russ and Tiña De Maris
If your travels take you to tick country, be on the lookout for these biting and often disease-carrying arachnids. Yes, ticks are more closely related to spiders! And just what areas of the U.S. have them? Lyme disease—a nasty tick-borne illness—has now been found in all 50 states. Do not get bit!

RV tire safety
Learn the basics of setting tire pressure and testing TPMS

By Roger Marble
Assuming you confirm your RV load every year or so, I suggest you do the following. While getting scale readings, with the RV loaded to the heaviest you expect to be (and hooked up if it is a towable), get each axle of the RV weighed individually. This will help you when confirming the MINIMUM cold inflation required for the tires. Continue reading.

Ask Dave

This past week’s questions that Dave answered:

• Tow bar rattles when starting and stopping. How can I stop it?
• What are white ‘pellets’ on RV bathroom floor?
• Best way to clean and sanitize RV fresh water tank
• RV’s furnace blows warm air only. What should I check?
• No-heat furnace fixed!

RV gadgets and gizmos

Fast charge ALL your devices at once with the UGREEN Nexode 500W

By Cheri Sicard
Do you regularly camp with electrical hookups? Then you might want to consider UGREEN’s Nexode 500W 6-Port GaN Desktop Fast Charger—the world’s first 500W gallium nitride (GaN) charger engineered to simultaneously charge six devices with unprecedented power. Yes, you can power and recharge the devices of the entire family (and everyone else in your camp—well, maybe not quite) quickly! Learn more.

Book review: “Are We There Yet?: Family Road Trip Guide to America’s Roadside Oddities”

By Cheri Sicard
Les Brady is a kindred spirit in his love for roadside oddities. I was thrilled to recognize places I’ve visited—and even more excited to add new ones to my bucket list thanks to his book “Are We There Yet?: Family Road-Trip Guide to America’s Roadside Oddities.” Learn more.

BUMPER SNICKER: “If you truly love someone, give them cheese.” (On a car with a Wisconsin plate.)

Video of the day
Buying cast iron: What to look for in a cast iron skillet

By Cheri Sicard
I know from our readers’ poll of RV kitchen essentials that many of you already carry a cast iron skillet in your rigs. And since they last forever, you probably won’t need a new one. But for the rest of you, the video below from Cowboy Kent Rollins on what to look for in a cast iron skillet will be invaluable. I strongly advise, don’t buy a cast iron skillet before watching it!

RVing with dogs
Help! My RV campsite is infested with fleas!

By Gail Marsh
It should have been a pleasant week. My neighbor and her family secured a prime RV lakeside site. Everyone happily looked forward to it. Even Chip, the family’s 2-year-old Labrador, sensed the excitement! Just one day into their trip, the family packed up everything and headed home. Why? Their great RV campsite was infested with fleas! Continue reading.

Readers’ pets of the day

“Athena the Husky and Remington the Border Collie (both 6 years) love going on camping trips with us. They are our kids! We make sure to plan our trips around them and make sure they are involved in all the fun activities!” —Tandrae Tillman

• RVing with Dogs group on Facebook. You’ll love it.

HELP! WE’RE RUNNING LOW ON PET PHOTOS! Want to see your pet in this newsletter? Please send us a photo of your pet with a short description. No blurry photos and please do not submit your photo more than once.

Trivia

From the book, Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson:

Kelley Blue Book. “The standard guide in the U.S. for dealers and the courts in determining the value of all used cars of all makes and model years. It was developed by Sidney ‘Buster’ Kelley of the Kelley Kar Company, which, from the end of World War I to the end of World War II, was the biggest used car business in the world. The Blue Book was first published in 1926.”

Sunday funny

A hamburger gets married out of state. None of his hamburger friends back home have met his wife yet, and he can hardly wait to introduce her. One night he tells them to head to the local pub to meet her. The hamburger and his wife walk into the bar and he looks at all his friends and says, “Everyone, meat Patty.” (groan)

Did you miss last week’s RVtravel.com newsletter?

Read it here | Back issues

Brain teaser answer:

Eleven. Lisa lost three games to Susan, she had lost $3 ($1 per game). So, she had to win back that $3 with three more games, then win another five games to win $5. 

Vintage postcard of the week

Postcards owned by Colleen and Ed Weum, Pacific Northwest Postcard Club. Read more about their 90,000 postcard collection here.

Today’s weather forecast across the nation
THIS MAP UPDATES TWICE A DAY

Visit Current National Radar Weather Map
Current fire and smoke map from AirNow

Headed on an unfamiliar highway? Learn if it has low bridges you might not fit under.

Leave with a song from the past

Here, live (at the time in 1964) from London, the Fab Four perform “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

Campground of the week from Campground Views

With Campground Views, you can view campsites just like you were driving through the campground using Google Street View. See one you like? Learn instantly if it’s available and reserve it on the spot with Campground Views.

RVtravel.com All Star Team

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Our policy on using artificial intelligence.