Thursday, July 25, 2019
Welcome to another 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 you.
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Today’s Thought
“Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day!
TIP OF THE DAY
Not all air conditioners are created equal
Advice from JD Sanders, a northern Florida RV dealer
Not too long ago we lost a sale on a new travel trailer to a dealer south of us. That dealer sold the customer the same make and model unit that we stocked, but that dealer sold the unit for about $350 less than we could.
A while later the customer came to us for service complaining that he could not get the air conditioner to cool down the coach. Our service manager examined his a/c unit and found it to be only 11,000 BTUs, too small to cool his 25-foot trailer even in north Georgia, where he lives. If he would have paid the additional $350 for our trailer, he would have 13,500 or higher BTU air conditioner. It cost that customer far more than $350 to replace his underpowered air conditioner.
Lesson: Be sure you know how much “air conditioning” you are buying when purchasing a new RV.
• President’s tariffs crash American RV Industry. Sales are down, trouble ahead?
• Winnebago recalls 2018-2019 Forza motorhomes. Storage doors may open unexpectedly.
• RV park residents in sizzling Mississippi angry about no electricity. Owner behind in bills, that’s why.
RV CLUB OF THE DAY
Loners on Wheels: Loners on Wheels (LoW) is an RV club of legally single men and women who enjoy traveling, camping, RV caravanning and the lifestyle of singles. It is not a match-making or dating service, although love has bloomed at times. LoW has chapters in most U.S. states who have monthly campouts or other activities.
READER POLL
HELPFUL RESOURCES
• NATIONAL TRAFFIC AND ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION.
• ROAD AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NATION.
• WEATHER ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
• CURRENT WILDFIRE REPORT.
Answer to the Pop Quiz in this coming Saturday’s RVtravel.com newsletter: Bobby Troup. Details in the issue. The prize: A very cool pair of Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones.
Did you buy a lemon RV?
Here’s more about RV lemons and lawyers who will represent you if you need help.
Keep stinky odors out of your RV (relied on by the RV Travel staff). Click.
TRIVIA
Can you smell the money? In 2017, more than $869,000 was left behind by passengers at U.S. airport checkpoints. —SOURCE: TSA
WEBSITE OF THE DAY
Rover
Need a dog walker? A dog-sitter or boarder? Use Rover to find locals in your area (they’re background checked and insured!) to watch your pup while you’re out for the day, week or month! We’re big fans of this site. (Psst! Using the link above will earn you $20 off your first booking!)
And the survey says. . .
We’ve polled RVtravel.com readers more than 1,500 times in recent years. Here are a few things we’ve learned about them:
• Thirty-four percent talk on their phone when driving, 23% only rarely.
• Ninety-eight percent of our readers are 50 or older
• Just over half bought their RV brand-new from an RV dealer.
Walmarts. Directory of stores that do not allow overnight stays with RVs.
LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
An RVer named Ray travels with a talkative but foul-mouthed parrot. One day in a campground outside Denver, the bird swore non-stop. Frustrated, Ray grabbed it by the throat and told it to shut up. Moments later, the bird was swearing again.
The next day, the parrot swore so loudly the RV park manager demanded its silence. Desperate, Ray locked the bird in a cupboard. Alas, no help. The next day, the bird was worse. So, as a last resort, Ray tossed it into his refrigerator. After five minutes, all was quiet. Worried the bird might be freezing to death, Ray took it out. “I’m sorry,” said the suddenly-polite bird. “I promise to never swear again.” Ray was astonished. He couldn’t understand the change in attitude.
“By the way,” asked the parrot, “what did the chicken do?”
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CLUBS & USEFUL ORGANIZATIONS
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• Harvest Hosts: Stay free at farms, wineries and other scenic and peaceful locations for free. Save 15% on membership.
• Overnight RV parking. Directory of more than 14,000 locations where you can stay for free or nearly free with your RV. Modest membership fee.
• Boondockers Welcome. Stay at homes of RVers who welcome you in their driveways, yards, farmland or other space on their private property. Modest membership fee.
• Escapees. Best Club for RVers: All RVers welcome, no matter what type of RV, make or model.
RV Daily Tips Staff
Editor and Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Managing editor: Diane McGovern. 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
Regarding the article on smaller BTU A/Cs in a new RV, after owning a few RVs I would say that it is typical of RV manufacturers to undersized the A/Cs. They never seem to be able to keep up as the RV gets hotter & hotter. I’m not talking Arizona 118° F heat, I’m talking not even keeping up with 90°s heat. I’ve replaced both A/Cs now with bigger units & they work really well & actually cycle on & off.
BTW, during the installation process of putting in new A/Cs, we discovered that the manufacturer had failed to open some of the outlets to the ductwork passages which impeded the flow of air throughout the RV. But, the units were so small that the flow of air coming out was wimpy at best. Now with the outlets open & larger A/Cs, there’s plenty of air coming out of the ductwork like it should be. (For those with engineering-type minds, we used Shelton’s RV service in Houston Texas to install two 15,000 BTU units to replace our 13,500 and 11,000 BTU units in a 35′ diesel pusher.)
I am not afraid of spiders, just respectful, especially of the ones that I know are poisonous such as the black widow. The rest of the species that I do not recognize as poisonous or not I just give them room. I’m aware of their place in nature, and I prefer that they stay there.
Wonder how many of the majority that aren’t afraid of spiders are women? 🙂 And conversely how many of those that are afraid happen to be men! 😉
Poor parrot. That was funny, but poor chicken too.
Regarding the tariffs, it’s not the RV, it’s the materials and parts that makes the RV.
It would change if the RV mfgrs could look at themselves and realize their products need help with better trained employees that are appreciated so that human care making would produce a better quality product. There is obviously no quality control. When humans have pride in workmanship we really can shine with great products. Unfortunately, that is far from what is going on now. No one cares so it’s junk that is being produced.
Laugh out Loud Joke today, thanks made my morning.
Why is everyone blaming the downturn in RV sales on Trump. Not everything is his fault. Look at the garbage that the manufacturers are turning out. Look at the people that are screaming about the shoddy work and failure of the manufactures to stand behind their product. Look at the stories of drug use among the employees of the manufactures. Look at the failure of the dealers to stand behind the product they sell. There are a lot of dealers like Camping Worlds out there that are more worried about profits than the quality of their product I could go on and on but I’ll stop there and just maybe the Trump blames will put the blame where it belongs. China has been screwing us for years because we have lost our pride in producing quality and expecting quality products
Robert Miller, I agree! I think the consumer has maybe finally had enough of the crap quality the industry has been foisting on us, especially the unsuspecting and trusting newbie, we’ve had enough. If I recall, used RV sales aren’t doing too badly.
The Presidents Chinese tariffs have nothing to do with the RV industry decline! They are protesting the USA from being exploited. My wife and I planned on buying a $200,000 RV and full timing across the country. Probably won’t do it because it takes months to get a repair and RV parks are full requiring advance reservations!
You are right about the reservations at RV parks.So many people are using an RV to live in anymore that RV parks have become greedy to the point it is getting UN-affordable Not to mention the fact so many newer RV’s are total junk.
The tariffs do indeed affect the RV industry. RV manufacturers have to pay more for parts made from steel and aluminum. Then, dealers have to pay more for the RV. Then, the cost is passed to the RV buyer.
Monty, please don’t confuse them with common sense.
I agree with the others. Another reason for the slowdown of sales might be the shortage of campgrounds.
Unbelievable, RV sales started their downward spiral months before the tariffs went into effect. Companies like Thor should try looking in the mirror instead of blaming Trump.
Just sold a 2016 Jayco we bought new as we’ve been eyeing a Jayco 5th wheel of particular floor plan. For “fun” looked at a 2019 at our dealer and could see a hundred feet away the Thor take over effect – instead of a nice big side window, three oblong windows within a few inches of one another. Inside, the sofa, once a residential look (3 cushions, nice roll off the seat, replaced by two cushions and a cheap foam slab for a seat. YUK!! Commented to our sales guy and, in other words, said oh well.
Maybe the RV industry is starting to feel the burn, so to speak, on inferior products, jacked up pricing and gouging of the consumer. Maybe even the responses from new buyers on waiting for months to fix and RV that should have been checked and tested before it was sold to the consumer is a problem as well with the word getting out that the industry only cares about the bottom line and tough luck for the consumer! Just maybe………………………… On another note, I’m for fair trade and if this is what it takes to make that happen, I’m 100% for it!
The RV industry has been stampeding along for several years even though they continue to produce many inferior products. Now, when Sales slow down they need to find someone to blame other than themselves! It’s the same Rhetoric that we here day after day in the media.
Gee, maybe if sales are slumping they can slow down the ‘conveyer belt’ and spend a little more time producing a quality product. Think of the sales advantage!
I noticed my comment this morning was “moderated out”. I am assuming it’s because of a political opinion, based on the content referenced in the article. I would like to say that if RVtravel.com is going to post “breaking news” stories like “President’s tariffs crash American RV Industry”, which can be interpreted as political in nature, you should be prepared to receive comments and opinions of the same, in your “join the discussion” forum. I understand that this newsletter is not the place for such discussions, but you did “open the door” with this article.
All right!! Looks like we are in for a discussion like the infamous “should camping world sell guns” thread. Wheres my popcorn?!
I concur.Let the games begin.
Hi, Bill. Thank you for your tactful comment regarding your previous comment being held for moderation. Our filters hold anything for moderation that contains certain terms, names, etc. This morning they held for moderation several comments regarding the tariffs because they contained the name “Trump.” That doesn’t mean they were deleted — it just means we need to approve them before they go public, in case there are derogatory comments related to the key word they “caught.” So, your comment has been approved, now that I’m finally on my computer and catching up on moderating today’s comments. —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you Diane for your courtesy, hard work and kindness shown to everyone who comments.
Aww, thank you so much for your kind words, Sharyn. I’m just trying to do my part to lighten things up a bit in this often-hostile world we live in these days. Most of the comments/questions we receive are legit, so I try to answer their questions to the best of my ability (or find the answer somewhere). If a comment is vulgar and someone is just trying to stir up controversy, sometimes I’ll bleep the derogatory part. If it’s really awful (takes a lot to gross me out!) — they’re outta here (so our readers aren’t offended). Sometimes it’s a fine line — especially since I’m quite lenient. But I really appreciate your nice comment! Take care. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you Diane. Your reply is much appreciated and keep up the good work.
Thanks, Bill! I appreciate your reply to my reply. 😉 Have a great day! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
The article on “Trade War Chaos” is a prime example of why Mr. Trumps “buy American” policy thinking will always fail. American businesses rely heavily on imported parts and supplies, to keep costs down and maintain a high profit margin. A lot of parts and materials can’t be made cheap in the US, due to high labor standards, expensive union contracts and high standards of living. With tax reductions for businesses, there is less money to reinvest in the US economy as corporate tax savings go directly to share holders. Most business are not even reinvesting these tax savings in their own companies, just their bank accounts. Trade tariffs and protectionist thinking are of no benefit to people today. The US and it’s closet western business allies are starting to face the music of impending recession.
I think it’s more important to BE American than to BUY American. BEING American means exercising the liberty of choice in purchasing goods and services.