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Issue 1468
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!
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Page Contents
Today’s thought
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” ―
COMPACT ELECTRIC TOASTER. Perfect for the RV. Great gift! Learn more.
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Vanilla Cupcake Day!
On this day in history: 1775 – The United States Marine Corps is founded at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia by Samuel Nicholas.
We salute our readers who served (or currently serve) with the Marines. Here’s The Marine Corps Hymn (recorded in 1942):
Tip of the Day
Can’t get the propane to flow in your motorhome? Check this first
Steve Savage submitted this article to RVtravel.com when he was a Master Certified RV Technician with Mobility RV Service.
The propane won’t flow in your motorhome and you can’t figure out why not? Sometimes the fix is really simple, and this is one of those times. Believe me, I get this question a lot. The question, usually from folks who have just purchased a used motorhome, is this: How do I get the propane to flow into my RV? The oven, furnace, water heater and refrigerator will not work on propane. The key here, of course, is nothing works on propane but everything works fine otherwise. Read why here.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Save even more on a SoftStartRV!
Check out this special holiday savings offer on the incredible new device that allows you to run your RV’s air conditioner in low-power (or alternative power) situations when you could never run it before. SAVE BIG NOW! Learn more.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new 2021 Grand Design Imagine 17MKE Travel Trailer. As he reports, “For a lot of usable space in a relatively short body, it’s going to be difficult to compete with this trailer.” Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2021 Newmar Canyon Star 3719 Front Diesel Motorhome? If you missed it, you can read it here.
For previous RV reviews, click here.
Is this your RV?
If it’s yours and you can prove it to us (send a couple of photos for comparison), tell us here by 9 p.m. Pacific Standard time today, Nov. 10, 2020. If it’s yours you’ll win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.
If this isn’t your RV, send us a photo of your RV here (if you haven’t already) for a chance to win in future issues.
We’ll have another photo in tomorrow’s RV Daily Tips Newsletter (sign up to receive an email alert so you don’t miss the issue or those that follow). Some of these photos are submitted by readers while others were taken by our editors and writers on their travels around the USA.
Zap that filthy RV awning – with Mr. Clean’s help
For those that live or camp in the Desert Southwest, dealing with dirt is a way of life. One spot the dirt seems to congregate is in the folds of a rolled-up awning. But cleaning an awning is usually such a tedious, difficult and “getting wet” job that it frequently gets put off. Here’s a method that will help you get that grungy awning cleaned up in fairly short order. Learn how.
Yesterday’s featured article: Dog scratches its way through RV door
Overnight RV Parking, with more than 14,000 locations listed, is the largest and best resource for locating free and inexpensive places to spend a night in an RV. For membership information and a demo of the site, click here. A modest membership fee required, but try the free demo. Watch a video about OvernightRVparking.com.
Reader poll
How many dinner plates do you keep in your RV?
If you don’t know, go count them then tell us here.
Quick Tip
The realities of motorhome fuel mileage
With uncertainty about long-term fuel prices, motorhome buyers are often concerned with how many miles per gallon a motorhome might get. It is a very reasonable concern – as some motorhomes will only get 6 to 8 miles per gallon. The reality is, if you only drive your motorhome 3,000 miles per year (which is the average), miles per gallon won’t make a huge difference in the long run. But if you plan to put a lot of miles on your coach each year, the fuel costs can be significant.
When it comes to fuel mileage, here’s what you can expect: Most gas Class A coaches powered by the Ford Triton V10 motor will get 7 to 10 miles per gallon, depending on how they are driven. Fuel mileage goes down at higher speed and in mountainous terrain or driving with a headwind. Most gas Class C coaches powered by either big block Ford or Chevy motors will get 8 to 11 miles per gallon.
If your goal is to get the absolute best fuel mileage in any motorhome, simply keep the speed under 62 miles per hour. At higher speeds the wind resistance puts a higher demand on the engine, which requires more fuel. Driving 65 mph will drop fuel mileage by 20%. Driving 70 mph will drop fuel mileage by 40% (except in large diesel pushers). —From Buying a Used Motorhome – How to get the most for your money and not get burned. Available on Amazon.
Website of the day
Prepare your winterized RV for storage
Here’s a helpful article on KOA.com from our friend Mark Polk about how to properly store your RV after it’s been winterized.
Save money with these reusable silicone bags
Never waste money on plastic bags again! This 4-pack of reusable silicone food bags have an airtight seal and are leak-proof, keeping food fresh for longer. Easily freeze the bags, and even run them through the dishwasher once you’re done using them. This plastic bag alternative won’t harm the environment, and instead provides a solution that you can wash, rinse and reuse to your heart’s content! Learn more or order.
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:
• 45 percent have served on a jury in a civil or criminal case
• 27 percent say beer is their alcoholic beverage of choice, 20 percent say wine, and 17 percent say hard liquor
• 47 percent are afraid of heights
Recent poll: How capable are you or your partner making repairs to your RV?
Tow bars for trailers and motorhomes at Amazon. Click
Trivia
Want to visit outer space? Sure, get into your car and drive 60 mph straight in the air. You’d hit outer space in one hour! Of course, you can’t do this, but yup, at 60 mph we’re only one driving hour away from space.
*What are men most likely to do in a U.S. National Park that women aren’t? We told you yesterday (and it’s a bit morbid…).
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Riley is a 7-year-old Cairn Terrier who loves going anywhere in the coach.” —Rick and Teresa Sorrenti
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.
Give your phone or tablet a full-sized keyboard
How neat is this? This tiny, collapsible Bluetooth keyboard connects to your phone and tablet so you can type comfortably. The 5-ounce palm-sized keyboard can be folded into your pocket or backpack to carry around. All you have to do is press “Connect” to quickly pair with your devices. Check it out here.
Leave here with a laugh
Did you miss the latest RV Travel Newsletter? If so, read it here.
Oh, and if you missed the latest Sunday News for RVers, make sure to catch up here.
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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.
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
All week long I have to account for how I get to the next job on time. In the motor home on a weekend trip it’s “my pace on my terms”. So if you don’t like my speed go around me.
While figuring our class c’s MPG I found something interesting. The drive from NJ to Fl, visiting the kids, shopping and diving in WPB and all of those other snowbird things used less gallons than our oil heater would have used at home keeping the house warm 🙂
As I always say if you have to speed to get where you’re going, you should’ve left sooner. Besides the journey can be just as interesting as the destination, you’d be surprised at how much more you see at 62 mph than 75. Plus your tires on a motorhome or trailer are not rated for 75 mph continuously.
Our Class A has a gas engine and a gas generator. We do not use the engine A/C, which is not effective in a 35 ft coach, but instead run the generator with the coach A/C on, which cools the whole area. The generator manual estimates this uses about 1/2 gallon an hour, so I include generator hours along with miles and gallons since last fill up in calculating MPG.
I don’t much care about mpg I own the RV and I’m not going to sell it
In our fifth wheel we can seat 6 people at our table and we often do. I love having family and friends in. We’re full time and life is beyond paper plates. I set food up on counter and pass it around. If it breaks we replace it. I have found a way to keep my dishes from not not breaking, but not moving around.
When we travel i write down each fill up and miles, and at the end add it all up to see what we did each year on around 5000 miles. The last four years we did not tow and drove 64 to 65 mph. This year we towed abate a Smart car which only weighs in around 2000 and at he end of this we got 1/2 mile per gallon better. I did drive 62 to 63 towing so unless somebody did something to the gas to get better mileage the 1 to 2 miles slower did increase my average
Mr Clean on the awning?
Mr Clean and also off brands are all melamine foam.
Per Wikapedia, this is just a very fine abrasive.
Be careful what you use it on.
Gerald, You should re-read the article. No where did it say to use Mr. Clean on your awning. They said to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Mop, bucket of water and a little dish soap.
Come to Canada (after Covid is done) and you’ll get 25% better gas/fuel mileage per gallon. That’s cause our Imperial gallon is 25% larger than a U.S. gallon.
Calculating accurate mpg can only be done over a long period of time and with multiple fill-ups. One time calculation is almost meaningless as are the read outs of built in mpg displays. I calculate mine (the old fashion way) over a period of at least one year and a minimum of 10 – 15 fill ups and almost consistently get 7.8mpg with my 2013 Tiffin Phaeton 42LH with the 400hp ISL Cummins diesel and towing our 4500 lb 2019 GMC Acadia Denali. Living and doing the majority of my travels here in the west with lots of mountainous highways, I feel this is pretty good mpg.
Today’s RV review………
Does anyone know what stretch of road that is where the filming of the 2021 Grand 17MKE being towed by an SUV took place, those red rock walls are worth a trip to see!
We usually travel between 55 and 60 mph for three reasons: (1) Speed restrictions on our Honda toad, (2) Best gas mileage and (3) Least stress for enjoyment of scenery. We are nearly always the slowest vehicle on the highway, which is fine. Unlike most drivers, we consider the speed limit to be the maximum, not the minimum. Enjoy your ride.
Can we get a hands on review of this unit?
https://www.automobilemag.com/news/neiman-marcus-rv-customized-bowlus-trailer-christmas/
I think Tony Barthel would like to do that, Snayte. Are you thinking about ordering that for your wife for Christmas? 😆 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Absolutely right about speed and RV fuel mileage. Slow down and be safer too.
And enjoy the view. We live in a beautiful country and RV travel is a great way to see it.
The way to travel at a slower speed and see the most is to stay off the interstates (except for going around cities).
Fuel economy is always a challenge and finding fuel at a good price and being able to maneuver around the fuel islands can push the stress level up. The gas buddy app. can help, by looking at the station via a satellite view, select directions for the station and then satellite and then zoom in for a decent look at the station. At the beginning of the summer we started to use the EFS card for our diesel fuel, works great and saves us $$ and less anxiety by using the truck lanes at mostly Loves and TA truck stops. Our last purchase was $1.87/gallon using the card, advertised price was $2.35/ gallon. That was the best discount but the average is about .20-25 cents/gallon.
Even before the EFS card, we always used the truck stops for fuel. No issues with getting in and out and no surprises either!
You may be surprised to know that most truck stop diesel is 20% bio-diesel which requires more frequent changes of fuel filters thereby partially offsetting the savings.
I routinely drive our 40 foot diesel motorhome through standard “gas stations” after checking the layout on Gas Buddy & satellite views. I also only buy “brand name” fuel such as Shell, BP, Exxon/Mobil. For all my extra effort my Cummings engine suffered total destruction from a “dropped valve” at 32,000 miles!
My dad always said, “There’s just no tellin’ ” (whatever that means).
So I’m going with Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming”.