Issue 2212
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.
Today’s thought
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Ahoy, matey! Today is National Talk Like A Pirate Day!
On this day in history: 1778 – The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget.
Tip of the Day
Hobbies for RVers: Yes, you can make yours work in a small space
By Gail Marsh
The American author and Pulitzer Prize winner Phyllis McGinley once said, “A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.” I agree. Wholeheartedly. But what hobbies can an RVer do inside their rig? After all, we have very limited space.
My husband and I shared many different hobbies over the years in our stix-n-brix home. My favorite? Furniture refinishing and/or upcycling. We scoured local garage sales, flea markets, and auctions to find “just the right piece” of furniture. Then, we’d bring it home, clean it up and, often as not, rebuild and refinish it for a new purpose. The entire process was fun, and I loved the challenge and creativity this hobby required. Obviously, there’s no way to refinish furniture inside the RV. This hobby requires space for supplies and tools. You can’t strip paint or apply varnish inside, either. Our furniture refinishing hobby is restricted to our stix-n-brix garage when we’re at home—not traveling.
I also did a lot of sewing during our “pre-RV” years. But now? I have yet to find a good place in our RV for my sewing machine to “live.” Not only that, but where can I lay out yards of fabric in order to place patterns and cut? Crawling around on the RV floor to cut fabric seems more like a hassle than hobby to me.
Now what?
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
My RV’s refrigerator outside fans are not working. Why not?
Dear Dave,
The outside fans for my RV’s refrigerator stopped working. Why? —Ray, 2021 Palomino Columbus fifth wheel
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RV Tours
Vintage 1975 hard-side Apache popup camper—Why don’t they make these anymore?
When you take a look at this awesome vintage Apache hard-side popup camper, I’ll bet you are going to wonder why they don’t make them like this anymore. Or wish that they did. I know I do. I know the Apache popup campers in this video have made me rethink my popup camper aversion.
In the video below, Duke and Lola, the team from BossaNova Life, take us down memory lane (well, some of us anyway) and give us a full tour of popup camping the way it used to be back in 1975.
Click here to read more and tour
Video of the day
Are America’s national parks home to feral people?
By Cheri Sicard
The internet has been ablaze over the topic of feral people in national parks. If you have ever searched for information about national parks on YouTube, your feed, like mine, has inevitably been filled with video after video about mysterious feral people living in our national parks.
Some of the descriptions of these wild and sometimes cannibalistic people come from park visitors sharing their alleged personal experiences. Others are conspiracy theorists trying to tie these tales to those of missing persons who disappeared in national parks through the years (and there are, in fact, many of these).
The team from Drivin’ and Vibin’ [127K subscribers, 18M views] wanted to know how all this started and if there was any truth to the claims. So they set out to investigate.
More on adjusting tire pressure due to temperature changes
Tire expert Roger Marble responds to this post on a forum: “… Last Nov.-Dec. I had a R/T excursion from upstate SC to the Keys. Outside temperatures ranged from the mid-30s to the 90s and I found myself either adding or reducing air not only prior to every trip, but on a few occasions during mid-travel. The tires on the side of the trailer facing the sun would increase by 2-3 lbs. alone. This was worrisome as I was constantly attempting to monitor and maintain a constant psi in the tires. The point I’m trying to make, and what I’ve discovered, is that having a margin of safety, especially in temperature extremes cannot be understated.”
Reader poll
Did you camp with a tent before taking up RVing?
Quick Tip
Another cheap trick on cheap RVs
RV manufacturers who build low-end RVs, which they call “stick-and-tin” models, have all sorts of tricks to cut corners and save money. For example, when a prospective buyer tries out the dinette he or she may find the seat cushion very comfy! Alert! Alert! The manufacturer almost certainly used cheap foam that feels great at first, but six months later is compressed as flat as a pancake, leaving your posterior resting on plywood. A higher-end manufacturer should generally use a better, long-lasting foam. How can you tell? Do your research (which will take time and patience). But assume that a cheap RV will have shortcuts like this throughout the rig, most difficult (or, in some cases, impossible) to identify.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Maybe we’re missing something here… but what the heckity heck is this?! You put this on what? And where? And it does what? Do you know? Can you try it and let us know, please?!
On this day last year…
- RV Review: 2023 Cherokee Alpha Wolf 22SW-L
- Ask Dave: Water line valves stuck. Is there any way to lubricate them?
- RV Electricity: How much solar power do I need?
- Video: 10 most innovative truck camper designs. What’s your favorite?
- Featured article: Traveling with friends? Here are some pros, cons and tips to get you through
Website of the day
24 Top Fall & Harvest Festivals in the U.S. for 2023
This list will guide you to some of the best fall festivals across the country. Get ready for some apple cider doughnuts and corn mazes (yes, they’re for adults too!).
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:
• 37 percent say they enjoy photography very much and find themselves taking photos often.
• If they could make one room in their RV bigger, most would choose to make the bathroom bigger, followed by the bedroom (or bed area), the “living room”, and lastly the kitchen.
• 81 percent always carry binoculars with them in their RV.
Recipe of the Day
My Swiss Cheese Tuna Casserole
by Amanda Dunlap from Yukon, OK
Wow, this is not your ordinary tuna casserole recipe. The traditional casserole is brought to a whole new level in this recipe (almost a little fancy). From the albacore tuna to the Swiss cheese, the flavor is a bit richer in this casserole. We loved the texture from big chunks of mushrooms. Sweet peas balance out the savoriness of this creamy casserole. Boiled eggs are an unusual addition, but you don’t taste them (just a little protein boost). French fried onions are the crowning glory on top. Not only do they add flavor but make for a pretty presentation.
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Trivia
Shoplifting is a serious problem across the retail industry. The recent Jack L. Hayes International’s 35th Annual Retail Theft Survey indicated that participating retailers apprehended 340,488 shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2022, up nearly 46 percent from 2021. Wow!
*What was the Christmas song “Silver Bells” originally called? Find out in yesterday’s trivia and then thank the person for changing the name—whew!
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Yoshi (Shiba Inu) loves our camper. He thinks it is his big kennel and lets us join him. He loves the outdoors, but don’t ask him to swim! Because Shibas love to hunt small prey, the outdoors provides ample opportunities. Last trip he enjoyed 20 states and two provinces and is gearing up for more! He is my happy smiling foxy boy and an absolute joy!” —Lynn Kiehne
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!
50 States, 5,000 Ideas is the best book!
This National Geographic book showcases the best travel experiences in every state, from the obvious to the unexpected. Sites include national parks, beaches, hotels, battlefields, dude ranches, museums and more. Each entry provides detailed travel information and fascinating facts to ensure a great vacation. Also includes Canadian provinces and territories. Learn more or order.
Leave here with a laugh
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Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
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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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Funny Laugh of the day! I guess some have never been to Surprise Arizona! I’d rather go there than the alternatives!
I always liked Wisdom, Montana.. First time going through there I kiddingly told DW I was going to leave her there for a while.
And she allowed you to live and tell about it, Charlie?🤣 Lucky you. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Lol
Replace cheap foam with quality stuff. Not from big box stores, or Amazon. http://WWW.BUYFOAM.COM. many types and densities. Cut to your order
Today’s Quick Tip: It’s not so quick. When we bought our 3rd travel trailer, I factored into the cost the extra grand I would spend adding things like a toilet paper roll holder and coat hooks, replacing the mattress, the foam in the seats, and … A year later, I think I have made all the additions, repairs and retrofitting that we are quite happy with our current camper.
We went from never getting a trailer to getting a pop up to what are people thinking with trailers to getting a trailer and now? I have a seasonal trailer 27 foot model and I am like what was I thinking when I first started tent camping. So yeah, its a process going from tent to permanent site. I guess we existed when it was tent to pop up and OMG I love my travel trailer. Glad to have heat and shelter here in Maine because wow the weather this year is insane.
Re: Trivia today: shoplifting up 47% since 2021. Sure would interesting to see a regional breakdown versus a national average. Take out the 3 West Coast states, NY State, Massachusetts and Illinois my guess is that shoplifting is only up 15% or 20% as an average of those remaining 44 states. Conversely, the average in those 6 is more likely up 80% or so. Sad realities.
The top ten cities for 2023
1 Los Angeles, CA
2 SF/Oakland, CA
3 New York, NY
4 Houston, TX
5 Miami, FL
6 Chicago, IL
7 Sacramento, CA
8 Seattle, WA
9 Atlanta, GA
10 Dallas/FW, TX
Dallas IS NOT FORT WORTH. Two totally different cities.
People need to understand that.
Hi, Patty. Tom was just listing exactly what the report stated. Just like San Francisco and Oakland are two totally different cities (although they’re closer than Dallas and Forth Worth). I don’t know why they bunched them together like that, but I think people do understand they’re separate. Have a good night. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you, Emily and Diane! Today’s funny was just that — funny. Thank you!
Thanks, as always, for the “thank you,” Neal. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
I went from a tent to a typical pop up to a hard sided pop up that is a dream to tow called TrailManor. Check it out, it is the closest to the vintage and I can go in bear country with no problem, and use a 6 cylinder to pull it.