Issue 1743
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
“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Pie Day! And happy December!
On this day in history: 1913 – Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line.
Tip of the Day
RV covers – Are they a good thing?
By Chris Dougherty
Chris Dougherty is a certified RV technician. Here is a question he received from several readers while he was serving as RVtravel.com’s technical editor.
To cover or not to cover? That is the question. I’m often asked if it’s a good idea to cover an RV during the winter.
There are a number of commercially available RV covers. Some are better than others, as the better ones allow for evaporation of moisture and are tear resistant. Some even have zippered doors which allow entry to the coach while covered. In some cases, the cover is made specifically for the coach it is going to cover.
There are pros and cons to covering an RV during the winter, and here are a few.
Yesterday’s tip of the day: Give your RV’s medicine cabinet a makeover with these easy tips
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the 2022 Dynamax Europa 31SS Super C. As he reports, “There’s a lot to like about this rig, including the reserve cargo and towing capacity. You don’t have to worry as much about what you’re towing or what goes in those basement cabinets.” Read the long list of what Tony likes about this RV, including the air horn(!), here.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2022 Jayco Redhawk 24B? If you missed it, you can read it here.
For previous RV reviews, click here.
Is this your RV?
We are continuing this feature by popular demand!
Click here to see if your RV made it into today’s issue.
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook” as well as the Managing Editor of the RV Repair Club.
What’s the weird clicking in RV’s roof AC when furnace starts?
Dear Dave,
I have a No Boundaries 16.8 with a Dometic AC, thermostat, and propane heater. I am getting this weird arrhythmic clicking that sounds like it’s coming from the roof where the AC unit is. It lasts for 5 or 10 seconds before the heater comes on. The clicking seems to continue after the heater starts for a few seconds but eventually stops. This happens when boondocking with 12v only. Not sure if [it would happen when] I’m plugged in. What gives? —Mark
Did you miss Dave’s column yesterday where he answered the question: My RV’s entrance steps work intermittently, and not when hooked up! What’s the problem?
Yikes! Check out the giant mud tires on this RV!
At first glance, we thought it might be a Photoshop-phooley. But if it is, somebody’s gone to a lot of work to even bring in a realistic tire track in the gravel. So is this Re-Bounder for real?
Yesterday’s featured article: Will Irish Spring soap repel rodents from your RV?
Reader poll
Do you tend to order the same toppings on your pizzas?
Order a pie then tell us here.
SoftStartRV makes the perfect gift for RVers!
Run two air conditioners on 30 amps* – Wow!
When the temperature really gets sizzling and your 50-amp rig is stuck with a 30-amp hookup, you’re out of luck if you want to run two air conditioners. That is, unless you have a state-of-the-art SoftStartRV. It’s inexpensive, simple to install, and works just as promised. Don’t miss watching the short video by RV electricity expert Mike Sokol. Learn more or order.
*Requires two SoftStartRVs.
Discussions in our Forums
• My Dometic fridge shuts off after 15 minutes
• Why don’t my brakes stop my travel trailer?
• What air compressor do you use?
• The different types of surge protectors
Helpful resources
• √ UPCOMING RV SHOWS
• 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.
????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
No butter, no fat, just… just… pure cheesy magic! We’ve gotta get this!
Quick Tip
Help save your tires with thin cutting boards!
“I found another use for those super-thin cutting boards: Place them under your tires when parked on concrete or asphalt pads. Protects the tires from alkalines and other chemicals in the pads when parked for a long time.” Thanks to Mel Goddard for the tip.
Check out super-thin cutting boards at Amazon.
“Why I love my RV”
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, RVtravel.com readers tell in their own words why they love their RVs.
From Alan Wells
2020 Apex Ultra Lite 215RBK
“When we went shopping for this camper we had some specific things in mind. We wanted it to be lightweight and not more than 25 feet long. We also wanted a larger bathroom and a walk-around bed. This hit all those needs. The rear bath is roomy for a 25-foot TT with a shower that my 6’2” body fits in. The front bedroom allows us to get in on either side of the bed, and the TV swivels from the living area to the bedroom. It also had an outside kitchen that turned us from “doesn’t matter one way or the other” to “no way I would get another without it.” We find we use it most of the time and do little cooking in the camper. For the two of us it is great, and we even have room to take a grandkid along (which happens a lot).”
Tell us about your RV. Come on, do a little bragging! Click here.
Black Friday Special – SAVE 20% on membership!
Stay FREE at more than 2,400 wineries and farms
Stay overnight for free at more than 2,400 wineries, farms, breweries, etc.! Harvest Hosts is an alternative to traditional campgrounds, where members can taste great wines and micro-brews, eat fresh produce and stay in peaceful settings. Now though Dec. 31, save 20% on a membership automatically applied at check out. Learn more
Website of the day
The Coolest National Park in Every State
Wahhhh! This is making our wanderlust even worse than it already was! Look at all these beautiful parks! How many have you been to?
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• Are “bots” stealing your campsite? Answer: Yes!
• RV water filtration; and water system maintenance after a trip
• We got into an accident. Here’s what we learned that may help you
Recipe of the Day
Chicken Parmigiana (Parmesan)
by Sandra McGrath from Harrisville, RI
Chicken parmigiana is great for a weeknight meal but also good if you’re hosting a group of friends for a casual dinner. This is a classic recipe. The chicken is dredged in just the right amount of coating and fries up perfectly. That really is the hardest part of making chicken parm so good, and Sandra has that spot on. Use your favorite marinara sauce for a meal everyone will love. It’s a little bit of work, but so worth it. Out of the oven, it’s warm, cheesy, and ooey-gooey good.
This says it’s good for a group of friends, but nope, we don’t want to share this! Mmm! Get the recipe.
See yesterday’s recipe: Colorado Cowboy Casserole
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Trivia
Google Maps is used by 154.4 million people a month, or so the company says. On smartphones, it reigns as the app of choice to plan routes and find local destinations.
*What was the problem when the U.S. Postal Service printed (and used) 10.5 billion stamps of the Statue of Liberty? Yesterday’s trivia tells you about this mishap.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Carly is my 5-year old Treeing Walker Coonhound. I rescued her in 2017 and she’s a wonderful companion and great RV traveler!” —Norb Dusyn
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 First Aid: The basic kit you should carry with you at all times. This is important!
MAKES A GREAT GIFT!
An ornament for the National Park lover!
Choose from a selection of beautiful National Park ornaments for the National Park lover in your life. Aren’t these so neat? We want them all! See this one and more here.
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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Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury.
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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.
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Chicken parmesan? I use left over spaghetti sauce homemade I made the day or a few days before to use up the left overs. I use already frozen breaded chicken and cook that in the air fryer. Top with provolone and a salad and you have dinner. Pretty easy for a nite that needs speedy. As for TT covers? I got ours at Camping World. With Michigan winters I really do not need surprises in the spring. Plus this way it stays clean and I keep the awning dry as well.
re: RV covers
I had a nice one for my 28′ Class-C, cost me >$300. A good make, well built. Put it on for winter and had all the tye downs snug. I live in Colorado Rocky’s foothills with lots of wind. FIRST wind storm it got shredded – Had a dangerous time getting remnants off the home. and never tried it again.
Mel Goddard’s tip is good, but you can probably do it for free. I use wood flooring strips. They are thin, wide enough and long enough for 2 trailer tires. If you redid your floors, you might have leftovers. Or, watch for people who had leftover pieces and threw them in their trash.
Roundabout solved a big traffic problem when it replaced a 4 way stop close to me. On my route home there is a 3 way stop and within a quarter mile the roundabout. I guarantee the ones that roll through the stop are the same ones that stop at the roundabout when no one is coming. Takes all kinds.
That’s not a roundabout on the sign.
Roundabouts are easy and efficient for those who know what they are doing.
They are great except when drivers appear confused about how a roundabout works. My understanding is that once a vehicle is in the roundabout, it has the right of way. I keep a close eye out when in a roundabout for other cars unexpectedly entering it in front of me. That has saved me several times, especially in the ones with two lanes of traffic.
Hi, Michael. That’s why it says, “What I see when approaching a roundabout.” I know a couple of people who feel the same way about roundabouts. Take care. 🙂 –Diane
well, michael, phd, I can see you know about things…you spotted immediately that the sign was not a roundabout. Goodboy.
…now let’s work on seeing jokes….
I love watching the idiots who have absolutely no clue how to handle a round about. Makes for a nice comedy day to tell your friends about. Did you see the {bleeped} who went over the round about not around it? Yes it did happen.
I treat round-a-bouts like former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick does.
They don’t matter much when you drive over them at 90mph.
I for one like round-abouts, don’t have any issues with navigating through them, and prefer them to 4-way (or more) stops. A round-about combined with reasonably adept drivers makes traffic flow better and safer. In my opinion it seems that most that complain about round-abouts either don’t have much experience with them or that, in general, they are against change the disrupts their personal routine.
While I’ll agree that there are most likely a fair number of poorly designed or poorly executed round-abouts across our country (just like there are any number of bad “traditional” intersections) I will hazard a guess that factual statistics show that round-abouts work well to move traffic safely.
I agree. For example, an intersection north of Johnstown, CO used to have a 4-way stop that would back up badly at rush hour. They replaced it with a very nicely designed roundabout that works very well and keeps the traffic flowing smoothly. But not all of Colorado’s roundabouts are designed as well as that one.
That’s a beautiful dog! She looks smart and must be a great pal.
The first time I experienced a round-a-bout was in Long Beach, Calif. in the 50’s. It was 4 or 5 lanes wide and it was at nite! I wish I had brought a lunch! I don’t recall how many times I went around that thing trying to get off.
Now they are all over the country…. I still dislike ’em. There is one on the east edge of Grand Rapids, Mn which has a sign, at the entrance for the main hiway pointing to the right. So, 34′ class A – 4:30 traffic – take the lst right – onto a street about 2 blocks long ending in a “T” and 2 dead-ends. This is not the only stupidly placed hiway signs in MN!
We now have several in our local area. Try getting in or out with 3 or 4 semi’s doing the same thing! Then they add “Yield” signs besides…… Hmmmm!
Hello, excellent suggestions. I completely agree with you! I don’t mind roundabouts with only two cross streets, but the more sophisticated ones with several streets may be somewhat perplexing. We once came upon a circumstance where there were two or three roundabouts in a succession. You were in another one as soon as you departed the first. However, without the roundabouts, the tricky circumstances would have been far worse.
I don’t mind roundabouts with just two cross streets but the complicated ones with more streets can be very confusing. We once ran into a situation that had 2 or 3 roundabouts in a row. As soon as you exited one, you were in another one.
However, the complicated situations may have been even worse without the roundabouts.
Carly is a proud, precious and beautiful RV Doggie! Love her❤️🐶
concerning the cargenerator product, has anyone contacted the truck or automobile manufacturers to learn if this unit may damage the tow vehicle engine ? Same question for Soft Start, has anyone contacted the Air conditioner manufacturers ?
Both the owners of Car Generator and SoftStart have contacted the manufacturers you refer to, and to my knowledge both do no harm to either vehicles or air conditioners. Both have advertised with us for at least a couple of years, and we have had no complaints of any problems from the many readers who purchased their products. I stand by them with no hesitation — Chuck Woodbury/publisher RVtravel.com
Round-a-bouts are best left in Europe, and they aren’t popular there either. And it gets worse when the traffic engineer adds a second lane for thru traffic. Then factor in a 60ft DPMH w/toad and you’re asking for problems.
On your Trivia, I actually am friends with the brother of Mr. Davidson. I was in Boulder City, NV for a month and got to see the actual art in litigation! Quite the story and of course, dealing with the government is a monumental task in and of itself! This was over copy rights and the sculpture had a patent on it.
The mystery product will definitely burn your bread before the cheese will melt. As will the hot dog one shown with it. A toaster oven works much better as you can put one slice of cheese on each piece of bread and it will melt in the time it takes the other side of your bread to turn brown.Then just put the two together.
Regarding tire to ground protection. I purchased & placed entrance door mats for under each tire. Perfect size & several colors available. About 8 bucks each with free shipping.
On the tire tip you need to isolate your tires from the moisture in the ground also.
I carry 2 five ft lengths of 2×6 in my pickup when pulling my 5ver. I can, but rarely need to, put 1 or both of these under my tires if the campsite has soft ground where tires may sink in. When storing the rig I put these under the tires regardless of the parking surface.
Gosh roundabouts are not hard at all. Everyone complaining about them could not negotiate a 4-way stop to save their life.
One of the pit falls of our present education system. I learned how to make it through a 4 way stop back the second semester of 10th grade going through drivers Ed. I was 15 going on 16. The education system has made so many “improvements” since then like dropping history and geography from the system. When I was driving a school bus for 6 years and wearing my Vietnam Veteran hat the kids wanted to know all about the Vietnam war, they had no knowledge of any wars our country has fought.
You’ve experienced the result of a liberalized teaching curriculum. Unable to think critically, they are easily convinced of ideas they are made to think are superior to that which history clearly demonstrates are not. Hence, the reason history is not taught or is so badly represented as to hide the truth. Ironically they call it woke.
Another keyboard warrior 👎
History in our schools is gone. GONE. And it’s a damned shame. As the saying goes, those who ignore history are bound to repeat it. Actually, I’d LOVE to repeat some of our history. We need it now more than ever.
Don’t know where your schools are located, but in our schools you get plenty of history and they make it interesting for the students. Walking into one of the classrooms is awe inspiring. Go to your High School and really check out how and who is teaching history. May surprise you. I would bet some schools do NOT do a good job however.
Actually, History classes are generally taught with textbooks that are approved by the Texas State Board of Education. In fact, most of the ‘history’ and perspective that USED to be taught in class is often cut because of the CONSERVATIVE Texas Board.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html
The roundabout approach sign is the same as one I saw for Covid Information Guide ahead.