Issue 2090
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
“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Tater Day! If you don’t feel like eating potatoes today, how about spending the night in one? Yep…
On this day in history: 1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
Will you be near Monroe, WA, this weekend? If so, come say “hi” to us at our RVtravel.com booth at the Washington State Evergreen Spring RV Show (near Seattle)! More show info here. We’ll be at booth number 4. If you want, camp overnight at the fairgrounds RV park.
We’ll be selling a number of books and videos and other products for a small donation — a fraction of the products’ price — with 100% of all proceeds (every penny) going to the Sky Valley Food Bank in Monroe, the site of the RV show. At least 1,300 families in the area do not know where their next meal is coming from. We hope to help a little.
Tip of the Day
RV Mods – Got a spare, there?
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Here’s an RV modification for the travel trailer and smaller motorhome set. It’s an “If you ain’t got it, you need it” mod. When we bought our mid-20-foot range travel trailer, it didn’t take us long to scratch our heads: “Where’s the spare tire?” It was an apt question, because in the years that we had that rig, due to an originally unbeknownst misaligned axle, we needed more than a couple of whacks with a spare tire.
Do you have a spare tire carrier on your rig? No, we’re not talking about behemoth Class A units where not only do you need a spare tire, you need the likes of Samson to ride along in your basement storage to lift and fit the spare. We’re talking about a rig that uses a, say, 15- or 16-inch tire. If your rig is equipped with the typical 4-inch square tube rear bumper, then acquiring and installing this important mod is quick, inexpensive and relatively easy.
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.
Okay, okay, we heard your comments loud and clear. We will NOT be ending this contest at the end of the month, but instead, we’ll run it three days a week. Make sure you open your newsletters every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday to see if your RV has been featured (beginning this Sunday).
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
Why are RV’s decals fading and cracking so soon?
In this short video, Dave responds to a reader’s question about why his RV’s decals are fading and cracking on this two-year-old RV. Dave explains there are two types of decals, one lasts longer than the other (bet you can’t guess why). And he has a bit of advice about keeping your decals in top shape. Read more and watch the video.
Video of the day
Are these crazy air fryer recipes brilliant or dumb?
By Cheri Sicard
When we did a recent readers’ poll of what appliances you take along in your RV, air fryers were near the top of the list. In fact, many of you said you used ONLY your air fryer for all your RV cooking needs. To be sure, owners of air fryers, both in and out of RVs, are coming up with all kinds of unique air fryer recipes and techniques for using this gadget. Some sound brilliant, others sound just kind of weird.
RV Hacks, Tips & Tricks
By Gail Marsh
No matter if you’re a long-time pro at RVing or just starting out, the following RV hacks, tips and tricks are sure to make your RV trips easier, more comfortable, and hopefully more enjoyable. The following ideas may need to be implemented by purchasing an item or two from your local store. In many cases, however, you probably have the needed items in your home already. Curious? Then read on to discover some very useful RV tricks and tips!
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- ‘Everyone working at Camping World acted like they had tried to weld a turd to a garbage can!’
- America’s Outdoor Recreation Act likely to pass this time
- Is KOA ‘single-handedly ruining camping’?
- Think something is wrong with your RV? Perhaps check your memory instead…
Reader poll
Would you rather an RV park have a swimming pool or a hot tub?
Quick Tip
Important to know when buying new tires
Need new tires for the rig? It may be best to stick with the same tire specification as the original equipment. If you do decide to change specs, make sure you always match up your tire and wheel capacity. For example, NEVER mount a 3,000-pound capacity tire on a 2,000 pound capacity wheel.
On this day last year…
- RV Review: 2022 Grand Design Transcend Xplor 265BH
- Ask Dave: Why does my RV propane regulator whistle for only one tank?
- Featured article: 10 harsh RV realities for beginners
- Recipe: Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
Website of the day
The Best Mountain Towns to Visit in America
It’s hard to say there’s anything better than a gorgeous mountain town, especially on a beautiful spring or summer day. See how many of these you’ve been to, and plan a trip to the ones you’ve never visited.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
If you eat this, you’re going to be the most muscular person in the world! Really, it’s true! And then when you hug someone you’ll be giving them a muscle sandwich!
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
Tater Tot Casserole
by Phyllis Gesch from Round Rock, TX
Want a quick and easy weeknight meal? Try this tater tot casserole recipe. It’s filled with tater tots, ground hamburger meat, and cheese (how can that be bad?!). Once baked, it kind of tastes like a cheeseburger without the bun. Made with only five ingredients, this is a great dinner option when you don’t know what to make and don’t feel like running to the grocery store.
Trivia
Speaking of Tater Tots… Tater Tots were created in 1953 by Ore-Ida founders who repurposed leftover potato slivers by mixing them with flour and seasoning. The product was first sold in 1956 and quickly gained popularity. The name “Tater Tot” was trademarked by Ore-Ida and has since become a common term for the dish. Americans now consume approximately 70 million pounds of Tater Tots per year.
*What is the most intelligent freshwater fish? Hint: It’s also the most popular freshwater game fish in the U.S.! Take a guess and see if you’re right by looking for the answer in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Aneli is a mix of King Charles Spaniel and Shih Tzu. She loves to camp but is not a fan of getting there. Loves to play catch with her favorite ball or chew on a stick.” —Keith Peterson
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!
Sewer fitting grip help! Gadget to the rescue!
If you find the bayonet mounts for your sewer hose connections are getting a bit hard to twist off and on (hate to say it, but it sometimes comes with age), here’s a tool that might help. An adjustable oil filter wrench, made to get a grip around automotive oil filters, can also provide a handy grip and plenty of leverage on the bayonet fitting of your sewer hose, and the termination cap as well. Here’s one we recommend.
Leave here with a laugh
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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.
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.
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This newsletter is copyright 2023 by RV Travel LLC.
Aneli you ARE the cutest pup (besides our baby girl) All dressed up sitting pretty with your favorite toys! We hope your traveling days get easier for you as more come. Safe and Happy Travels!
I’m not saying this is what’s happening but if I ran a free site that people enjoyed, with an option to subscribe for a fee, I would want to make it a little annoying somehow for the unwashed masses that are unpaying, thus creating some incentive to increase payed subscribers. That’s just me.
To be clear, I truly do not think that is happening here. The good people at RVTravel to the best of my knowledge and my perception, do not roll that way. They understand the Demo and cater accurately to that Demo, knowing that many of the loyal readers of RVT are on a fixed or somewhat fixed budget. On the other hand, ad revenue is revenue and some revenue is needed for most endeavors such as this.
Thanks, Cancelproof. I’ve checked with the “powers that be,” and they confirmed we’ve had more complaints about ads, including pop-up ads, since we started using a new advertising company. We’ve even requested no pop-up ads, but they’re still popping up. 🙄 We’re checking into this further. Thanks, everyone, for your patience in the meantime. Have a great day! 😀 –Diane
Diane,
I read RVT and never experience any pop ads. I use a free ad blocker Ublock Origin. It blocked 24 pop up ads during the time I read this edition. Just a FYI.
Thanks for the info, Larry. I’ll pass it (about the 24 pop-up ads in one “short-ish” newsletter) along to the “powers that be” (as I call them). Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Was a paid subscriber for over a year and then fell on hard times and missed a payment and was put back on reading ads
Sorry, Melvin. I don’t think that should have happened. I’ve asked Jessica to look into your account. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
We’ve put you back as a member, Melvin. It looks like you have two accounts with us, with two different email addresses. Maybe that’s what happened, but I’m not sure. Take care. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I do not get these horrible ads. I am a paid subscriber. If these ads are so irritating, by no fault of RV travel, then consider paying for the newsletter!
Thank you, cocoboo. You, and others, are correct that we don’t control what ads are inserted by Google. The content of the ads is sometimes chosen by what the reader has viewed on their computer, etc., previously. (“Big Brother” is watching.) If someone sees something that is objectionable, however, I believe that if they send us the URL of that ad/website, there is some way our IT folks can block it (but don’t quote me on that, since I’m the least techy of our staff). Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I think cocoboo may be referring to the pop up adds that have started only in the last week or 2. They take up the entire screen on a phone and pop back up every 20 or 30 seconds. ‘X’ it out, pops back up over and over and over. Read 3 sentences bang, there it is. ‘X’, 3 more sentences, bang there it is. ‘X’, Better today and yesterday on my device but last week, I restarted my device 3 times in a day to try and circumvent it. Real bad. Not little banner ads we are used to.
Thanks, Cancelproof. I don’t see those, since I’m usually on the editing side of things. I’ll report this to our IT folks. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Maybe if you were a paid subscriber you wouldn’t see them. I don’t see the pop up ads and I do not use an ad blocker
An adjustable oil filter wrench, made to get a grip around automotive oil filters, can also provide a handy grip and plenty of leverage on Hard to open screw top containers.
And sewer hoses.
One comment on the mountain towns, especially Lake Placid. We have stayed in the Adirondacks in upstate NY numerous times. All the areas around Lake George, Lake Champlain and all the other smaller lakes in that are amazing. The small towns are like taking a trip back in time.
Thank you for not 86’ing “Is this the RV contest?” 👍
Loved the “Leave Here With a Laugh”, mainly because it’s so true!
Yep!! Cause I relate.
Yep, That is the best one I have seen in a while!! I started to laugh even before I read what it s.aid
Sorry folks, that was a picture of me after I took my nap and slept thru supper. What day is it? Why is it dark out? I thot I was sending in a picture of my RV.
😆 Have a good evening/night, Kelly. 😀 –Diane
You have a great sense of humor. Especially when aimed at yourself. “don’t poke fun at others if you can’t laugh at yourself”- from my parents who got smarter as i got older.
If you can’t laugh about it, it is not worth worrying about it. Did we have the same parents? – Mine got smarter too. My Mom could laugh at anything. She went thru the depression and the dust bowl storms when farming with horses. Dad was a little more serious but he could laugh at Mom. She could “throw the cow over the fence some hay”.
Hi, Kelly. So, I learned a new term from you today. Thanks! (I love to learn new stuff every day.) Never heard of that before, but there are lots of references to it when I Googled it. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane
New Term? Do you mean “throw the cow over the fence some hay”? That is German Pennsylvania Dutch. That, Pennsylvania, is where ancestors on both sides of my family landed before heading west. You probably “turn out the light” Penn Dutch “outen the light”. “Throw momma from the train a kiss.” Ha! I guess we have been laughed at since we landed here so we had to develop a sense of humor. Ha!
(1 am, time to leave the shop and go in for, midnight? snack.)
Yep. I hadn’t heard of that term. (Maybe it’s not used as much in the Pacific Northwest.) I turned off my computer last night about two minutes before your comment came in. Sorry. Have a great day, Kelly. 😀 –Diane
Well, I am glad that I could contribute to RVTs educational mission. You get on with creating the next newsletter. I’ll be waiting.
We’re working on it, Kelly. Almost done. Have a good afternoon/evening. 😀 –Diane
Kelly does have a great sense of humor, Jesse. I get a kick out of his comments every day. He’s fun to banter with. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Like Mr Stansbury, our picture of our RV never came up either. Im just n here ever morning as well as another friend, and I read this one and even the double day ones, but our RV hasn’t came up. As for the question on pool or spa, we don’t care for either.
We were wondering when you were going to come back and tell us you weren’t cancelling the “Is this your RV?” column. Without even knowing I’m sure it’s one of your more popular articles. Just can’t understand why ours hasn’t shown up yet…
Same here…..provided a copy of my pic for my current motorhome probably seven or either years ago and I read this newsletter every morning and have never seen my coach. I can only think that somehow I must have overlooked it.
Sorry, Ron and David. We’ve had more than 4,000 submissions in the past three or so years, and there are only 365 days in a year (usually 😉 ). So there are lots of folks who have submitted photos of their RVs and they haven’t been randomly picked yet. But it could happen any day, so don’t give up. Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I would think it’s the luck of the draw…not personal. How many RV pictures do you think have been submitted? How many times does this article appear in a month? Do the math!
Was interested in 5G cell towers near me. So, opened the ad “Cell Towers Near Me”……..Nothing but a BIG Rabbit Hole. Why are time consuming ads like this given space in this RV Newsletter?
Please screen these ads better so we don’t have to waste our time.
Thanks.
I will bet Admin will put the onus on Google as this is how Google makes revenue. Further if you Googled that in the past you opened the door yourself.
The same goes for the Ford ad in Spanish that keeps popping up often and annoying!
That Ford ad has popped up 6 or 8 times in less than 5 minutes. It’s in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish.
The publishers have NO control over what ads are inserted on the letter by the internet carrier.
Hummmmmmmmmmm……That kind of leaves the “Barn Door Open” ???????????
I have an ad on my screen for MacDonalds on my screen right this second and can’t even x it out.
Get an ad blocker.
I would add to your quick tip, nothing wrong with mounting a 3000lb rated tire on a 2000lb rim as long as you don’t think it’s ok to load that tire to 3000lbs. You will get an unpleasant surprise later when the rim fails.
Also don’t inflate more that the rims maximum pressure limit.
How many people know their rim pressure limit? I think it’s best to stay with OEM specs.
My thought as well, along with the inflation comment. The most important match between wheel and tire, other than rim diameter, is the correct rim to tire width. Even if you have the correct diameter the width of the rim and matching tire beads is critical.
Because of all these factors, it’s just best to stay with the OEM tire spec.