May 14, 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
FEATURED TIP
Light my way…
With veteran RVer Mike Sokol
While these aren’t rated for outdoor usage, these motion-sensor floor lights should work great inside of your RV to light up the hallways whenever you step anywhere near one. I just bought a bunch of them for the dark hallway in my house and they work great. They’re powered by three AAA batteries, include adhesive backs and mounting screws, and after 30 seconds they turn themselves off. You could even mount one of these in a closest so whenever you open the door, the light comes on automatically. They don’t depend on shore power or your RV house battery, so even if the power dies in your RV, you still have light. Pretty slick. Get them from Amazon here.
No fishing license? No problem! Here are all the free fishing days in 2019. Treat yourself to a day on the pier or the boat, and don’t worry about not having a license. See what days are free in your state here.
MORE QUICK TIPS
Replace your windows with dual glazed?
Some people think that replacing single-paned windows on an RV may result in lasting insulation quality. This is not the truth since double-paned windows have a limitation that makes them impractical for use in RVs. The double-paned windows tend to fog up when subjected to strong vibrations. —From RV Living for Senior Citizens: How to Start and Manage Full Time RV Living as a Retiree Over the age of 60.
Water wallet
In a recent edition of RV Daily Tips, we included a “Bonus Tip” for beachgoers. We suggested if you didn’t want to leave your valuables exposed while away from your beach blanket, just cover them with a clean diaper. Reader Nancy Einheuser tells us there’s just too much of an “Ewww!” factor even for somebody who left diaper changing behind 20+ years ago. Her suggestion? Ditch the diaper – invest in a waterproof valuables wallet to string around your neck or wrist. Here’s a two-pack from Amazon for less than $7.
*Editor’s note: We still think the diaper is a great (though, yes, gross) idea too!
Do you have a tip? Send it to Russ (at) rvtravel.com
WEBSITE OF THE DAY
The best luxury RV parks across the country
Boy, book us a spot! These RV parks are beautiful! We know it’s not quite the “camping” experience but, hey, you deserve a little time to relax too.
Check out the long list of great RVing-related websites from RVtravel.com.
You’ve heard of collapsible food storage containers
. . . but we’ve just found a solution for all those crowded cupboards. Yes, that’s right, collapsible pots and pans are a real thing and you can buy one here (or a set here). You can thank us by having us over for dinner. Deal?
LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
A woman and a lawyer are seated next to each other on a flight from LA to NY. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a game. The woman, who is tired and just wants to take a nap, politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists and explains that the game is easy and a lot of fun. He explains, “I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer you pay me $5, and vice versa.” Again she declines and tries to get some sleep.
The lawyer, now agitated, says, “Okay, if you don’t know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don’t know the answer I’ll pay you $500. This catches the woman’s attention, and figuring there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, agrees to the game.
The lawyer asks the first question. “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” The woman doesn’t say a word, reaches into her purse, pulls out a $5 bill, and hands it to the lawyer. “Okay,” says the lawyer, “your turn.”
She asks the lawyer, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four legs?” The lawyer, puzzled, takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references – no answer. He taps into the air phone and searches the net and the Library of Congress – no answer. Frustrated, he sends an email to all his friends and coworkers, to no avail. After an hour, he wakes the woman, and hands her $500. The woman says, “Thank you,” and turns back to get some more sleep.
The lawyer, who is more than a bit miffed, wakes the woman and asks, “Well, what’s the answer?” Without a word, the woman reaches into her purse, pulls out a $5 bill, hands it to the lawyer, and goes back to sleep.
—Thanks to Roger Marble for sending this to us!
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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. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. 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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This newsletter is copyright 2019 by RVtravel.com
Today’s joke is a good one, keep up the good work
I have a 1994 Bounder with double pane windows and most are permanently fogged except the drivers’ side which still holds water, about an inch and when the moisture dries it sloshes as I go down the highway. Just one of the entertainment pleasures of an older RV.
Patti,
Most RV dual-pane windows use plastic spacers between the panes that eventually crack let out the inert gas and let in moisture. I live in northern California and there is a company in Sacramento that will remove and refurbish RV dual-pane windows. They re-did my windows and used metal spacers when in the windows and that should prevent a repeat of the plastic spacer problem. Much less expensive to refurbish the existing windows than to have new custom made windows built.P.S. My windows look brand new!
I served 30 years on active duty, and my DNA sample was required before deploying overseas so that if my body was unidentifiable it could be analyzed and identity determined. I never felt it was an intrusion, and I assume my DNA is on file with DoD. Personally, I don’t plan on doing anything that the FBI would be interested in.
The step lights have another great application: I installed two of them one inside under a valance over my interior entry steps (especially useful in an emergency evac at nite), and the other outside over the key lock. Motorhome Mag printed my idea in the “Quick Tips” section in Feb 2019. Works great! Just changed batts. after a year and thru a ND winter! (PS: Put a piece of elect. tape over the batt. compartment for outside use).
My cat has figured out how to turn the step light in his room on with his nose, so when I get close to his door he runs over to the light and turns it on for me. He’s a tuxedo and pretty smart, and he does this nearly every time.
Provide my DNA so it can be included in a database? Nope.
Our son gave us one of those DNA test things for Christmas. I grudgingly sent it in. When the results came in and they wanted more info to stretch the connections, I totally disregarded it. This whole thing creeps me out. I really don’t care about what my ancestors did in Hungary or wherever else this goes. And I CERTAINLY don’t want people contacting me because they think we’re related.
The FBI has unrestricted access into all these databases, and HAS been actively searching them for open cases. They don’t need “the guy” in the database, just any relative to genetically point the way. Do I mind catching more criminals, no. Do I mind that this is a FLAGRANT disregard of illegal search, hell yes.
Wolfe, Amen and Amen!
Not entirely true. The FBI (like any user) can and will submit a sample and they will get results only from those that agreed to share their info if a match is made. That was created so a user can find ‘lost’ relatives. The Ancestry . com site states that NO genetic info was requested or given to law enforcement in the year 2018.
I find it amusing that Rvers sometime complain about the high cost of RV parks, but I see that every RV Daily Tips suggest you switch to electric heat. Some one has to pay for the cost of electricity at these parks, and it certainly wouldn’t be the park owner.
Dual glazed windows bad?? Not so. I have Dometic dual pane, top-opening windows in my RV. They are awesome!! Not only do they insulate, but I can open my windows in the rain without worrying about the inside of my rig getting wet. So many US manufacturers are stuck using old technology. Wake up big boys!
Willie, I don’t understand what dual pane windows have to do with your rig not getting wet in the rain. Maybe we’re talking about two different things.
i dont like those top opening windows .they only open about 4 inches .how can you get a cross breeze with those cheap windows. and thats why they install them on rvs .they are not awesome their not practical.best thing people can do is when a salesman shows them an rv that has these windows is tell them no way with those cheap windows.
Just an FYI about the collapsible pots. The Sea to Summit set pot has an aluminum base, so those of us who use an induction cooktop unit would not be able to use the pot on the cooktop.
We’ve been on the road fulltime for almost 10 years now, so many of of the daily tips are not new to us, though they are a nice reminder of things. But, for us, the best part of the Daily Tips Newsletter is the “leave here with a laugh” section. My wife & I get a good laugh most mornings, to start our day.
13 years here too, same complaint….not much new here just the same old same old rehashed.
Not all the readers are “old hands”. This may be a whole new source of information for them.
Hi, Robbie. If you (or any other readers) have any new tips we can use, please send them to us. We would certainly appreciate it! In the meantime, a lot of our readers are not only “new to us” but also new to RVing, so they may not have seen or heard of the tips before. We’re also adding new features, especially to the RV Travel Newsletter on Saturday, so that there is something for everyone — including the veteran RVers and long-time RVtravel.com reader. Thank you very much for being with us for 13 years! We appreciate you! 😀 Diane(at)RVtravel.com
Thank you for the nice comments, Fred! We’re glad you get some use/enjoyment out of our Daily Tips newsletters, even though some of it is “old news” to you. And thank you for being a long-time (since way-back-when!) reader/subscriber! We appreciate it, and you and your wife, very much! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
“What goes up a hill on three legs but comes down on four legs?”
Two men in an up hill three legged sack race.
Very smart, Jeannie! I knew someone would come up with an answer! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
If the lawyer in the joke was any good at internet searches, he could have come up with the same answer I found. His friends weren’t all that bright, either. He deserved to lose $490. Another one was a three legged dog getting a prosthetic installed at the top of the hill (that one was a stretch, though).
Silly question: why have an edit button if it isn’t going to let you edit anything?
That’s not a silly question, Jeannie. I’ll check with our expert on this and see what’s going on. Thanks for asking. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Jessica says you have the option to edit for 15 minutes once you post your comment, but they’re going to expand that to an hour. Yay! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Jessica speak with forked tongue. 😉 I tried to edit my second post less than a minute after posting and was denied.
But if the lawyer was good at internet searches, there wouldn’t have been a joke. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Ahhh…. Maybe it was not just a joke but a life lesson. You don’t always have to have the answers – you just need to know how to ask the right questions.
That’s very deep, KellyR. Reminds me of one of my favorite old programs, Kung Fu, with David Carradine. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Don’t bother me with facts and details. 😉
Another one: An old man that lost his cane and has to crawl down the hill.