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Issue 1405
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
“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.” — Erol Ozan
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Filet Mignon Day. (It’s also National Prosecco Day, so celebrate and have yourself a fancy dinner this evenin’!)
On this day in history: 1913 – First production in the U.K. of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.
Tip of the Day
Fridge not cooling? Diagnosis of problem may be easy
Steve Savage submitted this article to RVtravel.com when he was a Master Certified RV Technician with Mobility RV Service.
Do you have an RV refrigerator that’s not keeping its cool? We often make service calls for this very reason – and often the call wasn’t necessary. Why? Many times a customer could make their own diagnosis. Here are a couple of things to look at before calling the service tech, or dragging your RV to the dealer. Learn more.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
RV fires: They happen, and they’re not pretty!
Every other week in our Saturday newsletter, we post an RV Fire Safety Tip. The fact is, RV fires happen. And when an RV catches fire, it goes up fast. RV fire expert Mac McCoy (Mac the Fire Guy) advises that if you can’t extinguish a fire in 20 seconds, then concentrate on getting yourself out of the RV safely; forget about trying to save the RV. Learn more fire safety tips in this article and two short, but very important, videos.
Yesterday’s featured article: Luxury motorhome comes with helipad and helicopter!
Reader poll
At night, when leaving a room, do you turn the lights off?
Feel your way over here and tell us.
Quick Tip
Save water when cleaning “real” dishes while boondocking
Hubby and I don’t like the paper and plastic waste involved in using paper plates to eat and plastic bags to mix stuff. We simply use a rubber spatula to scrape away food scraps, then spray the plates and bowls with a mixture of mostly water and a bit of dishwashing liquid that we keep in a spray bottle., then wipe with one half of a paper towel. We put the dishes in a dish tub, let them pile up until we’re ready to wash, spray again with the bottle, use the sponge, then rinse with boiling water. Works like a charm, saves water and paper. Boondocking is the best way to camp! 🙂 —Thanks, Karen and Hubby!
Website of the day
AARP Daily Crossword
It’s always a good day for a new crossword, right? Keep that brain polished! Play all of AARP’s crossword puzzles, including their puzzle of the day.
Make your phone screen quadruple in size!
This phone screen magnifier amplifies your phone screen 3 to 4 times its size. Using HD zoom optical technology, this lightweight projector is perfect for when you don’t have access to a TV and want to watch videos on your phone. It doesn’t need a power supply, so you never have to charge it. Check it out here.
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:
• 9 percent have bumper stickers on both their car and their RV
• 11 percent have visited at least 10 other countries
• 14 percent say, while RVing, they’ve felt their life was in imminent danger from bad guys
Recent poll: Generally, how much is too much to pay to dump your holding tanks? Tell us here if you haven’t yet.
Don’t swelter in your RV anymore!
At RVtravel.com we don’t see too many products that we go nuts over, but the SoftStartRV is a game changer. Here’s what it can do:
• Run two air conditioners on a 30-amp hookup.
• Run one air conditioner using only a small portable generator.
• Run one air conditioner on 20-amp household current.
• Run an air conditioner or two using your onboard inverter system. Read more.
Trivia
Want to lose weight? Stay away from potato chips. According to a study by Harvard University, potato chips cause more weight gain than any other food. Other foods to blame? Potatoes, sugar-ey beverages, and red meat.
*What is one thing that humans eat that every other living creature refuses to eat? We told you yesterday.Â
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Meet CoCo Lynn. She’s 5 months old and she was a rescue. She was born on the street with her sister Gracie. They came into the shelter with worms, ear mites and infested with fleas. We’re full-time RVers and wanted a small dog so she would be comfortable. When we first saw her she was with her mom and sister. They were barking and jumping all over. CoCo stood behind them wagging her tail but not barking. We knew we wanted her. We’ve had her six weeks now and she’s doing great. She’s adapted to motorhome life very well and is trained to go out and do her business. She loves to sit in our laps and sleeps with us. She runs the roost. We had her 3 weeks before we heard her bark, and that was low and quiet. She’s an all-around joy and we love her to death.” — Bonnie Dillenbeck
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.
Stay free at more than 1,040 wineries and farms
Stay overnight for free at more than 1,040 wineries, farms, breweries, etc.! Harvest Hosts is an alternative to traditional campgrounds, where members can taste great wines and micro-brews, eat fresh produce and stay in peaceful settings. Save 15 percent on a membership by using code HHFRIENDS15 at checkout. Learn more
Leave here with a laugh
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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
I would have adopted all three. Coco is considered an apple head chihuahua. We have one and boy is he his own person. I love chihuahuas. They are so lovable.
LOVE CoCo!
When you talk about a problem with an appliance like a refrigerator it would be nice if you indicated whether it’s the “old” kind of refrigerator or a stand a lone refrig. It would help those of us who know nothing about motorhomes and are trying to learn by reading your articles to determine if the article is relevant. Just an observation form a novice.
AMAC has games and puzzles on their website too! amac.us way better than aarp IMO
Bonnie,
Loved the story behind Coco Lynn. She is very lucky to find such a loving family to join. You are great people for taking her in.
No comment on the screen magnifier. Reminds me of the black and white TV and my grandparents bought a product for tv screen that was blue, red and green. It was to look as a colored tv before they were affordable.
Ron, I am guessing you are about 70 … we got our blue red and green tv screen cover in 1954 in Butte, Montana … those westerns never looked so realistic!
I’m 65 and I remember my friend’s family had one. We watched Saturday morning cartoons before going swimming or boating. Then we got kicked out of their house to go outside. Neat!
AH…… remember it well. About 1951. Western’s were good. Tom Terrific, not as good. The start of my engineering career – static electricity.
Congratulations Bonnie on your new pup! She will give you so much joy and you gave her her furever home!
Just curious whether your recent campaign against abusive/rude commentary has had an effect. HAVE you seen a reduction in trolls commenting? Hoping the answer is affirmative…
Hi, Don. It all depends on the topic in the post. If people don’t turn it into a political debate (or whatever “issue” they feel like), their comments are more “civilized” and not so many need to be sent to trash (where the trash talk belongs 😉 ). Some people really don’t care if they’ve been warned and will continue to write whatever they want — but if they get out of line they can’t say we didn’t warn them (before deleting the comments or blocking them from commenting altogether). Take care. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I tried one of those phone magnifiers from Amazon and it was terrible and not as advertised. But don’t feel obligated to take my word for it, read all the reviews before you buy. I wanted it to see my phone pics and videos easier. Boy was I disappointed.
Coco Lynn is a beauty and those ears…LOVE!!