Issue 1508
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.
[activecampaign form=34]
Today’s thought
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Bean Day!
On this day in history: 1930 – The first diesel-powered automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York, New York.
Tip of the Day
Should you balance your travel trailer tires?
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Tire balance may be one of the most hotly debated subjects among RVers. Motorhomers will agree that balancing tires on their rigs is critical – after all, it’s a motor vehicle. But trailer tires? Perhaps the most frequent argument is: “I’ve never balanced my trailer tires, and I haven’t seen a bit of difference. It’s just a waste of money!” But here’s why you should balance your travel trailer tires. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the RKS Purpose Off-Road Travel Trailer. As he reports, “This is a small (2,500 lb. dry weight) trailer designed for an adventurous lifestyle.” Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of Luxe Elite Fifth Wheels? 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. 6, 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 this past week two readers claimed their $25 gift card: Karen K. of Richfield, MN, and Frank H. of California.
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 being shocked while swimming
In this segment from “The RV Show USA,” Mike Sokol explains how someone can easily be electrocuted while swimming near a dock where a boat’s electrical hookup is miswired. And it’s not just the fact that someone can be “shocked” to death, but the way they die that’s the scariest. Watch the video.
Yesterday’s featured article: Use common sense to become a happy boondocker
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
Homesick for a place in the U.S.? These will remind you of home! Scroll through to find your state.
Reader poll
Beer drinkers, do you most often drink from a can or bottle?
Crack one open, then tell us 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
Did you buy a lemon RV? Here’s more about RV lemons and lawyers who will represent you if you need help.
Keep your hands warm!
On a cold winter day, when you need to be outside, whether hiking, walking the dog, working on the RV … these hand warmers will be a blessing by keeping your hands toasty warm. Gloves are good, but these add a degree of comfort that is just plain wonderful on a cold day, and they last up to 11 hours! Learn more or order a 20-pack.
Quick Tip
Attaching things in your RV
“I have found that 3M Command Brand Damage Free Hanging Supplies are an excellent method to attach items in our RV. I use a few hooks and clips but use many of the Command Mounting Refill Strips to attach various items to walls, counters and dashboard. Even after two years in place, removal was easy and left no damage or residue. I have found them to provide a strong attachment as well. I have also used the type that have Velcro but find they often do not provide enough grip for RV use.” Thanks to Keith Talbert.
Dolly Parton takes you on a tour of her RV. See it here.
Website of the day
iPhone Photography School/iPhone Photography Tips
If you use your iPhone to take photos, check out the iPhone Photography School. It’ll teach you everything you need to know to take better photos with your phone.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Brand-new RV is barely off the lot when it starts falling apart
• Fight the urge to buy an RV, says RV lemon lawyer
• RVelectricity – First-Timer’s primer on Hot-Skin Voltage
#951-1
Be like Mike! Use this 3-light and digital voltage tester!
Mike Sokol says: “I found this nifty tester online and have been using it in a variety of voltage checking situations. It performs all of the 3-light tests for outlet polarity, open ground, open neutral, etc., as well as being a 3-digit digital voltage indicator. In addition, it performs a standard 5 mA GFCI safety test – which you should be performing on all of your GFCI outlets once a month (or at least once a camping season).” Read more about it here.
Trivia
One in eight Americans is from California, which has the highest population of any state with nearly 40 million residents as of 2019.
*What percentage of older Americans don’t have a will? We told you the number in yesterday’s trivia.
Stolen RVs: Help us find these RVs for their owners.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Our ‘gatos’ Jack, in front, and Bailey, in the rear. The pillows reflect their personalities. You can make your own assumptions as to which pillow fits which ‘gato.'” —Jim & Sue Van Namee
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.
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. Learn more.
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.
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
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
I’d like to see someone working on their RV with those hand warmers in their hands.
You put them in your pocket and when your hands get cold then put your hands in to warm them.
I figured that out myself, I was commenting on the ad saying you could work on your RV while using them. I’m a stickler on false advertising claims. If it can’t be, don’t say it can be. If they were advertising heated gloves I wouldn’t have commented.
I combined a 3M command hook and 3M velcro strip to keep my temperature/clock on the wall.
Leave here with a laugh is pure redneck.
Nothing wrong with that! You might be a redneck if……..
Is there a padlock for the gate?
That screen is a sufficiently fine mesh to keep out Florida mosquitos.
Loved the newsletter today, thanks!
Attaching things in your RV
3M Strips are NOT the ideal sticky stuff to use for hanging stuff in the RV. Especially if you are trying to attach stuff to a Textured Wall Paper material. I have used 3M Strips and they work fine on certain surfaces.
However, this is the one item I have run across that works very well and this example is NOT the only vendor that makes this product.
Follow the Link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XR5LKL4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A15ITAKBZX17T9&psc=1
Good Stuff and you won’t find your stuff laying on the floor after the 3M strips give up!
Thanks for the tip. Our luck with the 3M strips has been disappointing, and that’s just in the house, not bouncing around in the RV. We’ll give it a try after I check to see if it As Seen On TV, where they spend more on advertising and hype than what the product is worth.
So do you use this Nani tape with the command hooks (minus the 3m tape) or just simply tape your item to the wall?
We use this also. After a picture crashed when command lost its grip on our textured wall we found this. So I use command for much lighter things like hooks for keys.