Issue 1516
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
“When I was growing up I always wanted to be someone. Now I realize I should have been more specific.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the federal holiday that celebrates the January 15, 1929, birthday of the civil rights leader.
On this day in history: 1896 – An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
Did you see the news? Click here to read the latest issue of the Sunday News for RVers.
Tip of the Day
Have a paint nick or chip on your RV? Here’s an easy trick
By Nanci Dixon
After many miles and a few gravel roads, our motorhome had a number of paint nicks and chips. I blame it on the road and not on the fact that more than a few times I have opened our bay storage doors too close to a chair or table and WOMP! Oops…
The last time we were at the manufacturer’s to have a few warranty items taken care of, I had the nicks fixed too. They showed me an easy fix – use mini automotive repair paint sticks or brushes. Works like a charm. Continue reading.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new Armadillo Backpack Travel Trailer. He writes, “For those RVers who want a simple, lightweight RV, perhaps the Armadillo trailer might be a good choice. What’s an Armadillo, you ask?” Well, find out here.
Tony’s reviews from this weekend you may have missed:
• Tony looks at the brand-new Keystone Arcadia fifth wheel line
• 2021 Tiffin Phaeton 40AH Motorhome
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. 18, 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.
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.
RV Electricity – This week’s J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) Session
Feel the heat – Staying warm in your RV
Dear Mike,
I’m trying to boondock without a generator running at night, and am constantly running out of enough battery power overnight to run my RV furnace. I’ve been thinking about getting an electric blanket to keep warm, but how does that compare to running an electric space heater from battery power? Is any of this practical without adding a bunch of batteries? —Sue in Sioux City
Read Mike’s warm and cozy response.
• Join Mike’s Facebook group, RVelectricity.
• Read more of Mike’s articles here.
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.
The many brands of Good Sam head honcho Marcus Lemonis
If you are a member of the Good Sam Club, you may wonder whatever happened to all the member benefits — the wonderful magazine, Highways; the national rallies; the lobbying efforts the club undertook to protect members — in fact, all RVers. … Well, wonder no more. Just look at all of the “brands” of Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of the club. Read more.
Recap of RV-related recalls for the previous month.
Reader poll
Do you have a hobby? If so, which category does it fall under?
Please 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
Check for gas leaks often by using this!
Russ & Tiña De Maris write: “We keep our natural gas leak detector tucked in the door pocket of our tow vehicle so we can check for leaks when we reconnect an LP bottle after filling. We also use it whenever we make up a new connection on a gas line, or ‘think’ we might have a leak. Here’s one you can pick up for a good price with lots of good reviews.”
Quick Tip
Five-minute freezer defrost – without heat!
From Walt K.: “Go to Walmart or another box store. Buy 4 of the very thin, flexible cutting boards. Cut the boards to fit the walls, floor and ceiling of your freezer. Put the panels in place – the food in the freezer will hold them in place. When ready to remove frost, simply take the food out, remove the thin panels, shake the buildup off them and replace. Total time for defrost: about 5 minutes.” Thanks, Walt! [Editor’s note: These super-thin cutting boards are also available at Amazon.]
Website of the day
RainyMood
Tired of all that sun? (Not us up here in WA!). If you’re missing the sound of rain, head to this website and get your fix. We hate to admit it but… it is soothing…
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Boondocking in a coronavirus world. Part 1: Why?
• Will the Pandemic ruin our RVing future?
• RVelectricity: Will my RV generator backfeed power and kill someone?
#953-1
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
If you have a husband, you’ll get a laugh out of this. We promise. Click here.
Trivia
American households headed by people 65 years and older spend an average of $14 a month on pork. They spend about $12 a month on chicken and other poultry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“My 16 YO cat, S**thead, has been full-timing for 6 years now. We spend hours a day outside with him on a harness and leash.” —John Schag
Editor’s Note: John, we nearly spit out our coffee when we read that! Is that really your cat’s name? HA!)
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
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.
Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
This newsletter is copyright 2020 by RVtravel.com
18 years ago we had an adopted male dog who was incredibly lacking in intellect. No amount of training (some by skilled professionals who gave up on him) seemed to help. I would get very disgusted with him trying to catch moles by digging up the yard. However the worst was him seeing something in the distance and running full speed to catch it only to find himself smacking the ground because he ran off of a deck that was 7 feet off the ground. I started calling him DAD. DUMB A**S DOG. We now have DAD Jr. Fortunately for him our deck is now only 12” off the ground. His problem is he has really keen vision but remembering that he has to go through the dog door to chase the squirrel , rabbit, cat, bird…. those glass patio doors are so confusing.
We were rescued by a foundling six-month old kitten who wandered into our RV at Scott Air Force Base. Scotty, needed some help nursing him back to health as we headed on towards Memphis and then Pensacola, but once we returned home to Seattle he earned his nickname, ‘Hellboy’.
With room to roam, a yard he could try to sneak out into (we keep our cats indoors) and a few brother cats he could play with, my wife would give him an exasperated look and say, “What the hell, boy?!?” Once he chased one of our 14 year old German Shepherds down the hall – and ‘Hellboy’ stuck for good.
In your Reader Poll’s it would make sense sometimes to have the ability to choose more then one answer. True at times one answer works, however, like in today’s Poll I could answer 3 of them. I do more then one thing in my spare time. Thanks and keep this awesome page up.
Hi, Bob. In the post the poll is in, as well as the top of the poll itself, it says you can vote in up to three categories. I just went in and tried it myself, and it worked. So if it didn’t work for you, I’m not sure why. Sorry. —Diane at RVtravel.com
It says you can pick three. I did! 😁
My neighbor had 2 cats … one named ‘Here’ and the other named ‘There’. Was fun listening to him call them to come.
Both of our dogs and cat occasionally have the same name!!
When I married my wife, she had a cat that hated men. But he just loved me for some reason. He was an ornery ol cat, one eye, chewed up ears and just loved to fight the neighborhood cats. So me being who I am, started calling him A##hole. He must have liked the name because he would always come when I called him. And believe me when I say he deserved that name. I sure miss that A##hole. But I don’t miss the gifts of sometimes dead rats.
Name a cat anything you want He/she ain’t gonna come when you call. They work on their own agenda.
I thought of naming my last dog “Little Girl” but decided that would give the neighbors a bad impression of me when I would call her. “Come here Little Girl”.
Same reason why my husband wouldn’t let me name our dog Precious or Princess lol
My sister-in-law and her husband adopted a dog named Freebase. What made it worse was they lived across the street from a sheriff’s deputy! They started calling him freebs.
That’s my cat and the hard part is when children ask his name!
My daughter always called her ex that.
To clean it up for her son, she referred to him as “Shi-THEED”
I got a puppy I named Staynes (the wife made me change how it was spelled). Got the neighbors talking when I would be outside yelling “Come Staynes”. I’m going to name my next dog “Guzzler”.
I may have a warped sense of humor but I love my pets.
neighbor used to have a cat called Shitter. You can imagine her in her bathrobe at 11:00pm calling her cat to come in Here Shitter! Here Shitter!
For some reason, I’m unable to pull up the recall list.
Sorry, Tommy! It worked fine when I checked the link last night. But when I went in “anonymously” after reading your comment it didn’t work. Apparently I was able to see it last night because it was stored in my cache. Turns out, it had been inadvertently unpublished at some point. It should be visible to everyone now. Thanks for letting us know! 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you “staff”. It works like a charm now . . .
Thanks, Tommy. Yeah, it’s kinda difficult for readers to open an article when it’s not published. 😯 Thanks again for letting us know! Take care. 🙂 —Diane at RVtravelcom
I want to name a dog that, but my wife absolutely vetoes it. Another good ‘French’ name is A**hole (As-Sholay). She nixes that one, too. Or maybe even Dumba** (Dumas). 😁😁😁😁
When using the thin cutting boards do you cover the freezer coils too and if so does that keep them from frosting up?
It’s pronounced Sha Thead’ !
To be fair I have a dog that answers to Dammit. Dammit! Come here!, Dammit! Get out of that!, Dammit! Stop that!
with the name that cat has, it must be hard to call him in public ! Hey ****head, come here,
…and 10 people turn around and look at you
Shi**y- kitty will work too.
The problem there would be everyone turning around, thinking you were calling them.