Issue 1583
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
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…including you.” —Anne Lamott
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day!
On this day in history:
1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail. (In 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax.)
Tip of the Day
This is the best portable air compressor for your RV
By Mark Polk, RV Education 101
I think most RV owners understand the importance of maintaining proper tire inflation pressure. The problem is, if you wait until you’re on the road to check tire pressure, the tires are most likely too hot for correct evaluation. Checking the inflation pressure when you stop to refuel doesn’t make sense either; you will get higher pressure readings and if you let the air out of the tires they are underinflated. Continue reading and see what air compressor Mark recommends.
Do you have a tip? Submit it here.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new New Horizons RV Majestic M42IK6S Fifth Wheel. Tony writes, “There’s a lot about this trailer that I really like. One thing I really appreciate is how the company spends a great deal of time and effort working with you to build something that really fits your lifestyle.” Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2021 KZ RV Sportsmen 231RK half-ton-towable fifth wheel? 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 time today, April 21, 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.
Last week two readers claimed their $25 Amazon gift cards: Jay M. of Runnells, Iowa, and Phil R. of Aiken, South Carolina.
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.
Where to put the litter box when RVing with cats
Cats can be comforting and entertaining companions and so it’s not surprising that many RVers bring theirs along on their camping adventures. While the RVers enjoy the simple pleasure of having their kitties along with them, there are some challenges, such as where to put the litter box. Get some purrfect ideas here.
Yesterday’s featured article: Pay attention to tire details before leaving on trip
Reader poll
What are your two major sources of news?
Please tell us here.
Quick Tip
The best way to keep bugs off your food
By Nanci Dixon
We have just started feeling comfortable enough to have a few couples over for socially-distanced campfires again. This time, the plague is not COVID, it is the swarms of little pesky black flies over everything – including the food. … See what Nanci uses to keep bugs out of her food.
Website of the day
America’s Most Pet-Friendly National Parks
If you’re traveling with Fido or Fifi and plan on visiting National Parks, consult this list first.
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
Go get it, boy! Go get it!
The latest news headlines for RVers. For a complete recap of the most important news affecting RVers, be sure to read our Sunday RV Travel Newsletter.
Here Are a Few More Signs That Camping and RVing Are Hot:
• Camping equipment purchases are projected to grow by 30% over the next 5 years.
• Some outdoor equipment companies are reporting up to 200% increases in demand for their projects.
• One of the top camping apps, The Dyrt PRO, is on track to grow 400% this year. The company’s CEO, Kevin Long, said that growth will go a long way on his goal of building the world’s largest camping community. The Dyrt PRO plans to partner with more than 70 companies in 2021 to provide free memberships.
More Rigs Are Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Off the Assembly Lines: By now, you’re well aware that the RV manufacturing industry made a lot of rigs during the second half of 2020. Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. According to official forecasts from the Recreational Vehicle Industry of America (RVIA), RV manufacturers are set to build from 523,000 to 543,500 units in 2021. That’s a 24% increase over the amount produced in 2020, and at least 6% over the industry’s record high in 2017 of 505,000 rigs.
Ontario Walks Back Pandemic Restrictions: Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced last week he was retracting pandemic restrictions he announced earlier in the week that banned playgrounds and allowed police to require anyone found away from home to explain why they were out and provide their address. Police officials in the province had said they had no plans to randomly stop citizens and question why they were out and about. A ban on outdoor gatherings is still in force.
Alabama Town Lifts Moratorium on New RV Parks: City officials in Summerdale, Alabama, just repealed a moratorium on RV park construction that had been in place since 2019. The moratorium was originally put in place to give town officials time to fine tune subdivision regulations to accommodate new RV parks but to limit the possibility RV parks would turn into permanent tenant “trailer parks.” There are still no zoning laws in Summerdale that would allow for the addition of an RV park, so anyone proposing a park would still have to appear before the town’s zoning board. Town Mayor David Wilson said by lifting the moratorium, “It’s not giving a green light for an RV park just anywhere in the Town of Summerdale.”
A Gallon of Gas Requires Another Buck: In case you haven’t noticed, the price of fuel continues to climb as we head toward summer. The cost of regular gasoline is up $1.04 a gallon from this time last year, according to a weekly survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The national average for regular gas is $2.85 a gallon, up a half-penny from last week. There’s a little good news for your diesel pusher. The price of diesel fell a half-penny from a week earlier, down to $3.124 a gallon. But that’s still 64 cents higher than last year. If you’re looking for the cheapest gas, head for the Gulf Coast ($2.565 regular, $2.923 diesel). If you like paying high prices, the West Coast aims to please with $3.527 for regular and $3.645 for diesel.
Keep insects and bird nests out of your RV furnace
Wasps, mud daubers, birds and rodents pose a serious threat to the furnace on your RV. They can enter through the furnace vents. Their nests can interfere with air flow and cause serious damage. Camco 42141 (Model FUR 200) Flying Insect RV Furnace Screen fits Duo-therm and Suburban furnace vents. Camco offers several furnace screens so check which one will fit your vent. Learn more or order.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• This innovative spring system improves your RV handling
• How to make Google Maps more accurate
• Deer flies a problem? Try this easy trick
Recipe of the Day
Cheddar Cheese Risotto
by Melanie Young from Gardendale, AL
Risotto is perfect when you want to make a special dish. Adding white wine and Dijon mustard at the beginning of the cooking process adds richness to the risotto. The Arborio rice is cooked al dente and it’s not mushy. Melting cheddar cheese adds to the creaminess. This would make a delicious main course for a special dinner, or be the perfect side for a meal. The trick is to stir constantly and cook the rice on low/medium heat. It’s a process, but risotto is worth it. This is a real winner.
SEE YESTERDAY’S YUMMY RECIPE: Strawberry Tiramisu, T’s Way
Trivia
Think your car has a lot of miles on it? Think again! Irvin Gordon holds the world record for the highest vehicle mileage. On May 1, 2014, Gordon hit his three-millionth mile in his 1966 Volvo 1800S.
*Florida is home to more than 1 million alligators. How many bite humans each year? Yesterday’s trivia answers that.
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.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Charly loves traveling in our motorhome all over the country. I’ve captioned this photo, ‘Where are we going next, Dad?'” —Susan Krantz
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. No blurry photos, please! Please do not submit your photo more than once. Thanks!
Leave here with a laugh
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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.
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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 2021 by RVtravel.com
Usually we trade one pollution for another. The mining of the gallium, indium phosphide and indium gallium arsenide silicon for the solar junction causes major pollution. The glass top is tempered and the mining of the sand adds to pollution and also takes a great amount of energy to melt the sand and takes incredible amount of heat that translates into huge amounts of energy. There are other materials such as copper wire, plastics and etc that go into the panels that also contribute to pollution. Once the solar panels are burned out and no longer useful they are considered hazardous waste. The mining of lithium for storage batteries is extremely dirty and the worlds supply of lithium is not substantial in the long term if not sooner. So when someone tells me they are saving the planet I just chuckle and think how uninformed they really are.
You should check out the ‘Undecided with Matt Farrell’ channel on YouTube. He covers all these topics, and you would be surprised at how technology is addressing ALL these issues you brought up. So, don’t believe the ‘nay-sayers’.
(46) The truth about solar panels – do the pros outweigh the cons? – YouTube
I have seen this video before and agree that recycling of the panels is gaining ground. I have to ask the question is who is paying him for his work and take notice to his shirt? Yes there is heavy metals in the panels and for the most part they are not easily recycled and add to all of the other tons of heavy metal in the garbage dumps and trash incinerators. What he did not address at all is the mining of the materials for the raw components and also the energy it takes to process them. Although I am not a environmental engineer however my son is and he will be the first one to tell you that everything we are being told is only the good side of reducing carbon output and not of all the waste water and other issues that come from extraction of the raw materials from the ground. The reason we do not hear of it is because it being done in countries such as China, Russia, India, and many other third world nations and not in our back yards.
plus they get around 185 deg, so how much heat gets in the air around them when you have acres of them (adding to global warming). I’ll bet they only last around 10 years since they have to use leadless solder these days). How much energy does a wind generator still from the wind since wind helps cool he planet (remember the choas theory, a butterfly flaps its wing in the mountains and can cause a thunderstorm in the plans from the tiny turbulance)
Noticed all the concerns about driving with a pet on your lap. Love my pet too, but in many states it will get you a ticket, including my home state of California. Why do they have to be so {bleeped} cute?
You can thank Joe for the higher gas prices!
You can thank the greedy oil company’s for higher gas prices. Did you hear the amount of the bonuses upper management received?
You folks don’t seem to remember that last year gas prices plummeted severely due to the lack of demand related to the pandemic. So $1.04 higher this year is probably close to where it was two years ago.
Basic economics show that where there is demand for a product, prices rise. Now that we have a functioning government, functioning vaccine distribution system (and yes, vaccines that work), people are able to get out of the house more and go back to work.
So, yeah…. THANK YOU JOE!
Sorry to contradict but Basic economics shows that with demand constant and supply increases it follows that price drops. Demand fluctuations will always have short term affects on price – emphasize short term.
The fact that an incompetent now has a pin in his hand and is stifling the free market by shutting down the pipe line and restricting exploration. The result is price is rising not only from increased demand but mainly from reduced volume and the reluctance of the oil industry to invest in exploration.
It should be noted that oil exploration is a hugely expensive endeavor and no one is willing to make those investments without the chance for equally massive returns.
It doesn’t matter who is in charge, OIL will always be pumped as long as any is still in the ground.
Here’s more about that 3-million mile Volvo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHOk87QWmmk
It was also featured in an episode of “Chasing Classic Cars.”
Love the “help wanted” ad.
They are producing a record number of RV but try and get repair parts is a nightmare.
I need a new carburetor for my onboard onan generator, It is a 4-5 month wait to get one,
Have you considered rebuilding your carb or having it rebuilt? Look online for a source for parts. If the carburetor problem is from ware at the throttle butterfly shaft and or the choke shaft there’s an epoxy product that can be used to restore the throttle body.
There’s a father/son startup in Minnesota that’s providing Onan parts for a fraction of the price that Onan charged.
Another option could be to switch from gasoline to propane for fuel. A company called US Carburetor that makes conversion kits selling for about $100 to $150. Another option is to do an eBay search for Onan generator LP gas conversion. parts. And a final option could be to find a commercial mower repair shop that would outsource
Summerdale apparently wants to be sure nomadic or semi-nomadic high-tech workers never alight on their shores for any length of time. Forward-thinkers should be embracing tiny house communities and RV communities that aren’t “resorts,” but of course NIMBY wins.
Quite sad to see the amount of sheer ignorance espoused in some comments. Knowledge goes a long way to making this a better world for ALL!
Sometimes, if you can’t say something nice, it is better to say nothing.
Sorry Glenn…even the MOST knowleable people form opinions. The question is, does the opinion align with yours?😉
Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s life. What I abhor are opinions based on total falsehoods or outright, verifiable, lies. That is true ignorance.
Interesting Reader Poll today. It shows a major transition to a wide variety of electronic media and “news” sources. One of my granddaughters told me that she gets her news from Instagram. Personally, I still love my cup of coffee and shrinking morning newspaper.
With President Biden’s war on our energy independence is anyone surprised by the price of gas.
Americans have to push back against Biden’s energy plans. Hybrid vehicles will work. Totally elect vehicles, the systems isn’t set up for. Windmills and solar panels are ugly in the landscape.
evidently you haven’t seen what digging for oil or coal does to the land scape!
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If you’re concerned about digging check out how wind turbine blades and solar panels are recycled. Also, research battery manufacturing and recycling practices outside this country. All of these issues will eventually be worked out but we’re far from there yet.
agree!
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Agree to a point, but hybrids still require battery production that can catch fire if overheated, personally I will wait on new engineering of the ICE. UNTIL infrastructure is in place(probably 25 years from now) to support EVs hybrids are only a crutch and many only provide 20-30 miles of electrical operations until you’re back on ICE. That’s great if you’re in town and going to the store for a gallon of milk, but if you live in a rural area of the country, which many people do, a hybrid is not a viable alternative. Here in south central TN we are 32 miles from Murfreesboro and 62 miles from Nashville or Chattanooga so we may as well continue with ICE.
Bob, please excuse my lack of knowledge. What is ICE? I consulted the almighty oracle (google) but didn’t find it.
Ha Ha. I had to look it up, too, BadWolfe, but I found it right away. It’s an internal combustion engine – you know, one of those new-fangled things (only been around for the last 160 years or so). 😆 Have a good night. 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Hilarious. Thanks Diane.
You’re welcome, BadWolfe. Take care. 🙂 —Diane at RVtravel.com
I think windmills are beautiful, much more beautiful than strip mining.
thousands and thousands of birds killed each and every year by “beautiful windmills”
I have heard this story before. So being a retired detective, I checked out several windmills. Could not find a single dead bird. Most turn too slow to ever kill anything. If you really care about birds, research how many million are killed each year by domestic cats.
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Where is the electric to recharge the cars going to come from? People don’t want nuke power plants. Coal fired plants are being shut down and we still need to drill to get natural gas. My son is a union electrician and has worked at 3 new gas powered plants being built here in western Pa and eastern Ohio. And my area has had strip mining for coal and limestone for over 90 years. Now since the laws have changed the mining areas have to be reclaimed and not left to piles of waste and flooded lakes and swamp lands. Solar and wind power is still too far in the future here to have any great impact in power generation. Joe says so many new jobs will be created, well that may be, but where are these folks that are put out of work due to drilling, pipeline construction, any other energy sustaining jobs work while we sit by, using imported resources, waiting for these new type of jobs to come along.
Definately get the screen to protect your furnace. Last summer we stored our Class A and the mud daubers built all the way back to the heating elements. Our service department had to take apart the whole assembly and there was live larvae still wiggling around. What a mess! After service got most of the HARD mud out, we ran the furnace full blast for hours to make sure there was not any little buggers still alive. Sure learned an expensive lesson.
Just wanted to thank you for this advice.
To be honest I have always used them and not just on the furnace. You may want to check the owners manual though because some manufacturers say not to use them because they restrict airflow.
Those screens do work. However the spring mounting system is a problem. They easily fall off if bumped and the little spring is lost forever. Even when removing them, you have to be careful not to let the spring escape.
After the first time I lost a spring, I came up with an idea of using a two inch long 6/32 screw and a piece of aluminum in the shape of hook. Drilled and threaded the hook to accept the screw. Hook it on the cross bar and tighten the screw.
Bob, thank you for that info. I now have a way to solve the very problem!
The springs are a big pain! I use two pieces of stainless steel wire and cross them through the screen and attach to the 4 existing screws. No problems in 5 years.
I have never lost a spring nor have I taken one off, been doing this since 1978.
Good advice. I put screening inside the water heater ‘door’ as well, and bought those screens that fit on the air inlets for the refrigerator. I’ve tried to eliminate any places that creepy crawlies can get into our unit. I even use a piece of sponge wrapped around the electrical cord where it enters the coach via that little plastic ‘door’ to keep anything else that may try to get in from getting in. I guess I’m a little {bleeped} about this stuff . . .
I used to use a rag or piece of towel at the shore power inlet. Mice chewed on it. Now I use steel wool. If you’ve ever accidentally chewed on a piece of tinfoil, you’ll know what I’m talking about. You can cram steel wool into any small opening. Spray it with a little battery terminal protector to keep it from rusting.
Great idea Thom! I used steel wool to plug all the holes in my pickup bed (after finding a mouse in it once). Don’t know why I didn’t think of that for the power cord access.
Chore Girl’s work even better, they come in copper or stainless and won’t rust, also not so fine.