Issue 1999
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Page Contents
Today’s thought
“I feel a very unusual sensation—if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.” —Benjamin Disraeli
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is Thanksgiving, of course! (If you don’t like turkey, it’s also National Sardines Day.)
On this day in history: 1932 – In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens.
Tip of the Day
Why should you install RV insect screens to protect your appliances?
By Dustin Simpson, California RV Specialists
RV insect screens can protect your refrigerator, furnace, and water heater from being damaged by bugs and other pests. Propane has a garlic byproduct in it that attracts the bees, spiders, mud daubers, birds and small rodents into your appliance chambers and burner areas. I want you to think of it like us having a barbecue. Critters (and the debris that comes with them) in your appliance can cause serious damage to appliances or even cause a fire.
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
I lost the water heater tank rinser inside the tank. Help!
Hi Dave,
While cleaning my hot water tank, I used a tube attached to a hose to clean out the debris. I used the Camco one with the little gray tube on the end. When I opened the black valve, the tube shot into the water heater! I tried to fish it out but I just can’t find it. Will this hurt anything? Any ideas? Thanks so much. —Robert
Have a question for Dave? Click on today’s Ask Dave article and scroll down to fill out the form. He’ll get back to you!
Video of the day
How to make Dutch oven biscuits and sausage gravy
Dutch oven biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast! YUM!!!
In the video below, Scott Chandler, the Backwoods Gourmet, demonstrates how you can make delicious biscuits and sausage gravy for two people over a charcoal or campfire in a Dutch Oven. (Be sure to see our previous post on Dutch oven cooking tips too.)
Cornhole meets bean-bag basketball in this game for RVers
What is Tony talking about? He explains, “You could think of the game as a marriage of cornhole and basketball, essentially. The game is the brainchild of Anthony Esposito and is simply a series of seven buckets that mount on a collapsible pole. The game comes with 16 bean bags in two different colors. The buckets have numbers on them corresponding to the values they have in game play.” Now this sounds fun! Read his review and get your game on!
Yes, today’s newsletter is a tiny bit shorter than usual because of the holiday. But if you want to read more, make sure you click here for yesterday’s brand-new Full-Time RVer Newsletter. (Well, it was brand-new yesterday, anyway.)
Reader poll
Will you spend Thanksgiving with friends or family this year?
?????? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??????
Sometimes these things can be a little tacky, but this one made us chuckle. We’d laugh if we were driving past it!
Quick Tip
Have an extra water heater drain plug on hand—just in case
Water heater got a plastic drain plug? For some strange reason, plastic and heat don’t always get along. Keeping a spare drain plug in your parts kit may save you a lot of frustration.
Recipe of the Day
Streusel Yam Casserole
by V Seward from Yosemite Lakes Park, CA
Sweet potato casserole is a staple holiday side dish and this easy recipe is delish. It’s sweet enough that some may consider it a dessert. Using canned yams means it can be made in no time (and as V points out it can be prepped the day before). The casserole part is buttery, creamy, and sweet. We loved the streusel. Once it slightly cools, it creates a yummy sugary topping. This is going to become a must-make holiday side dish.
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Trivia
Last Thanksgiving, roughly 305 million pounds of food went to waste. On average, 172 million pounds of turkey, 40 million pounds of mashed potatoes, 38 million pounds of stuffing, 29 million pounds of veggie sides, and 14 million dinner rolls were thrown away. That much waste equals about 225 gallons of water per person. Eat those leftovers!
*How many people in Japan own RVs? Yesterday’s trivia tells you.
Readers’ Pets of the Day
“Spike and Olive love to travel! Olive the Dachshund uses her bed as a life raft when moving.” —Larry Pyle
So, um, Larry… Are they singing or asking for more Thanksgiving turkey?
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!
Penetrating oil can save the day!
It can be a bad day on the road if you break down and need to loosen a screw or bolt and it won’t budge. Here’s help: This rust eater, deep penetrating oil will penetrate rust, scale and corrosion to free parts and assemblies instantly. It will free up rusted machine screws, bolts, nuts, clamps for mufflers and tailpipes, locks and more. You need this! Learn more.
Leave here with a laugh
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, folks. We are grateful for YOU!
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Happy Thanksgiving RV Travel staff and writers! Thank you for this wonderful set of newsletters!
Thank you sooo much, Neal. We appreciate your kind words. And we appreciate YOU! Have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving. 😀 –Diane
Happy Thanksgiving to everybody! A special Thanks to the staff at RV Travel for their hard work to get the Daily Tips and the weekend issues out – week after week!
Thank you very much for your kind words, Linda. We sincerely appreciate them and, of course, YOU. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 😀 –Diane
As we are currently dry camping out in the Arizona desert for 10 days, we would gladly take anyone’s available Thanksgiving leftovers. It is about perspective….
Our leftovers are put into two categories. Some in the frig to be eaten within a few days, sandwiches etc., and the rest frozen for future meals. We have an “old” electric steamer to reheat leftovers. Almost as good as fresh.
Our RV park has a dinner on Friday, everyone brings their left/right overs.
I guess the left over waste numbers include restaurants waste should be donated to food pantries
Some food pantries will not take leftovers. Found that out a few years ago when we were trying to donate leftovers from school cafeteria. They had trays of food that had not been touched by anyone but cooks. I was shocked.
What are leftovers? One, Mom had us clean our plates. Two, IF there was anything that for some reason was left, it went, and still does, go to the chickens and hogs., which is then creating next years meal. As an uncle of decades and decades ago would say, “Those city folk just don’t know how to act.” Unfortunately I became city folk. However my daughter’s chickens do eat well if our plates are not completely cleaned.
Wish you all Happy Thanksgiving.We will have our nephew over for Thanksgiving . Wasn’t really answer on the survey for it. Didn’t see the “Is this your RV” today either. Enjoy your day.
No “Is this your RV photo” ? Always check to see if mine finally made it! Happy Thanksgiving to Chuck and all the folks who put this great news letter on day after day. Thank you, thank you!
Thank you for your kind words, Joe. We appreciate them, and YOU. Nope, “Is this your RV” took today off. Have a terrific Thanksgiving! 😀 –Diane
Well I missed it also. Wondering how many others missed it.
Sorry, Sam, and others who missed the “Is this your RV” feature. It’ll be back tomorrow. Have a great Thanksgiving. 😀 –Diane
I’m glad I didn’t get that job last year of going around to every garbage can and measuring how much food was wasted. Or did Johnny Robot do it? Where do these numbers come from? Out of thin air! And who really cares, we love leftovers and even some right overs. Lol
Same here. Sometimes we’re still finding left and right overs in the deep freeze well after New Year’s. But it wouldn’t be a holiday meal without a Debbie Downer spouting off about eating too much, wasting food, or having alcohol with the meal. Doesn’t everyone have an aunt like that? That’s why we only invite you once a year, Aunt Violet.
All leftovers are rightovers. They do taste better the second time around.
Almost every thing I eat “goes to waste”. ;<)
Unless it goes to “waist”. HAHAHA
That was my first thought and my husband said they had to be made up, otherwise known as SWAG – Scientific Wild-A** Guess!