April 1, 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.
If you shop at Amazon, would you use one of the links below to do your shopping? The link in the blue bar above also works. Thanks.
U.S. shoppers: Shop at Amazon.com
Canadian shoppers: Shop at Amazon.ca
QUICK TIPS
Does your throttle foot deny physics?
One of our readers, Gray, suggests slowing down might save you money. “For the lead-foot RV drivers among us, here are some HARD facts. None of us can argue with the laws of physics, although many do ignore or deny them.
“Aerodynamic drag increases with the square (x2) of the vehicle speed, and engine power required to overcome drag increases with the cube (x3) of vehicle speed increase. Thus 2x speed=4x drag=8x power. Example: Going from 55 mph to 65 mph, an 18 percent speed jump, increases drag by 36 percent which requires 54 percent more engine power. So for that 10 mph increase in speed, your engine is working half again as hard.
“So how does that new 70 mph freeway speed limit affect fuel mileage, as opposed to the old double-nickel speed limits? 70 mph is a 28 percent speed increase over 55 mph, which is 56 percent more drag needing 85 percent more power to overcome. If your RV is getting 12 mpg at 55, you’ll probably get 10 mpg at 70 mph.
“Here is an excellent web-based calculator to estimate speed impact on vehicle fuel mileage.” Thanks, Gray!
Did you miss yesterday’s edition of Mike Sokol’s RV Electricity Newsletter? If so, it’s still there and waiting for you.
Join our RV Advice group on Facebook. Good stuff!
MORE QUICK TIPS
Storage compartment security
Always lock your RV when you’re not physically at the campsite. Do not store valuable equipment in outside storage compartments. Believe it or not, a vast majority of RVs use the same exact key as yours for outside storage compartments. If you store valuables like golf clubs, fishing gear or tools in the outside compartments you may want to have the storage compartment locks changed. Tip from Mark Polk, RV Education 101.
Big mattress, small bed board
Our recently acquired travel trailer accommodated only a 74″ mattress, and what a sour grapes mattress it was! Our big 80″ memory foam is what we wanted. With the slide-out “in,” the space is a scoatch too short. Here’s a tip: Lift the bed board into the “up” position when the slide-out is in – plenty of space. While we just let the extra 6″ of mattress hang in space, other RVers have attached a 6″ long “extension” board with door hinges that adds the additional support if needed. They can flip the extension out of the way if it troubles any operation when traveling.
Do you have a tip? Send it to Russ (at) rvtravel.com
WEBSITE OF THE DAY
National Park guides galore!
Wow! That’s a lot of guides! RVShare.com has put together a guide for every U.S. National Park. This is about the most helpful list we’ve ever seen!
Check out the long list of great RVing-related websites from RVtravel.com.
Online RV training courses from RV Education 101
Endorsed by RVtravel.com.
Face it, there’s a lot to know about RVing. These online video and e-book courses from Mark Polk and RV Education 101 are outstanding. Here are just a few of the many courses: VIDEOS: Travel Trailer & Fifth Wheel Trailers • RV Orientation • Tow Your Travel Trailer Like A Pro • Tow Your 5th Wheel Like A Pro • Motorhome RV Orientation Video Training Course • Drive Your Motorhome Like A Pro. E-BOOKS: Insider’s Guide to Buying an RV • Owning & Operating an RV • RV Care & Maintenance • RV Battery Care & Maintenance • Trailer Towing Basics. Learn more.
LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
This is a pretty dumb joke, but it sure made us laugh. Click the image to play the video.
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. Contributing writers: Russ De Maris, Bob Difley, Gary Bunzer, Roger Marble, Mike Sokol, Greg Illes, J.M. Montigel and Andrew Robinson. Advertising director: Emily Woodbury. 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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You could have included on one video games. I play on line with my son several times a week. While we play we are on voice chat and can talk to one another in the game as team members but we can all just chat about anything while playing. So much better than just a phone call where a conversation can be like pulling teeth or just getting a lot of “nothing much.” People should try it with grandchildren. I got into video games because they were a big part of my son’s life,
Once again, the survey constructor fails to think of all categories. I play solitare a lot, but on my phone. How should I have answered the survey?
I play Solitaire and Free Cell on the laptop all the time! Does that count?
Regarding Gray’s mathamatics: I don;t know if his ultimate answer is correct, but I do know that to square a number is to multiply it by itself, NOT multiply it by 2. Also, to cube a number is to multiply it by itself three times, NOT multiply it by 3.
2x does not mean multiply by two; it typically indicates the square, x times itself. Same for 3x.
2x means two times, x times x= x squared, 3x means three times, x times x times x= x cubed
Here is a thought. Taking a look at the new Amazon logo made me realize what it really looks like. Just look at closely and I will leave it at that.
Totally non competitive. I only compete with fish and usually lose. No games no sports.
Regarding the compartment locks. We changed to less common 236 locks from the common 751’s used on nearly every RV built today. This may not be the ultimate cure to protect those valuables stored aboard but it will slow or confound a thief of opportunity. At least we hope.
Regarding RV travel speed- agree that higher speeds require more energy & braking power. However – am also very aware that it is not at all safe to travel on highways going significantly slower than prevailing traffic. Going 55 mph on a highway where traffic is going 70+ mph is not the best decision. On highways with 3+ lanes of travel I do not like to travel in the right most lane due to the problems of people entering / exiting the freeway. So have learned to stay out of that lane if possible in my RV – but to then be in the middle lane @55 mph is not safe either. So if the primary goal is fuel economy the best solution is to stay off high speed highways & use 2ndary roads ins
I agree wholeheartedly. The most accidents are not so much speed related, except for too fast for conditions, but speed difference related. So if safety first, fuel economy has to be second.
Then while sitting in a truck stop yesterday morning having some breakfast, we saw a trucker magazine left in the booth, so we looked at it, besides the article on oversized sleepers (hint, there a small RV), I saw an article on trucks getting 10.0 mpg at 70+ (where safe and legal), which is a holy grail of trucking.
DynastyMattress 10GEL-QUEEN-RV 10-inch CoolBreeze Gel Memory Foam Mattress-Queen RV Size
Absolutely the best mattress we’ve ever had. Including quite a few standard lengths in our home. LOVE it. Just did a 2 1/2 mo trip and never slept so well. (I’m not a dealer. Just a happy camper.)
Google it at Amazon. This size is called a “short queen” and they actually have several of this size in price and quality range.
Actually, I have no problem with the length of the bed. We have a 32′ itaska and when our slide comes in there is no space for even 1″ more room for the bed. If the bed were longer it would mean the generous closet and drawers would have to be that much shallower.
Good day: for us older folks with older motorhomes (Pre- OBD2)- if you want to monitor your fuel mileage, or rather lack of it or you driving habits – install a simple vacuum gage. It won’t read the actual mpg – but the color codes and numbers will amaze you when facing a headwind vs tailwind vs your right foot! Keep it in the green if you can! Happy travels as summer gas prices rise!
On vehicle physics, double your speed and it takes 4X the braking force to stop. Double your weight and it takes 4X the braking force to stop. Double your weight and speed and it takes 16X the braking force to stop. Slow those big rigs down. Getting to your destination safely is no accident.
Looking at the storage compartment lock security, I didn’t see anything in their link other than advertising for selling videos & books! Would be great if there was an article on changing out the locks to something different! Especially on class “A” motor homes. On my 2017 Forest River 34QS, it looks easy enough to change the lock, but getting to it is another story/
Dave
Here’s a link that will work. Used these on my unit.
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ivs=1&q=combination+RV+storage+lockoin the discussion…
Not quite right… Here…
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=combination+RV+storage+lock
To help with fuel economy and to also show other engine functions I installed a ScanGauge, it will show average and instant fuel use. It’s a simple installation that requires no tools and simply plugs into the diagnostic port that is just under the steering wheel on the Ford steering wheel.
Thanks for the fruit joke, needed a smile since just had a death in the family.
If the buyer would refuse to look at or purchase any of these models with odd shaped beds and these units would end up sitting on dealer lots unsold than perhaps the makers would look at changing things. I know that’s wish full thinking. When my wife and I were shopping that’s what we did. There is a lot of strange things in these campers today, one needs to look and be critical.
For many people a 74” mattress would be long enough but I do agree on the lack of quality. Maybe the engineers who design these low quality mattresses were recently discharged from the Army where they were sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground, so these mattresses would be real comfortable. Lol
In the Navy we slept on 2″ mattresses aboard ship
Yep but we weren’t fat and old and full of aches and pains! ?
Yes I also would like the correct Nat Park link
Regarding the Carefree Wireless Awning with Auto-retract, keep in mind that with this system, you can no longer use awning tiedowns or a sun screen if anchored to the ground. If the awning tries to retract and you are using a tiedown, serious damage will result.
Hey Chuck! The link to the National Parks Guide Galore article above, takes you to an old RV newsletter. Is this an APRIL fools joke?! Darn computers!..:-)
I went to RVshare.com and it is a rental company!!! No NP guides that I could find.
Scroll to the bottom of their page. The link is there. https://rvshare.com/national-parks
Sorry, the link somehow got changed after I proofed the newsletter. It’s been corrected. We apologize for the inconvenience. –Diane at RVtravel.com