Issue 2141
Welcome to RV Travel’s Daily Tips Newsletter, where you’ll find helpful RV-related tips from the pros, travel advice, RV videos, product reviews and more. Please tell your friends about us.
Page Contents
Today’s thought
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Jerky Day!
On this day in history: 1942 – Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
Did you see the news? Click here for the latest news for RVers
BREAKING NEWS
A southbound section of I-95 in northeast Philadelphia collapsed yesterday near the Cottman Avenue exit and all lanes in both directions are now closed. It will likely take months to rebuild. If you are planning to travel in that area, please make alternate plans. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro stated in a press conference yesterday that the northbound lanes have completely collapsed, and the southbound lanes are unstable.
Tip of the Day
Brilliant tip to keep your pet(s) safe at the campground
By Cheri Sicard
Keeping your pets safe and secure at the campground is a high priority for any responsible pet parent.
If your fur baby has ever gotten loose while camping, you already know the terror it can induce. Especially if your dog is anything like my former dog, Budley, who thought it a fun game to play catch me if you can. (Side note: Budley is no longer on the road with me but is living his best life with his new dad in Missouri. I talk about the story here.)
Even if you are super careful, things can happen and a pet can accidentally get loose. The door doesn’t latch behind you, the leash breaks, the dog slips out when someone comes in, etc.
Click here to read for a smart solution
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
Campground limits generator usage to 8 hours a day. Will that keep batteries charged?
Dear Dave,
I have a 2023 Sunseeker Class C. I plan to camp at a county park which allows generator use four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening. Will my fridge be able to be used or will that drain the batteries? —Robert, 2023 Sunseeker BH
In the RV shop with Dustin
Add a MORryde sliding cargo tray to your RV’s basement storage
Are you looking to add an RV sliding cargo tray that makes storage access easy, even in hard-to-reach compartments of your RV? Trays glide smoothly on ball-bearing slides that pull out toward you. For this project, I recommend MORryde trays, which come fully assembled with carpeting already installed.
Video of the day
What can an RV water softener do for you?
By Cheri Sicard
Are RV water softeners worth it? Here to answer the question is certified RV inspector Duane from the RV Inspection and Care YouTube channel.
Duane’s videos are always highly educational and this one is no exception. He starts by explaining exactly what a water softener does, which is the first step to determining if you need one.
Keep your phone and other devices dry on a wet day
The smart phones we carry with us virtually all the time do not come cheap, and they are worth protecting. We came upon a company called Aquatic that makes a number of waterproof cases and pouches for phones and many other electronic devices as well. The touchscreen on phones are fully functional through windows on the cases and you’ll be able to hear your calls just fine. Specially designed cases are available for cameras, different sizes of smart phones, tablets, two-way radios, reading maps and other gear. You’ll likely find them at major sporting good stores, and Amazon (of course).
Reader poll
How do you feel about your RVing life compared to your expectations before you started RVing?
Please let us know. After you click your response, you’ll see how others have responded. Feel free to leave a comment.
Quick Tip
Much ado about holding tank poo
“We’ve tried all kinds of different ‘holding tank sensor’ cleaning products and none of them seems to be able to ‘clean’ the sensors. None work – to any satisfactory degree. We even tried some stuff a guy was hawking at an RV rally a couple of years ago where he claimed that his ‘struvites’ would gobble up all the nasties in our black tank and bring our sensors back to life. There IS no “back to life” because they never HAVE worked. We have just learned to estimate (with great precision, I might add) when we need to find a dump site.” Our “tanks” to Tommy Molnar – and don’t feed that stuff from the RV rally to your dog—struvites are bad news for bow-wows!
Website of the day
Ghost Towns
This must surely be the best source of information about American ghost towns.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
- Homeless people living in RVs stretch for miles in wealthy county
- Gadget prevents RV catalytic converter thefts
- Military readers set us straight about eligibility at military campgrounds
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Even if you never wear a tie and never hope to again, we bet you would have no problem wearing this one. People will stare, we guarantee. Wear this to a party and you’ll be the highlight of the event.
Recipe of the Day
Parmesan Baked Pork Chops
By Janet Crow from Quinwood, WV
Janet’s Parmesan Baked Pork Chops are easy to make and a great weeknight dinner option. They’re tender, juicy, and full of flavor. The flavors of garlic and Parmesan cheese pop in the savory breading. Once baked, they’re the perfect golden brown color. Even picky eaters will love these delicious Parmesan baked pork chops.
Trivia
The ancient Greeks thought lettuce induced sleep. Many of them therefore served lettuce soup at the end of every evening meal.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Maya was rescued about 5 years ago. She had a hard day hanging out in RV.” —Marc Blanton
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!
• RVing with Dogs group on Facebook. You’ll love it.
Leave here with a laugh
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Mystery photo from yesterday
So, what is this object that we showed you in yesterday’s newsletter? Click here to find out.
Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
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We use the tank cleaning recipe from Kleen Tank and our sensors are working great!
There you go! Someone asks a simple question (C-PAP) and got tons of answers back to help him out. That’s why I read RV Travel!!!
If tank levels are real important to you Sea Level works great
Works like sonar
I can tell whats in mine within a quart or so.
Ditto. Mine has worked perfect for over 5 years now!
We loved the Joke of the Day!
I would never think of feeding my dog anything that was supposed to clean tank sensors.
We installed that same water softener in our motorhome 6 years ago. Our instructions state to backflush it by running water backwards thru the softener after 30 or 60 days of use depending on how many times you recharge. It came with a double female hose fitting for that purpose.Our home softener back flushes every time it cycles so we do backflush our motorhome softener according to the instructions
.
Black tank sensors – we found that by adding 4 or 5 bags of ice (down the toilet) and about a 1/4 cup of Dawn dish detergent on a travel day, helps to clean our tank and sensors. Ours didn’t work either, and still not perfect, but after an “iced Dawn” treatment, they work much better. We think the friction from movement is the key. We do it every couple of months.
The ice is going to float on top of the tank contents so if your tank is full just the top layer is going to be available for scrubbing with ice.
And it will melt in a few minutes. I think in Sherry’s case, it’s the Dawn that is doing the trick…not the ice. Waste of money for the ice.
This is a question. When camping T STATE PARKS AND SOME PRI VATE PARKS, THEY HAVE A QUIET TIME, TO LET PEOPLE SLEEP.
MY QUESTION IS THIS. I HAVE TO USE A C PAP AND OXYGEN MACHINE AT NIGHT. IS THERE ANY SORT OF AN OUT FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME TO BE ABLE TORUN MY GENERATOR ALL NIGHT? IF NOT I THINK THAT WOULD DISALLOW A NUMBER OF PEOPLER FROM ENJOYING THE R V LIFESTYLE.
I have two 200 amp hour lithium batteries and run a chest freezer,12 volt refrigerator, tv and lights all night and still have 40-50 percent left. Lithium batteries can handle a lot faster and higher amp charger. 2-4 hrs running time more than enough.
Agree. We have a battery bank in the RV just for the overnight needs of the CPAP and the refer. We met a couple years ago who were tent camping in a Colorado campground that were distraught when the campground lost power in the middle of the night. We hooked them up to our van’s power and all slept through the storm the rest of the night.
I believe many people use solar generators, a.k.a. battery banks, to run CPAP machines.
Do a search in Amazon for power station. You will find several options
My CPAP (Phillips) has a 12 volt power cord that I purchased from them for $40. I installed a 12 volt lighter socket next to the bed and I also added a second house battery. It will run the CPAP for two nights and still have plenty of power left. You may want to check to see if your machine has this option available.
My APAP machine ran on 12V and had an A/C adapter plug for use at home so it was great for use in my 18 wheeler, after I retired from trucking I gave it to my oldest son to use on his flights to the Philippines with his wife.
I have a ResMed CPAP and the optional 12 volt cord. With two 100amp hour lithium batteries I can go 2 or 3 days on just the batteries while supplying the other normal RV power needs. With 200 watts of solar panels and moderate sunshine, I can power the CPAP indefinitely.
200 amp hr of fully discharged lithium batteries will fully charge in under 3 with a 60 amp charger so there is no need to run a generator all night.
I have a propane refrigerator and don’t dry camp if the furnace has to run most of the time.
Cleaning strength vinegar will help. Just pour the whole bottle in the tank. Dollar Tree is your friend.
What are you referring to? The water softener, or what?
I think Tom is referring to the tank sensors.
Rescue pets are the best, for both you and them.
I dont know about best but a friend just got his genuine fresh from Germany German Shepherd. $ 2600. Too many ” free” dogs available. Mine was $35 after spaying.
Wonderful dog!