Issue 1343
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.
If you shop on Amazon, please visit through our affiliate site (we get a little commission that way – and you don’t pay any extra). Thank you!
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Today’s thought
“The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Devil’s Food Cake Day!
RV parts at Amazon.com. Just about anything you would need!
Tip of the Day
Slideouts operating erratically? Here’s probably why
If you find the slideouts in your RV start and stop on their own when you hold the switch, here’s a possible reason: In many RVs the slideouts have an auto-resetting fuse. It is called auto-resetting because it opens when the electrical current draw gets too high. Then, in a few seconds, it cools off and closes the circuit, and the slide starts moving again.
Sometimes this will happen as the RV ages and slides move less smoothly than when new. In other RVs, the slides do this almost from day one. In the latter case, the manufacturer has used too light a fuse or relay board for the application. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Ten ways to make your RV safer
You might have heard the phrase “Better safe than sorry.” With a few minutes of your time and a safety checklist for things in, on and under your RV, you can prevent many accidents and dangerous practices. Learn more.
Yesterday’s featured article: Want cold food and drinks? Keep your refrigerator happy!
Reader poll
Would you stay at a campground if required to wear a mask when outdoors?
Respond here.
Quick Tip
Dinette cushions sliding around?
Here are two possible solutions: Apply “lines” of silicone caulk in a pattern across the “back” of the sliding cushy. Let the caulk dry before setting back into place – the dry caulk acts as a snubber. Or attach sticky-back hook-and-loop tape to both the cushion and the surface it should “stick” to.
Random RV Thought
The term “RV withdrawal” might be applied to pulling one’s RV out of the driveway or storage area. But it might be better applied to the anxious feeling one gets when deprived of RVing for an extended period of time. Is anyone experiencing this right now?
Neat! Monocular telescope connects to phone
This is one of the neatest gadgets we’ve seen in a while! This waterproof monocular telescope connects right to your phone so you can take photos of that bird waaaaaaay over there. You can now photograph anything up to 12x closer than before. Great for birdwatching, concerts or any sporting event. We already bought one! Learn more or order.
Website of the day
Build a DIY campfire pit
Here’s a fun idea: build your own campfire pit! Here’s an easy step-by-step process of how to get it done.
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:
• 24 percent are afraid of heights, and 22 percent are afraid of things like spiders, bees, insects and/or snakes
• 12 percent are employed full-time, but 78 percent are retired
• 21 percent were between the ages of 20-30 when they bought their first RV
Recent poll: Are you putting off routine doctor and dentist appointments these days?
Groovy Winnebago commercial from 1973
See Winnebago’s “new” lineup including the Minnie Winnie (“the first mini-motorhome good enough to wear the Flying W”). Watch the video.
Check for gas leaks often by using this!
Russ & Tiña De Maris write: “We keep our natural gas leak detector tucked in the door pocket of our tow vehicle so we can check for leaks when we reconnect an LP bottle after filling. We also use it whenever we make up a new connection on a gas line, or ‘think’ we might have a leak. Here’s one you can pick up for a good price with lots of good reviews.”
☀Run your RV air conditioner with only 20 amps. Yes, it’s now possible!
Trivia
You can hear a blue whale’s heartbeat from up to two miles away. The animal’s heart weighs about 400 pounds – the weight of a piano.
*Yesterday we told you the fascinating history of the pleats in a chef’s hat and what they stand for. Did you read it?
Readers’ Pet of the Day
Send us a photo of your pet with a short description. We publish one each weekday in RV Daily Tips and in our Saturday RV Travel newsletter.Leave here with a laugh
Q. What’s the best thing to take to the desert?
A. A thirst-aid kit!
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
Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. 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
Thanks to Russ and Tina DeMaris for their recommendation of a propane/natural gas leak detector. I bought one for our trailer last week. When it arrived, I checked our gas grill and all the house gas plumbing. I was surprised to find a large leak back of our gas dryer – replaced the old flex line and adaptors – it now tests leak free. Thanks to the leak detector, I fixed it before it caused trouble.
Now to get out to our trailer in a storage yard and check it.
Your Quick Tips, Cushions Sliding. A couple other less messy and permanent, use Velcro, or try putting the same non-slip liner used in our cabinets to stop the sliding. Most cushions in an eating area need to be washed or replaced occasionally so my opinion is something less permanent than caulk. Thanks, Tim Lerchbacker, Cypress, TX
I have been driveway camping for 43 days now and love it. I built a fire in a fire pit in my driveway. Walkers who pass by always comment. If they don’t open the parks I’m good for now.
even the fully-vested CDC announced this, saying:
“Adults can shed influenza virus 1 day before symptoms appear and up to approximately 5 to 7 days after onset of illness; thus, the selective use of masks (e.g., in proximity to a known symptomatic person) may not effectively limit transmission in the community.”
It doesn’t stop there…how about “The Journal of the American Medical Association?”
“Face masks should not be worn by healthy individuals to protect themselves from acquiring respiratory infection because there is no evidence to suggest that face masks worn by healthy individuals are effective in preventing people from becoming ill”
Concerning the poll about 12% working and 78% retired, what are the other 10%?
Good question, maybe the other 10% are on government subsidies. If they never worked they can’t say they’re retired and they can’t say they are working.
I wonder why your comment got so many ” – ” clicks. Makes sense to ME!
Confused?
Independently wealthy?
As far as the mask goes it would depend on the circumstances. Sitting under my awning and reading does not require a mask and would benefit no one.
Funny but they tell you to wear a mask if there is a high pollen count or if you are in a high dust area
That’s funny because I, just yesterday, saw exactly that. A guy was setting by himself under his awning reading with a mask on. I don’t understand it either.
I called Lippert on my slide fuse and they told me to go to a 50a breaker instead of a 40a. He said that it is designed so that the 50a breaker handles the load better. I was concerned about voltage draw myself. I am very safety-minded.
I had that option but opted to just let the breaker cool down. Leave shore power connected when operating the slides, you get more juice than the batteries deliver. Don’t activate awnings and slides at the same time, too much demand, breaker will not survive. Make sure electric hot water heater is off also when preparing to leave.
Until very recently, all provided links opened in new browser windows. Now, all provided links open in the current browser window. Was this change intentional? Am I the only user seeing this change? FWIW, I really prefer opening provided links in new browser windows!
Same here.
I’ve seen it, too. I still forget and end up closing the newsletter.
just right click on the link and select ‘open in a new window’ if you want to open it in a new window.
You’re assuming that everyone is using a computer to read the news letters.
This is the way it used to be. I like the fact I can once again just press the back arrow and automatically return to the the news letter. Otherwise, I had to manually go into my browsers, click off the one I was on, and click back to the news letter browser.
Even more frustrating is some open in current window & some in a new window!! Darn I just figured it out–I think this is an exersize to keep us on our toes!!
It’s confusing… some one way, others the other… .what’s up
If you want the link to open in a new window press and hold shift while clicking
If you want the link to open in a new tab press and hold CTRL while clicking.
I do this for almost every site I visit so I can control the behavior.
Snayte, You’re assuming that everyone is using a computer to read the news letters.
look at your browser options to see how you set ‘open link…’ a recent browser update could change how the link opened or a user was looking at options and mistakenly changed a setting.
I have used ‘right click – open in new tab for years. I can look thru the main page and then read what i want in open tabs. When you close the tab you are reading you end up in the nest tab.
Try this in Ebay or Amazon – i open items from the main page and check out the ones i am interested in. i leave open the tabs i am most interested in until i decide which i want to buy.
Hi, D ‘n C. Here’s what I wrote yesterday in response to a similar comment:
“… We were advised (very strongly) by our IT folks recently that for links which go to locations outside of our website we should have them open in a new tab. For links that stay within our website (like to another of our articles), we shouldn’t set them to open in a new tab. Something about the analytics for our website and also that it should improve the user experience. Kim, our IT dude, says, “Any person can 2 finger click or right click on ANY link on our site and open it in a new tab.” Sorry for the confusion and inconvenience. We’ll see how this goes. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Dear RVT: Please get consistent. Either a link opens a new tab or not. We need to know whether to backspace or close tab at the end of reading a link.
They are being consistent:
If the link is internal, then no new tab is opened (if you see rvtravel.com in the address bar).
If the link is external (no rvtravel.com in the address bar), it will open in a new tab.
Analytics may not matter to you and me, but it’s how advertisers track the effectiveness of their ads and whether or not to renew. Think of it as the modern version of, “Tell ‘em you saw it on RV Travel.”
Chuck, thank you for your help.