Issue 2195
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
“Try a little harder to be a little better.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Park Service Founders Day!
On this day in history: 1916 – The United States National Park Service is created.
Tip of the Day
A must-have for RVers? Walkie-talkies! Here’s why
By Gail Marsh
You may have tossed them aside once you outgrew “playing spies.” Or perhaps you quickly lost interest when that first cellphone landed in your hands. Whatever your reason, they remain a must-have for RVers: walkie-talkies! This low-tech wonder performs even when your cell signal drops. Walkie-talkies provide nearly instantaneous communication and can keep you connected no matter where you roam.
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
My RV’s undercarriage is covered in rust. Should I sandblast and undercoat it?
Dear Dave,
I purchased my 32-foot 5th wheel RV new last year, and fixed several issues myself. I tried to get a warranty on the underneath metal plate of the RV, which was very rusty. I asked Camping World to undercoat the chassis. They would not. Is it practical to use spray undercoat and do it myself? Do I need to sand blast it first? —Roger, 2022 Keystone Montana High Country 295RL
Video of the day
How to make the best steak ever in a cast iron skillet
By Cheri Sicard
Did you know you can make a steakhouse-quality steak at home or in your RV using your cast iron skillet? In the video below, Ryan Maya of the Ryan Maya Cooks YouTube channel is here to show us how to make the best steak ever, using this simple kitchen tool.
Know Your RV: 7 tips for a happy RV toilet
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
For many new to the RV lifestyle, the RV toilet is a mysterious dweller in a tiny closet. But if you plan on spending any time with your RV, you’ll soon need to get intimately acquainted. Here are important tips to get along with what can be a good friend on the road. Get all the down and dirty details here.
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- Reader suggests campgrounds should be split: one part for “campers” using amenities, another part for “travelers”
- Washington state Attorney General issues Cease-and-Desist Order in RV park dispute
- RV inspector picks the best 4-season trailers for year-round fun
- Why Moose and Elks lodges are the way to go for RVers
Reader poll
Will you attend a county or state fair this fall?
Quick Tip
Protect outdoor RV power cords with the upside-down bucket mod
Here’s a very inventive solution that fixed this problem entirely for just a few dollars. All that is needed for this RV power cord mod is a bucket that is wide enough to house the RV power cord electrical connection as shown in the picture. Make two holes directly across from each other near the bottom. Be sure to make them large enough so a cord connection can fit through them. Then simply thread the two ends of the RV power cord together inside the bucket and flip it over so the bottom of the bucket protects the connection like an umbrella. The RV power cord will now stay suspended off the ground and protected from water. —From doityourselfRV.com
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
You never have to hold your cell phone again—this does it for you! Ummm… or does it?
On this day last year…
- Tip: RV underbelly leak repairs can be a nightmare, but this will help
- RV Review: 2023 Surveyor Legend 19RBLE
- Ask Dave: How can I tighten up my RV’s lock mechanism?
- Video: 8 RV propane tips to keep things running smoothly
- Featured article: Stuckey’s, an American classic, is back and tastier than ever!
Website of the day
Preventing ticks on your pets
This page on the CDC’s website hosts a ton of information about keeping ticks off your pets. If you have a dog or cat who spends time outside, memorize this information!
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:
• 50 percent have been on at least one blind date in their lifetime
• 82 percent have taken a typing class
• 30 percent said their grandparents played a huge part in their young adult life
Recent poll: Most national park campgrounds have a 14-day limit. Should that be shortened to 7 days to accommodate more campers?
Recipe of the Day
Fried Green Tomato BLT Sandwich
by Allisha Bordelon from Coushatta, LA
Fried green tomatoes are one of our all-time favorite summertime indulgences! This sandwich really shows off the tomatoes’ flavor by using light panko bread crumbs as a coating. The roasted red pepper mayo is the perfect finishing touch.
Trivia
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, just 13% of adults in the U.S. regularly get their news from the app formerly known as Twitter (now X), trailing both Facebook and YouTube.
*What happened in 1985 that was so important that ABC interrupted their regular programming to announce? Find out in yesterday’s trivia.
Readers’ Pets of the Day
“Our three kids, Wicket, Gizzy and Chewy (Yorkies). They love to go camping. We caught them all standing in the doorway of the motorhome with a look on their face as if to say, “Come on Mom! Come on, Dad! Let’s go! Hurry! 🙂 ” —Mark & Alice Wiltrout
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.
Brand-new book for county park camping
Roundabout Publications and the Ultimate Campground Project have published the first edition of “Camping in America’s County Parks.” The 192-page directory profiles 2,068 RV, van and tent camping areas at 1,408 parks in 42 states. Inside, maps pinpoint campgrounds with information about staying, including types of restrooms, showers, dump stations and RV length limits. Rates, contact and reservation information is also listed. Read more about it here.
Leave here with a laugh
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Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
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Editorial (news): chuck@rvtravel.com
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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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Thank you, Emily! News? From Twitter? Facebook? Instagram? What a strange idea. Those are sources of entertainment, not news. Unless one means news of friends, then I guess they are news sources. Geez, no wonder newspapers so rarely circulate on paper and, instead, circulate electronically.
Surely a small 1”x2”x1/2” box with a few pebbles inside would do this individual a world of good. They could hold the box to their temple and allow the intelligence and wisdom of the stones to be absorbed into their brain, because they are “Dumber than a box of rocks”
Okay Chuck & Emily- Can we get a more complete idea what is happening (or intended to happen) with comments? The suspense is killing me!
Me too. “This weekend” has been posted for about 3 weeks now. ?????
I used gallon sized zip lock bag to protect cords, much easier to store and laying the bag/cord on a rock or anything to keep it off the ground suffices.
Placing the connection on top of a tire works great, the rig itself keeps rain off the cords, and the rubber of the tire prevents it from slipping off.
Your three kids, Wicket, Gizzy and Chewy definitely have the Adorable look! Yep, we would listen and get going on a fun trip too.
I use a plastic bucket with a well fitting lid. Two notches in the bucket just below the lid just large enough for the cord. When done, I use it to store the cords.
Our son uses an iron skillet in the oven to do steaks. Best, most tender and flavorful steak I’ve ever had!
I just use 2 plastic buckets. A smaller one inside with cords on it. A larger one on top as a rain shield.
Buckets are useful.
QuickTip, Don’t cut the holes completely out, leave attached at the bottom of hole so you can push it out from inside bucket and it will keep water from traveling down cord to connection.
Good idea Larry. Looking at that bucket idea, it seemed to me that if it rained, water would just travel down one (or both) of the cords through that hole and onto the power connection.
What a GREAT picture in today’s PET OF THE DAY. I laughed out loud to myself when I scrolled upon it