Issue 1379
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
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Chocolate With Almonds Day!
On this day in history: 1776 – Church bells (possibly including the Liberty Bell) are rung after John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.
Tip of the Day
RV tire safety tip – Use a TPMS
With Mark Polk
RV EDUCATION 101®
The best way to monitor the tire pressure in your RV and/or tow vehicle is with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). A good aftermarket TPMS gives you peace of mind when you can monitor the tire pressure while traveling, and receive warnings if there are any problems.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSES BY MARK POLK
• Tow Your Travel Trailer Like a Pro
• Tow Your 5th Wheel Like a Pro
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Do you have a blog you’d like RVtravel.com to host?
If we accept you, you’ll earn money from the first day you post. Tip: No blogs about “we went here and did this.” Good writing important. Submit your blog idea.
How to save every drop of “get warm” water
For years Greg and Karin Illes would save their “warmup” water – the cold water that comes out of the hot faucet until the hot water from the water heater finally gets there – in a jug and then use that water for toilet flushing, washing or other chores – like most other RVers. But Greg figured out a way to “recirculate” the water from the shower straight back into the fresh water tank. Read how he did it.
Yesterday’s featured article: Car can’t make up its mind!
Reader poll
How comfortable would you be giving a speech to 100 people?
Vote here (from the comfort of your own computer or phone).
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.
• DIRECTORY OF RV PARKS WITH STORM SHELTERS.
Did you buy a lemon RV? Here’s more about RV lemons and lawyers who will represent you if you need help.
‘Earthquake Putty’ keeps stuff in place
Do you have items in your RV you like to keep in place — on a table, bedstand or counter? You need this. Collectors Hold Museum Putty is designed to keep items secure in earthquakes! Hey, a moving RV is a constant earthquake! To use this, pull off what you need, roll until soft, apply to the base of the object then lightly press it to the surface. Later, it comes off clean. Learn more or order.
Quick Tip
Handling putty/butyl tape in hot weather
Working with putty tape (or butyl tape) in hot weather? Prepare for frustration as the backing paper will stick to the gooey tape. Better: Put the roll in the freezer for a few minutes (or store it in there) – tape peels off backing easily.
In case you missed this – Here’s an easy mod! Make slide-outs for your galley and storage becomes a snap! Click here to see how.
Random RV thought
What’s one thing that RVers DO NOT care about, that non-RVers might? There are a lot of answers here, but one that comes to mind first is wearing the same outfit two times in one week, or even multiple days in a row (if it’s still mostly clean).
Need something for your truck? You can certainly find it here.
Website of the day
Forest Service, NPS, BLM and other volunteer positions
Hundreds of volunteer opportunities with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, etc., including campground hosts, wilderness ranger, boat launch hosts, facility maintenance, trailhead naturalist, interpreter and educator, and tons more.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Visit Mexico in RV? Husband says “No.” Wife says “Si.”
• RV Doctor: Can RV be stored off-level without damaging the fridge?
• The second most important step in buying an RV.
#923F
Tip: An easy windshield de-bugger!
Here’s a tip from one of our readers, A. Fisher: 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!
Trivia
After the release of the 1996 horror film “Scream,” which involved an anonymous killer calling and murdering his victims, Caller ID usage tripled in the United States.
*Which country does not have a railway system? Find out in yesterday’s issue.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Waiting to go on another RV adventure!” — Donna Weber
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
Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
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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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This newsletter is copyright 2020 by RVtravel.com
Volunteer.gov is great however I have copied below it’s time frame for reconfiguraton. Should be good by August.
Volunteer.gov is getting an upgrade! Beginning on July 15, this site will temporarily stop accepting applications for positions. During the upgrade, please contact the office directly for the volunteer position that you are interested in.
On August 1, you’ll see big changes and a whole new volunteer.gov. The site will relaunch on that date with a whole range of new functions to improve your experience finding volunteer opportunities. Be sure to visit us to see our new look!
Thanks for updating the info, Laura! Good to know! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Liberty bell sound. Computer generated. https://youtu.be/XLbEiCQPTNM
Would that be the sound of the Liberty Bell when it cracked? LOL
re: The quote, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” ― Albert Einstein
THIS attitude is so important and should be cultivated in children as they grow up and thru life !
I’ve done exactly that with my now-adult children. And they all excel in technology jobs of their choosing. We played math games while driving, like can you calculate how fast time zones and the sunset really move if you know the earth is around 8,000 miles or so in diameter? We also discussed topics like nuclear fusion principles, why does the air have pressure, how to count in base 2 (binary), etc. Drove the mom crazy at the time, but all my children are still curious about everything and voracious learners.
I’ve given talks in front of many groups over the years and I rely on two things . . . being totally prepared (usually with notes) and having something to drink in case of dryness. Beyond that, simply focus on your message and not on what the audience might be thinking.
I tried two different TPMS products and had nothing but trouble with them. I’m done with that so called technology.
It would be nice if you let us know what your problem were, or what TPMS you used. I would recommend you rethink your position here and get a quality TPMS as they can literally save your life, not to mention thousands of dollars in repairs and tire replacements.
Well it truly has been accurate, and always helpful, to know our tires are filled with the proper amount of air. Low air pressure causes heated tires, blowouts and death. Our friends died due to under inflated tires on a Ford Explorer, as many others did, according to the results of the US National Transportation Study.
I have been using TPMS since 2009 and have tested two different brands and types (internal and external). I published accuracy data and the results of my year long evaluation. I know of no other direct test comparison of aftermarket TPMS.
https://www.rvtiresafety.net/2018/08/tpms-comparison-tiretraker-external-vs.html
It would be helpful if you could provide information on what your problems were and the brand & model units you ran. I have seen some cheap systems in the market. I have also tested a couple low cost systems from Amazon and eBay a number of years ago and they were not worth the price of postage.
Giving a speech is the same whether it’s five people or a hundred. Be prepared, and remember that your audience wants you to succeed. Focus on one person in the audience and deliver your speech to them. If you mess up, pretend it didn’t happen.
Largest group I’ve spoken in front of? Estimates placed the event attendance at between 25,000 and 30,000. No prepared speech. Vamped for four hours.
That’s a gift that few can deliver, congratulations
Thanks, George, I didn’t think I could either. That’s why I volunteered.
Rain-X products are not recommended if you have a motor home with Diamond Shield on The front. Check out the Diamond Shield web site for directions on what to use and cleaning it.
Thanks Joe, Do they show the reason for this? I hate posting questions on this newsletter, you never find out if you get an answer.
Hi, Chuck. Above the Comment section, there’s a little envelope and it says Subscribe and shows a down arrow. If you click on the down arrow, you can select to be notified of new replies to your comments. Maybe this will help. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thanks Diane, maybe that would be a good article for the newsletter on how to get that.
Thanks, Chuck. I’ve just sent an email to Jessica, one of our IT folks, to see if it can say something other than “Subscribe” — which to me sounds like subscribing to a newsletter, not asking to be notified of replies to a comment. I think that would help a little. Thanks for the suggestion about an article explaining this. I’ll see what we can do. Take care, and stay healthy. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I just heard back from Jessica (she’s quick!). It’s a built-in feature of that plug-in so we can’t edit it — the plug-in is either off or on. I’ll see if I can figure out something so we can explain that feature to our readers, for those who haven’t discovered it on their own. —Diane at RVtravel.com