Issue 1624
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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Today’s thought
“The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of life is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Eat Your Vegetables Day!
On this day in history: 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
Tip of the Day
Readers’ “hidden” storage tips revealed
By Gail Marsh
On Friday last week I told you about some of the “hidden” storage places I’ve found in my RV. Following the article, we received several wonderful “hidden” storage ideas from you, our readers.
Here are a few ideas that we’d like to share.
Yesterday’s tip of the day: An interesting way to find boondocking spots in the Southwest
→ Listen to this week’s RVtravel.com podcast
SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST INSIDER, AN EMAIL REMINDER FOR EACH NEW PROGRAM.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new 2022 LOKI Basecamp Falcon Series Pickup Camper. As he reports, “This company converts recycled shipping containers into remote offices and kiosks. Overnight the company’s sales literally vanished. Founder Pierre-Mathieu Roy saw RV sales exploding at the same time and was an experienced RVer already, but wanted something that wouldn’t depreciate over time. Thus he set his team to work on the LOKI Basecamp.” Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2022 Airstream Interstate 24X Class B Adventure Van? 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, June 17, 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 one reader claimed their $25 Amazon Gift Card: John Battistoni of Nixa, Missouri.
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.
Skip the repair shop; do it yourself with a “how-to” notebook
By Nanci Dixon
We bought a new RV with more bells and whistles, electronics and do-dads in it than our previous landlocked home had. In the past, if I couldn’t find the info I needed in the RV manuals, I called the manufacturer’s service center (and often). They have patiently walked me through each issue, step by step. I realized that I was getting more information from the service folks than was online or written in the manuals, so I started my own “how-to” repair notebook. It’s become a lifesaver. Learn more.
Yesterday’s featured article: The strangest road sign we’ve ever seen…
????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
HA! Now this is juuuuust what the doctor ordered…
Reader poll
Have you ever encountered a bear in the wild when hiking?
Hope it wasn’t un-bear-able! Tell us here.
Speaking of bears — if you are camping in bear country in a tent or without a hard-sized structure to protect you (like an RV), don’t sleep in the same clothes you used to prepare dinner. Those bears have good noses and may confuse you with a hamburger!
→ Top care diabetes care products at eBay.
Reader question
Toilet odors a big problem
Dear editor:
I just bought a used motorhome. I’m overall happy with it, but there is one big problem. Every so often, the place smells like an outhouse. It’s bad. What am I doing wrong? How do I prevent this? —Don
Dear Don:
The solution is simple. Install a 360 Siphon Vent on your toilet’s roof vent. The odors will be sucked up and out of your toilet rather than be pushed down into your bathroom and living area due to air pressure. RV makers install cheap roof vent caps to save money but the effect (they don’t care!) is that an RV’s living area will often smell like a pit toilet. A 360 Siphon Vent is the inexpensive solution. Read the reviews on the product and you’ll be convinced the device works. Learn more or order one at Amazon.
Road Atlas: Adventure Edition
As much as we love technology, we still appreciate a good physical road atlas. This highly rated National Geographic Road Atlas: Adventure Edition is certainly one to love. The atlas has up-to-date road maps for all 50 states, plus Canada and Mexico. Cities and metro areas include popular attractions and points of interest. The atlas also acts as a guidebook to National Parks and the top 100 adventure destinations. This atlas is cool! Check it out.
Website of the day
The top 10 destinations for wildlife spotting in America
We like this list from American Sky because not only do they tell you where the best places are to see wildlife across the U.S., they also tell you what you’ll see and how you can see it.
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:
• 61 percent of dog owners say their dog has destroyed something of theirs
• 55 percent have never “camped” overnight in a Walmart parking lot
• When driving, 7 percent listen to an audiobook
Recent poll: Academically, how good a student were you in high school?
Recipe of the Day
Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls
by Melody Perkins from Altus, OK
OK … let’s start with the cheese mixture. It includes some of my favorite cheeses and they taste so good together. Then there is the spinach and artichoke and the Italian sausage. Oh my, how can you go wrong?! This one will be a big hit around your dinner table.
We don’t think you could go wrong at all! Get the recipe.
SEE YESTERDAY’S YUMMY RECIPE: Frosted Fudge Brownies
→ SIGN UP FOR THE RV KITCHEN group at Facebook.
Test the RV park water before you drink it!
How pure is the water at the RV park you just entered? Is it pure enough to drink or full of contaminants? This TDS meter provides an inexpensive and convenient way to instantly check your overall water quality. Don’t risk drinking bad water! Use this hand-held device to check the condition of your water filter, too. Every RVer should have one of these! Learn more or order.
Trivia
Baby earthworms emerge from their eggs tiny but fully formed. They grow sex organs within the first two or three months of life and reach full size in about a year. They may live up to eight years, though one to two years is more likely. Full size for an earthworm varies among species, ranging from less than half an inch to nearly 10 feet. You’ll need to travel to the Tropics to see those big fellows. (Wow, you could catch a whopper fish with one of those guys!)
*How many gallons of water does the average shower waste?
A.) 5 gallons
B.) 20 gallons
C.) 42 gallons
See the answer in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Billie and Lexie love traveling in the Tiffin motor home. When I am driving Billie will sit next to me on the cool tile floor, and Lexie up in my wife, Janell’s, lap. But when I am watching TV, they both enjoy laying on my lap in the driver’s seat!” —Richard Molloy
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!
Pet food at Amazon. Big selection, great prices!
Leave here with a laugh
Did you hear about the two peanuts walking through town? One was a salted!
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 2021 by RVtravel.com
I would caution people using total dissolved salt (TDS) meters as an indication of water quality. A higher TDS level are not in itself, an indication of contaminants, in the sense of stuff that is bad for you. The level of dissolved solids in water is a function of the rocks/strata the water contacts, either in surface bodies of water or groundwater and will vary significantly depending on where you are. It is not an indication of how healthy the water is for you to drink. Most drinking water plants are set up to remove particulate (nondissolved) solids and disinfect the water to remove pathogens. They typically do nothing to remove what dissolved minerals are present, as it usually isn’t necessary from a health standpoint. So TDS meters should not be considered to be an indication of drinking water plant performance either. Additionally, it provides no information on the presence or absence of disease carrying organisms which is a major health issue for drinking water.
We discovered that the sewage smell coming into our motorhome was coming from the gray tank. The p trap under the Splendide washer/dryer combo had dried up and all we had to do was run a load of laundry to get water back in the p trap and block that awful smell.
LOL – Everytime someone mentions toilet odors, it sure seems to kick up a s#!tstorm in the comments section….
Enough about toilet odors! I get it – they’re real, and need to be dealt with.
But let’s talk about the Pets of the Day!
Cute cute cute, Richard (and Janell)! Your pom reminds me of exactly the one we lost about a year and a half ago… Pippy (short for Pipsqueak). He was a firecracker but demanding … as most poms are! And always on one of our laps.
On buying our used motorhome we had the unbearable odor appear almost immediately. I found the holding tank bay located under and just aft of the kitchen sink cabinet. Looking under the sink revealed an open space directly to the holding tank bay. No way to seal it off as there is a bundle of wiring going thru it. The holding tank hoses did not have caps on the ends! Capped them and all has been good. I also put small deodorizers in the holding bay and keep it as clean as possible. The transfer switch and shore power cord are also in this bay.
I got the Xtreme Holding Tank Vent because it was much easier to install (no need to remove or add any sealant), and it is mostly metal so no fade or yellowing. All I had to do was remove the vent top, slide the Xtreme Vent onto the vent tube, and insert two screws to hold it on. That was 15 years and over 100k miles ago!
$135,000 for a slide in camper ? And that’s starting price .. P.T. Barnum said it best
We bought a used rv and had the odor problem. Took the vent caps off and neither one was connected to the vent pipe. The gray tank was venting into the ac duct and misaligned by an inch. I don’t know how the previous owner put up with it for 4 years.
Fill the black tank to the brim with water, flush tank, do it again. I also add vinegar to water mixture to help out. And, be sure to install the 360 vent cap.
One other thing about the toilet odor, turn off the exhaust fan prior to opening the flush valve. There may be a poop mountain in the holding tank that needs cleaned out, usually if everything is “under water” the smell is contained by chemicals and water.
You have a typo in Today’s Thought about Life: “The opportunity of like is to serve.”
Thanks, Lynwood. That one sneaked by me. It’s been fixed. BTW, I live in Lynnwood, WA. Have a great day! 😀 —Diane
Toilet odors: We had a similar issue once our RV was about 10 years old. It is difficult to say if the smell comes from the gray or black tank. Our issue only happened when driving, but it was so bad we could barely stay in the RV. After some research I went after every possible source. I installed the 360 vent mentioned above, replaced the vent valves under each sink, resealed the toilet (I ended up replacing the toilet because every gasket and seal was shot). We haven’t had bad smells since.
Yes
Uhh … thanks.