Issue 2032
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.
Today’s thought
“Whatever you are physically…male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy–all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Shop For Travel Day! Woohoo!
On this day in history: 1901 – New York: Automobile Club of America installs signs on major highways.
Tip of the Day
Pull tabs and five ways to reuse them while RVing
By Gail Marsh
If you’re old (like me) you may remember poking holes in a drink can. You used a can opener called a church key. One end of the mechanism featured a pointed end and the other a rounded or smooth end. In order to get the drink to come out without blubbering, you’d poke two holes—one each on opposite sides of the can top. As air flowed into the can, the beverage smoothly flowed out.
In 1959, the can pull tab was invented. Ermal Fraze, the founder of Dayton Reliable Tool & Manufacturing Company came up with the idea. Legend has it that Fraze forgot to bring a can opener to a picnic. He was forced to try and open beer cans on his car bumper!
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Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
Is there room to upgrade 1000-watt inverter in Mercedes floorplan?
Dear Dave,
I am looking at purchasing a 2023 Thor Quantum Mercedes Sprinter. The problem is it only comes with a 1/2 wave inverter and only 1000 watts. I’m looking to upgrade the 1000-watt inverter and install a Go Power! IC2000 inverter with 2 AGM 100ah deep cycle batteries. Do you feel there is room for this or should I look for a different coach? —Donald
Video of the day
Are RV AirSkirts worth it? Temperature test plus installation
By Cheri Sicard
There’s no doubt that RV skirting can help keep your RV warm in cold temperatures as well as cooler in warmer temperatures. There are many types of commercial and DIY RV skirting available, but RV AirSkirts have to be the easiest to install.
Coming tomorrow: Live video chat
Dave and Dustin answer your RV repair and maintenance questions
Our two tech experts will answer your questions about RV Repair and Maintenance from 4-5 p.m. Pacific time (7-8 p.m. in the East). So pick their brains via chat. Ask questions about RV repair and maintenance or just lurk and soak up all the valuable information. Learn where to watch in tomorrow’s (Wednesday) newsletter.
The history of the cheeseburger: Almost as satisfying as a burger itself!
By Chris Epting
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we’ll be tracing some food origins, starting with an all-American classic, the cheeseburger. Believe it or not, there are three places that all claim to be the birthplace of the cheeseburger. How can this be? Sometimes, similar ideas are thought of around the same time in history. These “coincidences” sometimes lead to arguments over who had the idea first, as is the case with the cheeseburger. … Drool over some cheeseburgers here.
Psst: Want to know the best burgers in the U.S. and Canada? Our readers have spoken, and they have tasty answers!
Reader poll
Which would you prefer for a quick snack?
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Quick Tip
Correct RV tire pressure saves them
Keeping RV tires at the right inflation saves them. Too much pressure—uneven tread wear. Too little pressure—risk ruining the tires from over-heating, plus uneven wear. Tires give off air even without actual “leaks,” so check them before you start out on a trip, and at least weekly on the road.
On this day last year…
- Tip: You’ll be surprised by these 19 unusual uses for wax paper
- RV Review: Airstream International 25FB
- Ask Dave: What maintainer do you recommend for my RV’s batteries?
- Featured article: This video could save you from danger during a tire blowout
- Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes with Smoked Sausage
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Anything that could prevent you from getting into an accident is worth having, isn’t it? This is no exception!
Website of the day
Soak Your Winter Blues Away in America’s Most Beautiful Natural Hot Springs
If eyes could drool they would at all these photos. We want to go to all these hot springs, especially now in winter!
RV People
By Gary Jefferson
RV People are RVers I meet along the way. I always ask permission to take a photo, let people pose themselves, and take a shot quickly. The only information I include is general information about the location. If license plates show, they have been doctored in Photoshop. The photos are always in black and white. They are featured Saturdays and Tuesdays at RVtravel.com
Fire-resistant bag keeps valuables safe!
This silicone-coated fire-resistant bag will save your money, documents, jewelry, passport and other valuables from a fire. Its two layers of supreme fire retardant fiberglass material make it resist fire and heat up to 2000℉. It’s waterproof, too, so when the hoses arrive, your valuables won’t be harmed. Learn more or order.
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:
• 12 percent have attended a World Series game.
• 33 percent say their very first kiss was exhilarating, but 8 percent say it was either disappointing or a dud.
• 26 percent have never visited Yellowstone National Park.
Recent poll: Which do you most often prefer: a well lighted campground or a dark one?
Recipe of the Day
“Unstuffed” Green Pepper Soup for the Crock Pot
by Angie Robinson from Findlay, OH
A super easy Crock Pot soup dinner. This tastes just like stuffed bell peppers but is so much easier to make. The texture isn’t soup-like; rice and meat make this super hearty. You get bell pepper pieces in every bite. It’s a budget-friendly meal.
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Trivia
The Prohibition Era’s most successful enforcement officers made their arrests posing as… what? Police officers! Yup! Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith were the most successful Prohibition Era enforcement officers. They were responsible for nearly 5,000 arrests between 1920 and 1925. Their secret? Honesty! They’d walk right up to speakeasies and announce they were police officers looking for a drink. Bouncers and bartenders thought it was a gag. After all, what kind of officer would walk right up and announce themselves like that? The two officers would walk in, order a round of drinks, take a sip, and sneak the rest of the drink into bottles in their overcoats to serve later as evidence. Done deal!
*Which country has the longest national anthem? Take a guess and see if you’re right. Check yesterday’s trivia for the answer.
Readers’ Pets of the Day
“Toto (brown) and Shorty (tri-color) have been full-time travelers for three years. They are great travelers but hate windshield wipers lol. They’re great examples of ‘if a tree falls 500 miles away a Chihuahua will bark!'” —David N.
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!
Leave here with a laugh
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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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As I told my roommate who has a chihuahua and I did same, the chihuahua chooses you do not choose them. I know. One was fiercely dedicated to our daughter. Otherwise chihuahuas are great dogs. As for the pull tabs they discontinued to the flip tab because like me, when I removed the pull tabs I would put them inside the can after opening. Needless to say never happened to me but it caused choking hazards. Its all good but I do not miss the pull tab. I remember breaking a few fingernails in the process.
Chico Hot Springs on the north side of Yellowstone NP off of Highway 89, near Encampment, Montana is a very historic establishment. Wonderful hotel & cabins, has a great cowboy bar, culinary restaurant, and besides the two hot pools, has a spa, horses, snack bar, and a beautiful garden.
Chris Epting needs to reserch Seymour WI . Hamburger Charley as maker of the first hamburger.
Don’t know why this keeps popping up in my head, but wouldn’t it be better if the RV of the Day was at least pictured being used as an RV instead of parked at a curb or in someone’s driveway? Just a thought.
Toto and Shorty show just how great it is to share RVing with our sweet pets! Cute doggies!
Regarding tire pressure…..If I leave Michigan and it’s 25 degrees and have my tires properly inflated cold, then drive to Florida and it’s 70 deg, when should I let air out of my tires as they are quite a bit higher pressure at 70 deg vs 25 deg (approximately 8 to 10 psi). I’m guessing I wait until my 1st morning after arriving in Florida and adjust at the new “cold” temp.
I’d say you’re about right. That extra 10# isn’t going to hurt anything. BUT going from warm to cold, I’d put air in right away. They’d be under inflated
They’re right about the Chihuahua, it might even be a little further if it’s a quiet day. Lol
Lots of Chihuahua lovers here! I’m glad ’cause I’m one too!!!
With auto manufacturers building more for style than function, blind spots are common. Your mystery product of the day, small rounded mirrors, should be made mandatory. For those who complain they can’t use them, what’s so hard? There is either “something” in your blind spot or not. That in itself should deter you from shifting lanes at the wrong moment.
For the record, Chico Hot Springs has two pools (not the three the article claims) but is otherwise as wonderful as described.