Issue 1748
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.
If you shop at Amazon.com we’d appreciate you using this link. We get an itty bitty commission if you buy something, but they add up and help us pay our bills (including our hard-working writers!).
Our Great RV Accessories Newsletter is returning this Saturday. Learn about great gizmos and gadgets for your RV and your RV lifestyle! Sign up if you haven’t already…
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Today’s thought
“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day! Have fun, and see you in 1880!
On this day in history: 1980 – Former Beatle John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.
Tip of the Day
Don’t forget to clean those dirty RV AC and heat pump filters. Yuck!
By Nanci Dixon
It is easy to forget to clean the interior AC and heat pump filters in an RV, particularly the overhead ones – out of sight, out of mind. It is important, though! Cleaning not only reduces dust and allergens, but it allows better airflow.
We have a ducted ceiling system in our RV and it is so easy to pop out the ducts, pull the foam filters out, then easily wash, dry and replace. I am always surprised by how dirty the filters are. If we have spent a lot of time in the desert with the AC on, it can take several washes and rinse cycles to clean.
Here’s how to clean them and where to find replacement filters.
Yesterday’s tip of the day: 7+ ways to use a delivery service on the road
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel looks at the Airstream Bambi vs. Caravel – Two 20FBs compared. So how do these two compare, and what are the main differences, besides price? Today’s review answers those questions.
Did you read Tony’s review yesterday of the 2022 Rockwood A213 hard-side pop-up? 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.
Ask Dave: I’m not getting power out of my WFCO 8275 “inverter.” Why not?
Dear Dave,
After taking my truck camper off my truck using 12v system with HappiJac motors installed, the 12v side of my inverter (WFCO 8725) stopped working. It was plugged into shore power and everything worked normally. All fuses on 12v side tested good. Batteries were solar-charged and full – 14.4v each. With the converter brain needed to run appliances on shore power, it’s hard to imagine the inverter simply died. Is there any light you could shine on this issue? Thank you. —Chuck
Read what Dave thinks might be causing this issue with the “inverter”.
Did you miss Dave’s column yesterday where he answered the question: What filtration system do you recommend to fill freshwater tank when boondocking?
VIEW CAMPSITES just like you were driving through the campground. See one you really like? See if it’s available and reserve it on the spot at Campground Views.
RVelectricity™
Live Ask the Expert webcast with Mike Sokol and Mike Zimmerman tomorrow at 7 p.m. EST. Read more about it and sign up for a reminder at the bottom of Monday’s J.A.M. Session, here.
Tips from a pro: Digitize your family photo albums
By Nanci Dixon
When we cleared out our house to begin our full-time journey, one of the hardest things we had to do was leaving behind the mammoth number of family photo albums. After they languished in a storage locker for two years I did a “what if” measure of just taking cell phone camera photos of the most important pages in the albums “just in case.” Learn how Nanci digitally saved all of the family photos here.
Yesterday’s featured article: Marriage advice from a hand-signalin’, RV backer-upper
MAKES A GREAT GIFT!
Come into the light!
Our favorite electricity guy, Mike Sokol, uses this Caterpillar pocket light for just about everything. He writes, “I bought one of these CAT CT1000 Pocket COB Lights a few months ago and liked it so much that I also picked up one for my dad. I’ve dropped it a bunch of times, and it still keeps working, like any of the other tough-as-nails CAT products.” It easily clips onto your belt, shirt pocket, or anything magnetic, so you can work hands-free. Learn more or order.
Words of wisdom from this book:
Love your work, then you will find pleasure in mastering it.
Reader poll
Do you burn candles in your RV for ambience or smell?
Tell us here, please!
Helpful resources
• 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.
The most festive RVing shirt of all time!
This shirt has a Christmas tree made out of RVs – you’ll get so many compliments! Every RVer who celebrates Christmas needs this! It comes in men’s, women’s, and youth sizes in many different colors so you can get one for everyone in the family! The solid colors are 100% cotton so it’ll only get softer the more you wear it. It also comes as a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt. Order one (or more) before Christmas!
Quick Tip
Easily replace your RV’s carpet
If you travel with children or pets, you know that carpeting takes a beating. We traveled with two dogs and accidents of all kinds can happen. We tore out all standard carpeting and replaced with self-stick carpet squares. Patterns now are attractive and they are easy to install. Mess one or more up, pull up and stick another in! They can even be used on steps. Just cut to fit! You will love carpet squares!
Check out a wide variety of them here.
Thanks for the tip, Georgia & Joe Otti!
Have a tip? Submit it here.
“Why I love my RV”
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, RVtravel.com readers tell in their own words why they love their RVs.
From Marie Dalzell
2021 Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 32RLI
“We are seasonal and love our Cougar because of a separate bedroom that has a huge closet and dresser; we love it because of the sleeper sofa so our grandkids have a dedicated place to sleep; and for the opposing slides, giving us a good amount of room inside. We also love the second awning on the front … it turns out to be a great place for our dog area!”
Tell us about your RV. Come on, do a little bragging! Click here.
Website of the day
42 Famous Houses From Movies and TV Shows You Can Actually Visit
Visiting sets where movies and TV shows were filmed is always fun, and it would be so neat to see some of these houses in person along the road. Don’t you agree?
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
• An easy trick that’ll make RV dumping a lot more sanitary
• Moving from a “house RV” to an “apartment RV.” How do we downsize?
• AirLight insulates your RV – Keep the cool or warm air inside!
Recipe of the Day
Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash
by Joan Edwards from Rocky Hill, CT
We love when acorn squash comes back into season, and this sausage stuffed one is a great fall dinner. Crumbled sausage, sauteed bell peppers, and onions are delicious inside the squash. Mixing that with bread stuffing and poultry seasoning makes the stuffing very flavorful. We recommend sprinkling the cheddar cheese on top for that bit of melty, cheesy goodness. This is an awesome dinner your family will love.
Sounds like the perfect winter dish to us! Get the recipe.
See yesterday’s recipe: Workday Breakfast Burritos
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Trivia
Moon dust smells like gunpowder, according to all the Apollo program astronauts (even from different missions!).
*What do an atomic bomb and a bikini have in common? The answer is much more interesting than you’d think! Find it in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Rigby is our rescue Border Collie. While he likes riding in the truck, he tells us that he doesn’t like camping. Being led around on a leash is degrading, having your poop picked up in public is embarrassing and most of the other dogs are little fluffy yappers that don’t know how to catch a frisbee. He said that he’d rather be running in the field and herding anything that moves. We gave him a choice of going in the trailer to Florida or back to the pound. He reluctantly went with us and had a good time.” —Lee Cattaneo
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 owners: Here are a few excellent resources to find a veterinarian while on the road. Keep this handy!
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
This is a great idea and doesn’t even require outdoor space! It would make a great gift. Check it out.
Leave here with a laugh
You know… we’ve seen worse ideas…
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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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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Rigby has very interesting coloration- you must get a lot of comments. Nice dog!
Thanks, he is a great dog. Just very energetic.
One way to tell if a dog likes camping is if they go in the camper on their own. Even after coaxing mine out of it, he jumps right back in.
“Leave here with a Laugh” forgot to line their bucket with a plastic bag. Adding a little water absorbing powder can help. Look for “Poo Powder” on Amazon.
Ditto about the plastic bag. A little scented cat litter works too. Boondocking 101.
The festive Christmas RV shirt cracked me up. Right after the poll and everyone going off about what idiots burn a candle in their RV…. A RV shirt featuring RV tree on a trunk over a campfire.
IRONY 😂
Won’t buy until they put a SuperC on it.
All – Your RV has hundreds of little computers all over doing this job or that job. When things just seem to be wonky, with no obvious solution, just turn off all power to both house and chassis for a minute. This resets all those little monsters, and once turned back on should again play nice with each other. It’s like a Personal Computer, sometimes a reset is necessary.
Today’s Thought: In this day of Ebooks and Amazon the idea Mr. Gaiman has is rather outdated.
It’s actually a quote from his novel “American Gods”
I like today’s laugh but I have been using my “pickle bucket” for 20 plus years! You can purchase an actual seat with a lid. It’s plastic and light weight. We travel in our van and I wouldn’t be without it.
Great newsletter. I enjoy it very much. Today’s date is December 8th not the 5th. Minor detail.
My newsletter is dated the 8th at the top.
It was a typo on the email alert. However, it was an interesting coincidence, since the topic in the Need an excuse to celebrate feature was regarding time travel. 😆 Have a great day, and stay healthy. 🙂 –Diane
Cute write up on Rigby, “Pet of the Day” ! He’s got the essence of dogdom down pat. I hope the pet parent is a writer. If not, please consider 🙂
I agree candles and campers even tents don’t mix. Plenty of battery operating ones.
Leave here with a laugh was good. We did that when tent camping. That was a good chuckle seeing that.
Any old port in a storm or pot in a pinch
Pet of the day just goes to show that some dogs don’t belong in a camper. I’ve seen so many big dogs that you know they’re not comfortable in their environment. Our 5lb Maltese is plenty big enough for our 23’ TT.
👍
The size of a dog is not an issue as long as the camper is large enough that they have a place to get comfortable, and aren’t an active breed. Many large breeds are happy laying around most of the day and are very happy in a smaller environment as long as they are walked or able to play in a dog park daily. Our Great Danes love our life on the road but they have their own raised bed in our 40′ motorhome and are happy to use it when we aren’t walking them. We take them with us when we leave the motorhome and they are much happier than when we would leave them home when we lived in our sticks-and-bricks. I will say that I have seen active breeds that need more exercise who are not well-suited for RV life, but those are both small and large breeds. It’s great that your Maltese is happy in your camper but please don’t assume that all large dogs are unhappy in smaller spaces.
Lots of small/yappie/vicious dogs don’t belong in campers/campgrounds either. It’s the owner, not the dog. In 16yrs FT we’ve seen tons of big dogs that are just fine camping, because their parents manage them correctly. Many people think just because their dog is pocket size it is automatically cute/adorable. NOT! We’ve been abused by WAY more pocket dogs than large.
Had a small Jack Russell for 14 years and he could be a 120 # Rottweiler stuffed in that 14# body at times. Some require lots of exercise to stay happy and out of trouble. Don’t think size matters as long as you know the dogs needs and can keep them happy. I get restless cooped up in the camper sometimes when I can’t get out and go hiking or seeing things too
my thoughts exactly…open flames and campers should not mix
Burning candles in the RV is a recipe for disaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you must have ambience, get a battery operated ‘”flicker” candle. They look real.
Hey! I’m in Gilford!