Issue 2082
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
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National French Bread Day!
On this day in history: 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tip of the Day
RV Mods: Improve your fire escape-ability
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Steve Barnes, a longtime RVtravel.com reader, took to heart one of our RV safety videos that stressed the importance of regularly checking your RV’s egress windows – fire escapes. Steve reports, “I checked my fire escape after one year. A year ago, when it was brand-new, it was jammed.” Steve took it back to the dealer, who repaired it. But keeping in mind the advice to keep up with these things, Steve did another test a year later. Once again, his window was stuck.
Says Steve, “I freed it, lubed the seal with slide-out lube, and the metal parts with bicycle chain lube. I reassembled using only one of four friction clips. The clip jammed. Removing it was a major job.” With all of the friction clips out, the window finally was completely “unstuck,” but Steve notes what should have been a simple 20-minute “test” turned into a three-hour repair ordeal. Better, though, three hours spent with a fix, than finding out in a real-world “test” that getting out of his RV just wouldn’t happen.
But it set Steve to thinking…
CONTEST! Is this your RV?
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Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
Is an after-market paint protection on an RV worth the money?
Dear Dave,
We just purchased a new trailer and it has been recommended that we get Platinum Shield Paint Protection applied to the manufacturer’s RV paint job to protect it from yellowing. Does this make sense, and are many owners having this product applied to their new vehicles? —Walter
Video of the day
24 RV overnight stops better than Walmart
By Cheri Sicard
As you may or may not have heard, many Walmarts are no longer allowing overnight RV parking. The more urban the area, the more likely you will be to encounter this. Sometimes you just need a quick place to pull over and sleep. What to do? In the video below, the team from Let’s Turn It Up World has compiled 24 RV overnight stops that beat Walmart (even if Walmart were still an option).
ABCs of Full-Time RV Living
By Nanci Dixon
We are full-time RVers, living our dream. We belong to that ever-growing group of adventurous people that have sold their sticks and bricks houses, gotten rid of almost all their belongings, and left friends and family to live the dream of RV living full-time. … Everything you want to know about full-time RVing is here.
Reader poll
Have you ever rented an RV?
Quick Tip
Keep the dust out of your RV
Taking your RV into a super-dusty area? Here’s a tip to help keep the dust out of the rig for the duration: Cover up any vent openings that connect the inside of your rig to the outside—the refrigerator and the water heater are examples. While you’ll have to leave the water heater turned off for this one, it may pay dividends. Cover the vents with cheap household air conditioner filters, and tape the filter on with heavy-duty masking tape. Be sure to pull the filter off the water heater before firing it up. You may need to use solvent to clean the tape adhesive, but it’s better than dust in your house.
On this day last year…
- Tip: Around the Campfire: RVers offer their 20 best driving tips
- RV Review: RVs that use the least fuel—Part 3: Yesterday and tomorrow
- Ask Dave: My RV’s water heater has problems. Is it still usable?
- Featured article: Wacky rigs: Airplane RV
- Recipe: Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Breast with Southwest Yellow Rice Salad
Website of the day
Stops to Make Along the Civil Rights Trail
RVing along the Civil Rights Trail should be high on your list of trips to take. It’s not too late to add this to your 2023 travel plans.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Haha! The product seems great, but it’s also worth it just for the label! 3…2…1… fire!
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:
• 59 percent of towable owners bought a vehicle specifically to tow their RV.
• 55 percent say spending time alone is easy for them. In fact, it’s necessary.
• 20 percent have performed CPR on someone in a medical emergency.
Recent poll: Did you ever own a car with fins?
Recipe of the Day
Roasted Asparagus With Tomatoes and Gorgonzola
by Marjorie Koslow from North Wales, PA
Love asparagus and feeling adventurous? Give this roasted asparagus recipe a try. Gorgonzola cheese tastes similar to blue cheese. The tomatoes are sweet and that’s a nice contrast to the tangy cheese. Roasted perfectly, the asparagus is tender with a slight crunch. It’s very easy to prepare and would be delicious alongside steak or chicken.
Trivia
The tradition of Girl Scout cookie sales dates back to 1917, when a Muskogee, OK, troop, The Mistletoe Troop, began selling sugar cookies in their high school cafeteria as a service project. Want to try out the original recipe? Find it here.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“This is Skylar, our little rescue girl. We took her everywhere. Liked camping/exploring, the beach, and barking at everyone as I drove… She would sleep on the couch and wrapped herself in her blanket even in the summer! Unfortunately, she got very sick last Nov. and sadly left us last month. She is missed, greatly.” —Bill Haidet
We’re so sorry you lost your sweet Skylar, Bill. Thank you for giving her such a wonderful life. It’s true what they say: Who rescued who?
Send us a photo of your pet with a short description. We publish one each weekday in RV Daily Tips and in our Sunday RV Travel newsletter. No blurry photos, please! Please do not submit your photo more than once. Thanks!
At last! A directory of where to camp on public lands!
The Bureau of Land Management Camping book describes 1,273 camping areas managed by the BLM in 14 Western states. Details for each camping area include the number of campsites, amenities, facilities, fees, reservation information, GPS coordinates, and more. You’ll want this book if you camp or are interested in camping on BLM land. Learn more or order.
Leave here with a laugh
Our artificial staff member, Milly, tells one of her favorite bar jokes.
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Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
CONTACT US
Editorial (all but news): editor@rvtravel.com
Editorial (news): chuck@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.
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I had a green light to go with our one dog who was 15. He was diagnosed with kidney failure but said to get a vet where I was staying. Sadly before I could do that, one week up in Maine I had to travel to an emergency vet who told me it was time to send him home. As I tell others, keep a folder of your fur babies records. This way the vet can see the time line. I had it with me but it did not help. So I am there with you on this one. I have another fur baby who is in stage 2 kidney failure and she goes in to see the vet at the end of April. So fingers crossed she makes it thru the summer. As for making a pit stop? In DeSmet SD by the hospital there is a hook up for RVs if traveling in the area and need to stop for the nite. It would have worked for us if the pop up didn’t break on us. Got it fixed but still. Happy trails.
Milie did a great job of keeping a straight face through the entire joke. I hope that she is getting paid enough. 😉 😎
I can tell a joke and keep a straight face. As for AI stuff? Has anyone seen that scary new AI movie Meagan? Yeah no I won’t go see another chucky doll movie either.
Millie is Artificial Intell (AI)… It is a “Deep Fake”… Please dont dupe the readers with this stuff!!!
Hi, B N S. It says right above the video: “Our artificial staff member, Milly, tells one of her favorite bar jokes.” In the staff box at the bottom of the weekend newsletters it says: “Artificial (AI) contributors: Johnny Robot and Milly MacWilly.” We’re not trying to “dupe the readers with this stuff!!!” (quoting you). We’re trying to educate our readers in a humorous way about what’s out there these days. Sorry you took it the wrong way. Have a good night. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Diane, By allowing “Artificial Staff” (AI) to “Ocassionally” replace actual human staff, writers, and creators IMO is not humurous, Its Incrimentalism towards a world dominated by AI. Look at Big Box stores, Banks, etc. Minimal Human Customer service anymore (by design). Many RVT readers (Am I the only one?) would like to read/enjoy this publication knowing that RVT supports a 100% Human generated structure. : ) As far as RVT,s relationship with Google for Ad Revenue, Thats a topic for another day… lol Have a nice evening 😃
Thanks for your thoughts on this topic, B N S. All of our writers are very human. Chuck just likes to experiment with AI occasionally (I think it fascinates him), but he does identify it as such. It’s amazing, and scary, how far and how extremely fast AI seems to be “taking over.” I’ll leave Chuck’s reasoning for using it up to him. I just know he got a kick out of putting words in Milly’s mouth for that bar joke. But I’m not going to say anymore about this because it’s not my place to try to explain its usage at RVtravel.com. Have a good night. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Thanks Chuck for exposing AI for what it is. It will be a part of our daily lives soon (even though I wish it wasn’t). Kinda like social media….it’s here, like it or not. To ignore AI is like keeping your eyes closed so therefore it doesn’t exist. Well crafted remarks Diane.
Thank you, Larry. If I made a mistake or didn’t say something correctly, at least you know it was done by a human and not AI (since I’ve been around since long before even computers!). Although, I do sometimes question my intelligence. 🙄 At least it’s human and not artificial intelligence. 😆 Have a great day, Larry. 😀 –Diane, a human with sometimes questionable intelligence, at RVtravel.com
BNS: We didn’t dupe. We said “artificial staff member.” Milly isn’t replacing a human. She’s a product of artificial intelligence. Does anyone mistake a ventriloquist’s dummy for a real live human? Milly is our 21st century “dummy.” We can put words into her mouth. Do we really believe our readers will think she is real? Our point is to educate people about A.I. through spoofing it. It’s our way of educating our audience about A.I. in an entertaining way. Chuck Woodbury/publisher, RVtravel.com
Millies too articulate. Put a little life in it
Never been at a bar where you’d get 15 cents change . don’t deal in small stuff. Half a buck maybe
And very old joke lots of different animals have been used
Millie’s joke was worth a chuckle
Sorry Skylar is no longer with you. It’s hard to lose a beloved pet. From experience some cute little rascal will come along looking for a new forever home to take up some of the void.
You need a new joke teller!
Fake person – fake joke, I guess.
You should have named Millie “MAIzie”.
Tell Millie she needs some new jokes
“Quick Tip” additions. I would not use tape that you would have to use harmful solvents to get the glue off! That’s not good for the finish. Consider “Gaffer Tape” which is strong and leaves no glue!
$60 for cologne? I’ll pass . . . Currently (and for the past 40 years) I spend $0 on cologne. 🙂
$60. for cologne isn’t bad. Cologne and perfume is outrageous. They would sell more if the prices were lower.
Good one Huh?! I wonder 2 things. 1-would you get busted for smelling like whisky if pulled over. 2-would this be a good bug spray? 🤣. $60? I’ll buy some “FIREBALL”!
I watch a lot of “Cops” on TV. After seeing how many people get busted for smelling like booze, your comment is relevant . . . Good point.
Way cheaper to just sit by the campfire and more enjoyable too.