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Issue 1457
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
“Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.”—Faith Baldwin
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Pumpkin Day!
On this day in history: 1936 – The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation.
Did you see the news? Click here to read the latest issue of the Sunday News for RVers.
If you are a member of an RV club or are affiliated with an RV-related event would you please let us know if its gatherings, meetings, etc., are cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus? We’ll pass along the info to our readers. We appreciate any news related to RVing that’s being affected by the virus. Please submit it here. Thank you!
Tip of the Day
These two inexpensive cleaning agents work great!
By Bob Difley
Before buying those high-priced, fancy-packaged, specialized cleaning supplies, here are cleaning tips using two items you probably already have in your rig. Even if you don’t have them already, they’re readily available in any grocery store – and you may be pleasantly surprised at their versatility. What are these magic ingredients? Find out here.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new Escape 5.0 fifth wheel. As he reports, for those looking for the tow ability of a fifth wheel who already have a half-ton or even midsize pickup truck, the Escape 5.0 is a very worthy contender. Learn more.
Tony’s reviews from this weekend you may have missed:
• 2021 Camp365, a most unusual folding trailer
• Rockwood Geo Pro 19FBTH toy hauler
RV Electricity – This week’s J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) Session
Avoid space heater danger: What you need to know – Part 2
As promised, here’s Part 2 on space heater safety. … This time we’ll discuss the various space heater technologies available as well as potential fire hazards from flammable material placed too close to the heater or power cable. Read more.
• Join Mike’s Facebook group, RVelectricity.
• Read more of Mike’s articles here.
What about RVing somewhere else? Like Africa?
A lot of people feel that Africa is so exotic and remote a destination that it’s beyond the reach of mere mortals (with mortal bank accounts). This is simply not the case. Greg Illes discovered that it’s not only easy and affordable to visit Africa, but it’s reasonably safe to do so, and – best of all – you can actually RV there as a visitor! Learn more.
Reader poll
How many pets do you own?
Need a step up?
Car or truck roof too hard to reach? Designed to fit over almost any tire, the TireStep allows you to reach three important areas of your truck or SUV: the engine compartment, the roof, and the bed. For fifth wheel owners, the TireStep may be the helper you’ve been wanting for a long time and just didn’t know it. Reaching over the truck bed using the TireStep is not a problem while hitching or unhitching your rig. Learn more 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.
Quick Tip
Water pump whiz
Getting water to your rig without having to move the RV is a blessing if you stay in one place for a while. Many boondockers use a water barrel – a food grade drum – they carry on their truck bed. Getting the water out of it and into the RV is a bit of a trick. Some place their barrels in custom cradles that hold them high enough to allow gravity to drain the water from the drum into the RV tank. Others set them on a bed-mounted toolbox and use a siphon action.
Using an auxiliary 12-volt pump can eliminate the “high flyer” methods. Immerse an inlet hose into the barrel – possibly taping it to a metal pipe to keep it “stiff” enough to reach the bottom of the drum. An appropriately sized outlet hose fits into the RV water port. Getting electricity to your pump can be done in different ways. You may “tie-in” to the battery charge line plug in the truck bed, which normally serves to charge the RV batteries when towing. Or run a 12-volt “extension cord” to the cab and power off the cab’s lighter socket. Just make sure the pump’s current draw doesn’t exceed the rating of your socket.
Website of the day
Little Vintage Trailers
Even if you don’t want to buy a little vintage trailer (even though most of us wish we could!), this website shows off the cutest trailers for sale. Read articles about vintage trailers, buy art prints, view campgrounds and “glampgrounds” and learn how to decorate your trailer to make it just as cute.
Fall is here, and this hidden seasonal occurrence could spell trouble. Click here to read about this seasonal problem you can’t see from the ground…
50 States, 5,000 Ideas, the best book for travelers!
This book from the experts at National Geographic showcases the best travel experiences in every state, from the obvious to the unexpected. Sites include national parks, beaches, hotels, battlefields, dude ranches, museums and more. Each entry provides detailed travel information and fascinating facts about each state that will help fuel your wanderlust and ensure the best vacation possible. The book also includes a section on the Canadian provinces and territories. Learn more or order.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• How one RVer figured out how to never do laundry again. (Hilarious!)
• The dysfunctional RV industry and you. Parts 1 – 5.
• What to do if your propane tank is overfilled.
#937-1
Trivia
We think Harrison Schmitt, an astronaut from the Apollo 17 mission, might have needed to find a new career. Turns out Schmitt had a severe allergy to moon dust! And, yup, he found that out the hard way…
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“This is CeCe, a Shih Tzu, and she just loves her elk antler bone. Travels in a 25′ Leisure Travel Van.” —Jerry X Shea
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 saw a man that used different cuts of steak to create portraits of people. It was a rare medium, but well done.
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 and special projects 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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We also travel with a little Shih Tzu, Holly, that we got as a Christmas gift from our daughter in 2006. She loves having her own window on the world at my feet in our Thor ACE.
Uhh, what laundry story????
Didn’t see it when I went back through today’s issue.
I also didn’t see it, but I think I recall reading it some time ago.
Hi, Mike. It’s in the list under “Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com” — just above the Trivia: “How one RVer figured out how to never do laundry again. (Hilarious!)” But here’s the link for you: https://www.rvtravel.com/laundry936/ I hadn’t read it since we first ran it, but it was just as funny this time around! 😆 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Today’s thought sounds like the wildfires running thru the western states
I really dont think those residents need to be reminded.
So very sorry they have to go through that.
Hi Thomas D,
Today’s thought actually made me think back to gentler days and brought back some fond memories. So, I have a different take on it.
We live downwind of the Cameron Peak Fire and have been hacking and gagging for weeks. My bronchial issues keep me from enjoying even a small wood fire-pit while camping, so I’ve been locked up indoors. Our final camping trip this year ended one day before the fire started.
Thanks go to Thomas and the Editors
The laundry story was a hoot! Loved it! I’m sorry about all the negative comments you received on the story of the interracial couple who RV. I read that article and found it informative. I was happy for the couple who were making a way for themselves…branching out and doing what felt right to them. As a new fulltime RVer, I’m learning that there are two types of people…those who care and those who don’t care and just want to cause trouble. I’m happy to be in the first group. Please keep posting great stories!
The laundry story is hilarious! I must have missed it the first time. Thank you for the belly laughs! I needed that!
Laundry story is your best funny in weeks! Loved it.
Of course, I am a guy…
Sorry I missed the laundry story the first time. Might have saved me some trips. The best I have been able to do is being relegated to ‘go sit in the car.’
…that reprint on RV laundry’s is funnier the second time I read it , thank you.