Issue 1955
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
“The trouble is if you don’t spend your life yourself, other people spend it for you.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Great American Pot Pie Day!
On this day in history: 1913 – Roland Garros of France becomes the first to fly in an airplane across the Mediterranean (from St. Raphael in France, to Bizerte, Tunisia).
Tip of the Day
See wildlife up ahead? Great! Here are some tips for safely observing wildlife
By Gail Marsh
You’ve probably seen it: The video of a guy being chased by an elk, the family approaching a bear cub, or the gal trying to take a selfie with a bull moose. Yipes! What are these folks thinking?! One benefit of the RV life is getting to see wildlife in their own habitat. It’s important (even lifesaving) to observe wildlife safely. Here are some tips to help you do just that…
Today’s RV review…
No review from Tony today. He’ll be back tomorrow.
Just in case you’re curious, this was Tony’s most popular review last month.
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.
Speaking of contests… Today is the last day you can vote in last Saturday’s photo contest. Make sure you cast your vote here!
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
A few questions about storing an RV at a campground through the winter
Dear Dave,
My RV will be left in a New Hampshire campground for the winter. How about installing a solar trickle charger to keep the battery charged and an using ultrasonic pest repeller to keep mice and insects away, plus roof edge heat tapes to melt the snow? —James, Keystone Montana 3950BR
This wonderful, nostalgic book should be your next read…
“Don’t Make Me Pull Over!: The Informal History of the Family Road Trip” by Richard Ratay is a wonderful, nostalgic story of the golden age of family road trips. With the birth of America’s first interstate highways in the 1950s came the rush of the family road trip. Ratay and his family were a part of that packed-back-seat, souvenir-shopping, attraction-seeking era, and he’s here to tell you about it. Read more about it here.
Video of the day
Owl sounds: How many of these unique owl calls can you identify?
By Cheri Sicard
Have you ever listened to the calls of night birds and wondered if they were owl sounds? And if they are owl calls, what kind of owl(s)?
The video below produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides lots of useful information for owl enthusiasts.
Watch (and listen to) the video
You can prevent RV-caused wildfires
Wildfire. It’s a scary, deadly enemy. In 2020, nearly 59,000 wildfires burned across the United States, chewing up 10.1 million acres. Could RVers be responsible for wildfires? Our minds may immediately leap to an unwatched campfire lighting off the forest. But 2018’s deadly Northern California wildfire, the Carr Fire, was set off, not by an untended campfire, but rather by an RVer, unaware their trailer had suffered a blow out. The wheel rim, in contact with pavement, set off showers of sparks, catching roadside brush on fire. How can you prevent RV-caused wildfires? Get some important tips here.
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- The State of RVing, Part 1: Growth of the RV homeless
- Is new RV composite building material a game changer?
- Campground Crowding: Two campground owners speak out, offer their side
- RV Service Centers and Repairs Report: ‘I was told that there will be problems, but wow! This is a lot!’
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
This is hilarious! Can you imagine the face of the person who opens this? If you recorded their reaction and put it on YouTube you’d go viral!
Reader poll
Have you ever needed emergency medical care while RVing?
If you enjoy this newsletter, please help us spread the word! Learn more here. It’s fun!
Quick Tip
Water bladder is great for boondockers
If you want to “keep your rig put” in one spot, away from utilities, and haven’t figured out how to get fresh water to it, consider a water bladder. These huge, pillow-like plastic devices rest on your truck bed (or even your car top), fill up with fresh water, then motor on out to your RV, where gravity (or a 12-volt water pump) transfer their contents to your RV tank. Beware, a full bladder can “pop” a dent in your roof.
On this day last year…
- Tip: Your RV’s roof vent and fan are dirty! Here’s how to clean them
- RV review: 2022 Colorado Teardrops Mount Massive trailer
- Ask Dave: Why can’t the RV industry conquer the issue of leaks?
- Featured article: Control board not working? Replace it!
- Recipe: Crock Pot Chicken Pot “Pie” & Dumplings
Website of the day
America’s 26 Best Food Trucks
Mmmm… food. What better way to try local food than by trying out some food trucks? The food is usually affordable and is great to grab and take to a local park or campground. Additionally, here’s the best food truck in each state.
Clubs and useful organizations
PLEASE NOTE: We may receive an affiliate commission if you join any of these.
• Harvest Hosts: Stay free at farms, wineries and other scenic and peaceful locations for free. Save 15% on membership.
• AllStays: The best website for RVers! Your membership will become your RV-bible.
• Boondockers Welcome: Stay at homes of RVers who welcome you in their driveways, yards, farmland or other space on their private property. Modest membership fee.
• Escapees: Best Club for RVers: All RVers welcome, no matter what type of RV, make or model.
• Road Trip Wizard: Make your RV road trip planning easier than ever.
Recipe of the Day
French Onion Meatballs
by Elaine Bovender from Wilmington, NC
Member’s Choice! These will be a welcome addition to any party table. The flavor combination makes them taste like French onion soup! This recipe is super easy, which is an added bonus.
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Trivia
New York has the most salad shops (per square root of population) in the USA, 0.2510, which is 42.5 times more than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the fewest at 0.0059. —WalletHub.com
*The sun’s core is so hot that a piece the size of a pinhead would give off enough heat to kill a person ___ miles away. What’s the number? Find it in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Buffy is our 13-year-old American Long Hair kitty. She loves to camp with us and is a wonderful travel companion. This is her favorite spot in the coach, especially when the sun is shining in.” —Cheryl Hunt
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!
Want a boat but don’t have space? Try an inflatable one!
Inflatable boats became quite popular among RVers and outdoor enthusiasts this year. They’re affordable and fold down small so they can be stored in car trunks, on cargo racks, in RV underbelly storage or in a closet! If you’re skeptical, just read the reviews (or visit a nearby lake and ask someone in person!). Here’s an inflatable rowboat, and here’s a kayak (single and tandem).
Leave here with a laugh
A heavily pregnant woman hobbles painfully into the hospital with one hand on her back. A nurse comes over to her and asks her what’s wrong, but the woman just shouts, “Shouldn’t! Wouldn’t! Didn’t!” The nurse shakes her head and says, “Sorry, I don’t understand.” The woman screams, “Can’t! Won’t! Don’t!” The nurse is terribly confused and turns to a doctor, who says, “Admit her. She’s having contractions.”
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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Editor: Emily Woodbury
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Love the cat with the Groucho Marx ‘stache. 🥸 I’ll bet she’s a character with lots of attitude!
Cats don’t have an attitude, they have a cattitude!! LOL
In the Trivia, What is the “per square root of population”?
No clue, Bobkat. I don’t know where someone got that from. But “square foot of population” doesn’t make sense to me, either, so I just left it and hoped someone could explain it. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
Bobkat3080 & Diane, Not being a mathematician or statistician I wondered the same thing. However, having had one class in logic, and having known a statistician, it appears to me that if the statistics don’t give you the answer you want, you just go thru different mathematical gyrations until you can “prove” your point. AND I really doubt that the people in Laredo, TX could really care how they compare to NY when it comes to salad. After all: Trivia is oh so trivial anyway. However, to make it TOTALY CLEAR:
What is the square root of the population standard deviation?
“Because the differences are squared, the units of variance are not the same as the units of the data. Therefore, the standard deviation is reported as the square root of the variance and the units then correspond to those of the data set. The population standard deviation is the square root of this value.”
See how easy it is? Because of this, people in NY like salad more than people in TX. (It’s called STAT MATH SALAD.)
Thanks, Kelly. I’ll be thinking of that as I’m preparing my salad for dinner pretty soon, after I take some ibuprofen for the headache that gave me. 😆 Have a good evening/night. 😀 –Diane
I AM sorry! That is an actual quote and there are evidently people in this world that actually understand it. But I doubt they could dump a black tank.
😆 No problem, Kelly. Interesting info, but just too detailed for my poor old brain. Take care. 😀 –Diane
Do yourself a favor and buy your inflatable boat from NRS or AIRE. Do they cost more? Sure. And you get a boat that will last many, many years and perform well all along. A bathtub toy from Amazon will do neither.