Page Contents
Issue 1026 • January 2, 2019
Welcome to another fabulous edition of RV Travel’s Daily Tips newsletter. Here, you’ll find helpful RV-related, and small-space living, tips from the pros, travel advice, a handy website of the day, our favorite RVing-related products and, of course, a good laugh. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate your readership.
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QUICK TIPS
RVs: Bigger is not always better
Fulltime RVers Paul and Nina reflected on their initial impressions about aspects of the RV lifestyle, then reported back on their findings with six years’ more experience. Here’s an observation on the size of their RV: “I always imagined that you should try to buy the biggest RV you could afford. After all, who doesn’t want lots of space? Our travels over the past years, and perhaps more specifically the kind of travel we like to do (camping in public campgrounds, forests, state parks, off-the-beaten-track spots) has taught me that bigger is not always better. Our ‘beastly’ size [40′ motorhome] is super-comfortable but requires me to do quite a bit of detailed planning to make sure we can fit into the kinds of spots we like to visit. In retrospect, I would have wished for a smaller RV. For those camping mostly in private parks this is not a consideration, but for our kind of camping it sure would be nice with a few less feet.” And six years later? “TOTALLY still agree with this. Although we’ve gotten used to our ‘beastly’ size I still wish we were a tad smaller and we (still) dream about downsizing. 95% of our camping is on public land and if we were smaller and more nimble we’d have many more options open to us, especially for boondocking. 35-feet would be nice, 30-feet would be even sweeter, but hey, we make do. Maybe one day….” More from their blog here.
Stash those measuring cups inside a cabinet door
Here’s how one RVer dealt with their favorite measuring cups that needed a place to live. As an alternative to using hooks (which could lead to these metal cups banging around their own version of the “Anvil Chorus”), they cut chunks of 1″ PVC pipe and mounted the pipe “holders” to the inside of a cabinet door. No noise, no fuss, but easily accessible. We spotted this on a site called petrolhat.
If Fido needs a new collar, look no FURther. This Etsy shop has adorable RV-themed collars for your four-legged traveling companion. Click here to view.Â
Did you know?
The name given to the month of “January” is derived from the ancient Roman name “Janus,” who presided over the gate to the new year. He was revered as the “God of Gateways,” of “Doorways” and of “the Journey.” Janus protected the “Gate of Heaven,” is known as the “Lord of Beginnings,” is associated with the “Goddess Juno-Janus,” and is often symbolized by an image of a face that looks forwards and backwards at the same time. This symbolism can easily be associated with the month known by many as the start of a new year which brings new opportunities. We cast out the old and welcome in the new. —Mystical WWW
MORE QUICK TIPS
Light up your utility hookups for after-dark arrivals
Making “landfall” after dark? Fiddling around with a flashlight in one hand and your water hose in the other can make for a session of grumbling. If your RV manufacturer failed to install lighting at your utility hookup area, think about putting in your own, as the user “BroRobin” on popuportal did for his tiny rig. If there’s a source of 12-volt power handy, simply install a suitable outdoor-rated RV light. No power near? Your next option is a battery-powered, or solar-enhanced light. Here’s one from Amazon for about $8.
Buy a good folding chair
You’ll be using folding chairs a ton around the campfire so get ones that are comfortable. Always get an extra chair or two. This serves two purposes. Makes a great backup if one gets broken and also, you can set out an extra chair to encourage new campground neighbors to stop and sit for a bit.
—From RV Living Full Time: 100+ Amazing Tips, Secrets, Hacks & Resources to Motorhome Living.Â
Do you have a tip? Send it to Russ (at) rvtravel.com
WEBSITE OF THE DAY
Smart living ideas and RV hacks
You can never have too many good small-space organizing tips, right? This list of 75 helpful tips from roomaholic.com will surely come in handy.
Check out the long list of great RVing-related websites from RVtravel.com.
Reader Poll
Do you or a household family member have an Amazon Prime membership? Click here to vote.
Maintain those slide seals!
If you’ve heard a cracking or popping sound when extending your slide outs, it means your seals are sticking and/or drying out! Using a seal conditioner about every 8-12 weeks is recommended to avoid drying and cracking. Once they begin to wear and show damage, they are no longer working to their fullest capacity. We recommend using Thetford Premium RV Slide Out Rubber Seal Conditioner – it works like a charm.
LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
Q: If there’s H2O on the inside of a fire hydrant, what’s on the outside?
A: K9P.
Today’s Daily Deals at Amazon.com
Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY.
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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.
ADVERTISE on RVtravel.com and/or in this newsletter. Contact Gail Meyring at Gail(at)RVtravel.com .
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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This newsletter is copyright 2019 by RVtravel.com
RE: your article on RV size, It does depend on how you camp. I mostly “camp” in RV parks, and sometimes a Resort. But I also spend time on BLM/NFS land, not to mention taking advantage of Harvest Host’s program. I own a “beastly 45′ class A. my second one after owning a Class C 20′ mini MH as it was called @ the time. I wouldn’t trade the Performance, Handling, Space, comfort and ride just to fit in a NP or SP. It isn’t my preference. I do have a NP and several SP passes, which allows me to take my toad into any park and partake of everything they have to offer. Then go back to homebase @ EOD to a rather quiet serene setting, that is basically free or mere pennies a day. I’m saying all this to point out that downsizing is a personal choice that one isn’t forced into. There are many other reasons one may want to downsize that I feel are more compelling, but the only ones usually offered up are “my rig is too big to fit where I want to go.
Regarding the measuring cup thing – why not just buy PLASTIC ones (like we did!) – they are super light, very inexpensive, and you can stack them, inside one another! (Sure seems a lot easier than “mounting them” inside a cabinet door?!)…..
People keep asking for brain teasers, so I’ll post one…
I have an 8′ long hammock, and two support poles that will support the ends of the hammock 5′ off the ground. I also have a short son, who wants the bed of the hammock a mere foot off the ground. How far apart should I place the poles? Assume the hammock forms an even parabola.
Hint: you can of course solve this with trigonometry, or even easier with Pythagorean math, but you do NOT need a scientific calculator with sin/cos/tan or log functions.
Answer: maybe tomorrow! 😛
No one posted guesses/answers, so…
The posts are tied together in the same hole.
8′ of hammock folded right in half hangs 4 of the 5′, leaving the intended 1′ elevation. As a result, the polls have to be infinitely close since there’s no more hammock length left for spreading the poles at all.
If this was too obvious, I can post harder ones… if you spent hours refreshing your trig skills, sorry!
Your piece on RV size (depending on how you “camp”) simply reinforces the wisdom of our decision to buy a Class B (22 ft.). We are quite comfortable in our Sprinter, which goes almost anywhere and parks everywhere.
re: RV size
My wife and I RV often in the Rocky Mountains. Most public parks often can not accommodate anything over 30′ in total length. I have a book on all Colorado camping areas and over 30′ there are not that many sites. Sometimes I wonder how they measure the sites, have been surprised sometimes.. Also if you are too tight you have trouble getting level – many sites are way off level. Just maneuvering thru is often a chore too [many rubs visible on the trees]. We upsized from a 20′ to our 28 foot [which actually measures 29.5 foot using a tape rule]. Now I wish we had gone with the 24 footer we first looked at.
Other than groceries we do all of our shopping on line and 95% of that is done through Amazon. It’s been over 20 years since I’ve set foot in a shopping Mall and I don’t miss them at all. I guess I should mention that the nearest Mall is over 65 miles away from us and even the closest Walmart is 20 miles away. We have gotten way more than our moneys worth being Amazon Prime members. Just in the past 2 years we placed 361 orders with Amazon with free shipping and most items arrived in 2 days or less, several within 12 hours of ordering. Amazon even has an arrangement with the Postal Service to deliver their parcels on Sundays. Also, returning things is nearly as easy as ordering them. Return labels are sent via email and the items are then picked up from our home by whichever courier Amazon elects to use.
Glad its working for you Bruce. Unfortunately that isn’t the case for others. I made two orders in the past month and neither have been close to what is promised with Prime. Prime is very costly, but tolerable if packages are really delivered in two days. The first package took a week … and I live one hour away from the Amazon San Bernardino warehouse. A $5 credit was given … whoppie. Then the next order was placed Dec 16 and has yet to arrive. I paid extra for 1 day delivery and after inquiring, was told they were out of it locally but would expedite it from another warehouse. Weeks later (last Thur) they sent an email that the package is being shipped via UPS that day and would be delivered by Saturday … and charged my credit card at the same time, including the extra fee for 1 day delivery. As of today, UPS has not received it from Amazon … a week later. Amazon refuses to refund the Prime fees and cancel the account.
361 orders in the past two years?! How about 173 in just the past six months?! Yep! We too, live about 50 miles from the nearest WalMart, so shop on Amazon a LOT!
PS – We too, have PRIME. I must agree with Geo however, they (Amazon) do NOT provide the quality of delivery service, they did 2 yrs ago! They “promise” “PRIME” delivery, but we too, haven’t rec’d stuff as promised on some items, not even close!…..
Website of the day. Roomaholic.com very hard to navigate. Hard to tell what is advertisement 90% and what’s a good idea (with explanation). Jumped all over and wasted 30 minutes.
I have to tell you, I never take the time to vote for your polls by clicking a link, I did however, vote all the time when they were on the main page. Maybe others are the same.
Rob
Thanks for the comment, Robert. We’ll talk about this at our next staff meeting. We have been conducting our surveys on our Saturday newsletter for years on a separate page — mostly because the newsletter was just getting way too long — and had very few comments one way or another about doing it that way.
I second Roberts comment. And why was the brain teaser brought back after many requested it, only to see it disappear again. Please bring back the Brain Teaser.
Mitch, we’ll include brain teasers from time to time along with other trivia. We were having trouble finding appropriate/intresting (and not too difficult) brain teasers for four issues a week. — Chuck/editor
Hi Chuck – Here’s another brain teaser for ya: “I am holding two, fairly recently minted, United States coins in my hand. The two coins total fifty-five cents, yet one is NOT a fifty-cent piece!” Answer forthcoming…..
That’s too easy, Erinn. But I won’t give it away. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com