Issue 1387
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
“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” — George Carlin
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Lollipop Day!
On this day in history: 1903 – The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile.
Did you see the news? Click here to read the latest issue of the Sunday News for RVers.
New Facebook Groups
• RVing Over 60
• RVing Fulltime
• RVing with a Disability
• RV Tires: News, Information, Advice, Discussion
Tip of the Day
Adjust refrigerator temperature – and keep freezer the same
By Jim Twamley
Here’s one of life’s funny little questions: What is that thingy on the metal fin inside my refrigerator? I never thought much about it except when I tried to clean around it. It slides up and down on the fin and has a wire attached to it.
Turns out this little guy is a temperature sensor, properly termed a “thermistor.” It tells your refrigerator to keep working or to relax for a while. Learn more.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
RV Electricity – This week’s J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) Session
Please buy a digital meter
Dear Mike,
I have a ???? RV and it is or is not doing ???? and can you tell me how to fix it? —A reader
Mike gets questions like this every week. He explains why, if you have a digital meter – even if you’re not sure how to use it – it will assist him to answer your questions. Read more.
• Join Mike’s Facebook group, RV Electricity.
• Read more of Mike’s articles here.
RVing will not make you happy
Say what?! Read about one woman’s journey from being a successful big-city attorney living the proverbial Rat Race four-and-a-half years ago, to living and traveling full time in her RV with two dogs and a cat. What does she mean by, “RVing will not make you happy”? Find out here.
Reader poll
Do you own an Instant Pot?
We’re seeing these rise in popularity with RVers, and want to know if you have one. Tell us here, please.
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.
Time to cool off!
This compact, battery-powered, highly rated (the highest-rated one on Amazon!), low-noise fan is just what you need to stay cool in your RV this summer. The rechargeable battery charges quick with a USB and will keep you cool for up to six hours at a time. Clip it to your table, bedside, driver or passenger seat, or by your chair outside to stay cool. Learn more or order.
Quick Tip
An easy way to save money on propane
From the “so tight he squeaks when he walks” department: Turn off your oven pilot light when not in use. Save propane = save money.
Website of the day
Elkhart RV factory tours
We’ve taken a few factory tours in Elkhart and highly recommend taking the time to do so if you’re in the area. Here’s a site with all the factories. Make sure to download the PDF to see the days and hours of operation at each factory.
A few weeks ago we showed you people who love their RVs so much they got tattoos of them. Did you see?
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Video: Take a test ride in Tesla’s new Cybertruck.
• How to avoid damaging slideouts when leveling an RV.
• New RVer asks: Should I carry water in my tank when traveling?
#925-1
Remove ticks easily from people or pets!
This highly rated Tick Twister Remover Set will remove ticks, large and small, without squeezing them, reducing the risk of infection. It does not leave the mouthparts of the tick in the skin. It’s safe and easy, and it helps prevent Lyme Disease. Keep one of these in your RV. Learn more or order.
Trivia
Russia has more surface area than Pluto. The country has a surface area of 6,601,668 square miles while Pluto has 6,427,805.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“We rescued Rockie just about 3 years ago. He is a Lab mix. He is such a ladies’ man that he will only cry out to the female dogs to come and play. The male dogs not so much. He is so goofy at times that he keeps us in stitches all the time. I can’t imagine a better traveling partner for us.” — Gary Pratt
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
A mechanic was working on the engine of a class A motorhome when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in the shop, waiting for the service manager to take a look at his RV. The mechanic shouted across the garage, “Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?” The surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorhome. The mechanic said, “So, Doc. Look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish it works just like new. So how come I’m paid so little compared to you when we’re doing basically the same work?” The surgeon paused, smiled and said to the mechanic, “Try doing it with the engine running.”
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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This newsletter is copyright 2020 by RVtravel.com
As far as fans, we love our Opolar 9″ F-531. Long battery life, battery or USB cord, quiet, two speeds, good desk stand.
Good looken ‘ Rockie. I am sure he relays your rescue daily.
Do you really need pads under your jacks on a class a motorhome? I think we do but my husband says no. We do sink some and need adjustments.
The short answer is that in many situations, you need jack pads. If you’re sinking into the ground, then you need a larger footprint under each jack so the weight on the ground — per square inch or per square foot — is less. If you’re parked on asphalt, the same thing applies, as asphalt is soft and subject to your jacks creating indentations, especially in hot weather. This applies whether you’re in an campground with asphalt RV spaces, or “blacktop boondocking” for a night in a business parking lot. (Lot damage by RV levelers is cited by retail managers as one of the reasons they ban Overnight RV Parking.) If you’re on concrete, you’re probably OK without jack pads.
I always use homemade 18” square pads under my class A. This past winter we were in Phoenix Arizona and used my pads on what I thought was dirt that appeared as hard as concrete. The next day I noticed that one of the back pads and jack were depressed several inches into the ground, according to my RV neighbor this is not uncommon in that area. Luckily I carry lots of Lego style blocks that helped prop up my pads.
And on this day in 1969 George Armstrong walked on the Moon.
Neil?
George Armstrong? Everybody knows it was Lance Armstrong.
How about Neil Armstrong!
Hahaha!
George Armstrong was a Hockey player.
Lance Armstrong was a bicyclist.
Neil Armstrong was an astronaut who walked on the moon.
Your squeeky dude that can save money on his propane, by turning the pilot off?! Probably a good idea to include turning the propane off! I can just imagine there are some that will blow it out, leaving the gas on!…..DOAH!
On every RV oven I’ve seen the control knob has the markings OFF PILOT TEMPERATURE SETTINGS meaning when turned to off the gas is shut off.
That setting only turns off the gas TO the pilot light; not FROM the propane tank. To be safe going down the road, always turn off the propane at the valve on the tank.
I’m guessing here but I believe the point is if you have had a meal in the oven, you are finished but still are using the top elements for cooking, boiling water etc. So you turn the pilot off to the oven to save your propane.
question is how much propane can that save you? Maybe enough to buy a single scoop of ice cream?