Thursday, January 9, 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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Today’s thought
“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Static Electricity Day!
Tip of the Day
Boondocking solar lights for indoors at night
“In order to save our batteries, we use solar lights which you find in lawn and garden centers. We have a couple of pots of petunias outside with a solar light and we bring them in at night and put one in each room. The flowers make our camper smell so nice! A couple of solar lights without the stake can be placed on the table to play cards by or you can put one in the bathroom and one wherever you need a night light.” Thanks to Ray Burr at RV Happy Hour.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Know your RV’s height. What can happen if you don’t
A lot of folks new to the RVing lifestyle are a bit daunted by the size of their rig. They figure all that length can get them into trouble – which it can. But you can’t forget about another important measurement – your rig’s height. And don’t count on the information provided by your rig manufacturer; you’ll probably need to do the measuring yourself. Here’s how to do it. And here’s a recent example of what can happen if you don’t know the height or don’t pay attention (or ignore the warning sign flashing at you!). (This is a box truck but could just as easily be an RV).
Yesterday’s featured article: RV Shrink: Did RVers buy “too much” motorhome?
Reader poll
Quick Tip
Keep grease out of your gray water system, but just in case …
Grease buildup in your gray water system? Prevent it by not dumping grease down the drain. But if necessary, work on fixing it by dumping distilled vinegar down the drain just before you hit the road – the sloshing will help cut the grease loose.
Inflatable foot rest is comfortable for couch and passenger seat
Now that’s cool! Miss your favorite recliner no more! This inflatable foot rest is perfect for lounging on the couch, in the chair by the campfire, or in the passenger seat for long drives. Take it on a plane ride, or take it to the grandkids’ sports games (we know those can get long). It weighs less than 1 lb. and folds down small for travel. Learn more about this comfy foot rest here.
Random RV Thought
Noises on your RV roof will likely get your attention much more than at home. Even a small bird walking on the roof makes noise. A pine cone dropping from a tree sounds like a bomb. A branch rubbing the roof in a strong wind can be annoying. On a rainy day, when the clouds open up, it can be hard to conduct a conversation until the downpour stops or slows.
Should you unplug your RV during lightning?
RV electricity expert Mike Sokol offers advice and includes an explanation about how a damaging strike can happen even if it occurs far from your own RV in the campground. Watch the video.
2020 books are here!
• Rand McNally Large-Scale Road Atlas. Click.
• American Casino Guide. Click.
• 2020 Wanderlust Calendar. Adventure photography. Click.
Website of the day
Free travel guides from Oregon
Planning a trip to Oregon? Or do you live there and want to find out what you’ve been missing? Here are some free travel guides from the beautiful state of Oregon.
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:
• 11 percent plan to replace their current RV with a new RV in the next couple of years.
• 14 percent say they do not have a sweet tooth.
• If the economy were to nosedive as it did in 2008, 7 percent of our readers would have a hard time staying afloat.
Easily clean those stubborn bugs off your RV
The Microfiber Mesh Bug and Tar Sponge has millions of tiny fibers embedded in the microfiber cloth that grabs and holds the dust and dirt. It is so effective it even cleans without chemicals, saving both time and money. The secret of this sponge lies in its unique, double-layer microfiber mesh. Older nylon bug sponges can harm your clear coat, but this one is completely paint safe. Learn more or order.
Trivia
Ever wonder why spam mail is called spam? It comes from Monty Python. The term was inspired by a skit from the British comedy group that featured Vikings loudly singing “spam, spam, spam” in an effort to drown out others who were trying to talk.
Why does a sneeze sound different in the U.S. than it does in Germany? Find out in yesterday’s issue of this newsletter.
Leave here with a laugh
There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer. When asked to define “great” he said, “I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!” He now works for Microsoft writing error messages.
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.
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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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I’ve read about putting both ice and vinegar in your tanks before driving. Does this mean I should dump the tanks immediately upon my arrival at the next stop?
Here’s a tip for you. I used a label maker to type my camper’s height (after actually measuring it, not using spec sheet numbers) and placed it right over the brake controller in my truck. That way, when I have that senior moment, 13′ 3″ is right there in clear view.
I don’t particularly like to see Gummy Bear ads for pain. I know this is a different world. But a ad on RV travel. I thought Gummy bears etc were now against the law because they are geared for kids.
Ads are served by a server outside RVT control once RVT uses the server… they can’t push or stop ads. YOU can for some by right clicking and saying you hated the ad.
Hi, PAHS Smith! The gummy bear ad you’re seeing comes through Google Adsense, not us. When you’re on any website, those little ads that pop up with the “x” in the corner are not provided by the website, they come through Google. They are usually related to something you’ve searched on your computer in the past (creepy, huh?). The only ads we place intentionally are the ads with the bold, dark red title. Sorry for the confusion! –Emily, RVtravel.com
The kids who grew up with gummy bears are today adults which is why there are now so many product that come in a gummy version.
Hormel named it’s canned pork shoulder SPAM in 1937, very much predating the Monty Python sketch.
Actually, Hormel says it means “SPiced hAM”
MP did two sketches that are related to the internet usage of indiscriminate emailing:
– A cafe where everything includes SPAM
– Screaming Vikings
From those, spam email 1) is everywhere and 2) raises the noise-to-signal.
“And the survey says”, – 7% of readers say they would have a hard time staying afloat if the economy took a nose dive like it did in 08.
Camping in any form I think as one of life’s great luxuries earned and paid for in advance, not a credit card funded accouterment to an existence.
I don’t know the number of folks in deep dodo financially in the states – those on the brink – but in Canada, the land supposedly of great wealth and prosperity, household debt reads as follows, varying slightly month over month.
For every dollar earned the average Canadian owes $1.71, with 48% of the wage earning population a mere $200 away from insolvency!
These folks may be occupying some of those coveted spots in the campgrounds we recreationalists took for granted years ago when we ended our day at 4:00, drove up to the campground office landing the plum spot by the lake where the kids could play worry-free – no reservations!
Try getting a spot in Florida. Due to the type of state this is I along with many others who pay high taxes believe that there should be at least 10% reserved for Florida full time residents. It is so disheartening to go out there and nothing is available on site or on line.
Ha, try getting a spot in any of Canada’s coveted national Parks. They opened up reservations earlier this week, and although I haven’t checked they sell out completely coast to coast in days in the past. Sharon I think you’ll agree, it is getting tougher and tougher “to get away from it all” Our nice quite backyard with a T-bone on the grille and a fine craft beer in hand is looking better each year.
To measure the height of my motor home I first made sure it was on level ground, taped a level to a 2×4 and attached a tape measure to the end. Using an assistant to take the measurements while I held the 2×4 level gave me an exact measurement. I then added several inches to that for caution.
I use distilled vinegar in both tanks, mainly as a cleaning agent. I try to purchase cleaning strength, but regular strength works as well. Makes dumping smell better.
Any specific amount of vinegar you would suggest in each tank? I realize tanks come in various sizes but a suggested amount would be helpful.
I try NOT to smell when I’m dumping…and I’m good at it! LOL!
you say to unplug our motorhomes from electric power and to use our 12 volt system. can we use our generator instead?
Of course. The idea is to be OFF the electric system in the campground, so your generator would be fine.
The joke of the day is timely with 5 days left on windows 7 support… FYI for those who don’t want buggy spyware and daily virii (Windoze X), 100% free Linux Mint or Ubuntu never has spy or virus issues… and is actually easier to use for most folks than M$’s playskool-themed tiles…
Okay, your computer savvy but a lot of us, I said a lot of us, aren’t. That’s why “Computers for Dummies was written, lol. Your speaking very Greek to the masses, clueless to your comments! Understood the joke just fine, though.
Exactly my point… for anyone who never wants to see the Blue Screen Of Death, catch a virus, or worry about Microsoft or others spying on them on Windows…. get Mint. Crashless uptime of years instead of hours. Both my 7yo son and 77yo Dad failed to crash it.
Hi Gman, Wolfe is talking the good talk here 🙂 But I hear you, say the word LINUX and people freak out. Heck, many folks don’t even know what a CPU is.
And beyond that… over50% of readers read this newsletter on a phone or tablet. Do you use an iPhone, iPad or Android phone? Then you’ve used both UNIX and LINUX, just very carefully hidden behind pretty icons 🙂
Changing from Windows to Linux isn’t the hard part. The hard part is finding replacements for apps you have been using for years!
Sounds like it’s time for another tech article 🙂
How would you compare your RV’s quality to the Three Little Pigs houses?
We’ve had our 5th wheel for almost 5 years now and started out with a Straw House and after all this time have fixed most of the problems the RV came with and are now a STICK House!
Brick house: Our Roadtrek on a Chevy van is as solid as the van itself.
Height: One critical issue for the purchase of our RV was that it would fit in our carport. I actually had the salesman and a tech, in the dealer’s parking lot, on a ladder with a 2×4 , level and tape measure in order to prove to me that it would fit in the carport. Then after replacing a scratched headlight lens and replacing a cabinet lock, did I sign a contract and accept the RV.
what is a Roadtrek “on” a Chevy van? All I see is Ram and Mercedes Roadtrek on their website
Roadtrek built on Dodge and Chevy for years until the Mercedes and Ram type vans came out. It was somewhere around 2015/2016, I think, that they stopped using the Chevy. Mine is a 2014.
Re: Survey
We bought a 1995 Prevost Marathon coach so that we would have a ‘brick’ house in our price range.
Thank you for your story on RV dimensions, we have to take measurements as the factory is rarely accurate.height, width, length and weight.
I did the same and made a label with all of the dimensions and taped it to my sun visor.