Issue 2072
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
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Cereal Day!
On this day in history: 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the “telephone.”
Tip of the Day
10 easy ways to fix 10 irritating problems in the RV
By Gail Marsh
Okay, fine. I’ll admit it. After four days cooped up inside our RV because of steady rain, little irritants can really get to me! I’m talking about those small inconveniences that make me sigh in frustration and wish for a simple solution. Maybe you’ve had similar moments and experienced these same problems in the RV, as well.
I’ve compiled simple hacks and tips that can make everyday RV living just a bit easier and hopefully less frustrating. The only criteria for potential solutions to everyday nuisances is that the “fix” must be quick and easy. See what you think and then add your own ideas in the comments.
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.”
My batteries don’t charge when connected to shoreline power. How can I test my converter?
Dear Dave,
My converter does not appear to be working. My batteries are not being charged when plugged into shoreline power. How can I test/check to verify an inoperative converter on my Airstream? —Jay, 2020 Airstream Classic 33
Tomorrow: RV repair and maintenance advice
Our experts answer your RV repair and maintenance questions on live webcast
Our tech experts, Dave, Dustin and Zach, will answer your questions about RV Repair and Maintenance LIVE every Wednesday 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 newsletter.
Video of the day
Essential RV tools you should always carry
By Cheri Sicard
That RV Tech is here with a video about the five RV tools he uses constantly and says that should be carried in every RV. Well, actually, I am not sure about the video’s title as it actually covers MORE than just five RV tools, but these are, nonetheless, important.
This is an RV technician’s opinion of essential RV tools. It matters not whether your RV is a motorhome, travel trailer, or 5th wheel, these tools will serve you well.
Come upon a moose? Keep your distance to avoid trouble
If you come upon a moose, be careful. Watch this video to learn more about the habits of moose, and how you should react if you come upon one. If you act improperly, you could end up in the hospital!
Reader poll
What landscape do you most like to stay in with your RV?
Quick Tip
Handy bedside water glass holder
Space tight in the bedroom? No room for a water glass? Your local auto parts store has a great selection of folding cup holders that can screw onto a nearby wall or bulkhead.
On this day last year…
- RV Review: Flagstaff Super Lite 26FKBS – quality awarded
- Ask Dave: My 2003 furnace is hard to start and noisy. Is this normal?
- Featured article: PBS spotlights RV work campers in excellent report
- Recipe: Ham and Cheese Pie
Website of the day
Take it Outside
Take your generator outside! Learn generator safety and know how to keep you and your family safe from carbon monoxide. This is important!
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:
• 18 percent will only eat wild-caught seafood.
• If they could sell their RV right now for a good price, 24 percent would do it.
• In Three Little Pigs terms, 5 percent say their RV is made from straw, 53 percent say their RV is made from sticks, and a lucky 41 percent say its made from bricks.
Recent poll: What are your likely RV plans for 2023? Buy an RV, sell your RV, or both?
Recipe of the Day
Sweet & Sour Pork Chops
by Audrey Musick from Marion, VA
So easy, so classic, so delicious! This is one of those pork chop dinner recipes to keep handy when you’re not sure what’s for dinner. The sauce is sweet, sour, and full of tangy goodness and soaks into the tender boneless pork chops.
Trivia
If you’ve ever driven across the Golden Gate Bridge, you probably would guess that it’s the longest suspension bridge in the world (and it sure does feel long!). But you’d be wrong. (In fact, it’s just the 19th longest suspension bridge in the world.) The longest suspension bridge in the world is the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey, which opened in March 2022. It’s about 2,438 feet longer than the Golden Gate. The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge’s steel cable system contains 100,662 miles of wire (compared to the Golden Gate Bridge’s 80,000 miles). That’s enough wire to encircle the entire world four times!
*Wearing any gold jewelry right now? If so, there’s a pretty good chance it came from where? Almost 50 percent of all gold comes from this place! Find the location in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pets of the Day
“Marley (6) & Hickory (4), our ‘All American Mutts,’ love agility, rally and learning tricks. On the road, Marley curls on my feet in the passenger’s foot well and Hickory claims the couch. They know it’s an adventure when we ‘ride in the house’—whether it’s a competition trip or a camping trip.” —Deborah Mason
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!
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Do you like omelets? Good. Now you’ve just got to find the world’s largest frying pan and you’ll be set! See why you’ll need it.
Leave here with a laugh
Someone recently gave me some good advice and I thought I’d share it with my wife. I went up to her in the kitchen and I said, “You know, Honey, you should really start embracing your mistakes.” She gave me a big hug.
Did you miss the latest RV Travel Newsletter? If so, read it here.
Oh, and if you missed the latest news for RVers, make sure to catch up here.
If you shop at Amazon.com we’d appreciate you using this link. We get an itty bitty commission if you buy something, but they add up and help us pay our bills (most importantly our hard-working writers!).
Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
CONTACT US
Editorial (all but news): editor@rvtravel.com
Editorial (news): chuck@rvtravel.com
Advertising: Advertising@rvtravel.com
Help desk: Contact us.
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.
RVtravel.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of this potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers.
Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
This newsletter is copyright 2023 by RV Travel LLC.
Hi, as I read this on a lovely clear morning, the whole park is listening to some guy’s giant class A motor run, it’s been 20 minutes so far. The people next to him are also breathing the fumes. He is now slowly dumping his tanks and then he’ll disconnect. Maybe then it’ll be time for a wash-up and a review of the route plan, before he finally leaves.
RV parks are not truck stops. Nobody wants to wake to the sound of your motor idling while you do a long round of chores. So guys, in case no one has ever told you, it’s incredibly rude to leave your motor running while you set up or tear down, or worse, spend 30 minutes fussing with your tow car, while pulled up next to rigs where people are sleeping or living their lives. Forget sitting outside having a cup of coffee.
Yes, there are those who either don’t care about others or are under the false impression that a diesel has to idle a long time (like the old ones). In either case, it’s rude to the neighbors and should be avoided. Sorry you had to endure this.
Thanks for doubting my concept of time, that’s real helpful. He just left, so that puts the episode over an hour in total. I am not talking about a quick warmup or putting in slides, I am talking about complete unawareness there are other people nearby.
People, including pickup drivers, simply feel entitled to run their motors while doing chores, having lunch, having a long conversation, checking into a park, etc. It’s ridiculous, it wastes fuel, and it’s rude.
Holy mansplaning Batman!!!
Hey Wanderer, anyone who reads my mansplainig post will scratch their heads but you and I both know the edit that took place, not by you or I. 🤙😎👍
Also, most diesel owners should know that idle time is not good for the emissions system. Only run mine when necessary and always keep idle time to a minimum.
The 41% who think their RV is made from bricks are hallucinating. About 98% or more of the RVs on the road are literally made from sticks. And the result is easily seen when one is involved in a serious crash. They literally fly apart…
The Oscar Wilde quote is “wildely” incorrect. Rather, the only thing worth knowing is how to think critically. That CAN be taught, and is really all that higher education actually provides to students. Those who fail at critical thinking are the real losers among us, and these days their numbers seem to be increasing… 🙁
Pretty sure that was how it used to be in higher education. Currently, it is the last thing they learn or are taught, if at all. Higher education is more of a safespace now for victim awareness. More of a spoon feeding I’m afraid. Why teach how to think when it is so much more efficient to teach someone what think?
While you are technically correct, Wilde was more than philosopher.
Consider: how do you teach “love” as in philial or agape?
Or Eros?
For me, philial. Knew my wife of over 35 years as a collegue and friend long before we became romantic.
Just told my wife the Laugh for Today. She got quite a chuckle from it.
As she gave you a hug, John? 😆 Just kidding. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
About “This day in history”: I wonder what Alexander Graham Bell would think about where his invention has gone. It’s weird to realize that people don’t talk much on their phones anymore. And then there’s cat videos… 😊