Issue 2215
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
“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Ice Cream Cone Day!
On this day in history: 1789 – The office of United States Postmaster General is established.
Tip of the Day
6 tips for scoring a national park campsite
By Julie Chickery
National parks are among the most popular places for RV travelers. The National Park Service reported that it had more than 312 million visitors in 2022. Add record-breaking RV sales and rentals over the last few years, and you have a huge demand for national park campsites. Unfortunately, that makes it even harder than ever to actually get a coveted reservation.
Here are some tips for scoring a national park campsite.
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
Why are RV wheel lug holes collapsing toward brake drum?
Dear Dave,
I have a 19-foot Springdale travel trailer with 14 x 5.5 Dexstar modular steel wheels on two 3500 lb. axles. I have always used a torque wrench to set the lug nuts to 100 ft. lbs. On just one wheel, two of the nuts have pulled the “lug hole” in the wheel towards the brake drum, bottoming it out on the drum. The amount of stud sticking through these nuts is longer than the others, revealing the collapse. The studs are not stretching or pulling out of the drum. Despite this, the wheel does not show any lateral run-out wobble. Is the 100 ft. lbs. I was told to use excessive? Is this just an anomaly? I think I should replace the wheel, but of course don’t want this to happen again. Thank you. —Eric, 2015 Keystone Springdale
In the RV Shop with Dustin
RV hydraulic system maintenance
If your RV has hydraulic leveling jacks or a slideout system, you want to have RV hydraulic maintenance performed periodically. This will check the hydraulic fluid level in your reservoir for low fluid, leaks and damage.
To ensure that everything is functioning properly, the fluid levels should stay consistent. If the fluid level looks low in the reservoir, this could indicate a potential unseen issue or leak somewhere in the system.
Video of the day
Check out empty nester’s incredible skoolie bus conversion
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below you’ll meet Jaime and her short bus, raised-roof, skoolie, named the Battle Bus. When Jaime became an empty nester she embraced the nomad lifestyle and hasn’t looked back.
Jaime’s sustainable off-grid tiny home on wheels makes her new nomadic lifestyle possible, and we get a full tour in the video.
Of course, a raised-roof skoolie is unique in and of itself, but Jaime’s artful mobile tiny home offers so much more.
Thetford’s toilet seal isn’t crappy!
Nobody wants to talk about a yucky toilet, but nobody wants to actually have to deal with a yucky toilet either… Enter Thetford’s Toilet Seal Lube and Conditioner. It works on all RV and boat toilets and protects the seal from drying out. If your toilet’s seal dries out, it can prevent it from sealing and holding water. You don’t want that! This is one of those products you should really use, even if dealing with your toilet isn’t your all-time favorite thing to do. Check it out.
Take an RV trip to ancient ruins—right here in the U.S.!
Wait a minute! Ancient ruins? Here in the U.S.? Yep, you read that right. There are several ancient ruins you can visit! The wonderful thing about RVing to ancient ruins is that they are scattered all over the United States. Here are a few of Gail Marsh’s favorites.
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- RV dealer sues customer for defamation over online reviews
- Worker in RV industry witnessed “appalling practices” and says trade standards are ignored
- How to mount RV solar panels without drilling!
- Reader says: “Campgrounds should be under investigation for price gouging”
Reader poll
On average, how much time do you spend outdoors every day?
Quick Tip
Use a “drip loop” for cables going into your RV
Reader Bryan sent this in recently as a comment to a post: “If you run a cable (power, coax, ethernet, etc.) into an RV, make sure to do a ‘drip loop’ first. A drip loop is a part of the cable that is lower than the point it enters inside. This allows any water that is coming down the cable to drip off at the lower point. Without a drip loop, the water will just follow the cable into the inside of the camper. Drip loops are good for any cable or hose where you don’t want the water to follow a path somewhere it shouldn’t. Just remember that water does not go uphill.” —Thanks for the great drip tip, Bryan!
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
There’s a mouse in the house! No, there’s a mouse in the RV! But a really, really cute mouse that you’ll love!
On this day last year…
- RV Review: 2022 Rockwood Tent 1940F pop-up tent trailer
- Ask Dave: Can I retract RV’s rear slideout manually?
- Featured article: Finding the “perfect” RV requires a shift in perspective
Website of the day
20 Trips, 10 Cities, 1 Tank of Gas
You read that right! Travel Channel has planned out perfect day trips using just one tank of gas from 10 major cities around the country. Happy exploring!
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
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
by Peggy Sue Ross from Springfield, VA
Peggy Sue’s butternut squash soup is hearty enough to be a meal. It’s a fantastic fall soup. When the cream cheese is added, the texture is like chowder. Velvety smooth, this soup is filled with flavor thanks to the fresh onions, chicken bouillon, and seasoning combination. There’s a little bit of a kick from the cayenne but it’s not overpowering. This is a delicious butternut squash soup.
Trivia
The sun’s core is so hot that a piece the size of a pinhead would give off enough heat to kill a person 99 miles away.
*Where is the oldest known living tree and how old is it? You’ll just have to read yesterday’s trivia to find out!
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Monkee (Affenpinscher mix) can’t wait to get back to our permanent site in Cedar Springs, Michigan, so she can say hi to everyone at the campground. And at least once a day she had to go to the office for kisses and treats from the staff.” —Susan Hoffman Losinger
HELP! We’re running low on pet photos! 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!
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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Thank you, Emily and Diane!
The trivia is a repeat
I missed something on the article about hydrolics. How to fix things.
I have that problem of oil on the jack leg.
HOW DO I FIX THAT?
Great leave here with a laugh today!
You must have one huge gas tank if you’re going to all those places on one tank of gas.
Monkee, from the pet of the day, would love for anyone one in the area to come visit him at the Cedar Springs RV Resort in Cedar Spring. Michigan next year. He loves to meet new people.
The chips are protected by the huge amount of air in the bag,OR Now more chips in every bag.