Issue 1361
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
“Everybody has a secret world inside of them. I mean everybody. All of the people in the whole world, I mean everybody — no matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds… Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe.” ―
• Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Red Rose Day!
• On this day in history in 1942: Anne Frank receives a diary for her 13th birthday.
Tip of the Day
Make the most of your stay in full-service campgrounds
By Dave Helgeson
There’s much debate about staying in full-service campgrounds versus no-cost locations like Walmart, Flying J, etc. Often, RVers en route to a final destination just want a safe place to stay for the night and don’t want to pay for services they won’t use.
Many RVers come off the road late in the day, and with early checkout times don’t have the opportunity to use all of the amenities provided. Others think checkouts should be later in the day, giving them more time to use the services offered.
My wife and I have found a happy medium. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
New Facebook Groups
• RV Travel Tips. From the editors of RVtravel.com. Share information with other RVers about great places to visit with an RV.
• Trucks for RV Towing: Ask or share information about trucks for towing trailers, fifth wheels or toy hauler RVs.
“Camping” at the dump station
Here in a self-admittedly “cheeky” report by Wolfe Rose is a humorous recount of his recent “campout” at a dump station, and his not-too-subtle observations of those who went before him in line. Also, he explains point-by-point how he handles dumping his RV’s tanks in a very efficient and hygienic manner (four minutes start-to-finish). Be entertained while you learn more.
Yesterday’s featured article: RVers should know about these emergency weather services
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- RV buyers: Never fall for this RV sales gimmick!
- Sales of RVs are booming. Why? What does it mean?
- So I’m a Peeping Tom, am I? One reader thinks so
- Show up at this RV park wearing a mask and you’ll be considered a criminal!
SECRET PHRASE: Mr. Smith liked grits and prunes a lot.
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
Reader poll
Do you enjoy driving?
Steer over here and tell us.
Watch out! A new Facebook scam contest offers the winner a free luxury motorhome. Don’t fall for it! Read about it here.
Quick Tip
Secure the water heater door
“While taking a walk with Josie the Beagle recently, I found a metal water heater door which fell off some RV driving along. I thought about a tip: Take a small, metal key ring loop and thread it though the plastic closure which secures that door in place. This will prevent it from coming off if you hit a bump.” Thanks to Dennis N.!
Fireproof bag keeps valuables safe!
This silicone-coated fire-resistant bag will save your money, documents, jewelry, passport and other valuables in case of a fire. It’s made with two layers of supreme fire retardant fiberglass material, making it 100% fireproof. It can stand up to fire and heat up to 1000 ℉. It’s waterproof, too, so when the hoses arrive, your valuables will not be harmed. Learn more or order.
Random RV thought
One good thing about owning an RV? Cleaning! “Honey, will you clean the house today?” Sure!” And five minutes later, you’re done! Six minutes, if you have to vacuum.
Website of the day
Tips for romantic RV vacations
Thinking of hitting the road with your new special someone? Check out these 11 tips on how to make your RV vacation romantic.
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.
Endorsed by Roger Marble of RVtireSafety.net!
An excellent tire pressure gauge
The Accutire MS-4021B digital tire pressure gauge has an easy-to-read LCD display that provides pressure readings from 5-150 PSI. It’s ergonomically designed with an angled head and a rubber-coated easy-grip handle. If you forget to turn off the gauge, don’t worry, it will automatically shut off. And all this for about $12! Learn more or order.
Trivia
Beavers have transparent eyelids so they are able to see underwater. How neat is that?
*Mount Rushmore cost just under $1 million to build and erect. What would that cost be if it were built today?
A.) $10 million
B.) $17 million
C.) $30 million
The answer is in yesterday’s issue.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“These two are our traveling companions. They are siblings and rescues whose names are Spike Lee (male, darker color) and Gracie Slick (female, in foreground) sitting on Dad’s lap. We rescued Spike at 4 months. Gracie was in the same kennel with him, but went to a different family. We often wondered what happened to her. Happily, we found her at the same shelter 3 years later and knew it was meant to be. We learned that she was rescued twice and returned twice. As a result, it’s been a long road to help her relieve her separation anxiety, but she’s made great progress.
We believe they are hound/Jack Russell mix and as such are very active and boisterous. When we pull into a campground or a rest area, people know we’re there. (LOL). Wherever we go, we Google the area to see if it has a dog park. Spike loves to play ball and Gracie loves to play with the other fur babies. — Mark and Margaret Dinkel
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 Another Thought for the Day
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. Social media 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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Hi Chuck, Diane and Emily,
About a year ago, there was a story or comment about a female R.V. Dealer located in Florida. The comments made by the author were pretty positive. Problem is I can’t recall who or where she was.
After four years of considering buying an R.V. and looking at hundreds of them, we have finally decided to bite the bullet. We narrowed our search to a class B+ And diesel. We are aware of the issues facing new RVers as well as the ability to find sites to stay.
We have found that the dealers in S W Florida are numerous and while mostly in the area for a long periods of time, they all have complaints as well as positive statements.
If I remember correctly, Chuck’s statements were mostly positive about her.
If possible, would you please forward me the name of the dealership and/or person?
Maybe we will write a novel about our time searching, buying and finally traveling with our R.V.
And the thought buying my boat was hard…
Thanks in advance,
Mike Albert
Hi, Mike. I think you’re referring to Gigi Stetler. Here’s a link to an article that we ran about her and her then-new group, The RV Advisor: https://www.rvtravel.com/most-hated-rv-dealer-launches-service-to-help-rv-buyers/ Happy shopping and RVing! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Regarding the water heater door: While you are looking at securing it don’t forget to check the screws securing the hinge. Mine were very loose. Thanks. Never would have thought of this but for this article.
Reference the Sewer Dump:
Use Your Gloves!
The smallest of cuts on your hands,
Ones you don’t even know you have can be the access point for a serious infection.
WASHING your hands when your finished may just be to late!!!
So for me I keep a box of Nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight handy. At a cost of dime for a pair it’s cheap insurance.
Water heater door: The silly twist tab finally broke off when I was working with it. I installed a small machine screw in its place and use a washer and wing nut to hold the door on much more securely than before,
The article on dumping is good, just one thing we should all copy that ck list and have several copies to pass out to that person being disrespectful and has no consideration for other people. Better than a verbal confrontation with someone.
Mark and Margaret – I hope that “boisterous” doesn’t means that your dogs bark and bark. Not much is more annoying than hearing your camping neighbor’s dogs barking a lot.
My dogs are boisterous, but never bark… really, they like to sit around the campfire and play their guitars while howling cowboy ballads, and drink puddle water until they have to stagger off to lift a leg on a nearby bush. But barking? How pedestrian.
Wolfe, are you sure those are dogs you have? Maybe they’re a couple of funny looking cowboys, lol.
The tip about the water heater door struck home. Last year on our first trip out at our first gas stop I noticed the door was missing. Had to be my fault, leaving the tab untwisted during what had been a long drawn out spring check out. My thought was that it probably fell off not long after leaving the driveway. On my first bike ride after that trip, just as I neared home, there it was on the shoulder of the road. It had been run over and was in two pieces, but a little careful reshaping and reassembly and it’s back in place.
Wow, if someone has thousands of worlds inside them then I suggest they see a psychiatrist. Especially if those worlds are talking to them.
Are you seriously suggesting that a professional writer like esteemed author Neil Gaiman is mentally ill because a man who writes for a living couldn’t possibly have thousands of words in his head?
I suggest that you might be the one that needs to see a psychiatrist, your brain appears to be under-functioning.
Oops, squeakytiki. The word in what Neil Gaiman wrote, and what Cindy referred to, is “world” not “word”. Huge difference. 😉 —Diane at RVtravel.com
My point is still the same, I’m sure a person who writes for a living has thousands of words to write about the worlds inside their mind.
It still doesn’t mean that they’re mentally ill because they have an active imagination.
Those silicon bags are not a substitute for a real fire safe. After a successful “trial” of a fire safe in our house fire we bought another to use in our RV (we are fulltimers). The first was on top of an oak file cabinet before the fire and on the ground after. The house was gone. The contents were fine, including a CD with pictures of all our possessions on it. The insurance company had no room to argue about what and/or how many of our things were lost.
The CD is an AWESOME idea that I can’t recommend enough. I recommend it every time I speak about general safety, so hundreds of times, but very few people listen to how critical (and easy!) it is to walk around your house once a year with a video camera to document the “what’s here, what I paid and when, and serial numbers” against fire/theft. Then store the data somewhere offsite and/or REALLY fireproof.
I learned the same way you did — when my Dad’s apartment/office burned down, he recovered less than 10% of the value we estimate was in there. Prove it was high quality vs. fiberboard? Prove you really had that many? What’s XYZ equipment? Etc…
If you’re reading this, go record your video NOW… it CAN happen tonight.
Thanks again for the pet pictures- really makes my day.
The early check-in can be a pain. I’ve had people waiting for me with engine running (blocking roadways) while I finish packing up 30 minutes before I was due to leave. That increases your chances of making a mistake because you’re likely being hurried.
Thanks for saving Gracie in Pet of the Day. Some dogs are more difficult to handle mostly because of things that happened during their upbringing or from puppy mills. What a heart warming story. I guess we should be more compassionate when we hear some barking at the campground.
The story about arriving early:10am” to check in at campground is wrong to me. I wotkamp at a campground and early arrivals can disrupt clean up,mowing and more that is needed. There is a reason for check in times.
Loved ” camping at the dump station “
Whoever thought you can clean and vacuum the RV in 6 minutes just has not met my wife. Her standards are very high. After I clean the interior she starts cleaning it again.
Thank you for second “Thought for the day”. In these times we need to remember that all dogs are equal and can get along as neighbors when proper training occurs and respect for each other is given without color being a factor.
Let’s all meet at the fence and shake hands (bump elbows), get to know each other and see if we can be friends.
Have a good Friday.
The claims of the fireproof bag you show in this issue are completely false. When an rv near us in the desert burned to the ground, I retrieved the floor safe & noticed everything was burned up inside. So I decided to buy these silicone bags to keep my paperwork safe in my floor safe. I bought a 2 pack & used one as a test. I put folded paper inside & put the bag inside the floor safe I had retrieved. I then put it in a campfire for less than 5 minutes. The silicone material did not burn, but all the stitching & velcro closure burned up & the bag unfolded & all the paper inside burned up. These bags ARE NOT FIREPROOF!!!!!!!. They offer virtually no protection. Their advertising is completely false.
Thanks for the heads up. I almost bought a set.
I would have thought RVTRAVEL would have Required some form of “testing” before agreeing to allow them to advertise
“testing” using comes down to how much income is received from the ad. Chuck
Buyer beware. The captions says Fireproof then the ad says fire-resistant then it says fire retardant then it says 100% fireproof. One is not the other.
Many of the things mentioned (I resist typing “featured”) on this site look to be cheap garbage. My first action with any product referral is to read the 1 star ratings. Caveat emptor!
Why am I getting google Ads covering up the script, example on today’s info regarding camping at the dump station?! (covered number 3 tip). I thought paying members didn’t get ads, or is that ONLY on the weekend edition?
I think everyone’s browsers react differently. I’m not getting any ads over my reading material. Maybe there’s something you can adjust?
That’s not the reason
Same thing here. Where Is the ad free edition??
The ad-free editions are the much-larger Saturday and Sunday newsletters, Rick. —Diane at RVtravel.com