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Issue 1424
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.
If you shop on Amazon, please click here to visit through our affiliate site (we get a little commission that way – and you don’t pay any extra). Thank you!
Breaking News:
Breaking News: Plugs pulled on Trailer Life and Motorhome magazines
Both magazines will cease publication with their December issues. We’ll have the complete story this coming weekend in the RV Travel Newsletter.
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Today’s thought
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” — Josh Billings
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Teddy Bear Day!
On this day in history: 1776 – The Continental Congress officially names its union of states the United States.
Tip of the Day
RV tire inflation tips
By Mark Polk
RV EDUCATION 101®
Always check and add air to your RV tires when they are “cold,” i.e., before traveling. When tires get hot, the air expands and you get a higher pressure reading. If you let some air out, they will be underinflated when they are cold.
When you check tire inflation always use a quality tire pressure gauge. If you have dual wheels get a gauge with a double-angled foot, and make sure the pressure rating of the gauge is higher than the amount of air the tires are inflated to. After much testing, and research on portable air compressors to keep in the RV, I personally decided on a Viair RV compressor. It can inflate my RV tires to 90 psi with no issues. [Editor: The Viair RV compressor is available on Amazon.]
ONLINE VIDEO TRAINING COURSES BY MARK POLK
• Motorhome RV Orientation.
• Travel Trailer & 5th Wheel Orientation.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Manufacturers can make getting RV parts difficult
One of the things that you as an RV owner may not realize is some manufacturers sell parts only to their own dealers. For example, if you need a part for a Keystone product, you’ll find their parts are only obtainable through a Keystone dealer. For many RV brands, the nearest dealer might be 100 miles away. That means a shop has to get the part shipped to the dealer, then the dealer has to ship it to the shop. That’s a lot of downtime for the RV owner. Learn more.
Yesterday’s featured article: The world’s longest RV? We think so!
Reader poll
How important is an electric hookup when choosing where to stay for two days?
Please tell us here.
Casino Camping: Your input wanted
We are starting a new weekly column in RVtravel.com with information about casinos that welcome RVers for overnight stays. Some offer full-hookup RV parks while others provide space in their parking lots for free overnight stays. We welcome your tips about casinos that welcome RVers. Learn more and submit your tip here.
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.
Quick Tip
Pay attention when hooking up your tow vehicle
A common campground “courtesy rule” is not to talk with folks while they are hooking up towed vehicles. Some incomplete hookups are a result of you being interrupted by someone or something during the hookup procedure. For example, the person in the next campsite says “goodbye,” and you look up to acknowledge, and forget to attach something. It happens. The visual double-check helps prevent incomplete hookups. If you get interrupted a second time, do it again. After all, it’s only your car! Ask your co-pilot to double-check the hookup. They may see something you overlooked. Thanks to Ron Jones, AboutRVing.com.
Best-selling small-space organizers
It can be hard keeping everything organized in a small space like an RV, right? Here’s Amazon’s list of best small-space organizers so you can keep everything in check. You’ll find everything from under-the-sink kitchen organizers, to clothing and closet organizers, to tiny little bookcases. Explore these helpful items here.
Website of the day
Petfinder
It’s about time you got a dog or cat (or bird or turtle!). Petfinder’s infinite (well, it feels like it) database of available pets in your area is the perfect place to find your next best friend. Some trivia: Petfinder currently lists more than 315,000 adoptable pets from nearly 14,000 animal shelters and rescue groups. It is owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company and reports that it has facilitated more than 22 million pet adoptions as of 2013.
NEW FACEBOOK GROUP: RVing Wacky, Tacky America. This will be fun!
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• First-of-its-kind self-service RV park. The wave of the future?
• My rude, noisy neighbor. Good riddance!
• The most stolen vehicles of the year (and the states they’re stolen in).
#931-1
Trivia
Sour cream and onion potato chips? Cheddar and chive? Ranch? BBQ? These popular potato chip flavors are common on grocery shelves now, but what was the very first flavor? The first flavor of potato chip was cheese and onion. Joe “Spud” Murphy invented the first flavored potato chip in 1954. Before then, the only way to eat a potato chip was plain with salt, but his new flavor combo paved the way for all the flavors we love today.
*Yesterday we told you a fun fact about how Hewlett-Packard got its name.
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.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
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
I just saw 10 ants frantically running around my kitchen. I felt bad, so I built them a small house. Now I’m their landlord and I collect rent from my tenants.
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.
This website utilizes some advertising services. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of this potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers.
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
Thinking how useful rvtravel.com is going to be for the MANY newbies out on the road to happy rving. My first search (cry) for help brought me here fours years ago. Glad you guys are here.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Bill! We’re glad you’re here, too! We hope you have many happy years of RVing ahead of you. 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I have a residential fridge so I can go about 6 hours on the battery bank and have to run the engine or generator.
This may have been posted before, but it might save somebody a problem.
Check the RV dump site for easy access. I just saw an RV with a Toad trying to make a bend going into a dump site. He had to finally unhook to get in.
I usually plan to dump before hooking up.
When our black tank is getting full, we generally plan to dump immediately upon arrival at our destination. That way, the solid matter in the tank is stirred up, broken down, an in suspension in the water, and there’s nothing to clog up at any point. We’ve been doing this in the same motorhome for 15years with never a clog.
And there is seldom a line to use the facility at 4 in the afternoon!
I definitely had one of those “tragedies” from a well intentioned camping neighbor talking to me while hooking up the tow vehicle. (they had been drinking and couldn’t help themselves).
What I learned from that is to use the stupid Checklist, and check it twice….. I only wish I had learned about the power of the checklist younger.. would have saved a lot of grief.
You should be ashamed of yourself for publishing bad puns.
Toby might be more Bichon Frise than poodle… may even be full blooded. Looks identical to our Lilly who is a full blooded Bichon.
I’ve been looking for a small compressor to take with us, didn’t want to drop the $300 on the Viair, then I noticed my small Porter-Cable pancake compressor under the workbench. It’s for air nailers. I have room, so I’ll bring it along. Goes up to 120+psi. Might be a little slow…
I agree that while Viair compressors are top-of-the-line they are pretty pricey. I use a tire inflator that I purchased from Amazon for like $40. Works great and is small enough to keep in the back seat of the tow vehicle. I did have to replace the screw-on chuck with a quick disconnect to make it more usable.
I have a compressor without a storage tank. It’s about 15 years old but still works great and it’s small and compact.
Camping for only 2 days is easy without hookups, just need dump station nearby…
I’m curious. How often do you need a dump station?
Leave here with a laugh, you have got to be kidding? That is humor?
it’s subjective…haha!
Maybe you have a hard time with the concept of humor.
Wordplay is a category of humor
Yes, it’s humor. Not great humor. A real groaner, in fact…. 🙂
A couple of weeks ago I renewed my Trailer Life subscription for 2years. I wonder if there’s a refund coming?
I won’t hold my breath.
I’ve been thinking of bailing on my Trailer Life sub for quite a while, but it was so inexpensive I just kept renewing. Like you, we’re subscribed for at least two more years. Their trailer reviews were always a bit ‘light’ on criticism (except for the scathing review they gave the first Winnebago 5th wheel some years ago). Once in a while they reviewed stuff that I was interested in, but that wasn’t enough to keep me interested. Now I’m kicking myself.
I’ll be interested to see if they shut the mags down due to lack of subscribers, or another Marcus Lemonis cost cutting move. I’m betting on the latter.
I just renewed mine two months ago! Dangit!!
Dispute the charge with your credit card company
Don’t get too upset until you hear from them. “Trailer Life” and “Motorhome,” both published by Good Sam, are being combined into one magazine.
Really? Not interested.
I did the very same thing. Don’t hold your breath for a refund.
I have never resubscribed and they just keep on coming despite renewal threats! Has been 3 or 4 years.
I have a rescue poodle mix also. Someone dumped her at a Pet Smart…luck for me!! Her name is Bee. Been with me for 14 years. She is black and white. No fleas, no smell, no shedding, and is my best friend. Can take her anywhere…the perfect pooch. She is still youthful and loving. I am so lucky to have her.
I love the idea of having a park and stay on the side of the highway. But the cost is high even for a one night full hook up, I would say 20.00 or lower with options to not use a service for a lower fee. I think pets make people a better person.
Re the talking while hooking up, good advice and a rule for us. The wording, though, reflects motorhome bias. For those of us towing a travel trailer, may I suggest “It’s only your RV!” instead of “only your car.” Our towed vehicle is our trailer, the “tow vehicle” or TV, is the truck or SUV in front. It can get confusing trying to address issues for MHs and TTs.
Picky picky picky
I’ve found that the smaller compressors don’t create enough volume to inflate a 22.5 tire in a timely manner.
I have a small exchangeable CO2 cylinder with 2200 pounds of pressure in it. I have a regulator that reduces psi to 150. When empty, it costs about $30 to exchange for full tank. A full tanks lasts approximately one year with instant tire fills and inflatables.
I would have guessed “barbecue” as the first flavor added to chips. I remember when they came out in the 50’s. But, I was growing up in ‘backwards’ Chicago (according to my CA wife . . .).
I feel sorry for you, my brother married a CA woman and had to learn how to eat all over, like instead of cutting your steak up into bite size pieces you cut one bite at a time. Totally destroyed every thing we had learned in our childhood. But he has survived over 30 years now, just glad it’s him and not me.
“Poore Brothers” chips used to have a “steak & onion” flavor. I wish it were still available.
YES!!! So annoying when people want to talk when I’m in the middle of working on something.
My uncle on the farm used to tell me “If you can’t talk and work at the same time don’t talk.”
Funny……that’s what I used to tell the guys that worked for me
Regarding today’s Quick Tip, we have double-sided pre-departure checklists — interior and exterior. My bride goes over the interior while I’m doing the exterior and hitching up. Then we switch and double-check each other. Then, before I get into the truck, I walk around and re-re-check everything outside again.
Speaking of the laugh section,you sure have some real groaners there.
I priced the Viair this morning on Amazon. $312.00! Anything decent available for less?
PORTER-CABLE 150 PSI LIGHTWEIGHT UNIT (20 POUNDS) AT 117.99 ON AMAZON.COM http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-CMB15-Oil-Free-Shrouded-Compressor/dp/B006CVXGR0/ref=sr_1_20?crid=2XM
That is exactly the one I purchased and use. Works great, easily stored, easy to carry…… best one I’ve found so far.
Great price, but it’s 120v, the ViAir is 12v. Not everyone has an inverter.
Yes, I have a small exchangeable CO2 cylinder with 2200 pounds of pressure in it. I have a regulator that reduces psi to 150. When empty, it costs about $30 to exchange for a full cylinder. A full cylinder lasts approximately one year with instant tire fills and inflatables. My RV tires take 110 psi so this works great!
I dont get today’s funny, 10 ants, ???
Maybe it’s to dang early for such things.
tenants — ten ants
Oh, ha ha lol
10 ants=ten ants= ten-ants that live as tenants
Reminds me of an old joke. Anyone else have the theme music from The Pink Panther dancing around in their heads now? Ten ants, ten ants, ten ants…….