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Issue 1425
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
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” — Eckhart Tolle
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National TV Dinner Day!
On this day in history: 1846 – Elias Howe is granted a patent for the sewing machine.
Tip of the Day
Be kind to your transmission for its long and happy life
By Greg Illes
Most of us check our transmission fluid now and then (don’t we?). Some of us even have it changed every once in awhile. But aside from that, what else is there to do with a typical automatic transmission other than drive it – and hope it keeps on working?
There are actually some very proactive things that can be done to give your transmission the best possible chance for a long and happy life. Find out what you can do here.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Make sure your hike is a safe one
Some time back a 59-year-old woman went missing in a Northern California state park before she was found six days later. She had fallen from an unmarked trail into a ravine. She was uninjured but could not climb out of the ravine – she could only wait, hoping to be rescued. If you like to go out wandering where there is no one else, what can you do to protect yourself from becoming lost or injured and maybe never making it back to civilization? Here are important safety tips from Boondock Bob Difley (who admits he has been lost in the desert but eventually found his way out).
Yesterday’s featured article: Manufacturers can make getting RV parts difficult
Reader poll
How often do you spend the night in a casino parking lot or RV park?
Take a gamble and respond here.
Quick Tip
Transport full LP tanks properly
Long-time RVtravel.com reader and frequent tip and/or joke contributor George Bliss passes along this LP cylinder safety reminder: Portable propane cylinders are equipped with a safety valve that allows excess pressure to be “blown off” relatively harmlessly. Trouble is, some RVers want to transport full cylinders lying down – not upright. The safety valve is designed to vent gaseous LP — not liquid. If the tank should develop excess pressure while on its side, the safety valve may be blocked by the liquid LP and, instead of venting, the pressure may continue to build to the point of a potential explosion. ALWAYS transport LP cylinders in the same orientation as they were designed to be used — vertical tanks upright and those rare horizontal tanks lying down. Thanks, George, for the refresher.
Website of the day
Love Your RV
Full-timer Ray takes you along on his RVing journey. You’ll find great tips about the lifestyle on this website, as well as his favorite RVing products, DIY projects and more.
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:
• If they won a million-dollar lotto, 16 percent of people would use the money to travel
• 48 percent would rather shower in the morning than at night
• 25 percent have a birthday in the fall, sometime between September and November (Happy Birthday!)
Recent poll: Is the ongoing pandemic weighing on you emotionally?
Trivia
Meet someone who seems like an “Average Joe” in Germany? Folks there call “Average Joes” “Otto Normalverbraucher,” which translates to “Otto normal consumer.” Now that’s a fun one to say!
*Yesterday we told you what the very first flavor of potato chip was. Can you guess? Find out here in the trivia section.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Willow on her way to meet Mik (a horse).” —Ken Jensen
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.
Strengthen your hands, fingers and forearms
Here’s a great, easy way to build up the strength in your hands, fingers or forearms. Perfect for RVers. If you suffer from arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis or tennis elbow this is for you. It’s also great for simply building up the strength of your grip. This is a best seller and costs about $9. Learn more or order.
Leave here with a laugh
Q: Why couldn’t the green pepper practice archery?
A: Because it didn’t habanero.
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
Problems while hiking…
I usually travel, dayhike and backpack alone. So like other solo hikers I need to be more self-sufficient than people in a group.
Anytime I go out of sight of my van – even on a short “nature trail” – I carry my charged phone, a small daypack with the survival basics (Google “Mountaineers 10 Essentials). I always carry my 10Es in a gallon zip lock bag, toss it into whatever pack I’m using.
If you start a short hike just before it rains, or close to sunset, you may be the last person out there when you slip, sprain or break something. And there you are – alone, immobile, a mile or more from your car, destined to spend a very unpleasant night outside.
I consider myself properly equipped if I’m carrying enough so I can spend 24 hours in my backyard, under a lawn sprinkler.
And yes, I’ve temporarily been lost twice, alone in the backcountry. An interesting experience! After you realize you’re lost – you won’t need a cup of coffee for days! 😁
With new handheld GPSunits going for as little as $100 and used as low as $20 anyone who leaves sight of their RV / car is taking their life in their hands. Phones may not work if you lose your signal. Even if you know the area it can be bad.
My wife and out went for a “short” walk around a park lake we had taken nearly 100 times when we lived across the street. Left the phone and the GPS in the RV (We know where we are!). We camped there after being gone several years, got turned around and ended up walking nearly 5 miles right after she had knee surgery. Not good at all. Won’t EVER make that mistake again.
I think that the Leave Here With a Laugh should have a Groan button you can click.
What is the best or 5th wheel to live fulltime and travel in and why?
Boy thats a loaded question that put to most people you would get more answers then you bargained for!!
The Joke of the Day is a groaner and Willow is so cute. Is she still a puppy?
Willow is a cute dog. How old is he ? What is his breed?
Thanks for the “thoughtful” quote.
I had a transmission cooler put on several years ago on my older truck, but would like to have a temperature gauge. Glad you had the article.
Willow is very cute!
Kudos for the website Love Your RV. Ray has done a very long list of mods to his 5th wheel and has posted videos plus follow up reviews on the products. Also, he has posted videos on many maintenance jobs, including how to clean your RV air conditioner. I have followed his lead on many of his videos.
I just bought a mattress he reviewed. Very good
I totally recommend Ray Burr’s site!
Several years ago I came across this tie down for transporting my large LP tanks to and from the fill station. http://tailgaterstrap.com/ I absolutely love them. After I learned I should NOT be transporting my tanks on their sides after having them filled, and also not transporting them inside my vehicle, I came across the Tailgater. I would highly recommend this to anyone. They are well made straps. The strap even works on my 5th wheel slotted tailgate.
We have the Tailgater too and have had several people stop us and ask where we got it. The only thing I would change is to have them with the ratchet facing the rear of the truck. It gets tiresome reaching around the tank to fasten it.
Great info on transporting propane tanks, for those who aren’t already aware!
Would this apply, also, to the small propane bottles(small green)?
Those milk crates are great to have on hand for many things. We have several collapsible ones for saving space when not being used.
A good way to transport propane tanks is to use a 13×13 plastic milk crate. Keeps them upright while moving. 20 and 30 lb tanks fit nicely in them.
Oh MAN! thanks for that!