Issue 1648
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
“When you say ‘I’ and ‘my’ too much, you lose the capacity to understand the ‘we’ and ‘our.’” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Hot Dog Day! Woohoo!
On this day in history: 1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.
Tip of the Day
12 easy RV cleaning tricks with everyday products
There are many ways to clean an RV and many products to do so. Here are 12 easy cleaning tips with everyday household products that you probably already have on hand. Continue reading to see how you can use toothpaste, bug spray, WD-40, olive oil, paintbrushes, newspapers and more to keep your RV sparking clean.
→ Yesterday’s tip of the day: The many uses of glow-in-the-dark Duct Tape in your RV!
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the new 2022 Newmar Essex 4551 Class A Diesel Pusher. This rig may be expensive, but are the features and the attention to detail worth it? Tony thinks so. Learn more.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the Storyteller Overland Beast MODE 4X4 Class B? 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, July 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.
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.
You will never see another 5th wheel trailer like this!
A reader sent us this photo of a home-built fifth-wheel setup. It originally appeared on the Facebook page of Camden Trending. One thing nearly everyone agreed on was how cute this is. But are the before and after pictures even of the same van? What do you think?
Yesterday’s featured article: “Redneck” houseboat? Good idea or not?
Stay cool this summer
Now use your RV air conditioner when you could never use it before. SoftStartRV makes it possible. No kidding!
Reader poll
Which of these major professional sports do you like to watch the most?
Let’s see what’s most popular with our readers. Tell us.
Helpful resources
• CURRENT WILDFIRE REPORT
• NATIONAL TRAFFIC AND ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION
• ROAD AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NATION
• WEATHER ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
• 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.
Quick Tip
Arrive to your destination before sunset
It’s always best to try and arrive at your campground a couple of hours before sunset, as this gives you time to get situated while there is still sunlight available. Arriving after dusk can make it extremely difficult to set up your campsite, and if you show up later in the evening, you could end up causing commotion and bothering other campers who are trying to rest. Research how long it’s expected to take you to get to your destination, and always add in a buffer of an hour or two to account for pit stops and unexpected hold-ups. —From the book Best RV Tips from RVtipofTheDay.com.
Make sure to have this Fire Extinguishing Aerosol in your RV
The First Alert Tundra Fire Extinguishing Aerosol Spray is easier to use and discharges 4 times longer than traditional fire extinguishers. With an aerosol nozzle and portable size, it’s suited for the kitchen, car, garage, boat or RV. The formula wipes away with a damp cloth & is biodegradable. Comes in a one- or two-pack. Learn more or order.
Website of the day
BirdWatching
If you’re into birdwatching or just enjoy birds in general, you’ll have fun exploring this everything-bird website. You’ll find bird news, birdwatching gear, locations and travel articles, bird identification and much more. Tweet tweet! (That’s how you say “Have fun exploring!” in bird… we think…)
RVtravel.com Podcast Episode 16
The breakout star of “Nomadland”, Bob Wells, opens up about making the Academy Award-winning film on this week’s RVtravel podcast. The RVtravel.com podcast is brought to you by SoftStartRV power management, Clear20 water filters and TearDropShop.com.
LISTEN TO A 30-SECOND CLIP OF BOB’S INTERVIEW:
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
The description of this should read, “Your small-space hopes and dreams!” Seriously, this is perfect for RVs.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Campground crowding. How long do you spend looking for reservations?
• The perfect RV cookware does exist!
• “They gave us earplugs at check-in.” Why are so many RV parks near train tracks?
Recipe of the Day
Louisiana-Style Smothered Pork Chops
by Tammy Raynes from Natchitoches, LA
What a tasty and easy pork chop recipe. Smoky sausage alongside the Louisiana-style veggies really gives this dish a great flavor. Make sure to use a good smoked sausage, similar to andouille, for flavor. The pork chops are tender and melt-in-your-mouth good. Serve over rice with a couple of shakes of hot sauce and green onion for a Louisiana-style dinner.
Oink! These sound delicious! Get the recipe.
SEE YESTERDAY’S YUMMY RECIPE: Southern-Style Hush Puppies
Easily clean those stubborn bugs off your RV
The Microfiber Mesh Bug and Tar Sponge has millions of tiny fibers embedded in the microfiber cloth that grabs and holds the dust and dirt. It is so effective it even cleans without chemicals, saving both time and money. The secret of this sponge lies in its unique, double-layer microfiber mesh. Older nylon bug sponges can harm your clear coat, but this one is completely paint safe. Learn more or order.
Trivia
Used cars and trucks were 45.2 percent more expensive last month than they were a year before in June 2020, while new cars were only 5.3 percent pricier, according to the Labor Department. —Wall Street Journal
*How can your phone flip a coin for you? It’s easy! Find out how in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Bunny is a rescue dog who loves to travel.”
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!
So cute! Check out all these great toys for your favorite dog (or cat).
Leave here with a laugh
My sister didn’t do as well on her driver’s-ed test as she’d hoped.
It might have had something to
do with how she completed this
sentence on the written exam: “When the ______ is dead, the car won’t start.” She wrote: “Driver.”
—Nathan Hellman, Brooklyn, New York
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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RVtravel.com Staff
Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Editor: Emily Woodbury. Managing editor: Mike Gast. Associate editor: Diane McGovern. Senior editors: Russ and Tiña De Maris. Senior writers: Nanci Dixon, Tony Barthel. Contributors: Mike Sokol, Gail Marsh, Roger Marble, Dave Helgeson, Janet Groene, Julianne Crane, Chris Guld, Machelle James, James Raia, Kate Doherty, J.R. Montigel, Clint Norrell, Randall Brink and Chris Epting. Podcast host and producer: Scott Linden. Special projects director: Jessica Sarvis. Moderators: Gary Gilmore, Linda Brady. Financial affairs director: Gail Meyring. IT wrangler: Kim Christiansen.
CONTACT US
Editorial (all but news): editor@rvtravel.com
Editorial (news): mikegast@rvtravel.com
Advertising: Advertising@rvtravel.com
Help desk: Contact us.
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
Do we really need to see male testosterone and ED ads on a RVTravel??
I’m sure RVTravel has no control over some ads . . .
I liked the picture of the young lady there:)
That’s funny Brad. I missed or didn’t see any of the advertisements you mentioned. Ads are so random on RVTravel, you never know what you’ll see. Many are based on a complex algorithm based on the uses past viewing habits and interests, whether it’s searches or website visits. I’m afraid you “walked into this one”. But smile, rvtravel.com is all good info.
Thanks, Ken. Yep, a lot of the ads on RVtravel.com are from Google AdSense and are automatically inserted based on the reader’s viewing online, or location in the country, etc. So lots of times we at RVtravel.com don’t see what the readers are seeing, or complaining about. If we receive complaints, along with the URL of the ad, sometimes we can block them. Unfortunately, they just return with a new URL. It’s a never-ending process. But thank you for your understanding and your kind words about RVtravel.com. We appreciate them, and YOU! Have a great day! 🙂 –Diane
My ads were all cleaning products.
Brad, delete the browsing history, cookies and sites data on your browser. Or use a non tracking browser like DuckDuckGo.
Install an ad blocker in your web browser. I see very few, if any, on most websites including here.
Try Adblock Plus.
Sorry, Brad. When you see ads like that on RVtravel.com, they are not ones we have put in ourselves. They were automatically inserted by Google AdSense based on a reader’s viewing history, their location in the country, or whatever. If you see an ad which you think shouldn’t appear on RVtravel.com, please send a screenshot and/or the URL to editor@rvtravel.com and we’ll try to block it. That will take care of it temporarily, but they tend to return shortly with a new URL. So, it’s on ongoing process. But if we don’t get the URL, etc., from our readers, we don’t even know about the ads. Thanks! Take care. 🙂 –Diane
Just a thought on the joke of the day. Was she or is she BLONDE. I have experienced this issue many times.
All you have to do to understand is look at the location it came from.
That joke was hilarious
I haven’t laughed that hard for a long time
Hair colour should not be an issue or even a thought
hahahaha
Really funny
My favorite pro sport is horse racing.
When professional athletes and businesses get out of politics, I jus t might watch them or buy their products again. Keep your nose from where it doesn’t belong.
So true!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree
really? isn’t EVERYBODY allowed an input into the politics that impact their lives?
Yes, it’s called a vote. Even US military members get a vote but they are not allowed to express their political opinion while they are on duty, in uniform, or after identifying themselves as military members. When “professional” athletes are on the job (playing sports they are being paid for) that’s what they should do; play sports. Their political opinions should be kept off the field.
LOL – Athletes have always used their trade to point out inequality. Something tells me you weren’t grousing when Tim Tebow was trying to minister from the end-zone. As for businesses, maybe you should call every one of your electeds to support publicly-funded elections, and a laws that overturn Citizens United. If you can’t do this, then your issue is not with these groups, it’s that you don’t like what they are saying.
Yes, and that does not even count the millions of dollars they make. It’s disgusting.
Then the stadium charges you $5. for a soda and $10 for a hot dog. It’s called greed.
Professional millionaire athletes are paid for their sports abilities, NOT POLITICS!
Many create great foundations to help others, that is where they can focus those interests. We choose not to watch politics at sports events, we just won’t!
As to the ads. I think they are Google driven based on something, maybe our search history. I have trained my eyes to focus on the site content and basically not even see most ads. It’s like white noise.
If you are into bird watching, check this app out. I just installed it so I don’t know how accurate it is.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.labs.merlinbirdid.app
Good afternoon all
I really feel I am missing something. Can someone correct me if I am incorrect:
You reviewed an $874,000 coach complete with all the bells and whistles that anyone could ask for. The only problem is that the entire coach (with all of its fabulous toys) is completely dependent on a very poor quality, proprietary DEF head manufactured by Shaw Development. The very product that is stranding fellow campers all year long wIth no solid answer when the problem will be resolved. It is not that far fetched to say that you could pick up your new Essex, drive it 1000 miles and then be stranded someplace for months. Your dealership will not be able to help you, Spartan will not help and neither will Newmar. Shaw will not even comment or even address the issue.
My question: Why would anyone even consider such a purchase until the DEF issue is resolved?
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a DEF?
Hi, Bob. Here’s a recent article from Russ De Maris on the topic of DEF: https://www.rvtravel.com/def-head-problem-ruin-trip/ Hope that helps. Have a good afternoon/evening. 🙂 –Diane
Thanks
You’re welcome, Bob. Take care. 🙂 –Diane
I hate this newer stuff. Too many little things that can ruin a good trip and they’re almost always expensive to have fixed. And waiting for the part, well that’s a whole nother story.
hahaha…Today’s Thought reminds me of Barack Obama LOL
Pro Ball: Go “Woke” Go “BROKE”! My Family Is Done!!