Issue 1939
Welcome to RV Travel’s Daily Tips Newsletter, where you’ll find helpful RV-related tips from the pros, travel advice, product reviews and more. Thanks for joining us. Please tell your friends about us.
Page Contents
Today’s thought
“As it has been said:
Love and a cough
cannot be concealed.
Even a small cough.
Even a small love.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Burnt Ends Day! (These are those smokey “burnt ends” of brisket BBQ. Yum, yum, yum!)
On this day in history: 1897 – The Tremont Street Subway in Boston opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
Tip of the Day
Keep your RV drinking water safe
By Bob Difley
There are two kinds of RVers: those that drink raw water right out of the tap and those that don’t. If you are one that doesn’t, you don’t have to concern yourself with waterborne illnesses. Of course, depending on what you do drink – wine, beer, tea or coffee – you may be confronted with other issues.
For those of us that do drink water and spend a lot of time on the road and in questionable locations, the following measures have kept my wife and me free of typhoid, diarrhea, pathogenic microorganisms and intestinal parasites. As explorer Owen Lattimore noted while traversing the Silk Road in camel caravans, “Water alone, unboiled, is never drunk. There is a superstition that it causes blisters on the feet.”
Today’s RV review…
Keystone Arcadia 3940LT—better bunks
Tony writes, “Just over a year ago Keystone introduced a whole new line of fifth wheels and travel trailers under the Arcadia brand. These mainstream rigs offer a lot of new features along with some of the cornerstone features that are part of what sets Keystone apart.”
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.”
Indoor lights only work when ignition is on. How come?
Dear Dave,
My husband, David, can’t figure out why, when our RV is plugged in for power, all of our indoor house lights do not come on at all unless we have the ignition key turned on partially or turned on completely and also have the engine on. Please help us. We live in our RV full-time and have almost no $$$ to spend. Thank you so much!!! —Christina, 1999 Georgie Boy Chevy Pursuit
Video of the day
SUPER RARE VW bug gooseneck trailer, parts I and II
It was not known if the gooseneck VW Bug RV conversion seen in the video above [in the post] was a prototype or was ever actually in production.
That’s because, until recently, the 1974 promotional video for the El Chico gooseneck trailer from International Travel Trailer, Inc. was the only one anyone had seen. And a cool and compelling video it is.
Work camping tips from the experts
By Julie Chickery
With the boom in RV sales, there has never been a better time to try work camping. It is a great way to fund some of your RV travels while you’re exploring the country. In this week’s article, get some work camping tips from the experts. This includes where to find potential jobs, how far in advance you need to apply, and how to make your application stand out. Continue reading these great tips.
Reader poll
Should drivers with RVs 40 feet or longer need a special driver’s license?
If you enjoy this newsletter, please help us spread the word! Learn more here. It’s fun!
Quick Tip
Hooking up your water? Use your elbow!
Something as small as a three- or four-dollar part may not seem like a big deal, but you’d be surprised by how these little things can make a big difference. This part can pretty much be found at any place selling RV parts, but I’ve been surprised by how many people don’t use it. This part is simply a ninety-degree brass fitting from your water hose to your RV exterior water hookup.
Why is this part important? It will make your life so much easier as these exterior RV water hookups stick straight out from the side of your RV, putting a lot of pressure on your water hose and RV threaded fitting. So the result is usually a water hookup that leaks. At first it will not leak, but over time, it will get worse and worse. This simple ninety-degree brass fitting takes a great deal of pressure off the RV hookup and water hose fittings. Since I started using this part several years ago, my exterior RV water connection has never leaked when properly tightened. From The Simple Life Guide To RV Living: The Road to Freedom and the Mobile Lifestyle Revolution, available on Amazon.
On this day last year…
- Tips: 18 things to know about avoiding collisions with an animal while driving
- RV review: Northstar 600SS Pickup Camper for midsize trucks
- Ask Dave: Is it necessary to level a travel trailer?
- Featured article: Products we tested—and which later failed
- Recipe: Yam Biscuits
Website of the day
The most breathtaking view in every U.S. state
We have to say, we do agree with many of the views on this list. Of course, it’s hard to choose just one in each state though!
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
Do you ever find yourself snacking? You can’t help but love a good snack? Good, then you need these.
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:
• 13 percent have been bitten by a wild animal.
• 10 percent say they play board games in their RV very often, and another 18 percent say they play them every once in a while.
• 16 percent admit to singing in the shower.
Recent poll: Do you believe the prices of used RVs will drop in 2023?
Recipe of the Day
Mamma Ang’s Cavatini
by Angie Webb from Centennial, CO
This cavatini recipe will make your house smell like a pizzeria! We loved using whole wheat pasta, ground turkey, and turkey pepperoni. It helps to make this recipe a little healthier. The contrast of the meat sauce mixed with the creamy meat mixture is perfectly balanced and divine. Butter some garlic bread and toss together a green salad for a completely delicious meal.
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Trivia
Did you know each of those red/orange and white sections meant something? If not, now you do!
Readers’ Pet of the Day
Marianne Barrett submitted this photo for our photo contest, but we wanted you to see it here. She wrote, “Ranger making a new friend at the Yemassee KOA in Yemassee, SC.”
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!
Leave here with a laugh
(Read that again.)
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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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In response to today’s question, whether or not RV drivers that drive vehicles that are 40 Feet or longer be required to obtain a special driver’s license.
As having driven Commerical Vehicles and held a CDL for many years, I know that heavier vehicles take longer distances to stop, are affected by cross winds, etc.
The average RV driver has driven nothing but a sedan, pickup truck or other smaller vehicle, other than a Semi-type of truck.
RV dealers and manufactures for years have lobbied against special licenses for their larger RVs, because it might hurt sales. The typical test drive is on quiet streets, and very seldom, if ever driven on an interstate. Mom & Pop buy these vehicles and learn to drive them on their own. Manufacturers and Dealers should at least supply hands on training at a training facility so that the RV driver can experience real world conditions without endangering their fellow motorists on the interstate and other congested roadways.
Those wind socks all look the same.
No they don’t. Look at where each one “droops”. The 15 knot one is straight out. The 3 knot one droops at the first segment.
“good year”, oh groan. Okay, I did like it.
I had to do a quick double-take. That’s why I added the note to read it again. 😆 Have a great day, Impavid. 😀 -Diane
I sanitize the tanks and use the brita pitchers. Sorry guys, I drank from the hose, backpacked in the Rocky Mountains and drank from streams. Accidently, water from lakes and oceans. Tablets, filters or boiling, I have done them all.
Okay. Took me a third time. Good one!
Goodyear. Haha lol rotfl 😂😆!
Like that one!
However it does look a little more like a BF Goodrich tread pattern…
All water used for human and pet consumption comes out of plastic bottles. Nothing worse than a pet with a bad reaction to local water systems.
We also recycle the bottles where possible.
We are with you, Tom. We never drink from the fresh tank either. We carry gallon jugs from WMart or $ General for drinking and cooking. We spent 4 mos touring Texas and found nearly every town had parking lot kiosks selling ice and water refills at 25¢/gal.
BTW – Hot Springs AR has sidewalk fountains for free filling. Just be aware that the water comes out at around 150 degrees F. Can be hard to carry the jugs back to the car. 😳
Thank you for recycling Tom! Maybe our bottles will end up as park benches or car tires!
good to recycle bottles. Levi’s introduced a new denim incorporating post-consumer waste, specifically recycled plastic bottles and food trays.