Friday, October 18, 2019
Welcome to another edition of RV Travel’s Daily Tips newsletter. Here you’ll find helpful RV-related and living tips from the pros, travel advice, a handy website of the day, tips on our favorite RVing-related products and, of course, a good laugh. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate you. Please tell your friends about us.
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Today’s thought
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” —Dr. Seuss
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National No-Beard Day!
Tip of the Day
Be prepared for an RV fire with practice drills
We are not as young and quick-witted as we once were. Our responses start to slow as young as age 30 and we don’t process information as efficiently.
As much as we may think we can perform certain functions just as fast we ever could, statistics would dispute that. One area that requires our special attention regards our safety.
For instance, how fast do you think you could react to a sudden galley fire? Fast enough to stop it before it spread to the rest of your RV? Don’t guess. With a stopwatch, do a timed practice drill.
For couples, have your spouse shout “fire” (don’t do this in a crowded campground). Jump from your chair, rush to free the fire extinguisher from its wall mount (while your significant other screams and reacts with feigned panic to create an atmosphere of chaos, which will likely happen in a real emergency and will affect your thinking and efficiency). Then release the trigger, and pretend to pull it while aiming the extinguisher at the imagined blaze. Call out to your partner to pause the stopwatch.
Now do it again. And again. After a few times your reaction time will decrease. So if the real thing happens your chances are now much better of getting the fire out before it’s too late.
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Our favorite tire pressure gauge. Used by the RV Travel staff. Click.
Prepare for steep grades
For some of us, heading out to the amusement park and taking a ride on the roller coaster is just plain fun. But the last place you want to ride a roller coaster is when you’re driving or towing your RV. Hitting a steep grade unprepared is anything but fun – for too many, it’s deadly. Are you ready for steep grades — whether downhill or uphill? Learn how to safely handle them.
You may have missed these stories last week…
- Motorhome sales drop 14.8 percent through August
- California burns…or goes dark in fear of burning
- RV Electricity – Space heater warning 2019
Essential items for daily living
Toothpaste • Laundry soap • Hand soap • Shampoo • Razor blades • Pet food • Pain reliever pills • Pain creams • Low dose aspirin • Antacid relief • Lipstick • Reading glasses • Breakfast cereal • Coffee • Tea • Bottled water • Soft drinks
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.
• LATEST RV RECALLS.
The complete guide to all National Parks: Plan your visits to all 59 parks. Click.
California Camping: Moon Handbook guide profiles 1,400 campgrounds. Updated 2019.
Arizona and The Grand Canyon: Plan your perfect Arizona trip. Click here.
Southwest Road Trip: Explore the beauty of the Southwest with the 2019 Moon guide.
Quick Tip
Easy tip to really shine up your wheel covers
Wheel covers on your RV look a little dull? Here’s a tip from reader David Norris: “After cleaning the wheel covers on my RV, I wipe them off with a cloth dampened with a vinegar-and-water solution. There are no water spots and the vinegar brings out the stainless steel shine!” Thanks, David!
Random RV Thought
When gas prices go up, don’t let that keep you at home. Is there a campground or RV park close by? Consider heading there for an outing – whether for a day, a week or longer. The cost of fuel to get there will be minimal even with the higher prices. And, yippee! You will be away from home and in your RV. Life will be good!
You can buy the cutest micro-trailer you’ve ever seen for less than $13. Click here to read about it.
Website of the day
America’s best places to see fall colors
…and surprise! They’re not just in New England! You’ll want to visit this website just to drool over the beautiful photos. If you’re not already on the road on your way to see some of these colors, you will be after looking here.
Clubs and useful organizations
PLEASE NOTE: We may receive an affiliate commission if you join any of these.
• 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.
• No park Walmarts. Best directory of stores that do not allow overnight stays with RVs.
- You need this hilarious sign for your RV.
- Camco’s Amazon store has everything.
Trivia
The Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia is the world’s deepest hole. It is 7.5 miles deep, but interestingly, only 9 inches wide. Don’t fall in!
Leave here with a laugh
Today’s Daily Deals at Amazon.com
Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY.
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Did you miss the latest RV Travel Newsletter? If so, read it here.
RV Daily Tips Staff
Editor and Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Managing editor: Emily Woodbury. Senior editor: Diane McGovern. 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
The link for today’s daily RV did not work. I had to go to the home page and search for today’s issue 1192 to get here. All else is well! Gotta love technology today, even though nothing is perfect!
Everything worked for me. I am at a campgrounds for a short stay before we have to put the motor home before winterizing.
Fire drills are important. Also take your fire extinguisher out of the bracket and shake it every month until you can feel the powder moving (a couple of minutes for each fire extinguisher). The powder tends to pack down when either sitting or bouncing down the road. I did it on my last trip and panicked several neighbors (I have 3 large (10 lb and two 5 LB) took me about 30 minutes). Yes I had some “splainin to do!
Anticipate steep grades before driving.
After we encountered our first set of steep grades I purchased an eBook – Mountain Directory-West. This shows a LOT of steep grades we would encounter. SO now we knew where to expect the grades on our route. There is a West and an East version. https://www.mountaindirectory.com/. Maybe it will help someone else.
I am sending a copy to every one on that Dr Suess quote. It so fits when dealing with children of today. Wow. I know a few teachers who could use that right about now.