Issue 2167
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
“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Sour Candy Day!
On this day in history: 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
Tip of the Day
What’s ready to fall off your RV?
By Dave Helgeson
What’s ready to fall off your RV? More specifically, what is ready to fall off from under your RV?
A couple of recent summers we set out with our RVing friends for an extended RV trek. Both trips almost ended as soon as they started.
During the summer of 2020, we were on our way to boondock and explore the Blue Mountains of Northeast Oregon. After spending one night in transit to our first destination, we pulled off at a rest area near La Grande, Oregon. We needed to dump our holding tanks and fill our freshwater tanks to the brim as we would be boondocking for days on end. Upon filling my freshwater tank to overflowing, I pulled up and parked off the side of the road so our friends could do the same. That’s when I noticed the torrent of water pouring from underneath my travel trailer.
WATCH LIVE THIS EVENING!
Curtis Coleman, a candidate for president of FMCA, will be interviewed this evening, July 18, at 6 p.m. Pacific time (9 p.m., Eastern), by RVtravel.com publisher Chuck Woodbury. Gary Milner, the other candidate, declined to participate in what was intended as a “Meet the Candidates” forum. Watch the live one-hour show on Facebook or YouTube. Ask Curtis questions via written chat or just lurk and hear what he has planned for America’s largest non-profit RV club, which is facing the biggest challenges in its history.
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
What can I do to restore faded fiberglass and damaged RV decals?
Dear Dave,
The finish on my RV has lost all its luster and the decals are all damaged. What product can I use to get the luster back? Also, the manufacturer no longer has my particular RV decals. Any suggestions on how I might get a new set? —David, 2015 Thor Chateau
RV Tours
First look: 2024 Jayco Redhawk 29XK Class C Motorhome
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, Mike Drudge from Vogt RV is going to give us a first-look tour of the all-new 2024 Jayco Redhawk 29XK class C motorhome, a good option for families, especially.
Sporting a modern farmhouse décor, the dinette and the sofa are both inside the slide, which gives this coach lots of interior space.
I especially love the enormous pass-through storage area in the back. It’s big enough to store a bunch of bikes or other toys. Heck, it’s big enough to be an extra bedroom!
Video of the day
Simple and ingenious: Secret DIY RV storage solution
By Cheri Sicard
Jared Gillis from All About RVs was having a problem finding a convenient place to store his RV’s tank dumping accessories. They did not fit in the tubes under the RV meant to hold the black water hose. He had them tossed in a plastic bag and stashed in his RV’s underbelly, but found this less than ideal. So Jared came up with a simple hidden DIY RV storage solution.
Ghost Town Trails – Tunnel Camp, Nevada
By Dave Helgeson
Tunnel Camp, Nevada, is the featured ghost town in this month’s installment of Ghost Town Trails. It is located a day or two drive north from last month’s visit to Bonnie Claire. Tunnel Camp came into existence in late 1926 to support the digging of a nearly two-mile-long “deep” tunnel to connect with the mines in nearby Seven Troughs. Continue reading Tunnel Camp’s interesting history.
NEW FACEBOOK GROUP: The RV Prospector: Gold prospecting for fun or profit on the RV road.
Reader poll
Towable owners: What type of vehicle do you tow with?
Quick Tip
Campground etiquette: Tiptoe as you come and go
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
When staying in a campground, our rule is that we check out no earlier than 9:00 a.m. and check-in no later 4:00 p.m. Not only is that to satisfy our own travel limitations but also to be respectful of our neighbors. We realize not everyone has the same schedule, but that shouldn’t negate respecting your fellow RVers.
If you arrive or depart during quiet hours (usually 10:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m.), try to do it quickly and quietly. Curtail setting up until the morning after or packing up the night before. Again, allowing your diesel engines to run for more than a few minutes will surely score no points with your neighbors.
Oh, and campgrounds, RV parks and resorts have arrival and departure times for a reason. Don’t make incoming RVers or campers wait for their site because of your poor planning. Likewise, do not arrive before check-in time unless you’ve made prior arrangements with the RV park or campground.
On this day last year…
- Tip: Maintaining your rig: Conduct an RV exterior evaluation
- RV Review: 2022 Jayco Jay Flight SLX8 240RBS travel trailer
- Ask Dave: There’s a crack in my RV’s shower floor. How do I fix it?
- Video: Paging George Jetson: Touring the world’s most futuristic RV
- Featured article: Full-timer pleads, “PLEASE don’t buy me anything!”
- Recipe: Tri-Color Spinach And Artichoke Mac And Cheese
Website of the day
The Best State Fair in all 50 States
We like this list from Reader’s Digest because it tells you a little bit of history, too, along with the best state fair in each state. Get ready, you’ll want to go to a fair after reading this!
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Are you hungry? Good. Oh, you’re not hungry? That’s okay, you will be! We love these!
And the Survey Says…
We’ve polled RVtravel.com readers more than 2,500 times in recent years. Here are a few things we’ve learned about them:
• 16 percent say a sewer hose or valve has broken or malfunctioned while they were dumping. Yikes!
• Another 16 percent say they eat eggs every day or almost every day for breakfast.
• 64 percent think the condition of our interstates today is worse than it was 20 years ago.
Recent poll: How old are you?
Recipe of the Day
Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
by Grace Pulley from Gillette, WY
Love the flavors of chicken cordon bleu but not the work? Then this casserole is for you. It’s filled with chicken cordon bleu flavors, but it’s an easy-to-put-together dinner. There’s tang from the Dijon, a bit of smoky flavor from the ham, and it’s filled with chicken. Thanks to the cream of chicken soup and Swiss cheese, it’s super creamy. On top, the Panko/butter mixture forms a tasty little crust. This is very filling so you won’t need any sides. An easy dinner casserole.
Trivia
Most fans never realized it, but listen again. The theme song, “Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs,” of the beloved TV show “Frasier” (1993-2004), was sung by the show’s main star himself, Kelsey Grammar. Listen here and you’ll say, “Oooooh, yeah!”
*Do all mosquitoes bite and suck blood? Nope, there’s a certain “someone” who doesn’t bite… Learn more in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Sweet Pea (Olde English Bulldogge) loves to go camping and hiking. Today was too much for poor Pea; she was a tired pup.” —Daniel Kalm
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.
Your hands won’t be tired or in pain with this caulking gun
Completing repairs and maintenance is a whole lot easier when you have the right tools on hand. Reseal your RV with the BEST caulking gun! This one is favored by RV technicians. If you’ve ever had to reseal any part of your RV, you know how tired your hand gets. This relieves that hand pain and makes the job easy. Learn more in this article, or buy one here.
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.
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I wish I could submit a question for Curtis before the “broadcast” in case I can’t make it this evening!
Hi, Squeegy. Sorry your comment was held for moderation. Our system didn’t recognize your new “handle.” I think you can just ask your question here in the comments and I’ll pass it along to Chuck, if he doesn’t get back to you sooner. (I just forwarded your comment by email to Chuck.) Thanks. Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
You or anyone can email a question to me at chuck@rvtravel.com. The shorter the question, the better chance I will have to ask it to Curtis. — CW
Sweet Pea is is Sweetie and Cutie Pie. Great picture of her and knowing she had a great time earns her a peaceful nap. Thanks for sharing!
Living in Nevada, here’s my observation. Most Nevada highways are glass smooth, even the interstates. But they continue to repave these highways every couple of years. Yet, there are sections of I-80 going through Winnemucca and Elko where the highway is concrete – and bumpy. For some reason those sections are NEVER repaved.
I-80 is the only Nevada Highway that never ever seems to get improved and repaired. I-80 east from Reno almost into California, shook the Suburban Furnance cover panel right off my rig once. I saw it go flying in my DS side mirror just in time to watch a truck crush it. Not that I would have run into traffic for retrieval but once the truck got it, no point in even slowing down.
On balance though, every other Nevada highway I drive is very good. Your spot on.
Okay it says best State Fair in every State… Most States only have one (plus a bunch of county fairs). Michigan has two State Fairs – one in each peninsula; up to the attendees to say which is the ‘best’.
I was thinking the same thing.
The list says Montana has a state fair in Great Falls and Billings. Bozeman fairgrounds used to be called Gallatin County Fairgrounds, but they changed the name a few years ago to Big Sky Country State Fair. Helena also claims state fair status. Does it matter? Meh…
Our travel “rules” are simple, drive 300 miles, or 1500, then stop for the night. Still enough light for setting up or running down supplies.
1500 what . . . ?
3pm, military time, I suspect.
3:00 PM for non military folks.
Odd. I was in the navy and am familiar with military time, but it just didn’t click in this context.
Maybe you just hadn’t had your morning wake-up cup of coffee yet? Have a good afternoon/evening, Tommy. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
We have a similar rule. 300 is the target while traveling and any days that are over 350, for any reason, we spend 2 nights at that stop for additional R and R. Recovery being key in these semi-youthful years.
We have no one to blame but ourselves. Our increased travel and our demand for good and more goods.
I would have to agree with the votes, the Interstates are really bad, and have gotten worse in the 10+ years we have been full timing. Apparently infrastructure doesn’t mean fix the roads🤨
No, it usually means upgrading mass transit so riders don’t have to pay the amount their fare actually should be. After all city voters out number passing motorists, and guess where governors live, in the city.
Is why I moved out of city. Most of the city buses where I used to live were mostly empty. I asked rep of company why they don’t use smaller buses. The answer was that the federal government money goes to the big ones. Another waste!
Exactly right Bob. Pet projects, whether it’s the bridge to nowhere or a bullet train, the interstates are getting minor improvements. Having been in the State’s transportation bureaucracy, the Directors don’t use their own projects or drive the interstates. It’s all about getting funding from DC to “bring it home to the people”..Kalifornia roads suck
Try to stay off the Interstates! Nobody else on the Interstate wants you (or me) there anyhow. We travel mostly by U.S. and State Highways. We go around major cities. At least 55mph and many post 65mph – so other than small towns, pretty much the same speed as we would drive on the Interstates. The roads are better, the traffic is better and you get to see more of the country.
The biggest downside is route planning. Most GPS units will put you on Interstates – or worse drive you hundreds of miles out of your way to avoid 20 miles where the Interstate is also the US Highway. Our TomTom lets us build fully custom routes on the PC and upload to the car’s unit.
I’m trying to do the same. As you say, better scenery and a relaxing drive, at a slower speed. I’m retired, and not in a hurry. Happy Trails everyone!
Take I-17 South out of Kingman if you’re constipated, have a kidney stone, wanting new tires or just wanting to see how many pieces can fall off your coach. I was dumbfounded at the degree of disrepair it’s in. Oh yeah, drag a magnet behind your coach to collect what the bumps, potholes and missing chunks knock off!