Issue 2080
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
“May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold—and at the end of your rainbows may you find a pot of gold.” —Old Irish Blessing
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is St. Patrick’s Day! Which also means it’s National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day!
On this day in history: 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
Tip of the Day
A place you probably haven’t thought of to store shoes in your RV
By Nanci Dixon
Finding a place to store shoes in your RV is always a [not-so-fun] game. Having limited space to store anything is challenging. Especially challenging is finding a way to store the growing number of shoes that get kicked off at the door. We’ve finally found two ways to corral them to keep them hidden and out of our way.
We got into the habit of taking our shoes off at the door in our old motorhome that was all carpet, and now we do the same even with tile floors. It is amazing the amount of dirt that is tracked in on our shoes!
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Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
Can I install a single on-demand water heater for RV’s kitchen and bathroom?
Dear Dave,
I purchased this trailer in November 2021 from Lazydays outside of Memphis. It was known I was taking the trailer to my home in Maine. The trailer was parked all winter in Maine. In the spring I took it to my lot in Northern Maine. Well, all the water lines were damaged, and the water heater didn’t work. Lazydays apparently hadn’t winterized the trailer, and I never asked them if they did. My question is, can I install a single on-demand water heater that would take care of the kitchen and bathroom? Usually, it is just me at the trailer, so I don’t use a lot of hot water. Your sage advice will be appreciated. if my solution isn’t feasible, any advice? —Bill, 2018 38-ft. Keystone Cougar fifth wheel MKS37
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Video of the day
Make from scratch flaky stovetop biscuits: No oven required!
By Cheri Sicard
Ask RV cooks what their least favorite part of their RV kitchen is and many will tell you it’s the oven. Hot spot, cold spots, scorched food on the bottom while the rest remains uncooked. RV ovens leave a lot to be desired. But what if I told you that you could make fluffy stovetop biscuits, the perfect accompaniment to a homemade breakfast or dinner, without ever having to turn on an oven? You can, and the video below shows you how.
Roadside attractions: “Big Things Small Town” is a big adventure!
Casey, Illinois, is a very small town of about 2,700 people making a very big effort to attract people from the freeway a few miles away. It is the official home to 12 World’s Largest Attractions. The town itself is a grand example of small town America that seems to have survived the tough past couple of decades that boarded up many small town shops around the U.S. Read all about this small town with a big heart here, and swing by sometime to enjoy this one-of-a-kind big adventure.
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- New ‘chain’ of RV parks could be a game changer
- New laws benefit campground owners, but how about RVers?
- Starlink news: An exciting update for RVers
- Leave your hood open in Arizona parks!
Reader poll
Will you do something special today for St. Patrick’s Day?
Quick Tip
Is buying a “deer whistle” worth it?
Worried about your RV being clobbered by a deer? Before you pump good money into “deer whistles,” do a little research. There’s little evidence that they work, and plenty of evidence that they just don’t work.
On this day last year…
- RV Review: 2022 Entegra Coach Emblem 36T
- Ask Dave: Water fills my fresh water tank when it’s hooked to city water
- Featured article: Tips to improve your RV’s gas mileage
- Recipe: Traditional Dublin Coddle
Website of the day
The history of St. Patrick’s Day
Read the history of St. Patrick’s Day from history.com. Who was Saint Patrick? Why do we celebrate on March 17th? What makes the foods we eat today so traditional? And why the heck are leprechauns involved?
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Okay, waiiiiiiit… these are actually kinda nice. No, they’re really nice! Might be the coolest ones of these we’ve ever seen. Just don’t lose them on the picnic table because you’ll never find them!
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.
• RV LIFE Trip Wizard: Make your RV road trip planning easier than ever.
Recipe of the Day
Best Reuben Sandwich
by Susan Bartley from Beaverton, OR
This Reuben sandwich recipe is very hearty. When you take one bite of the buttery grilled rye bread, the hot sliced corned beef with melted cheese, tangy sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing, you’re in sandwich heaven. Pick up sliced corned beef from the deli or use homemade St. Patrick’s Day corned beef. Either way, this recipe for the best Reuben sandwich is a winner.
Trivia
Instead of telling you just one piece of trivia today, we’ll send you to mentalfloss.com, where they’ll give you 13 fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day.
*Why is it illegal for the U.S. Treasury to print any living person on its currency? The story is kind of funny. Read it in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pets of the Day
“Piper and Tedo love traveling.” —Chris Cranston
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
Q: When a fly hits a windshield, what’s the last thing that goes through its head?
A: Its butt.
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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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After decades my Dear Whistle still works. It gets her attention every time.
Ha! I read your comment before I read your name and I guessed it was you, Kelly! I hope you and your Dear have a good night. 😀 –Diane
Thanks. 1:30 am here. Time to go in from my shop and see if there is a good black and white move to put me to sleep. Have a good nite.
It seems like not that much has changed (across the board) since 1866, . Re: non-living people on currency. TRIVIA
Really enjoyed Ken Click’s video on stove top flakey biscuits…look good, need to try. But my main reason for commenting is how Ken used the handle of a wooden spoon to gently stir the dough! I am 78 years old and have made my share of homemade biscuits but have never seen that method nor have I ever stirred dough that way! Thanks Ken! I have a feeling my biscuits are going to improve!
I was just asking my husband if he knew the history of Saint Patrick’s Day and up popped your article. What timing! It was very interesting.
In a Berry College Refuge in Georgia, a comprehensive study on deer whistles revealed that more than half the time, up to 74%, the frequencies tested had no impact at altering deer behavior. Only one frequency used altered the behavior of a deer but it drew the deer closer to the roadway increasing potential for a likely collision.
The deer alerts depend on air moving through them. At lower speeds there is not enough airflow to to make them effective, if they work at all.
Most of the advertising says they cause the deer to run from the noise. Of course they may run right in front of you.
Most animals on the side of the road are used to all the different types of road noise so they are not affected. I had them on my motorcycle for years. Never did I see a deer grazing on the side of the road move (here in PA, you will see them on the side going after the road salt in the spring). The ones that are running across the road from a pasture or wooded area are in front of you before any type of noise would scare it.
Some people swear they work, others swear louder when they hit one. The best deterrent is to slow down in areas where deer are prevalent.
When I was still working (OTR), the guys who bought and installed those worthless deer whistles demolished the most deer. Don’t waste your money. And, try to not drive at night through the woods.
My son and his buddy were driving their big, noisy Harleys on a backroad in mountains in Montana at night a few years ago. They just barely missed a deer that jumped right in front of them. Even the Harley noise didn’t deter it. Luckily they were driving very cautiously or it would have been a disaster. Have a great day, Tommy. 🍀 😀 –Diane
When I first moved to AL in 1985 and was working afternoon shift getting off at 11:00 PM I saw a lot of deer. I noticed many cars and pickup trucks at work with the deer alerts on them. I didn’t think much more about it until one night near home a big buck took the mirror off my door with his antler and left a big scratch down the side of the truck. 3 weeks later another deer ran in front of me and I hit it, big damage. When I got the truck back I installed the deer alert whistles and never had a close call again the rest of the 28 years I lived there. Luck, maybe, they’re not that expensive, I believe they work. If you never drive at dusk or early morning at the crack of dawn you may never encounter a deer in the road.
I know the deer whistles worked for me several times driving the roads in the Lake of the Ozark at night. I saw a big buck coming and going to come across the road. My passenger grabbed the dashboard expecting to hit him. The buck got to the edge of the pavement turned immediately and went back into the woods. I never hit the brakes. My passenger was upset with me for not hitting the brakes, but my reply was my deer whistles work no need. I wouldn’t be without them, but you have to keep them cleaned out so they work. Michigan State Troopers swear by them. Cut their cost of repairs by more than 50%.
Shouldn’t it be “its butt?”
(I’m channeling my Mother, lol.)
yes
Yes. It’s is a contraction for it is.
Thanks, folks. When I proofed it last night something didn’t seem quite right about that sentence but the next word was what caught my attention and I skipped right over “It’s”. I do know better. 🙄 Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Yes!