Issue 1802
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
“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Cook a Sweet Potato Day!
On this day in history: 1878 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many five-and-dime Woolworth stores.
Tip of the Day
Off-grid RV kitchen tips to extend boondocking time
By Cheri Sicard
When it comes to boondocking or RVing without hookups, there are things you can do in every part of your rig that can extend the amount of time you will be able to comfortably live without hookups. Last week I focused on the bathroom, this time we turn towards RV kitchen tips to maximize boondocking time.
Between food prep and storage, cleanups, cooking, and water usage, how you use this area of your RV can have a major impact on how much time you can spend off-grid.
Today’s RV review…
In today’s column, industry insider Tony Barthel reviews the Western Range Camps. As he reports, “One of the hallmarks of Western Camps is that each trailer is a unique machine. The company works with the prospective owner to build exactly what they want rather than have every trailer be the same unit.”
For previous RV reviews, click here.
CONTEST! Is this your RV?
Win a $25 Amazon gift certificate if today’s RV photo shows your rig
Every day we post a photo of an RV either submitted by its owner or by our editors as they move about the country.
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.
Why will only one of my RV stovetop burners light?
Dear Dave,
Only one of three RV stovetop burners will light using the “spark” knob (back left). Is there a way to troubleshoot? Thank you! —Carol
RV packing on the pounds? Try these 10 steps to shed some rig weight
By Nanci Dixon
I read an article by Greg Illes about RV weight last week and decided it was time for our RV to lose some weight too. Along with us, our motorhome seemed to have gained some COVID weight — the result of too much time for too much online shopping. Continue reading.
Reader poll
How important is it that your RV is available to you in an emergency?
Quick Tip
Tip for lining up trailer hitch and ball
Problems “seeing” when hitching up your travel trailer? Get two telescoping magnetic part retrievers at a dollar store, and stick/stand one on your ball and the other on the trailer hitch. Just back up keeping the sticks aligned, and when the one on the ball is pushed over, you’re lined up perfectly over the ball. Thanks to Wolfe Rose.
At last! A directory of where to camp on public lands!
The Bureau of Land Management Camping book describes 1,273 camping areas managed by the BLM in 14 Western states. Details for each camping area include the number of campsites, amenities, facilities, fees, reservation information, GPS coordinates, and more. You’ll want this book if you camp or are interested in camping on BLM land. Learn more or order.
Website of the day
YouTube: RV Emergency Preparedness
If, like in today’s poll, it’s important that your RV is available to you in an emergency, check out these pages (and pages and pages) of YouTube videos. They’ll help you make sure your RV is ready for anything!
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:
• 14 percent have gone through more than one divorce.
• 12 percent buy lottery tickets very often.
• 79 percent say they don’t sing in the shower (are you lying?).
Recent poll: When staying in a luxury RV in a full hookup RV resort, are you camping?
Recipe of the Day
Sweet Potato Fajitas
by April McIver from R, CA
If you’re having a vegetarian over to dinner or just want to try something new, these fajitas are perfect. Sweet potatoes are a great substitution for chicken and beef. We loved the texture and flavor of the potatoes with their crispy edges against the melty cheese and the sliced peppers and onions. Add some salsa and cool sour cream and you have an awesome all-veggie fajita.
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Trivia
Did you know that leafcutter ants don’t actually eat the leaves? Instead, the leaves are food for the ant’s extensive underground fungus system. For tens of millions of years, leafcutter ants have tended these fungus farms, which provide nutrients for the ant larvae in the colony. This fungus is so important to the colony that when a new queen sets out to form a brand new colony, she takes a starter fungus (in a tiny pocket within her mouth) with her to start seeding a new colony. Amazing!
*If you are a quatorzième, you are a what? You’ll want this job! The answer is in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Rudy is our 1-year-old French bulldog. He’s been to over 13 states since we got him! He’s the best traveling buddy ever! He loves to adventure with his humans. He loves to take rides in the truck. All he’s ever known is the RV lifestyle.” —Debbie Brooks
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!
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
This is the #1 best-selling… well, we won’t tell you the category, but you’ll probably want it (and you’ll also want to go to all these places!).
Leave here with a laugh
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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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Woolworth, monkie wards, sears, kresage K Mart……all end of a great era. I heard JC Penney is in trouble as well. Sad so sad really….
Which is why our cell phones have more bacteria and dirt than the average toilet seat- from a plumber.
Love the ‘phone booth’ time capsule. 😀
Best thing I ever did was install a camera for my hitch
Never have to twist my neck . spot on every time
In the fall I work at a marina getting boats put away I move 25/30 boats a day. This year I’ll add a front camera because I’ve added a front hitch
Much more maneuverable in tight places
Thanks for the ‘Website of the day’. I used to carry a survival kit in each of my three cars, and had a larger kit in the house. Now that I’m full timing in a class B Winnebago Travato, space is kinda tight for a lot of emergency gear. Now the van is one big ‘kit’.
On this day in history: 1878 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many five-and-dime Woolworth stores. That was the equivalent of opening a 2-4 Dollar store now!! I miss those stores.
Woolworths and all the other 5&10 stores I remember so well as a child.
Sticks and bricks showers are tile, reflect sounds, so singing sounds better. RV showers are plastic–no reverberation.
re: Tip for lining up trailer hitch and ball
Several companies make yellow balls on a telescoping rod for this purpose. They work fairly well–they sometimes don’t want to stand up straight. But they’re better than nothing. I’ve seen them with a red-led accessory for night time use.
Reese Towpower 7012900 Solo Hitch Alignment System
https://amazon.com/dp/B0016C5YF2/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_8ZZM6A28EE1YFQCE0BBE
Hey my bathroom had a phone in 1985, my wife was a realtor, enough said!
Snoopy
Remember the hotels in Vegas had phones in the bathrooms
Destinations of a Lifetime….at my Age, everywhere is a destination of a Lifetime.
If a vegetarian came over for supper they might get a celery stalk or a carrot, we are meat eaters. God created animals to serve man, either food or burden. If a vegetarian has an aversion to killing animals what is their reason for killing a plant?
There are more reasons to be vegetarian than just an aversion to killing animals. Besides, how many people who eat meat actually kill and butcher an animal to do it?
Well said..
If you are gonna pull ‘God’ into the discussion, maybe the commandment that ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ means kill needlessly to some people. While I am by no means a vegetarian, I can respect their dietary choices and not sound like a jerk about it.
Being a vegetarian for 32 years its a healthy choice as I have perfect cholesterol levels and 112 lbs and not on heart meds at 59 years young. I don’t see to many people at average weight for their height anymore. I’m actually shocked at how many young people even nurses are overweight. It’s a combination of not wanting to eat an animal and trying to stay fit and healthy. I live in Texas , drive a German car and a conservative as well.
God? lol! Spend a little time reading about the origin of the universe and you will soon discover this fairy tale character you call “God”, has precious little to do with anything! And by the way, which God do you refer to? There are literally hundreds of them, depending on which culture and time frame you belong to. Sounds like you are the Neanderthal one!
At least today’s phone booth comes with a seat. 👍