Thursday, November 21, 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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Page Contents
Today’s thought
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one’s lifetime.” —Mark Twain
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Gingerbread Day!
Tip of the Day
Filling your fresh water tank when boondocking
Getting water to your rig without having to move the RV is a blessing if you stay in one place for a while. Many boondockers use a water barrel – a food grade drum – they carry on their truck bed. Getting the water out of it and into the RV is a bit of a trick. Some place their barrels in custom cradles that hold them high enough to allow gravity to drain the water from the drum into the RV tank. Others set them on a bed-mounted toolbox and use a siphon action.
Using an auxiliary 12-volt pump can eliminate the “high flyer” methods. Immerse an inlet hose into the barrel – possibly taping it to a metal pipe to keep it “stiff” enough to reach the bottom of the drum. An appropriately sized outlet hose fits into the RV water port. Getting electricity to your pump can be done in different ways. You may “tie-in” to the battery charge line plug in the truck bed, which normally serves to charge the RV batteries when towing. Or run a 12-volt “extension cord” to the cab and power off the cab’s lighter socket. Just make sure the pump’s current draw doesn’t exceed the rating of your socket.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
How to prevent RV rollover accidents
Keep this info tucked away in your brain! Here is important information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on why rollovers happen and how to prevent them. Learn more.
Tiny LED button lamp perfect for RV’s small, dark spaces
This 6-pack of tiny, battery-powered LED “Button Lamps” is just what you need for your RV’s closets and storage spaces. The tiny lamp is ultra-bright and has all the power of a normal-sized lamp. Backed with a strong adhesive, these little lamps will stick to any surface. They’re waterproof and good to have in case of an emergency. Learn more or order.
Reader poll
Quick Tip
More on spray can storage
We recently posted a tip from Mark Anderson about using plastic ammo boxes to store aerosol cans. Here’s a tip from Lew Wilkinson on Facebook about storing cans of WD-40 and similar spray cans. We all know how the irksome things can just get up and roll around, or in a worst-case scenario, run up against something and squirt. Lew stores his in a “magazine” storage bin, which holds them in place but are visible and readily accessible. You can find them on Amazon, or in your local Walmart.
Get rid of your RV’s P-trap. Look here.
An honest RV dealer (and one of our sponsors). Click to learn more.
Random RV Thought
People who commute alone by car to work 10 or 15 miles a day use far more fuel in a year than 95 percent of RVers in their RVs. Also, most RVers travel as couples — not alone as most commuters do, making the fuel cost per passenger far less than those commuters. People who drive to and from work every day and who don’t know anything about RVs think RVers are gas hogs. They should look in their mirrors.
Maintain those slide seals!
If you’ve heard a cracking or popping sound when extending your slides, it means its seals are sticking and/or drying out. Applying a seal conditioner about every 8-12 weeks can extend a seal’s life. We recommend using Thetford Premium RV Slide Out Rubber Seal Conditioner.
Website of the day
85 easy slow-cooker recipes
How about lasagna, pork ragu, white chili with black beans, chicken pie soup, cowboy brisket, French onion soup, or bread (yes, bread) — ready to eat after a long day on the road or out sightseeing in your toad? If you don’t have a slow cooker, you just might want one after you see these yummy dishes! [Editor: Here’s a great, affordable slow-cooker that we recommend.]
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:
• 31 percent have lived in their RV during an emergency.
• 45 percent believe they are alive because of modern medicine.
• 23 percent suffer badly from seasonal allergies.
Collapsible items are the best way to save space in your RV
Here are a few we recommend:
• Drying Rack • Electric Kettle • Colander • Food Storage Containers • Water Bottle • Cooking Pots • Laundry Basket • Pet Food & Water Bowls • Salad Spinner
Trivia
The Vatican Bank is the world’s only bank that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.
Leave here with a laugh
A state trooper sees a car going 22 mph down the freeway. He puts his siren on and pulls the car over. Inside are five elderly ladies. The three in the back are pale white and have a look of terror on their faces.
The driver says, “Hello, officer. I was going the exact speed limit, why did you pull me over?” The police officer explains that she was going well below the speed limit, which is just as dangerous as going above the speed limit. “But sir, the speed limit is only 22 mph, that’s what I’m driving!” The officer chuckles and explains that they are on Route 22, but the speed limit is 60. The woman lets out an embarrassed, “Oh…thank you.”
The officer replies, “Of course. But before I let you go, is everyone else in the car OK? You all seem a little shaken.” “Oh no, sir, they’ll recover just fine. We just got off Route 129.”
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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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This newsletter is copyright 2019 by RVtravel.com
Apparently those who don’t want or need cell coverage when on the road or boondocking, are folks who don’t have to work while on the road…
Seems like most of the jokes in the body of the newsletter point the finger of fun at women … usually older wives or ‘dumb’ drivers. A bit behind the times maybe?
Changing “five elderly ladies” to “5 gender neutral, non-binary people” just would not sound as funny. Get over it.
How are we supposed to submit a tip? When I click on the link to submit a tip, it makes it mandatory that I add a Blog Title, add a Blog Post and must select a photo to add. What gives? You sure don’t make it easy to submit a tip. Maybe someone on your staff needs to look at that and then possibly you may get more tips submitted. The way you have it now, I won’t be attempting to submit a tip anytime soon.
Hi Tony, try this link. It’s a much shorter form: https://www.rvtravel.com/submit/
That was it Jessica. The link to submit a tip attached to the newsletter is incorrect.
Thanks, Tony. The link has been corrected to now go to the shorter submission form for tips. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I recently did a little boondocking in the Adirondack mountains in NY. Had no TV or cell service. It felt really good to be “disconnected” from the everyday happenings for a few days.
When I was younger I used to lift those six gallon freshwater containers up to pour water into our freshwater inlet. Fast forward 20+ years and I can no longer do that – sigh. So I saw a 120v ac water pump at Harbor Freight for about $50 and decided to take a chance (you know HF’s reputation…). I measured out a piece of PVC pipe for getting the water out of the container, attached a hose fitting to it, and ran that to the pump, Then I got an appropriately lengthed piece of hose with two hose fittings. One to connect to the pump and one to that thingie you stick in the freshwater inlet. We conveniently have a 120v ac plug right next to the inlet and we power it with our inverter. Viola! Just a couple minutes and the water is transferred. No more aching back!
Last year when we went to south Texas we stopped for a few days to visit my brother and sister-in-law, they live in a gated community that has their own small campground. The campground is situated in a low area near the river, no cell service unless you get half way up the hill leading out of the campground, also complicating the situation the nearest cell tower is 13 miles away. We thought about resorting to smoke signals but the drought conditions prevented camp fires.
Americans seem to be “stuck” in one place or area. Even with all our travelers, there are many who have not been more than to another State. Traveling to a foreign country and staying at a tourist site, full of fellow Americans, is not foreign travel. As someone who has been to 21+ countries, from the 4th world to the 1st world, it is a very different world out there, with different ideas, dreams and goals.
As someone who has been to dozens and dozens of countries, I can’t believe KFC is in 121+ countries!
As someone who has “only” been to Canada and Mexico, i prefer to travel our great country. A lot of people are quick to go somewhere else on vacation and leave the great treasures we have in our backyard.
I agree with H GOff. We have some friends who have “traveled the world” and I sometimes think they do it just to SAY they’ve been here or there. Meantime, we see all the great things OUR country has to offer – and brag about THAT.
The lack of cell coverage is even more desirable.
I envy you. Wish I could get away from these darn electronics. This testing stuff drives me nuts.
Not desirable when you need to work…