This newsletter is for intelligent, open-minded RVers. If you comment on an article, do it with respect for others. If not, you will be denied posting privileges.
Issue 1473
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!
[activecampaign form=34]
Page Contents
Today’s thought
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could…. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is Take A Hike Day!
On this day in history: 1820 – Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)
Tip of the Day
An RV tech answers would-be buyer questions
Steve Savage submitted this article to RVtravel.com when he was a Master Certified RV Technician with Mobility RV Service.
I try to help readers, rather than hype the RV industry – of which I have been a part in various capacities for years. What I’ve found, having spoken at RV conferences and now as we interact with owners as I repair RVs, is folks buy with “stars in their eyes,” focusing on floor plans and interior design, most often missing all the important stuff. I’d like to share a few questions that a reader sent in. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Today’s RV review…
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new 2021 Rockwood Mini Lite 2514s Travel Trailer. Tony writes, “While the usability and features of this trailer are what might sell it for some, I think the build quality is the real reason to look at these.” Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2021 Oliver Legacy Elite II Travel Trailer? If you missed it, you can read it here.
For previous RV reviews, click here.
Forget buying a portable generator!
Use your car or RV engine to generate clean 110 power with a CarGenerator. It’s cheaper, more reliable, and so light even a child can lift it. Use to power your RV accessories, and recharge batteries for continued use of CPAP machines, etc. Perfect supplement to solar on cloudy days. At home, use for backup power when the power grid goes down. Learn more.
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, November 16, 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.
IN THE PAST WEEK, TWO READERS RESPONDED and claimed the $25 Amazon gift certificate. They were George B. of Regina, Saskatchewan, and Richard G. from Vero Beach, Florida.
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.
Will RV parks nix fixed prices and charge based on demand?
Is the day coming, perhaps very soon, when RV parks will no longer charge a fixed price for a campsite, but a variable price based on the demand at the moment? RV park owner Andy Zipser discusses this idea, which many park owners see as a way to increase their profits based on supply and demand. Read Andy’s article.
Yesterday’s featured article: RV driver dies from tire blowout. Prevent it from happening to you.
Reader poll
Do you have a gym membership?
Get off the treadmill, then come tell us here.
Quick Tip
RV parking restrictions in front of your house?
Some folks that live in homeowner association (HOA) areas, or have towns with parking restrictions, feel they’ve hit a brick wall when they need to do a repair or maintenance job. If you’re limited to a 24-hour restriction, it’ll really cramp your style. One RVer says when he has a longer-than-a-day job to do, he simply approaches his neighbors in advance, spells out the problem he’s having, and gives an estimate as to how long he’ll need to get the job done – promising to “vamoose” as soon as possible. He says it’s worked every time – no complaints, no problems.
Website of the day
The Atlas Obscura Guide to The United States
This is one of the coolest websites we know about. There are 8,189 “cool, hidden and unusual things to do in the U.S.” listed here, and we bet you’ll want to hop in your RV or car and go explore some of them.
Keep road flares in the RV for emergency
You should always have road flares in your RV in case of an emergency. This pack of three bright, waterproof, and shatterproof LED disks are perfect to keep tucked away. These bright lights can be seen from a mile away and can be used for traffic control, as a warning light, as a rescue beacon, and they can also be used for recreational activities such as camping and hiking. Learn more or order 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:
• Close call! 42 percent would choose vanilla ice cream over chocolate ice cream, but 41 percent would choose chocolate
• 42 percent of the women who responded color their hair
• 55 percent say they prefer dogs, not cats
Recent poll: Have you had a live video medical checkup in the last six months?
Trivia
Google the word “askew.” Just do it. Trust us.
There you go, that’s your trivia, er, fun fact for the day. (Hint: Notice the position of the page.)
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“This is our mini Labradoodle, Freckles. Freckles has been a therapy dog for many years. The last seven have been visiting patients at a local hospital (which came to a halt this past March). She is definitely our camping buddy and never misses a trip. She just turned twelve years old this past April and acts more like a toddler.” —Marilyn Granger
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.
Is your RV just sitting around?
If so, consider renting it out for a part-time or even a full-time income. Learn more.
Leave here with a laugh
At one point in time, Jeanne Louise Calment was the world’s longest-living person. She was born in 1875 and lived for 122 years until she died in 1997. She took up fencing lessons at 85, and rode a bicycle every day until she was 100. She ate 2 lbs. of chocolate per week, and smoked until she turned 119. She became well-known in her small French town, who celebrated her every year on her birthday. She was witty and was known for her humor. Here are a few of her funniest quotes:
On her 120th birthday, when asked what kind of future she expected for herself, she replied, “A very short one.”
“I’ve never had but one wrinkle, and I’m sitting on it!”
The older she got the more the media paid attention. She quipped, “I wait for death… and journalists.”
Today’s Daily Deals at Amazon.com
Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY!
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.
Become a Member!
This newsletter is brought to you Monday through Friday by RVtravel.com and is funded primarily through voluntary subscription contributions from our readers. Thank you! IF YOU APPRECIATE THIS NEWSLETTER and others from RVtravel.com, will you please consider pledging your support? Learn more or contribute.
Join us: Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • RVillage
See all of our many Facebook groups here.
Need help? Contact us.
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.
Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
This newsletter is copyright 2020 by RVtravel.com
Are there road maps for RV’ers ? I want the safe to tow on roads, not the hairpin scenic routes.
Try the Rand McNally truckers atlas.
I also recommend 2 books by R&R Publishing Mountain Directory East and Mountain Directory West, very detailed explanations of all the mountain passes which is very handy when driving big, heavy vehicles if you don’t like surprises.
We bought those 2 books AFTER we drove the descent from Cloudcroft to Almagordo, NM. It’s listed as the most dangerous in the west book. At that time we had a new Ram 3500 pulling our new Hitchhiker 5er. Newbies then. Those books are worth it!
I second the suggestion and add:
• Buy the large format spiral bound edition so you can better see short roads.
• It’s heavy and bulky. I removed the spiral and replaced it with several “loose leaf binder rings”. (Search Amazon for those words.)
Before a trip, I remove the rings and pull out the pages relevant to our trip. If there are more than a couple of pages, I use rings to hold these pages together. When we get back home, I put them back in the book.
CW puts out an RV Map that shows RV friendly roads. Mostly major highways but does show others too. It’s worked well for us with exception of CA 299 in northern CA, it is what you are looking to avoid.
CA 299 is a dream compared to its status in the ’60s