Friday, November 8, 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
“The most effective way to do it is to do it.” —Amelia Earhart
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Cappuccino Day!
Tip of the Day
Another caulking cartridge preservation trick
Face it, who wants to throw away a half a tube of roof caulking? It’s expensive, and you never know when you’ll need it. So you stick a bolt or screw down the snoot, maybe wrap it with a turn or two of electrical tape, and hope the next time you need it the goop will flow. And many times, it doesn’t. Here’s a trick we haven’t tried, but we pass it along for your consideration:
When you’re done with the sealing job, get the pressure off the tube’s contents, pull a little bit of the contents out of the end of the tube (maybe with a screw or bolt), then fill up the void with petroleum jelly. Supposed to keep the air out, and the contents usable. When ready to use next time, push out the petro-jel and wipe the tube clean before squishing the good stuff. And, to be safe, make sure to throw away the first bit of the sealant, lest there be an unwelcome reaction between the goop and the ersatz seal.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Weigh your RV properly – axle by axle
Chris Dougherty, certified RV technician, received this question from a reader while he was serving as RVtravel.com’s technical editor: “I have read a lot about checking the weight of your RV. My question is: Where does one go to have your RV weighed one axle at a time?” Read Chris’ response.
KINDLE BOOKS ABOUT RVing. Instant reading! Click here to browse.
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- The new American RVer, not a pretty sight
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The latest RV recalls. Is yours on the list? Check here.
Reader poll
Give your phone or tablet a “full-sized” keyboard
How neat is this? This tiny, collapsible Bluetooth keyboard connects to your phone and tablet so you can type comfortably. The 5-ounce palm-sized keyboard can be folded into your pocket or backpack to carry around. All you have to do is press “Connect” to quickly pair with your devices. Check it out here.
Quick Tip
Brrrr … It’s cold in here!
I found a strong draft coming in through the traditional paddle entry door lock on my fifth wheel. I took a piece of soft foam (like a window air conditioner foam strip) and stuffed a small piece behind the inside and outside latches. The foam is soft enough that it does not interfere with the latch action but seals the draft. Thanks for the tip, Fred Burns! If you have a tip we can use, send it our way here.
Random RV Thought
When you are taking an RV trip and fretting over high gas prices, you may feel better if
you think about your house back home, where the heater, air conditioner and water
heater are off or turned low, thus saving you lots of money.
Our favorite tire pressure gauge. Used by the RV Travel staff. Click.
Huge selection of RV tires at terrific prices. Click.
Flat tire repair kit. Use in an emergency. Click.
Website of the day
The ultimate guide on how to make money on the road
Here’s a pretty in-depth guide from Fulltime Families to get you started making money while out on the road.
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.
• AllStays: The best website for RVers! Your membership will become your RV-bible.
• 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.
• No-Park Walmarts. Best directory of stores that do not allow overnight stays with RVs.
Hang up the heavy stuff!
RV walls aren’t exactly designed for having screws or nails driven into them. Enter acrylic mounting tape. This is a clear, double-sided tape that is sturdy enough to hang heavy objects and can easily be removed without doing damage to the walls. Get some on Amazon here.
Trivia
“Jay” used to be slang for “foolish person.” So when a pedestrian ignored street signs, he was referred to as a “jaywalker.”
Leave here with a laugh
Q: What time do ducks wake up?
A: At the quack of dawn!
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: Emily Woodbury. Senior editor: Diane McGovern. Marketing director: Jessica Sarvis. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen.
This website utilizes some advertising services. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of this potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers.
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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RV Clubs: what about FMCA?
When the arms are extended on the awning sometimes if you are not paying attention you can hit the awning arm causing a painful bruise. What I did is took a noodle, those Styrofoam things you use in a pool and cut them to fit the arm and sliced it to fit over the metal piece. Don’t slice all the way thru. Just to the center. It really works. For some reason my husband just kept hitting it over and over so now he hits it with less pain. DIY Those noodles sure are handy.
Consider the value of your time when making special caps for caulking tubes or plugging them with petro jelly, etc. It’s much easier and faster to just buy a fresh tube.
The acrylic tape doesn’t hold anything! I tried to hold a three outlet extension cord up, covered the back of the plug area and pressed really hard on the wall. About 45 seconds later it fell. Tried holding up a string of clothes pin type led lights with this on every third clip…didn’t work. About the only thing I have had it work on, and not too well, was a reflexit panel to cover the kitchen sky light. I think that only worked because the bulk of the work was being done by the velcro tabs included with it. This just tacked up the gaps between.
I’ve used a small balloon on the end of a caulking gun with good results.
I think the thought for the day should have been leave with a laugh. Love the lady, but the saying attributed to her didn’t work out very well.
Going to try that tip for saving partial tubes of, well, anything. Kinda makes sense (the petroleum jelly thing). I also looked up “licorice” and found this – “Red licorice is actually fruit-flavored and doesn’t contain any licorice root at all”. It really doesn’t matter because I like both the red AND black ‘substance’.
“ersatz”. Really? I had to look that one up. Life is a learning process.
Make caps for your caulking tubes using old garden hose or tubing. Cut pieces an inch or two long and seal one end with electrical tape. Press the cap on firmly and it makes an airtight seal that holds for years.
Don’t know why FMCA isn’t included in your list of useful RV Organizations. They were “motorhomes only” for decades, but recently opened up membership to any self-contained RV. Their “get you home in an emergency” service, included in the annual dues, is worth more than the membership fee all by itself. But they also offer good roadside assistance, tire discounts, and wifi hotspot contracts with a couple of sellers, the prices of which are not to be beaten. Plus their monthly magazine is excellent. I strongly recommend you put them at the top of your list!
Top of the list? I disagree. They are failing in my world. And the magazine is mostly ads. They used to be good for Motorhomes, but with us Motorhome owners, there’s rarely info that Is good. The roadside assistance is more than my insurance company. The wiFi can be accomplished cheaper if you purchase the hub, the price of tires limits you to certain brands, which if you shop around is not always the cheapest. The one good quality it has is the “get you home in an emergency”, but I have not personally had to use it yet. Still a member, but probably not after expires.
We belong to FMCA and pay its substantial dues even though we don’t use most of the features. We belong in order to be a member of the Roadtrek chapter. As a Roadtrek owner, this is a very useful group and alone worth the price.
Don, I have been a member of FMCA for 30 years. I no longer recommend them for various reasons, too many of which to go into. In a nutshell, they could do a lot more good for RVers than just peddle another discount, most of which are available elsewhere for the same price. Most members of the club are in their 70s and 80s and few younger than 60 (my guess) are signing up. I have talked to the president of the club many times about what I think needs to be done. But he and the stuck-in-their-ways board of directors continue to do their own thing, unable to see the future. The magazine is bleeding money and needs to go or drag the organization down. Of course, I could be all wrong about this, but this is the way I see it.