Tuesday, January 14, 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
“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Dress-Up-Your-Pet Day! (The UPS driver costume on this page totally has our vote. Hilarious!)
Tip of the Day
Save water when cleaning “real” dishes while boondocking
Hubby and I don’t like the paper and plastic waste involved in using paper plates to eat and plastic bags to mix stuff. We simply use a rubber spatula to scrape away food scraps, then spray the plates and bowls with a mixture of mostly water and a bit of dishwashing liquid that we keep in a spray bottle., then wipe with one half of a paper towel. We put the dishes in a dish tub, let them pile up until we’re ready to wash, spray again with the bottle, use the sponge, then rinse with boiling water. Works like a charm, saves water and paper. Boondocking is the best way to camp! 🙂 —Thanks, Karen and Hubby
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Why so few RV boondockers?
Less than 1 in 4 RVers boondock, preferring to stay in organized campgrounds. Bob Difley, aka Boondock Bob, explores why this might be so, while debating the pros and cons of boondocking versus staying at a campground. What are your thoughts on the subject? Read this, then let us know.
Yesterday’s featured article: Video: Motorhome tows two trailers, stretches 122 feet!
Reader poll
Quick Tip
Pilot light won’t ignite?
Gas appliance pilot refuses to light? Could be dust in your pilot assembly. “Canned air” is perfect for blasting those delicate parts. Don’t have a can on hand? A bendable drinking straw coupled with your own lung-power can suffice.
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Be like Mike Sokol, use silicone!
Mike says: Never use any kind of petroleum-based products on rubber or plastic components in your RV, such as your trailer connector. That includes products such as Vaseline, WD40 or any other type of spray lubricating oil. Doing so will eventually break down the plastic and/or rubber components causing them to swell up and eventually disintegrate. The proper treatment is anything silicone-based. We use a lot of Heavy Duty Silicone in our shop for general connector cleaning and lubrication. It’s also useful on rubberized door sweeps and such. You can get some of your own here.
Random RV Thought
In the early days of the automobile industry, before only Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler were left, thousands of companies came and went. Anyone with a toolbox and a garage could open a shop. A similar thing occurred in the first half-century of the RV industry. Today, just as it happened to auto makers, one by one the weaker RV makers have closed or been bought out – survival of the fittest in action.
Website of the day
The best burritos in the country
Want to know a little RVtravel.com secret? We love, and we mean loooove, burritos. We sure hope you do too. Here’s a list of the best burritos across the country by Food Network. Mmmmm…
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.
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:
• High gas prices will affect how far 11 percent of our readers will travel.
• 16 percent read more e-books than printed books.
• 28 percent do not walk their dog on a retractable leash.
Trivia
Horseshoe crabs have ten eyes, which sit all over their bodies. They have a few near their mouth, some on their back, and some down their tail.
What do clam chowder and the presidential inauguration have in common? If you read yesterday’s issue, you’d know.
Your RV needs this! Fire Extinguishing Aerosol, Two-pack.
The First Alert Tundra Fire Extinguishing Aerosol Spray is easier to use and discharges 4 times longer than traditional fire extinguishers. With an aerosol nozzle and portable size, it’s suited for the kitchen, car, garage, boat or RV. The formula wipes away with a damp cloth & is biodegradable. Learn more or order.
Leave here with a laugh
Need a good chuckle? Watch this short video from America’s Funniest Home Videos (be sure the sound is turned on):
https://www.facebook.com/AFV/videos/10154773144361661/
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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Be careful what you wish for, if the stats were reversed, you might not have the space you cherish and the peace and quiet you love. Enjoy it while you can. The more who discover boondocking, the more crowded it will become, and lo and behold commercial RV parks won’t be so crowded.
We do something similar when it comes to dirty dishes. By wiping them clean there’s less to attract bugs and generate odors. We typically set up an “outdoor galley” (under a 10×10 canopy) for extended stays of more than one or two days. A 15gal water jug and a 12V rv pump (which serves as our spare should the one in our trailer were to fail) provides us water for washing dishes and cooking outdoors. I fill that when we pull in and what’s left when we pack up gets pumped into the RV water tank.
Putting “cleaned” dishes makes the wash water last longer. When we’re done with it, it gets strained into a pitcher and reused to flush the toilet. The rinse water, collected in the rinse tub, is reused the following day for wash water. 3x usage – once to rinse, again to wash, and lastly to flush makes that jug go a long way.
Many of us boondock in the BLM LTVA just South of Quartzsite for the 7 month season. $180. for all season with BLM providing water, dump stations, and garbage dumpsters.
We have stayed in one place in our RV for a couple of weeks, but that was in a daughter’s driveway while we helped reroof their home after a storm. Otherwise, my records show we have stayed in one place for as long as 5 days a total 4 times during the entire 10 years since we retired and started traveling with our trailer. We have pulled our little trailer well over 150k miles and camped almost 1000 nights and we still have a few states left to visit and explore. We are not full-timers but could be nomads.
TEN eyes all over their bodies??? Can you imagine us humans having that many? And what we’d have to spend on glasses when we grow old?
On today’s poll… we spent 3-1/2 years in one place because we were park hosts. It was seasonal, but allowed for a handful of “permanents”. Loved it!
I checked the first option; we are basically road runners so we only stay more than a night or two when visiting relatives.
Love the goats! They are always fun to watch!
We own a lot at Pacific Shores Motorcoach Resort in Newport Oregon….right on the coast and a short walk to the beach. We typically travel to there in mid May and stay on our lot until the first or second week of October….not quite six months. We’ve been doing this since 2008 and will continue until unable to navigate our 44′ Phaeton.
Can’t agree with the random thought of the day. I think a lot of small very good quality RV plants have went by the wayside. Gobbled up by large uncaring, no quality junk plants. Oops, kind of got carried away there.
I agree!
Longest we stayed at one site was last year while going through cancer treatments. Our motorhome was a blessing. We were able to stay 5 minutes from my treatment center, instead of making a 4 hour round trip to home everyday for 3 months. It made a difficult time tolerable. Plus the park owners gave a nice discount for RV’ers going through treatments.
Well there are 3 categories dictating the length of stays. 1. the folks who work and on a vacation. 2. folks retired and exploring. 3. folks looking for the cheapest way to live and survive. Nothing wrong with any of these.
1. = shortest stays, 2. = more flexible schedule but shorter stays for exploration. 3. The longer the stay the cheaper the rent and your not using petrol.
In regards to boondocking, We love it and would like to do more, however, most areas are not for my equipment. A 44’ class A, is not able to get into most of the wonderful areas described by boondocking Bob. Too many low trees and narrow lanes, have made us a little gun shy, as backing up is also a little tricky!
Exactly and well said. There are so many classifications of RV’ing and camping…they all have their place.
Thanks for the goat video. Brought a smile to my face.
In common with many or even most Workamper’s, my wife & I work seasonally for different organizations here and there about the country. More than a few have been for 4-6 months, a couple have been 6-8 months; and on the road between those seasonal gigs, we are only rarely in one spot for even a week. I couldn’t figure out how to vote in all categories of your poll today. 😎
We use our RVs (we have a motorhome and a truck camper) to do volunteer missions. The MH is for longer missions and the TC is shorter, mostly disaster relief. In the MH, we have stayed as long as 3 months at a single location, but have been gone as long as 8 months. It’s nice to have your own bed and space to relax and refresh.
God Bless YOU!! Thank you for your efforts and selflessness! There is a special mansion in Heaven waiting for you!
We’re full-timers who came to Florida as snow birds for “just one season.” Unfortunately for both of us, health issues prevented us from moving on…until now. We felt blessed to have a wonderful place we could stay where we had great neighbors who helped in our time of need.
I have been to RV parks where electric heat is discouraged. Perhaps winter is longer than summer. Never been a problem with my electric heater. Campground owners usually smile and laugh, as my Aliner is smaller than the bedroom in your Fifth wheeler.
We volunteered for two years and two months at the Deukmejian Wilderness Park in Glendale California before leaving in 2015. We also lived full-time at Valencia Travel Village for 8+ years until I finished my career in the film industry and retired to go on the road.
I traveled in the RV full-time for 12 years. Early on, I worked during the winter in the Southwest and would commit to a three-month stint at the park. During the ‘travel season’, a one month stay in a park in a beautiful area to get a reduced rate was not uncommon.