Issue 1335
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
“I am not young enough to know everything.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Roast Leg of Lamb Day!
New Facebook Group: How the coronavirus is impacting RVers. Learn about park closings, cancelled rallies and RV shows — and more. Your input requested.
Tip of the Day
Full-time RVing: Do you have the right insurance?
One of the big questions of folks making the jump from “sticks and bricks” to a “life on the road” is a good, solid, important one: What about insurance on the RV?
Sticks-and-bricks type insurance protects you from loss: The house burns, the burglars burgle, the unexpected and probably uninvited “guest” trips over your rake and breaks a leg. These losses can be real – and hugely expensive. But not just “any” insurance company will be able to handle your new circumstances on the road. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Don’t let your RV wind deflector be so much hot air
Just how effective are those RV wind deflectors you see on trucks pulling 5th wheels and travel trailers? Though somewhat technical (what you’d expect from the “Professor of RVing,” Jim Twamley), this information could save you some serious cash. Learn more.
Yesterday’s featured article: Is RVer stuck with sticky black water valve?
Reader poll
When RVing, how often do you mail a postcard to a friend or relative?
Respond here.
Quick Tip
How to use a basement storage door as a table
You can use a basement storage door as a table, provided you can open it to “level” and then support it. Hit the thrift shops and buy a used photo tripod – the three legs make it sturdy and you can set and lock it at nearly any desirable height.
Random RV Thought
Have you ever considered wind power as a solar alternative? If you camp in windy places often, you might want to consider it. Costs for wind generators, or “turbines,” suitable for use on RVs are now less than $500 (with some less than $200!). After the initial purchase price, wind power is free, relatively quiet, and nearly free of maintenance worries.
WiFi endoscope lets you peep where your eyes won’t go
Ever wondered what the inside of your black water tank looked like? Is that “tank blaster” really doing the job? You can’t just eyeball the inside of the tank – or can you? With a flexible endoscope, you can run a tiny camera down for a “look around,” and get an eyeful of information on your tablet or phone. It’s pretty handy to have in the RV so check it out here.
Website of the day
Travel the world from your couch with these streamable movies
Reading, TV and movies are all a great way for your mind to escape (or “travel”). Here’s a list of 12 movies you can stream from your couch that will take you all over the world.
How old is too old for RV tires?
For RV application this is a tough question because “it depends.” There are several factors that can shorten tire life, which tire expert Roger Marble explains 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:
• 20 percent eat a frozen boxed dinner at least once a week.
• 23 percent have visited at least 30 states in their RV.
• 6 percent shop on Amazon every day, but 10 percent never buy anything from Amazon.
Recent poll: Do you need full- or part-time employment to make ends meet? Tell us here.
Protect yourself and others from sharp edges of RV slideouts!
Cut your head just once on the corner of a sharp RV slideout and you’ll race out to buy a set of these so it never happens again! Camco’s Slide-Out Corner Guards offer a simple solution to the danger posed by sharp corners on RV slideouts. Simply place them on each exterior corner of the slide to provide a cushion zone. They’re made of advanced UV-stabilized resin for long life. Easy to install, no tools required. Learn more or order.
Trivia
If your eyes feel tired at the end of the day, here’s why: Humans generally move their eyes around three times a second, which is more than 100,000 times a day!
*What were Ben & Jerry initially planning on making, other than ice cream? Yesterday’s trivia section answers that!
Leave here with a laugh
If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
Today’s Daily Deals at Amazon.com
Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY!
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Need a place to store your RV or belongings? Rent available space on private property near you at Neighbor.com. Save money over commercial facilities. It’s like the AirBnB of storage. Learn more
Did you miss the latest RV Travel Newsletter? If so, read it here.
Oh, and if you missed the latest Sunday News for RVers, make sure to catch up here.
RV parks with storm shelters
Where do you camp when a tornado is headed your direction? Hopefully in a park with a storm shelter. Here’s RVtravel.com’s ever-expanding directory of such places.
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RV Daily Tips Staff
Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. 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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This newsletter is copyright 2020 by RVtravel.com
Did someone leave a recipe for a chocolate banana using coconut sugar
Basement/storage doors as tables: Instead of a tripod to the ground, just cut sticks the right length to go from doorlock to hatch frame… much simpler and 1/10,000 the cost.
Today’s “Random Thought” promotes wind power, but it can be a little misleading. I have a 400 watt wind turbine as well as 500 watts of solar. We only use the wind turbine when in the desert SW, where it’s pretty windy. But wind turbines need pretty strong, sustained winds (25mph +) in order to generate enough voltage to exceed the current voltage in your batteries & force the voltage into the batteries to succeed in charging them. So a battery that currently has 12.2 volts, needs 13.5-15.0 volts from the wind turbine just to provide any charging effect on the battery. There are very few areas in the country where you will find winds, close to the ground, at the necessary, sustained speeds to provide that kind of voltage, & those would not be pleasant areas to stay in. The huge wind farms you see all over the country are 150-200 ft in the air where the winds are much stronger. However, if you also have solar, the power developed by the wind generator will compliment the power being generated by the solar panels. Now in the middle of a sunny day, solar panels don’t need any help from a wind turbine to charge the batteries, but early or late in the day, when the solar panels are not very efficient & may not be developing the necessary 13-15 volts needed to force charging into the batteries, the wind turbine, along with the reduced output of the solar panels, can, together, produce enough voltage to overcome the 12 volts in the battery & provide some charging benefit. My 400 watt turbine cost only $220, but by the time I bought a mounting pole & tie downs, I had over $300 invested, still pretty cheap. After using it for several years, & measuring the effect, I’ve concluded the cost & effort to set up, take down & dismantle the turbine to store in the rv, is probably not worth the hassle for the minor benefit I get. Mine is a bright red horizontal turbine which is a nice conversation piece, but not a lot of benefit. Here is the link to the one I bought-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTOR-HOME-RV-BATTERY-CHARGER-110-VOLT-POWER-WIND-TURBINE-GENERATOR-SOLAR-POW/274321753287?hash=item3fded9c4c7:g:ReQAAOSwuSxegMor
I had contemplated wind but for the same reasons you cite…I can’t justify it either.
1300W’s of solar and a 6500W generator take care of it. And if you hurry, you can still get a tax credit.
Regarding aero generators, Campskunk had one that he set up on his earlier motorhome, but does not have one now. Does that tell you something?
As to the TRIVIA, 75% of the energy you use while driving is consumed by your eyes.
Wind generators are not what you think they’d be. You need to check out how much wind (mph) you need to even get the benefit of them. And when you see that they need a fair amount of wind, you’ll also find out it’s way too windy for you to enjoy the campsite. Stick to solar its way easier to install on your roof, or, set out a portable panel. Like others have said the wind generators vibrate, some are noisy and they can cut off a finger possibly.
The “CH751” isn’t the only common key used in the RV industry. Within a brand or model line you may also find a key that has been used on other coaches. How do you tell, Google the key number or call a lock smith.
Basement storage doors….. all of mine are hinged on the side.
Ok, Leave here with a laugh was corny! I don’t think I can beet it. However, it might depend on if the farmer was collecting a celery. You’ll have to ask the bean counters.
No need to turnip your nose at our jokes, Mark. You’ll squash our feelings. In a rush, or I’d try to think of more. But this reminds me of when I was at the beach years ago. A guy was calling his 150-lb.-or-so, super-energetic dog: “Artie, Artie! Come here, Artie!” As he was passing me he said in a rather quiet voice, like he didn’t want his dog to hear, “His name is Artichoke.” Still makes me smile. —Diane at RVtravel.com
I bought a wind generator over 20 years ago to use with my solar panels. To this day, it’s still sitting in the box! I could NOT figure out how to use it with our trailer. When the blades are spinning, they’ll cut your fingers off if you come in contact with them. So, how to get the ‘mill’ up in the air . . . I saw one guy who attached his to the ladder on the rear of his trailer. He said it worked great. His wife hated it because it vibrated all the time it was working, and made noise.
I met another guy down in Quartzsite who had one just sort of sitting on a pole he anchored to the ground with ropes and tent stakes. It flopped around quite a bit due to the ‘makeshift’ mounting method. But he too loved it – and this time, so did his wife. But, don’t get close to it because it could really hurt you.
I tested mine at home one time. I mounted it on a short bit of steel pipe and anchored it to the ground with a mount that required me to drive my truck onto it, and the pipe stuck up next to the truck. Hard to explain, but in any case, the generator started generating power (here in Nevada, the wind almost never quits!). But, I still can’t figure out how to get this thing safely up in the air to use while on the road. And, how much extra gear would I need to haul as well?
It was ‘spendy’ even twenty years ago too.
I enjoyed the article on Fulltime RV insurance.
Golf cart insurance is another insurance golf cart owner take for granted. It is assume by many this insurance is covered by your home owners insurance. This true with limitations, one being it covers you only when operated on your property. Go to Insurance.com for a full understanding on what and what is not covered golf carts. I think you will be surprised. In our community where there are 40 or 50 golf carts I questioned about 20 people about their golf cart insurance. Most did not know if they were covered and some said their home owners insurance covered it.
I buy $500K Liability on my cart for $141..year..to cover pet walkers and normal accidents ..I also buy an Umbrella Liability $1,000,000 yes One Million that covers any lawsuits or accidents {$535. yearly} along with my normal $500,000- single person or $500,000 total accident and then my Umbrella Policy is on top of that..the old 100/300 is near worthless in today’s world.. Too little coverage is life finances threatening so pay me now or pay me later logic..
Chuck, I joined harvest Hosts, but have been unable to get a list of all the places available to camp overnight. Has Harvest Hosts closed for the Pandemic / virus / The plague ?
If you download the app they are all listed on the map. If you go to their website and log in you can search any area. I just checked both. Working fine. If you can’t log in that is another issue. Good luck.
I just signed on. Make sure you have your account login correctly, and password created. The name for login is usually misspelled, or incorrect.
http://www.harvesthosts.com
Donald, you should be able to log in on line for Havesthost.com. Get you membership card etc. Very easy site to use, searchable for you location and destinations. Comments from folks There is also an app for your phone (Android/iPhone). Call first. The two spots I used last month were open, the winery wasn’t tasting though.
Donald….I just logged on to my HH account and it is fully functional. As a test I queried California and it shows 93 HH locations to which you can drill down all 93. Good luck and stay safe and healthy!
One other items to note they do have a disclaimer once you drill down to specific HH’s: *PLEASE CALL* Some Hosts may be closed due to their local COVID-19 policies, please be sure to call ahead. Even if you have a reservation, please call prior to arrival as things are changing daily. Safe Travels!
They have a 15% May discount. They should have a 19% Covid-19 discount!!!