Issue 2057
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
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” —Paulo Coelho
An alternative to Amazon for RV parts and accessories. Visit Dyers. Great selection and service.
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is Valentine’s Day, of course!
On this day in history: 1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
Tip of the Day
Follow this step-by-step guide to visiting RV shows
By Janet Groene
The RV show season is always exciting, especially this year when many popular RV shows are back after two or three years were lost to COVID.
RV shows add sizzle to the winter season. Some are also combination shows featuring RVs and camping plus boating or adventure travel, fishing, hunting or general travel. They let us dream, plan, buy and see what is trending. They are fun!
First, make sure you know all the shows that are going on in the area you’re willing to travel to. Do a browser search for, say, “RV Show + Your State” or “Camping RV Show + Region” (such as Midwest or New England). Then mark your calendar. Many RV shows are at fairgrounds and other venues that offer RV hookups. Reserve your site ASAP.
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 and writers 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.”
Can two 6-volt house batteries run a 2,000W inverter?
Dear Dave,
Will two 6-volt batteries connected in series run a 2000-watt inverter? —Pat, ’02 Lance 835 Lite
Tomorrow: RV repair and maintenance advice
Our experts answer your RV repair and maintenance questions on live webcast
Dave Solberg will be joined by Chris Dougherty to answer your questions about RV Repair and Maintenance LIVE tomorrow from 4-5 p.m. Pacific time (7-8 p.m. in the East). Chris is the former technical editor of Trailer Life and Motorhome magazines. 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 newsletter.
Video of the day
Cheap and easy DIY RV curtains and rods
By Cheri Sicard
If you have ever wanted to replace your RV curtains, whether it be in a trailer, motorhome, van, or skoolie, you have probably already discovered this can be an expensive proposition. I know I was shocked at the price of hardware to hang curtains (the curtains I made myself) when I was doing my RV remodel. Not only were commercial curtain rods expensive, but they also did not work so well.
In the video below, the folks from ColaVentures have a lower-cost solution. (I have another one, too, that is even lower cost that I’ll put at the end of this post.)
For Lovers Only…
To: Sunkiss
From: NSKing
“I know Valentine’s Day is my birthday and we celebrate that instead, but you are always in my heart that day and every day. Love you!”
Happy Birthday from us here at RV Travel, NSKing!
To: Bearcat
From: Mouser
“Valentine’s Day is for wine and roses, but give me an RV full of gadgets and hoses!
Adventures and fresh air with room to roam, wherever we travel we’ll always be home!
We have celebrated 38 Valentines as a couple. I’m feeling lucky… let’s go for double!!
Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Even though Valentine’s Day is today, we’ll continue this feature throughout the month since we got so many submissions. No more new submissions will be accepted, though.
In case you missed this hilarious story in Saturday’s newsletter…
A very, very wet Valentine’s Day in Borrego Springs
By Rod Andrew
After several years of wandering through the Western USA, my wife and I finally settled on a place we wanted to spend our Canadian winters. The township of Borrego Springs, California, offered everything we needed, including a slow lifestyle and marvelous weather. Tennis, pickleball, hiking, biking, a rich cultural life and a wonderful library in the middle of a stunning desert state park. It was perfect. Until… Read why Rod’s wife deserves an award.
Lemon Laws (kind of) protect new and used RV buyers. This is how they REALLY work
By Randall Brink
If you have purchased a new or used RV, only to have your rig stuck in the shop for weeks or months for warranty repairs, you may have a “lemon.” If your dealer/warranty repair shop repeatedly tries and fails to repair the problem(s), you do have a “lemon” by definition. The definition is in the “Lemon Laws” enacted by the states. A U.S. federal lemon law generally applies, even if the state laws are not applicable or ineffective in addressing your specific situation. Learn more.
Reader poll
Will you do anything today to celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Make sure to have this First Alert EZ Fire Spray in your RV
The First Alert EZ Fire Spray portable fire extinguisher is easier to use and discharges 4 times longer than traditional fire extinguishers. With an aerosol nozzle and portable size, it’s suited for the kitchen, car, garage, boat or RV. The formula wipes away with a damp cloth & is biodegradable. Learn more or order.
Quick Tip
Watch your rear!
“Here is a tip I use while driving down the highway. I installed a Fresnel lens on the rear window of my 31-foot Class C motorhome to enable me to see close to the rear of the rig. Doing this gives me the added advantage of being able to know when I’ve passed another vehicle and it’s far enough behind to allow me to change lanes. When I can see the headlights of the overtaken vehicle in the Fresnel lens, it’s safe to go. The normal rearview or side-view mirrors do not give a good estimate of how far ahead of the overtaken vehicle you are.” Thanks to Fred C.!
On this day last year…
- RV Review: Forest River Wildwood FSX 190RT toy hauler
- Ask Dave: Our toilet will not hold water in the bowl. What to do?
- Featured article: If you don’t like the view out your window… move
- Recipe: Twice Baked Potatoes for Valentine’s Day
Website of the day
40 Best Things to Do on Valentine’s Day That You Both Will Love
Stuck on what to do today? This list from Good Housekeeping has some great ideas. We saw another one we liked on another list, too: Re-create your first date. How fun!
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
If you somehow forgot that today was Valentine’s Day and are now upset that you didn’t buy your special someone a gift… we LOVE this and we extra love that it’s personalized!
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:
• 53 percent always wear a watch.
• 49 percent always put the same toppings on their pizza when they order.
• It’s a tie! 50 percent of readers have spent a free night in a parking lot in their RV within the last year and the other 50 percent have not.
Recent poll: Do you still enjoy RVing as much as when you first started?
Recipe of the Day
Savory Risotto
by Luana Valerius from Poughquag, NY
Creamy and full of flavor, this is a wonderful way to cook risotto. Browning the Arborio rice, along with the onions and mushrooms, adds to the richness of the flavor. It’s a flavorful risotto even before the fresh Parmesan is added. Once added, it makes the side dish even more savory. Perfect side dish for when you’re making something special or for Valentine’s Day dinner. But, it’s easy enough to prepare if you have a risotto craving.
Trivia
Americans purchase about 145 million Valentine’s Day cards each year. It’s the second-largest holiday for greeting cards after Christmas.
*Where does the term “cooties” come from? Find out in yesterday’s trivia, and make sure you don’t catch any for Valentine’s Day!
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Daisy loves to travel with us. We full-time RV. She is one year old. We winter in Florida and have purchased land in Wisconsin. We bought the land due to trouble finding a campground from time to time. She enjoys seeing other dogs when we walk her. She loves to play with her toys and chase them when we throw them. She is definitely keeping us young.” —Allan Weber
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
This video of Paco the parrot has us crying of laughter—you will too! As you watch, know that it’s Paco you hear laughing, which is causing the staff to laugh, too!
If you have trouble viewing it below, here’s the link to it.
@petlandnhtPaco came in for a wing and nail trim today and had us crying feom laughing!♬ original sound – petlandnht
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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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Daisy is a beautiful dog. I assume she’s a Bichon. My beautiful Daisy, a Bichon passed away a couple months ago. I miss her. Been looking at some to adopt, but it seems harder to adopt and it doesn’t give me a good feeling the way they operate. Wanted another female Bichon to keep my male company.
Sorry to hear about your Daisy, Bob. It’s so difficult to lose a family member. Been there, done that, so many times. It never gets easier, unfortunately. Good luck finding a new companion for your other dog, and you. Take care. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Well, we sure learned our lesson about TikTok, folks! You don’t need an account to play the video, and we highly recommend you watch the video for a wonderful, harmless laugh. –Emily
TicTok REALLY?
NO!
Be Safe Everyone and know what you can be exposed to when opening links, videos etc.
Parrots laughing are truly dangerous. Didn’t you know that?
That’s for sure, Lil John. I thought that gal was going to stab herself with the scissors! Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
The one that comes to my mind lives in D.C.!
We don’t do tiktok either! CCP tool.
On the Quick Tip, our first Class C had a fresnel lens when we bought it and I came to rely on it. I made sure our second one, an ex-rental, had a rear window and added the lens right away. Only thing I missed was that the inside rear view mirror had been removed so that three-hour trip home, without being able to see who was behind me, was not fun. I fixed that post haste.
We don’t do TikTok and don’t watch any videos if I can help it. Don’t do FB or Instagram either. Now if you want to use YouTube, do that rarely. Thank you anyways.
Me too! Have enough problems without social media!!
After the commie tick tock I was able to see your hilarous video. I suggest you wait until April 1 to play…. talk about a waste of time
I don’t have the Chinese communist tik tok so I missed out.
I don’t either, but you can still watch it. I did on my PC
Where do you think your PC, phone and the majority of your electronic gadgets come from? If you said China, you win a prize from Walmart! Oh wait, most of their product also comes from China. LOL.
I agree. Even though you could play it, not recommended. This is why they’re trying to outlaw the personal information gathering link! (IMHO).
Just because there are numerous ways for China or others to steal your data doesn’t mean you should embrace it. It should not have been offered. Many older RVer’s are unaware of tiktok.
Well Said!
Same here they need to ban it in the US.
Totally agree. TikTok is worse than Google, twitter and Facebook. They are nothing but spyware to gather your information.
Bob.It is always better to miss out, than to mess up! LOL