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Issue 1475
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
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Play Monopoly Day! (Psst: This is our favorite version of Monopoly and would make a great gift!)
On this day in history: 1863 – American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Tip of the Day
Another fix for “hitch clunk”
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
We recently talked about an annoying phenomenon that travel trailer RVers sometimes face: hitch clunk. Slop in the hitch system allows the trailer a bit of room to move on the hitch, and as you pull forward from a stop you may hear a “clunk!” and perhaps another when stopping.
Well, as everyone declares, there’s more than one way to quiet a clunk. Reader Mel G. weighs in with a solution of his own, one that he feels might even be a simpler fix. Read Mel’s tip here.
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 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 182RB Travel Trailer. As he reports, “For couples looking to get into RVing, this might be a good place to start your search. Or, it’s a good choice even for experienced couples who want a very usable but compact design that allows you to camp in places off-limits to larger RVs.” Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2021 Imagine XLS 24MPR Toy Hauler? 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 photo for comparison), tell us here by 9 p.m. Pacific Standard time today, November 19, 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.
THIS WEEK, THREE READERS RESPONDED and claimed the $25 Amazon gift certificate. They were Stan H. of Littleton, Colorado, James J. of Salina, Kansas and George B. of Regina, Saskatchewan.
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.
How to prevent a thief from stealing your RV surge protector
If you use a surge protector when you plug in your RV (you absolutely should!), it’s a good idea to secure it so a thief can’t steal it. We hear reports at RVtravel.com quite often from readers whose surge protectors disappeared during the night or when they were away from their RV. Here’s a way to secure it, as well as some more tips from savvy readers in the Comments below the article.
Yesterday’s featured article: Learn everything about your RV, RVing woman advises
Camping with the Corps of Engineers
Many RVers consider Corps of Engineers campgrounds to be the best in the country. This guide is just for RVers – boat-in and tent-only sites are not included. Of all the public lands, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has some of the best parks and campgrounds available. In fact, it’s the largest federal provider of outdoor recreation in the nation. Learn more or order.
Reader poll
Do you believe there is intelligent life on other planets?
Turn off “Ancient Aliens” then tell us here.
READER ASSIGNMENT
Do you work remotely from your RV?
Some RV manufacturers are refocusing their designs to cater to customers looking for mobile office space. The rise in remote work prompted by the pandemic has led many people to take up a “work from anywhere” lifestyle. Do you work from your RV? Have you modified your workspace? Please tell us about it, and we’ll share your story and photos with readers. Submit your story and photo(s) here.
Quick Tip
Tilted dump station? Level up the playing field
You’d think you’ve seen everything until you get to the dump station where the pavement is tilted off and away from the dump port. How will you ever get all the stuff out of your holding tanks if it’s cowering on the opposite side of the tank? If your rig is equipped with leveling jacks, it’s time for manual deployment. Gently set down the appropriate pad(s) and lift your rig up to overcome the effects of gravity.
Website of the day
RV bloggers give advice to newbies
Well-known RV bloggers give advice on what they wish they’d known when they started.
Ever wonder what complaints RV park managers have about campers? Find out their top 10 complaints here.
Device keeps fresh water tank clean
Tony Barthel writes: “The RV Inline Sanitizer is the simplest of solutions. It’s essentially a reservoir in which you put bleach and then use a source hose and a delivery hose to fill your fresh water tank. The sanitizer effectively adds the bleach as you fill the tank. It is truly that simple.” Read more about this nifty device 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:
• 26 percent own a digital clamp meter and use it all the time
• The two natural disasters that readers fear the most are tornadoes and fires
• 13 percent have traveled to Alaska in their RV, and 31 percent would like to
Trivia
The CDC has a PDF that lists “General Physical Activities Defined by Level of Intensity,” and it’s pretty fascinating (and we’ll admit, somewhat humorous) to look through. Some examples of “Moderate activities” are: walking the dog, jumping on a trampoline, competitive table tennis, snorkeling, pheasant and grouse hunting, twirling a baton in a marching band, and milking cows. “Vigorous activities” might include: wheeling a wheelchair, sledding, “playing a heavy musical instrument while actively running in a marching band,” and coal mining. To see the full, very specific, list click here.
*Benjamin Franklin wrote an entire essay about farting. It’s true. We told you all about it yesterday.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Buddy the Min Pin on his favorite perch in the RV.” —Robert Burnett
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
Last night I had such a weird dream! I dreamt that I weighed less than a thousandth of a gram. I woke up and was like 0mg!
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
Ok, it’s official. I will no longer be reading the joke of the day.
I mean it’s just too depressing after reading through an informative newsletter and then finish it up with such mediocre, no not even that good of an attempt at levity.
Perhaps when I see an announcement at the beginning of the newsletter that”?????” and “???” are no longer doing the jokes I will try them again.
wouldn’t it be simpler to skip reading the joke of the day?
How can you have 3 winners in the “Is this RV yours” contest?? One of them owns the RV; 2 of them do NOT own it. Unless it’s a rental RV.
Hi, Penny. That would certainly be an issue if we only ran the contest one day per week. However, we run it 7 days per week, with a new photo of a different RV in each newsletter we run it in. So there are potentially 7 winners each week, with 7 different RVs. 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Yep. That sounds plausible, lol. I forgot there’s a new photo in each of “The Daily Tips and Sat. and Sun. Duh!
Good morning, Penny. I can see where you could be confused about our “Is this your RV?” contest, since our other contests, and previous ones, haven’t been run every single day. Have a great day! 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
If you’re using a cable couldn’t you just lock it through the rim of the tire.
There is no intelligent life on this planet
As noted above it’s National Monopoly Day. Playing the original version takes a while to play……we’ve now moved on to playing the Monopoly CARD game, try it you’ll love it.
It would take a few hours to try all 10,000 combinations that are possible with a 4 digit combination. The thief must have had a different method to determine the combination. On some locks one can feel when the correct number is selected in each position.
Tilted camper while dumping. Extend the stabilizers? Really. They dump sites are busy enough without people doing that. It doesn’t have to be finger licking clean a 1/2gal or so left in the tank isn’t going to make that big of difference.
Contained in Mel G.s excellent tips on tightening up the receiver hitch there is embedded a common but erroneous assumption; that higher grade bolts are always better than lower grade bolts. That’s true in some cases but not all. Their advantage is that they have greater tensile strength and so can clamp two surfaces together tighter. But by their nature high grade bolts are more prone to metal fatigue if they are subjected to any flexing.
One should not be used as a hitch pin because the hitch can pull and push against the bolt when accelerating and braking. That push/pull will flex the bolt ever so slightly causing fatigue, and cause it faster in a grade 8 than in a grade 5, and faster in a grade 5 than a grade 3.
Admittedly it would probably never break in normal use, but why take the chance when there’s a cheaper alternative? Bolts should never be used in a shear application; they’re designed to clamp and should be used only for that, especially if safety is involved.
Stealth camping-REALLY! I believe a better name is STEALING.
We have a tilted dump station in front of our house. We installed a dump along the circular drive, which naturally leans away from the house. I built a ‘ramp’ with a few 2×6’s that I back the right side of the trailer onto. Problem solved, but it’s still a PITA. There’s no way I’m going to haul that heavy thing WITH me though. I’ve only encountered the wrong way tilt at a dump station once.
Around here is seems like thy want any spills to flow away from the dump station. Some even going so far as to have a curb on all four sides of the inlet.