Issue 1003 • November 12, 2018
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QUICK TIPS
Keeping stuff cool in the refrigerator
The coolest spot in your RV refrigerator (not the freezer) is down at the bottom. The warmest? The upper door shelves. Plan packing accordingly.
Keep your batteries charged
If “dry camping” (no hookups), the auxiliary generator should be run for several hours whenever your battery test switch (on the Master Control Panel) shows an amber light. The small amount of gasoline used will ensure that your batteries stay charged. A separate 20- to 30-amp charger, powered by the generator and connected directly to the batteries, will do the job faster. —From Motorhomes Made Easy
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Join our new Facebook group, RV Advice, where prospective RV buyers can ask veteran RVers what they think of an RV they’re considering buying. Click here to join.
Winterizing 101 with Road & Home™
Road & Home™’s blow out plug is essential for clearing your water lines prior to a deep freeze. Prevent cracking over the winter months by attaching the blow out plug to the city water inlet and attach an air hose. Open all faucets and valves and allow the air to push out all water. This inexpensive part can be picked up in the plumbing section of Lowe’s stores nationwide and online here.
Today’s brain teaser (answer below): Walk on the living, they don’t even mumble; walk on the dead and they loudly groan and grumble. What are they?
MORE QUICK TIPS
Quick and easy freezer defrosting
Tired of spending a lot of time defrosting your RV freezer? Here’s a tip from Leigh Prettyman: Cut to size and install plastic cutting mats on the rear wall of the freezer, smooth side out. When it’s time to “defrost,” simply pull the ice-encrusted mats, shake them off, and reinstall. Thanks, Leigh!
Test run before your trip
One thing that is very important to an enjoyable and stress-free trip is to do a test run a few days before the big trip. This is especially important if your rig has been sitting unused for more than a month. Check everything out and then crank it up and drive down the road for 10 minutes or so. This will also let you get the feel of driving it again. You can get rusty when you haven’t driven (or towed) your RV for a few months. A problem with not checking everything a few days ahead of time is that you could make unsafe decisions – for example, deciding to go ahead and leave when some things need to be fixed, like a turn signal that’s not working, or a tire that has low air pressure.
When the family is all loaded up and ready to leave and you find out that something is wrong, it’s tempting to just go ahead and say that you will take care of it that night when you stop. That puts stress on you and could be dangerous, expensive or both. Do your check-ride a week early, so you will have time to fix things before you leave. Knowing that everything is in good working order makes for an enjoyable RVing experience.
–From RVing: Less Hassle—More Joy: Secrets of Having More Fun with Your RV—Even on a Limited Budget,
Do you have a tip? Send it to Russ (at) rvtravel.com
Camp free at farms and wineries
HURRY. JOIN NOW: A new annual membership is going up Jan. 1 from $49 to $79. As a Harvest Hosts member you can stay overnight free at more than 600 wineries, farms, breweries and other attractions! Beautiful locations. Learn more here.
WEBSITE OF THE DAY:
First Aid Tips
What would you do if you cut your finger while chopping vegetables? How would handle a stovetop burn, a spider bite, or a child’s scrape from a fall? Minor injuries happen every day, and most are easy to treat at home. But to handle them quickly and calmly, you need to know what to do and have the right supplies. Here from WebMD are some ideas.
Check out the long list of great RVing-related websites from RVtravel.com.
PRODUCT OF THE DAY: The best massager to help blood circulation.
Answer to today’s brain teaser: Leaves!
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RV Daily Tips Staff
Editor and Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Managing editor: Diane McGovern. Staff writer: Emily Woodbury. Contributing writers: Russ De Maris, Bob Difley, Gary Bunzer, Roger Marble, Mike Sokol, Greg Illes, J.M. Montigel and Andrew Robinson. Advertising coordinator: Gail Meyring. Marketing director: Jessica Sarvis. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen.
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Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We’re just human! So don’t go spending $10,000 on something we said was good simply because we said so, or fixing something according to what we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. Tips and/or comments in this newsletter are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of RVtravel.com or this newsletter.
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I bought new tires in 2013 old ones were 13 years old have 8000 miles on the michelin tires on my way to Florida on Sunday had a outside blowout on passenger side no one had the size i needed . Found used one on the road in in 9 hours landed in Florda at 2;30 am . Next time i will have a spare on my way home in the spring
That refer tip does not seem to apply to mine. Anything I put on the top shelf near the cooling fins is subject to freezing. My thermometer in the middle of the fridge reads at about 39 degrees so the temp is set just about right.
I agree the coldest spot is near the cooling fins. Items placed there will freeze. I found out when my eggs froze, even though they fit so safely and nicely on that short narrow shelf. However, what I read in the tip above is that the warmest spot is on the top shelf in the door, which makes sense. Cold air circulates down the back of the fridge and warmer air travels back up the front to be chilled by the fins and start the process all over. We have had too much stuff early in trips which tends to mess up this circulation if not enough open space is left on each wire shelf.
Mine are dated Dec 2012 so are now 6 years old. I do keep them covered in the summer (we stay at one spot from may to oct) and the coach is stored the rest of the time in it’s own garage. However, this coming summer, I’ll be buying new ones. Eight tires….yikes… $$$.
By not taking a pretrip drive, what would be the challenge to that kind of thinking. It’s so much more challenging to be sitting on the side of a busy interstate during rush hour traffic changing a flat tire on the left side. Lol
Chuck I wish you and the other writers on this Newsletter would come down to the Tampa Super Show in January.
In all the years I have gone to this event I never saw any of you unless I missed seeing you.
It’s a big show with lots there.
Last month I offered to do an RV Electricity seminar at the Tampa show, but was turned down because they said there’s wasn’t a time slot available for me. Perhaps if enough of you ask the Tampa show directly they could make a little room for me.
In the mean time, buy a tire monitor system such as eeztire monitors and keep the tires well inflated. Even new tires don’t guarantee no flats.
We bought a used TT knowing the tires need to be placed, which will be fine in the spring.