Issue 1505
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.
Happy New Year! We wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2021. We’ll see you out there on the road. Cheers!
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Today’s thought
“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.” —Anne Frank
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is New Year’s Day! It’s also National Bloody Mary day! AND National Hangover Day!
On this day in history: 1892 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
Tip of the Day
Should you buy that “vintage” RV?
We used to just call old RVs “old.” Now we call them “vintage.” What’s changed? Whether perusing Craigslist or eBay, it is hard to miss advertisements for “vintage” RVs. A few have been returned to their original state, while some have been completely redone to the current owner’s taste. A good many have been stripped out inside and offered for sale. But should you buy that “vintage” RV? Continue reading for pros and cons.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel tells us his favorite RVs of 2020. He writes, “A few RVs stand out in various categories and I thought that we could revisit some of those in a look back at the almost 85 RVs I’ve had a chance to review this year.” See his favorites here.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2021 nuCamp T@B 400 Travel Trailer? 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, Jan. 1, 2021. 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 claimed their prize: Frank S. of Lincolnton, NC and Ken W. of Sequim, WA.
We’ll have another photo in tomorrow’s 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.
The RV Proctologists relate an RV sewer nightmare
Anyone who has traveled with an RV for a few years either has a sewer-related horror story to tell, or has heard one from another RVer. Here’s one we came across. It’s baaaddd.
Yesterday’s featured article: You want to tow this behind your truck?
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
Take your anger out on COVID and kick it in the butt… literally! This is brilliant…
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- Nashville RV explosion: What we know so far (Updated)
- Quartzsite in a Pandemic: Big crowds “not happening”
- What kind of TP in your RV?
- Tiffin sold out – Will reliability crash under Thor ownership?
Reader poll
Do you plan to make a New Year’s resolution that you will stick to?
Think of it, then tell us here.
Quick Tip
Safety tips for driving in strong winds
If you are driving in areas with strong winds, take special care. Crosswinds are the greatest threat because they can push a large motorhome or a vehicle and trailer combination into another lane if you are not prepared. This is especially true for travel trailers. In most cases, going slower is the best defense against strong winds. If you are towing a trailer, you should gradually apply the trailer brakes to help control a swaying trailer. Headwinds require a heavier throttle to maintain usual speeds. You may be able to control an RV in strong winds, but the safest thing to do would be to pull over and wait it out. Often, you will see signs along the highway which show radio frequencies for weather information. Here is the website from the National Weather Service on how to get the local weather forecast on your smartphone. From California DMV
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.
Website of the day
Happy Camper Wines
If your New Year’s resolution is to drink less, skip over this. If it’s not, you should know about the wonderful Happy Camper Wines. Check out their website and buy yourself a bottle to celebrate the new year! (You made it, after all.)
Clubs and useful organizations
PLEASE NOTE: We may receive an affiliate commission if you join any of these.
• Harvest Hosts: Stay free at farms, wineries and other scenic and peaceful locations for free. Save 15% on membership.
• AllStays: The best website for RVers! Your membership will become your RV-bible.
• Overnight RV parking. Directory of more than 14,000 locations where you can stay for free or nearly free with your RV. Modest membership fee.
• Boondockers Welcome. Stay at homes of RVers who welcome you in their driveways, yards, farmland or other space on their private property. Modest membership fee.
• Escapees. Best Club for RVers: All RVers welcome, no matter what type of RV, make or model.
Trivia
Approximately 11 million U.S. households now own an RV. The upswing in RV ownership over the last 10 years is driven by strong interest from younger individuals and families who live an active outdoor lifestyle and Baby Boomers who are entering retirement. The typical RV owner is 48 years old, married, and has an annual household income of $62,000. RV owners are likely to own their homes and spend an average of 3 to 4 weeks annually, industry research shows. —SOURCE: Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
Tiny LED button lamp perfect for RV’s small, dark spaces
This 6-pack of tiny, battery-powered LED “Button Lamps” is just what you need for your RV’s closets and storage spaces. The tiny lamp is ultra-bright and has all the power of a normal-sized lamp. Backed with a strong adhesive, these little lamps will stick to any surface. They’re waterproof and good to have in case of an emergency. Learn more or order.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Muffin loves to look out of our RV windows. We call her our watchdog because she watches everything even though she doesn’t bark. She is a Maltizu, a Maltese/Shih Tzu, and the perfect RV dog. She doesn’t shed or bark. She only weighs 8 lbs. and loves everyone and everything. What a blessing she is to our lives.” —Victor Moore
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
Today is the day! We can finally say hindsight is 2020.
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
NO COMMENTS from others who have tried this useless product? Am I the only one dumb enough to believe the false advertising? Makes me leery of buying anything advertised on this site!!
bowlsparkle scam reviews | 302 BowlSparkle Com Reviews and …
Hi, Larry. That’s not one of our advertisers so it must be one of the auto-inserted ads from AdSense (Google). I’ll see if we can block that product from appearing in our newsletters. I’m not sure if we can do it without their URL. Like I mentioned to another reader about this product a couple of days ago, Google generally delivers their AdSense ads based on an RVer’s interests, or something you’ve read recently. But it is impossible for us to see all those ads ourselves. They “cycle through” and can even be directed to different audiences throughout the U.S. But for anyone else who sees that ad and your comment, that will be a good heads-up for them. Thanks! —Diane at RVtravel.com
Larry, before you order anything off the internet, it doesn’t matter who’s website it’s on, you need to research the product first.
Hi Larry,
Looked into this company and agree, they are not what we want advertised on the site.
Won’t see their ads any longer.
We try to make sure that the ads we get from Google are as close to what our readers want to see as we can. We’ve banned a bunch of scammy products over the past few years and will continue to do so. If anyone sees a product advertised on our site that you know is a bad product with a history of bad reviews, we appreciate you letting us know so we can take action.
All that said, caveat emptor. Do your reasearch before buying anything.
Love the “Leave with a Laugh”.
I can’t stop laughing so true!
Yeah, I thought 2020 means that you can see clearly. That year you could clearly see what kind of people there are in this world. From ones defending their views on racism, voting, “fake” news, the list goes on and on. If people did not agree with their views…. OMG – Watch out!
We use WINK weather app on our smartphone. It displays weather for whatever area you have traveled to. Good to have in unfamiliar locales. We try to learn the local area where we camp. A few years back we received a tornado warning in the middle of the night. Report was a tornado heading from county x to county y.
We had no idea what county we were in. Made for an anxious hour in the dark.
May your trips be long lived and your destinations glorious! Happy New Year to everyone! Our best is yet to come! Celebrating 54 years together!
The National Weather website is good IF you know what zip code you’re in.
Thanks for the honest opinion on restoring old rvs. Reminded me of a few “classic” car restoration projects ive done over the years. They have never been profitable. You have to do it just for the enjoyment of the project, not to make or save money.
We are in a state campground because our dogs go crazy with fireworks and our neighbors in Tucson seem to think a holiday isn’t complete without several hours of fireworks. Last night at 8 PM, our coach rocked and then a barrage of what sounded like gunfire went off. Two 75 pound dogs were crammed, along with our legs and feet, under our table. I went out to see what was happening. Our ” neighbors” were holding a super spreader event and had a pile of fireworks that made what our home neighbor had look tiny. I told them they were not only terrorizing our dogs, but breaking the campground rules. They apologized and had the pile of fireworks put away when the Ranger arrived. Sadly, some people don’t read the signs. Other than loud music until midnight and shouts of “Happy New Year” and probably some grumbles about the old coot, that we couldn’t hear, we had a peaceful evening, with happy dogs.
Richard, Bet the RV had a California plate.
No, Arizona, but not surprising. They had a brand new 3/4 ton pickup, pulling a boat and two other pickups loaded with toys. More money than sense. The neighbor behind us said the sparks were hitting his 5th wheel and his wife and dog were freaking out.
Why in the world would you say California?
That’s a mean thing to say John.
Doubt that. They are not allowed in Arizona rt now!
How you figure that ? AZ state line is wide open
A Wish for a much better New Year for you and yours. Mask up, stay safe.
No comment!
Not surprised