Friday, April 3, 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
“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Tweed Day!
Coronavirus Updates for RVers
Coronavirus Updates for RVers
Because so much is happening, and so fast, we are separating our daily coronavirus news updates into its own file.
There is so much interest now on how the virus is impacting our lives as RVers, our staff is devoting more time to keeping you informed of critical matters that affect how you use and travel with your RV.
Read today’s coronavirus news updates for RVers.
New Facebook Group: How the coronavirus is impacting RVers. Learn about park closings, cancelled rallies and RV shows — and more. Your input requested.
If you are a member of an RV club or are affiliated with an RV-related event would you please let us know if its gatherings, meetings, etc., are cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus? We’ll pass along the info to our readers. We appreciate any news related to RVing that’s being affected by the virus. Please submit it here. Thank you!
RV Life in a Coronavirus World: “Attending a virtual church”
We have asked RVtravel.com readers to tell us how they are adapting to life these days. Here is Marvin’s story.
Tip of the Day
Get a serious grip on RV condensation
By Jim Twamley
Dealing with condensation is a fact of RV life. Moisture is the RV’s worst enemy so you need to be aggressive in preventing it from causing damage. Most often condensation will form on the windows of your RV during the night when you’re asleep. As you breathe, you exhale moisture into the air. When it’s cold outside RVers tend to close all the windows and vents, trapping moisture vapor inside the RV. The airborne moisture finds its way to the windows and forms a condensation of water droplets. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
RV dirty laundry!
Politicians loathe it because somehow, it always comes out. RVers fight with it because in a tight space, where do you put it? What is it? Dirty laundry! Where to put the dirty laundry until wash day rolls around? Here’s a laundry list of possible solutions. Read more.
Yesterday’s featured article: RV Mods: Power visors – inside shade easily at hand
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- Photos: Cougar attacks two people in Colorado RV park
- Is Good Sam finished as an active RV club?
- Reader letter: RV park doesn’t understand the term “LP gas”
- RV Electricity: Do I need a generator grounding rod?
Reader poll
A simple trick to improve your travel photos
Chuck Woodbury shows you a simple technique that will vastly improve your travel photos, no matter what type of camera. Watch the video.
Fix it In Foil! Tasty Recipes. Easy cleanup!
Easy prep, great taste, good nutrition, quick clean-up! “Fix It In Foil” includes 51 fantastic recipes to make in foil — plus instructions for cooking in an oven, on an outdoor grill, or on a campfire. Fix it in foil and forget about scrubbing pots and pans. And, with plenty of substitution suggestions, enjoy a whole new list of recipe possibilities! Great for RVing! Learn more or order.
Readers tell us
Do you know anyone who has gotten the coronavirus, COVID-19? See 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.
Quick Tip
Easy windshield de-bugger
Bugs making suicide runs on your windshield? Get an 8-ounce (or so) container of Rain-X washer fluid additive and just add it to your windshield wiper fluid – works great without all that work! There’s also Rain-X Bug Remover (not concentrated) that does the job. Driving down the road and collecting bugs? Don’t wait for the next fuel stop – just use the windshield wipers! Thanks for this de-bugging tip go to A. Fisher.
Easily hang heavy objects in your RV
RV walls aren’t exactly designed for having screws or nails driven into them. Enter acrylic mounting tape. This is a clear, double-sided tape that is sturdy enough to hang heavy objects and can easily be removed without doing damage to the walls. Get some on Amazon here.
Random RV Thought
Buy a few pre-made meals at Costco or elsewhere and put them in your freezer. They will come in handy when you are too lazy to cook a meal.
Website of the day
Nine genius ways to finally organize pot lids
Flip through these cool ideas that would work great in your RV galley, or in your sticks-and-bricks kitchen.
Clubs and useful organizations
PLEASE NOTE: We may receive an affiliate commission if you join any of these.
• Harvest Hosts: Stay free at farms, wineries and other scenic and peaceful locations for free. Save 15% on membership.
• AllStays: The best website for RVers! Your membership will become your RV-bible.
• Overnight RV parking. Directory of more than 14,000 locations where you can stay for free or nearly free with your RV. Modest membership fee.
• Boondockers Welcome. Stay at homes of RVers who welcome you in their driveways, yards, farmland or other space on their private property. Modest membership fee.
• Escapees. Best Club for RVers: All RVers welcome, no matter what type of RV, make or model.
- Camco Water Bandit connects standard water hose to various water sources. Click.
- Camco 90-Degree Hose Elbow eliminates stress/strain on RV water intake hose fittings. Click.
- Camco Plastic Water Pressure Regulator prevents damage to RV water hoses and pumps. Click.
Trivia
We can credit Shakespeare for making up more than 1,700 words that we use today. Some of these include: critical, lonely, road, suspicious, gloomy and eventful. Click here to see a list of more words.
What color is a lobster’s blood?
A.) Red
B.) Blue
C.) Clear
We told you yesterday!
Leave here with a laugh
Break-in at the Apple store! Police are looking for iWitnesses.
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
Believe it or not A people cannot give because they are more prone to the Wuhan virus. Believe it or not
In light of the story I saw yesterday of the progress being made that suggested plasma from recovered virus patients has anti-bodies that has cured some with the virus. I do wonder where you got the information that somehow donating blood would cause you to get sick because they were “more prone” the the virus. Source please.
April 4, 2020
Dear Mr. President,
There are millions of Americans being directly impacted by this crisis. Federal and State leaders are following and imposing restrictions on people without having good data or good advice. You President Trump also don’t have good data and advice. These orders are causing a fairly significant part of the citizens to be held hostage by these rules and orders. I am talking about private and public RV parks and State and Federal Campground ordered closed.
The federal government has allowed hotels to stay open, those hotels represent the dirtiest and most disease ridden facets of our society. I don’t care how carefully, the staff prepare and clean those hotels, they are still dirty, do they change the sheets on all the beds or only the one slept in? Do they wipe down the walls and ceilings daily, with a disinfectant to kill COVID-19? That answer is no. Does each room get the “antiseptic fogger” machines to kill COVID-19, again NO?
There are at least 3 million Americans who live in a Recreational Vehicle. These folks “Full Time” that is, live in their RV 365 days a year, and depend on those private, public and federal parks to have some place to live. RV’ers are the cleanest folks on the planet. The size and space of many RV’s is less than 450 square feet, so keeping it clean and sanitary is a must for those sized living spaces. The spacing in the parks is way more than 6 feet as recommended, most RV’s are 8’ wide, so there is the model spacing already built in.
Your orders at the federal level have closed all federal parks which have RV spaces. Governors in most if not all states have closed state parks, and ordered private owned parks to close, which means these RV’ers have no place to stay.
Please Mr. President, issue a presidential order making federal, state, and Private RV parks and campgrounds essential services, so millions of Americans have a place to stay.
Sincerely,
Montgomery D. Bonner
The parks have been closed, not to aggravate you but to protect you! They do not have the personnel nor equipment to sanitize the site after one departs. Not everyone is going to stay on site for the duration of the mandated isolation time period, and most using these parks are 1-7 night stays only. Look at the entire scenario and not just what you need, there are plenty of private parks that are open for business, but expect many of the park amenities to be shut down.
Have tried to give blood many times, only to be turned away each time. There are certain low chemical levels that they say prohibit me from giving but are constant and normal for me. My wife has always said I was weird and I guess she has medical proof.
Yes If you are taking some medications you can not give because many of those meds are in your blood and there might be a reaction for some people receiving a transfusion.
Giving blood: I wish I could give now. I’m a rare blood type and I’d like to give back for others of my blood type when I could. And I used to, several times a year, when I was younger. But then … I had an unfortunate day when I passed out, and they told me not to come any more.
Anyone else with a rare blood type: Please donate, if you can.
I just gave blood this morning, THEN I read RV Newsletter. Vitalant is not testing for COVID 19 as of present donations. As for military service in Europe, I believe it was 1980-86, and then it was if you were there 3 yrs. 1974-77 for me. As a long-time donor, what was popular, say 2-4 yrs ago, like Zika snd Enola and your travels isn’t on the questionnaire, as in the past. In fact many of the gay {bleeped} questions disappeared. Rewarding experience knowing I could possibly help 5 others in need of blood.
I’ve been blessed to be able to give 100+ pints of blood so far. It’s a good feeling every time I finish up. If you haven’t done so, give it a try and see it for yourself.
Thank you! You may never know it, but someone somewhere, some time … will consider you their guardian angel.
Before going to a blood center to donate, call first. Almost all elective surgeries have been cancelled so the demand for whole blood has gone down. My blood center is only taking O+ and O- right now by appointment only. They ARE still in need of platelets though. So, check first to ensure you don’t make an unnecessary trip.
And if you do donate, especially platelets or plasma, stay seated! The process used to spin your blood takes longer and will make you very dizzy. Have one of the nurse-techs right there with you before you try to stand up to leave. Maybe they’ll bring you the cookies and OJ before you head for the door.
Take from a voice of experience. 😉
I have tried a couple times to donate…my blood just doesn’t flow well enough…I failed to fill bag the second attempt…wish I could
I’m old…78…and I have copd. I had LVRS surgery in 2008 and wish I could donate blood or platlets now but the centers won’t allow me to.
As for the “Random RV Thought” – We make our own “pre-made meals” They are healthier (always less sodium and sugar) and less expensive.
Chuck you said that Gary the “RV Doctor” was in the hospital with Covid-19, please extend our thoughts and prayers to him and hope he has a speedy recovery 🙏. Hope this finds you, your staff, and all your families safe and healthy! Keep up the great work! Talked to you before about my 5ver rebuild and now it’s getting warmer to be able to work on it, will keep you posted! Take care!
In regards to the tip of the day about using Rain-X. Rain-X is a good product and I use it in my truck and cars. Per the Diamond Shield web site they claim that Rain-X is not recommended. I would be very cautious of using it If you drive a motor home and have Diamond Shield installed on the front.
Instructions from Diamond Shield website.
GENERAL CARE PRECAUTIONS
Several cleaning techniques and cleaning products that should NEVER be used on the areas protected by Diamond Shield on your vehicle include:
DO NOT: Pressure Wash
DO NOT: Use Rain-X Products
DO NOT: Use any abrasive brushes, rags, cloths or compounds
Isn’t rain-X just intended for windshield glass? Ar you using Diamond Shield on your windshield?
Does anybody know if we donate blood now, will our blood be tested for Covid-19? The answer is critical.
No, but in the questionnaire will ask if you have been exposed or was in China or other places. When you enter the facility your temperature will be taken.
I donate platelets.
I have leukemia and will never be allowed to donate blood again. Nor can I be an organ donor for anything other than my corneas.
Lived in Europe in the 90s. No longer allowed to donate blood.
Today’s question is about donating blood, which seems odd for an RV focused newsletter, but I wanted to leave a comment. My wife and I used to donate regularly four times a year. Its so easy to do and can mean life for someone during a medical crisis, and made us feel good that we were able to help. But due to something that happened decades ago, we have not been allowed to donate for about the last 20 years. Out of concern for “Mad Cow Disease”, anyone that served in the military (as I did) that included service in Europe during a certain time period, likely ate meat that was purchased as the Commissary and procured from farmers in the UK. Since the disease was present in the UK at that time, even though it is now 40 years since that time, we are still considered ineligible to donate blood. Our overlap with the suspect time period is only six months, from Jan 1 through June 30 of 1981, but that is enough. Not only does this affect my wife and myself, but our four children who are all now middle aged adults, also cannot donate blood. Maybe the rules will change due to blood needs during this Covid-19 crisis, but for now it seems such a shame that we cannot help in this matter due to something that briefly was in our lives, without apparent effect, almost 40 years ago.
RVers need blood too, David. Just sayin.’ 😉 —Diane at RVtravel.com
We used to give blood many years ago until the ‘Mad Cow’ disease. Because we had eaten beef when we were stationed in Italy during that time, we are permanently prohibited from donating blood.
Due to military service in several garden spots of the World, my blood is no longer desired.
Is that what they are called now? I always thought they were hell on earth.