Tuesday, January 7, 2020
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
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Bobblehead Day!
Tip of the Day
Keep small bathroom items in place
Storing bathroom cabinet items in “modules” like small storage bins will help keep items from shifting around while on the road. And if something breaks loose that shouldn’t (e.g., lid on liquid soap pops open due to altitude change) it may keep a nasty spill contained.
RVers Alan and Cheryl Day suggest corralling items on your medicine cabinet shelves with 1/8″ Plexiglas across the front of the shelves. Thanks to the Days for the great suggestion! And reader Wendy W. says they also use clear Plexiglass and double-faced tape it in place. Wendy adds, “Most home improvement stores will cut the Plexiglass for you. Add a few small plastic baskets and it’s all organized.” Thanks, Wendy!
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
For a better rest, use a backflow preventer
We received a letter from a reader, as follows: “My husband is a neat-freak. He can’t stand to think about the stuff that lives in our motorhome holding tanks, and thinks that he needs to flush the tanks clean as a whistle every time we get home from an RV trip. I say he’s nuts. How can I get him into therapy?” Read Russ and Tiña De Maris’ humorous but helpful recommendations.
Yesterday’s featured article: Mod that wet bed so it stays dry!
Reader poll
Quick Tip
Easy storage and catch basins under sinks
Here’s another handy storage suggestion: “Plastic bins or boxes without their lids offer great storage under the kitchen or bathroom sink. Not only will they keep your jugs and bottles organized and upright, but if the plastic boxes are strategically placed under a water line joint or water filter, you have a catch basin should a leak develop. Guess how we know.” Thanks to Ken and Helen Kirkwood!
On Sunday we published the 26th issue of Mike Sokol’s monthly RV Electricity newsletter. Did you read it?
Random RV Thought
On those occasions when you’re traveling by car and not with an RV, and you pull into a rest area, you can get a little bit depressed. It happens when see happy RVers walking in and out of their RVs, or maybe you see them sitting inside having a snack. You stare at them and realize that all you have is a car, which is totally boring compared to an RV.
Website of the day
The best restaurant buffet in every state
Do you ever get hungry — and we mean really hungry — on the road but just don’t feel like cooking? Here’s a list of the best buffets in all 50 states. You won’t be hungry for long!
Keep road flares in the RV for emergency
You should always have road flares in your RV in case of an emergency. This pack of three bright, waterproof, and shatterproof LED disks are perfect to keep tucked away. These bright lights can be seen from a mile away and can be used for traffic control, as a warning light, as a rescue beacon and they can also be used for recreational activities such as camping and hiking. Learn more or order here.
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:
• 45 percent have never been a smoker.
• 36 percent of our readers have been turned down service at an RV dealer because they did not purchase their RV from that dealer.
• 5 percent would not recommend the make/model of their RV to a friend.
Trivia
If the sun were hollow, you could fit a 1.3 million Earths inside it. That’s because the sun has a diameter 109x bigger than Earth’s!
What hilarious poem did Michelangelo write about one of his works of art? If you read yesterday’s newsletter, you would know.
Afraid of water damage in your RV? You need this!
This essential water damage tool helps home and RV owners measure moisture content in wood, concrete drywall and subflooring. Use the pin sensors to find the moisture content in your home. The easy-to-read LCD display will help you know if you need to dry the existing materials or replace with brand-new ones, and can be used as a water leak detector after flood damage. You’ll want to buy this here.
Leave here with a laugh
Traffic cop: “Your eyes are red. Have you been drinking?”
Driver: “Your eyes are glazed. Have you been eating doughnuts?”
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. Advertising 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 2020 by RVtravel.com
Random RV Thought: YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!
What’s the deal with all those Indian restaurants? Apparently only Indian folks do reviews on Yelp.
Maybe it’s because Indian food is delicious? Btw, I write Yelp reviews and I’m not Indian, so that last statement is pretty ridiculous.
WOW, there’s some concern about food quality/safety at buffets.
I grew up in a restaurant environment so I guess I suffer an opinion different than some about these things.
But here’s the rub.
Do you all not find this all just a wee bit strange knowing that almost everyone in modern times thinks nothing of farming off their newborn, right up to grade school to a place where 10/20/30 other little ones comingle with each other through coughs colds, and every other objectionable afflicting those little bodies, while their moms, dads, grammas and grandpas on this and other forums discuss restaurants worrying and fretting about the cleanliness and nutrition of public eating establishments!
Worry not friends there’s bigger fish to fry than that fryer will hold
I’ll admit I wouldn’t touch some of them with a flag pole (thank you TripAdvisor) but lest you don’t know about or have heard of an HAI’s. Oh you haven’t!!!
Well remember the acronym. HAI’s were responsible for nearly 100,000 deaths in America in 2018.
I doubt anywhere near 100 people died from eating at a public buffet.
For those who worry about dangerous places to hang out. Goggle Hospital Acquired Illness – you’ll be floored – kidding??, not one bit.
So y’all don’t have to Google “HAI,” it stands for “healthcare-associated infection” (close to Alvin’s term). Whatever you call it, it’s scary stuff. 😯 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Stats from the CDC.gov website:
On any given day, about 1 in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection. Patients in the 2015 HAI Hospital Prevalence survey were at least 16% less likely than patients in the 2011 survey to have an HAI.
3% of hospitalized patients in the 2015 survey had one or more HAI.
There were an estimated 687,000 HAIs in U.S. acute care hospitals in 2015. About 72,000 hospital patients with HAIs died during their hospitalizations.
I do not live in the Divided States of ‘merica, but I think I can tell how people voted by the comments, and on of all things… buffets!
You got to be kidding me! Those are the “best” buffets in every state? I wouldn’t stop at any of them other than the one on rt. 66!
Indian and Thai are some of the tastiest, healthiest and usually freshest foods to be found in those ethnic restaurants in my opinion. But I do have to say that a buffet would most likely be the last choice (ever since I heard the glass panel above the food called a “sneeze guard”)
I have seen children unsupervised walk up to the buffet and pick some food item up with their hand and then put it back.
RE: Tip of the Day..Thank you for the great idea!
Emily,
Recently you asked “… how many drive a truck…” I would like to know what series (1 2 or 3) ; what do they pull (5er or tt) ; and how much does the RV weigh. Thanks
I learn quite a bit about people based on their answers to survey questions.
GMC 3500HD, 41ft 5’er and 16,000 lbs max weight.
RE: the random RV thought……we just completed a round trip to PA for Christmas and left our RV in AL. Every time we passed a rest area I longed for our motor home. Traveling in it is much more civilized and the food is much better!
I recieved a set of those emergency flashers mentioned here for Christmas. Loaded them with batteries to check them out. My eyes have finally stopped seeing the VERY BRIGHT LED’s.
Cudo’s to my DW.
How do you cook an alligator? In a crock pot
Then,,,,,,,,,,how do you cook a crocodile?
BUFFET. Big Ugly Fat Folks Eating Together
Beautiful Unique Fun Friends Eating Together
I thought it was all “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Margaritaville”
Buffet link. Yuck. Unless you enjoy that much Indian food. Many truck drivers out there are of Indian. So maybe this site was created for them. Buffets have to keep people coming in, otherwise lots of waste. Buffet need foods that they can prepare fast, hint, drop it in the fryer or stir it up in the wok. Then sprinkle it with MSG. And kids going through the lines grabbing food with their hands because no one showed them how to use tongs or serving spoons. Give me a steak dinner or burger.
I agree. I went through the entire list. Out of 50 buffets only 6 – 8 serve American-style food. I may be an old fogey, but I prefer the sorts of food I grew up with, and since it was pretty bland New England and Upper Midwest food, I stay away from anything hot and spicy. That completely rules out more than half of the places they listed. All of this is my own personal preference, because I’m the world’s greatest expert on what I like and what I don’t like. But you’re the world’s greatest expert on what YOU like and don’t like, so some of these places may be right down your alley.
And what’s up with the Ethiopian food buffet??? Had no idea. Looks like blobs of….? Anyway, the writer of that article used yelp reviews for each state so that ought to tell you something. And food likes and dislikes, ALWAYS subjective!!
I don’t resemble that, I was a truck driver with red hair(well it’s more white now) I’m not Indian by any means, what is the Indian food on a buffet? Mashed potatoes? Green beans? Fried chicken, meat loaf, roast beef? I think you may be in the wrong country if you’re finding Indian food and Indian truck drivers, yes most are red necks but that doesn’t mean they’re Indian just because their neck is red.
Indian, not Native American.
The best restaurant buffet in every state:
My Wife and I have stopped going to Buffet’s. The restaurants we do stop at that offer Buffet’s, usually don’t have anything Fresh and chances are the Food has been sitting in the open air, with many other patrons touching and poking at the food. NO THANKS!
Plus it keeps the excess pounds off too.
Also, we don’t have any beverages with PRE-CUT Lemons in them. Those Pre-Cut Lemons have probably been sitting out for along time and maybe left over from the day before. Bacteria is simply going into your beverage. We use a product called “REAL LEMON”! A dried real lemon product in a sealed packet, similar to Sweet and Low!
Now I know people will write that this is OVER-KILL, but I’m healthy and won’t have that buffet food attacking me later on or the next day!
Sweet’N Low, “Saccharin”, was deemed unsafe in a 1978 study connecting the sweetener and bladder cancer in rats. “Real Lemon”, really? How real when it’s been processed for packaging. Buffets are changing what’s served for all the “healthy” crazed people. Where do you buy your produce, lots of people touching, poking, smelling them.
The acronym “BUFFET”, dude, not very nice. I eat at buffets and I’ve been on the thin side all my life, quite handsome too, haha!
Approximately 3.5 Pro truck drivers in the U.S.A., most are “Indians”? Google MSG, think you’ll be surprised at what you find.
There are always exceptions, but I agree with Jeff. Before you line up at a buffet, ask for a tour of the kitchen. 99% of restaurants will have an excuse why you can’t go in, but the real reason is they don’t want to clean up your vomit. With the possible exception of a few high end hotel chains, most buffets are bacteria factories. I digress. Bon Apetit.
Buffet meals!
Best value by a landslide are Chuck-a-Rama’s (the Boise Idaho location off Overland Road in the entertainment zone is our fav) anywhere you find them. Besides the amazing food, the menu of which changes daily; I rejoice watching happy people actually working real hard making nice for others.
Notwithstanding fair pricing, this company does so many things well, they should get a national community award.
I am amazed they didn’t make the list
Amazing food and buffet in the same sentence is incongruous and self-contradictory.
But I am glad that you enjoy it. Chuck-a-Rama sounds like they care about their customers.
homes, not whatever the computer changed the word to.
Back Flow devices are required, by code, on all hoes sold here.
This comment is funnier. Just sayin’.
Shall I correct the misspelling, Tommy? Nah, too funny. 😆 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Also boats……boats and hoes.
I like to eat at a Buffet every once in a while but most of these are Indian food. My wife would kill me if I stopped.
I was going to mention this. Wasn’t sure if it was just me, or if the list WAS leaning toward Indian cuisine.
I also question where this Indian food idea came from, is this meaning American Indian or elephant jockey Indian. In either case I’m not sure what constitutes Indian food.
Join the discussion…Indian – People from India. Native American – USA.