Issue 1347
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
“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Tap Dance Day! It’s also Memorial Day! (Not to “celebrate,” but to honor the fallen heroes.)
Did you see the news? Click here to read the latest issue of the Sunday News 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.
Tip of the Day
Navigating parking lots with a big RV
By Jim Twamley
Maybe you’ve had experiences like mine: My very first time out with our new 5th wheel we decided to stop at a Subway sandwich shop. Believing the parking lot was accessible behind the store, I pulled in. It turned out to be a boxed-in parking arrangement and I was stuck. The missus had to get out and guide me as I painfully and slowly backed out of the lot. I had to retrace my route backing onto a busy road in order to extract myself. We went down the road and found another sandwich shop with more suitable parking. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
RV Electricity – This week’s J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) Session:
CarGenerator update / TT-30 outlet. Here’s Mike’s update on an impressive non-generator technology for supplementing solar panels while boondocking.
• Join Mike’s Facebook group, RV Electricity.
• Read more of Mike’s articles here.
When did you last see the Milky Way?
Most security lamps as well as general lighting in campgrounds throw too much light out in all directions, including skyward, effectively canceling out the night sky and the carpet of glittering Milky Way stars and the imaginative constellations scattered about the universe. That’s one advantage to boondocking, according to BoondockBob Difley. And did you know that light pollution can sometimes negatively affect nocturnal animals, like migrating birds? Read more.
Reader poll
Will you have a Memorial Day BBQ?
Please tell us here.
Readers tell us
How will the U.S. resuming business affect the spread of the coronavirus? Find out what fellow RVers think here.
On Memorial Day… How lucky I am to be alive
By Chuck Woodbury
I was talking to my daughter, Emily, the other day about my father, her grandfather. And now, as Memorial Day approaches, I find myself thinking about that conversation again.
Every single one of us should pause once in a while to ponder how lucky we are to be alive — how lucky that we ever lived at all. What were the odds of our parents ever meeting, marrying, and then conceiving us at just the right time? Continue reading.
The neatest RV “safe” we’ve ever seen…
Have a fear of losing your keys? There is no perfect place to hide your keys in your campsite or RV that thieves can’t find. But HitchSafe may solve that problem. The HitchSafe slides into your hitch receiver and locks. When open it is large enough for not only keys, but also an emergency credit card, cash or driver’s license. Then hide its existence with an ordinary-looking dust cover that conceals and protects it. Read more about it here.
Helpful resources
• NATIONAL TRAFFIC AND ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION.
• ROAD AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NATION.
• WEATHER ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
• DIRECTORY OF RV PARKS WITH STORM SHELTERS.
Quick Tip
Best way to park safely during strong winds
During a strong storm with high winds, try to camp with your RV pointing toward or away from the wind. The RV will be more stable than if the wind was hitting it sideways. And beware of close-by trees. If they don’t look strong and healthy, camp a distance away … just in case!
Random RV Thought
Living in a small space means your routine is probably pretty small too. Try and do something new every day. Look up a new DIY project for your RV, read a new book, go for a walk in a new place, try a new restaurant… Getting out of your day-to-day routine will feel good.
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
65 Memorial Day recipes
We are drooling! Step up your Memorial Day food this year and start cookin’! Hot dogs and hamburgers get boring after a while – why not try something new?
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• You’ll laugh at this!
• The Business of Work Camping: Theft in the campground
• Do you leave your porch light on?
#913F
Trivia
The Moon has no atmosphere. This means that its surface is unprotected from cosmic rays, meteorites and solar winds, and has huge temperature variations. The lack of atmosphere means no sound can be heard on the Moon, and the sky always appears black. The Moon has much weaker gravity than Earth. You would weigh about one sixth of your Earth weight on the Moon.
Run your RV air conditioner with only 20 amps. Yes, it’s possible!
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Rory” is our 9 y.o. Greyhound rescue. He has the most wonderful ears. He stands like the Sphinx. Rory and his housemate, or rather RV mate (no house), travel with us ‘ere we go. He eagerly rushes to “load-up” into the hauler. When I say “ride” we better be ready to go; he is!” — Pete Greig
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 … or at least a smile
Today’s Daily Deals at Amazon.com
Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY!
If you want to have a wonderful day, send $10, $50 or $100 to a local food bank. There are millions of our fellow citizens, including little kids, who are going hungry because their parents lost their jobs. You will feel so good if you contribute — helping people less fortunate than you go to bed without the pain of an empty stomach. Here’s where to donate.
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Oh, and if you missed the latest Sunday News for RVers, make sure to catch up here.
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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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This newsletter is copyright 2020 by RVtravel.com
“How lucky I am to be alive”……Lucky or blessed by God?
We all do things that we know is not what we deeply know how God wants us to behave.
We continue to do what we want, and justify it somehow.
Dig deep…..We only have 80 or so years to get eternity right.
This is assuming there is one religion, yours, right? Who actually knows where we were before or where we go after. Who truly knows?
Web. If you chose do go out into eternally without having Jesus Christ as your personal savior there is NO second chance. Only the bible is true because Jesus Christ prove that what he said is true. We all need Jesus to make it to heaven which is a personal savior that is WHY he came and died on the cross so we can make heaven our home. It is NOT a religion its a personal relationship with him. Read your Bible and you will see what I am talking about. John 3:16
This was posted on another site I thought it might be appropriate for Memorial Day
http://worriersanonymous.org/Share/Mansions.htm
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So beautifully done. Can’t help to be moved!
Thanks for re-posting.
And thank you to all that served. May you remain in our hearts forever.
In regards to locks with common 751 keys, I read every thing I could before buying my RV. First thing I did was switch all the locks to the round key locks. Don’t know how common the keys are for those locks. But I’ll always remember my Dad saying ” Locks are to keep honest people out, if someone really wants in, they will get in”. Happy Memorial day!
Anyone who considers a break in here will get quite a surprise as the alarm panel goes off, strobes flash in red, white and blue, the horn roars out loud, the auto dialer calls 911 and an owner brings out protection. If it happens while we’re gone, they will get everthing but the owner present. But we’ll have them on live stream via the 4k video cameras. And yes. We have also changed the locks. Nothing to hide really. Just don’t like surprises or unscrupulous deviates.
Just do what you can to keep the “opportunists” out of your stuff.
With regard to the RV navigating into tight spots, we try to use the satellite view on google maps whenever possible. This is especially true when planning an overnight stop and even finding an appropriate campsite.
Your “Quick Tip”, how do you accomplish that at designated sites in CGs? Boondocking I get.
Many people use Google maps satellite and street views like I do on my tablet. It has been great for seeing where there is enough room not only to get in but more importantly to get out of a location or if there is parking nearby.
In the quick tip about parking into the wind, good advice if you’re mobile at the time. However if you’re set up in a campground that may not be possible. The part about trees being stable I have seen many trees blown down that looked like they would stand through a hurricane get blown over in a 70 mph straight line wind. It depends on whether the tree is full of leaves or bare. Here in the south where there is clay a foot below the surface tree roots spread out to the sides instead of growing down. I had a huge Oak tree that had to be at least 60-70’ tall blown over and the root ball was over 10’ wide but the hole was less than 3’ deep. So the best advice there is don’t camp near big trees if you’re in an area where they get a lot of wind.
I know its going to depend on RV type/size, but I wonder if there are charts or statistics about how much wind it takes to overturn an RV?
We were caught in a broadside 80mph wind. We had to clean out our shorts for sure afterward. I don’t know how much more it would take, but we made that one.
In hindsite, if you get caught in something like that, it would be nice to have the added weights of water, gray tanks, and/or black tanks. 8lbs per gallon with the low center of gravity has to help.
In addition, if you know which way the wind is coming from, close the opposite slideouts to shift the center of gravity into the wind
While we remember those who have died for our country and rights . We need to look around and see how quickly those rights can be taken away. All for our own good of course.
Please consider “Today’s Thought”. No one is taking anything away from you. Selfish behavior today can intrude on other peoples right to life.
You should read the bill of rights and look hard at what’s allowed and what’s not and how easy the politicans take away those rights for our own good . Just like Mao
Chuck, I loved the article about your dad. It made me think about something I tell people a lot, about our fathers and or grandfathers, if they hadn’t been the heroes they were we might all be speaking German and or Japanese. I mean no disrespect to our German and Japanese friends now.