Wednesday, February 19, 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
“You can have it all. Just not all at once.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Chocolate Mint Day!
Tip of the Day
RV shopping? Some trends to be aware of
By Steve Savage
If you’ve attended an RV show recently you already know that sales are strong. We did the walk recently at a Florida show and tried to take note of the trends we think will be on the radar screen for the next several years. This list is not all-inclusive. I am sure there are things we may have missed, and there are several on our list that have been gathering steam for a while, but we think the ones that follow have gained enough momentum to believe they are more than a passing fad.
As you know, appearance is everything when it comes to RV sales, so the first thing on our list is color. To put it mildly, the days when you could have any color you wanted as long as it was white are history. Be it entry-level travel trailer or tag axle diesel pusher, colored exteriors are the hot ticket and – strange as it seems – black, particularly in Class A motorhomes, is one of the hot exterior items (pun intended). Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Volunteer: Save on campground fees, do good, have fun
Camp hosting is not the only form of volunteer position open to RVers. RVers who bring their houses with them are top-tier candidates for volunteer positions where local housing may not be available and where there is room to park RVs for the volunteers. These locations include parks or other entities such as a wildlife refuge, national forests or wilderness areas. Learn more.
Yesterday’s featured article: Full-time RVing: Sell the house to hit the road?
Reader poll
Readers tell us
Do you use cruise control when it’s raining or in other bad weather? Find out what fellow RVers said here.
Helpful resources
• NATIONAL TRAFFIC AND ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION.
• ROAD AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NATION.
• WEATHER ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
• CURRENT WILDFIRE REPORT.
• LATEST RV RECALLS.
Did you buy a lemon RV? Here’s more about RV lemons and lawyers who will represent you if you need help.
STAY OUT OF TROUBLE
Firearms laws guide updated for 2020
The 2020 updated edition of the Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States has just been published. The book is always a best-seller among RVers, many of whom carry a firearm when they travel. The annual guidebook helps ensure they stay out of trouble when crossing state lines, where the laws may be different. Learn more in this article.
You’ve gotta see this paint job! This one definitely gets the coolest RV-paint-job award. Click here.
Quick Tip
Read your manuals
Got a new RV? Take the time to sit down with all those manuals and read them through. Use a highlighter as you go to “accent” those tiny maintenance suggestions and requirements. Then go back and build your own logically ordered notebook – and give reference points back to the original manual.
Random RV Thought
Hiking doesn’t need to be solely a daytime activity. On a moonlit summer night, grab a flashlight and head out on a trail. One that circles a small lake is perfect because you will see the moon’s reflection in the water. But don’t use the flashlight unless absolutely necessary: your eyes will adjust to the dim light. If you are in bear country, stick to trails near a campground and talk with your companions to avoid surprising Mama and Baby Bear. Mama doesn’t like being surprised and if she is, she might want to pick a fight.
The easiest way to seal annoying seam leaks
Fabric seams that leak are annoying (and sometimes costly), yet so simple to fix. This little bottle of Seam Sealer from Iosso Products simply sponges on to create an invisible barrier, sealing out water without altering the color or feel of the material. It’s pretty neat, and good to keep handy for your RV (or boat, or camping gear). Read more about it here.
Website of the day
The best RV camping and stargazing locations
As RVers, we tend to crave the quiet and dark places to sleep – away from the hustle and bustle and in-tune with nature. Here’s a list of some of the best places to camp and stargaze across the U.S.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Two NYC millennials see an RV up close and personal. (This is funny!)
• Is this the year to get handy?
• Is it safe to run that cheaper Walmart DEF?
#892-1
Trailer hitches galore. Click here.
Our favorite tire pressure gauge. Used by the RV Travel staff. Click.
Trivia
A type of aquatic snail called a Limpet has the hardest natural material in the world. The teeth can withstand more pressure than it takes to create diamonds from carbon.
How many towns in the U.S. are named after Santa Claus? We told you yesterday, and the number is probably higher than you think!
Leave here with a laugh
Ever wonder …
• Why you never see the headline “Psychic Wins Lottery”?
• Why doctors and lawyers call what they do “practice”?
• Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?
• Why there isn’t mouse-flavored cat food?
—Thanks to George Bliss for these!
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
Wow, had no idea that there were as many rv’ers out there that were so “well off” that had access to 5 grand. I know that a lot of us are retired and on a fixed income. With all that have been asked before to comment on the prices of campground stays being increased, my take on that was that a lot were as I am, with not a lot of money (cash) just lying around.
Do you consider a credit card a loan? The survey should specify if the $5000 is cash on hand or charges on a credit card.
Hi, Vanessa. Since it specifies “cash” and also says “without taking a loan,” I think that means without using a credit card, but rather “cash on hand,” as you say. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Heads up on those moonlight walks… bears would rather use the trails than bust through the brush & over the downfall. Like humans, animals will use the path of least resistance.
Has anybody tried the new roof coating crazy seal that is being advertised here.
we did our roof in Sept 2019 with this. Its an amazing coat. We had Originally bought all the supplies to do Rubber Roof (Heng) re-coating but gave them away after we found this.
5 gallons did 3 coats for 36 ft rig. We used rollers and then brushes for around the ACs and other roof outlets. Used dawn and a deck brush to clean the roof before. Used a Pressure washer to rinse. We did it in stages section by section. Took about 2.5 weeks pulled all slides in. Clean.Dry. Paint.Dry.Paint.Dry.Paint. Dry . rinse and repeat for 3 sections.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-4-75-Gal-887-Tropi-Cool-100-Silicone-White-Roof-Coating-HE887HS018/205049553
I’m continuing to have a problem with the reader’s poll. Only the header loads. I usually read the tips newsletter on my phone, but this is also happening when using my laptop. This has been on going for over a week. Any idea why?
Thanks
The reason you don’t have mouse flavor cat food. The problem of getting it from the can to the dish and having to deal with any leftovers. Bagged would smell from the start.😂
What is the trend for 1 & 1/2 baths?
Are there some customer reviews on quality of DRV mobile suites & Luxe?
We have 1 & half baths in our Grand Designs solitude. So far it’s worked out well
I just bought my first RV in December, and I am working on putting my manuals in a binder. Some of the manuals have such tiny print and paper size that I have been locating an online version of the manual that I can print on full size paper. This makes it easier to read and to punch holes in the paper to place in the binder.
Great tip on the manuals. While you are reviewing the manual, take a few minutes and record model number with option codes as well as the serial number. These are very helpful when calling for tech support.
The air pressure guage you hi-lited is a good guage. Had one years ago. Lasted about 5 years as advertised. If your RV does not have duals, it’s great. For duals I prefer the Milton truck stick.
The “Quick Tip” about manuals… This is especially important because so many manuals are now designed to cover several different models. One has to filter through to be sure they are reading information for their specific unit. Marking it up is necessary in the event you have an emergency and need information quickly. And I just love the online manuals now (NOT!)
A good friend of mine bought a travel trailer from Camping World in Redding, Ca. a little while ago and there wasn’t a manual for it there was a disc for use on the computer. My 2008 Nash travel trailer came with a full owners manual and the computer disc. Have never looked at the disc, the owners manual is starting to show alot of wear!!
It’s a generational/ technical thing… computer files stay where I put them and most importantly can be SEARCHED… in 300 pages of stupidity about how to use a doorknob, page 236 has a single line about the secret master fuse that will strand you.
We became a pledge donor to this web magazine, two weeks later started getting a Trailer Life Magazine in the mail. Has anyone else had this happen to them? Wondering if RVtravel sells membership list to them for funding, it’ would be nice to know before joining. We do enjoy the web magazine.
I doubt that Chuck sells any of our names to anyone. Trailer Life is one of the biggest offenders of bowing to the god of advertisers, which is a pet peeve of Chucks. Having said that, I’ve been a hard copy subscriber to Trailer Life for darned near ever.
Sorry, Terry. It must have been a coincidence. Here’s our statement from our subscription page: “We never sell, rent or share your personal information with outsiders, And we mean NEVER!” Thank you for becoming a member of RVtravel.com. We appreciate it — and you! Have a great day. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
If you are a Good Sam’s member that is probably why you received it.
Terry, I assure you that we had absolutely nothing to do with that. In our 20 years, we have never sold, shared or rented our mailing list or any of our subscribers’ information with outsiders. We never have and never will. — Chuck/editor