Issue 2232
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
“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it isn’t open.” —Frank Zappa
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Pasta Day!
On this day in history: 1918 – American actress Rita Hayworth, whose portrayal of seductresses helped earn her the nickname “The Love Goddess,” was born.
Tip of the Day
Don’t let a space heater fire burn up your RV
Every year about this time, news articles begin appearing about RVs destroyed by fires caused by portable space heaters. In this article, electricity expert Mike Sokol explains how to prevent this from happening to your RV. Mike’s number one rule is to never plug a space heater into a skinny extension cord or outlet strip. “Outlet strips were never designed for the types of continuous high-amperage loads created by any electrical heating appliance,” he warns.
Ask Dave
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook.”
RV generator won’t stay on. Replaced the battery, but could it be a fuse?
Dear Dave,
I can’t get my RV’s generator to stay on. We replaced the battery in back. Could it possibly be a fuse that’s causing the problem? —Audrey, 2013 Coachmen Freelander
RV Tours
Tour the 2024 Tiffin Wayfarer 25 LW diesel Class C motorhome
By Cheri Sicard
In the video tour below, join Leon Carlson from the family-owned The RV Corral for a first look at the 2024 Tiffin Wayfarer 25 LW Class C motorhome.
Built on a Mercedes-Benz chassis, this is that semi-rare diesel Class C motorhome.
This coach is all-electric, meaning you never have to buy propane. It runs off diesel and battery and comes outfitted with a fuel-efficient Onan Quiet Diesel generator. I also love that the Tiffin Wayfarer comes with lithium batteries.
What is America’s most visited National Park? (From 2022 data) Is it: A) Great Smoky Mountains National Park; B) Grand Canyon National Park; C) Rocky Mountain National Park; or D) Zion National Park? Find the answer below.
Video of the day
What we can learn from RV accidents. Don’t make these mistakes!
By Cheri Sicard
RV accidents are without a doubt one of if not the biggest tragedies of RV life. But if we can learn something from them, then at least something of value for someone can come out of the experience. That’s what the team from Outdoor Miles set out to do in the video below. In it, they look at several RV accidents and analyze how they could have been prevented (when possible), and what the best way of handling the situation would have been.
The video logically breaks the topic down into different categories and examines how each affects RV accidents.
Shirley Wallace and her amazing two-story trailer
By Chuck Woodbury
Although it’s been eight years since I met Shirley Wallace, I’ll never forget my visit with her and her one-of-a-kind two-story Spartan trailer.
On a visit to my aunt’s home in Lindsay, California, she told me about a friend who owned the unusual trailer. Shirley Wallace’s father added the second story when she was a child — bedrooms for Shirley and her sister. Shirley lived there until she went off to college.
“Would you like to see the trailer?” my aunt asked. A couple of hours later, we were on our way.
Continue reading and watch Chuck’s viral video.
Reader poll
Do you ever stop to walk around random cemeteries on your RV travels?
Secrets of RVing on Social Security
Author Jerry Minchey takes you on a journey that lets you discover how you can travel around the country and live the fascinating RV lifestyle for far less than it costs to live in your sticks-and-bricks home. Among other things, he shows you step-by-step how to enjoy the RVing lifestyle while traveling and living on just your Social Security income. Learn more or order.
Quick Tip
Black bears and food. Be careful
Black bears have one of the best senses of smell of all wild animals, a keen sense of curiosity, and a huge appetite, eating between 4,000 and 20,000 calories per day depending on the time of year. If they smell something that might be edible—even if it’s a tube of toothpaste or a stick of gum—they will likely want to investigate. That’s why it’s critical to keep ANYTHING that is scented, has calories or has flavor to be stored properly when you are in bear country. That includes all food, drinks, coolers, toiletries and trash. Keep these items secured in your RV with your windows and doors closed securely when you are away or use the metal food storage lockers you’ll find in some parks. Even a single, empty ChapStick container or candy bar wrapper can result in a bear breaking into your RV or car.
On this day last year…
- Ask Dave: Good RV water pressure with city connection, none from onboard pump. Why?
- RV Electricity: How many batteries are in a tank of propane?
- Video: 15 incredible camping inventions: Useful but unusual camping gear
- Featured article: Roadside Assistance gave us the wrong tire—on purpose!
Website of the day
Ghost Tours of New Mexico
If you’ve never been on a ghost (or haunted) tour, you’re missing out! They’re fun and you learn a lot of history! Here are some of the most popular tours in New Mexico.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
What’s green, and talks, and is one of the all-time stupidest yet creative gag gifts in the history of mankind? We nominate this. If you have a sense of humor, you will love this. If you are among the 12.3% of humans who are humorless, you will be angry with us for wasting your time learning its identity.
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:
• 62 percent say they walk regularly for exercise.
• 80 percent always or almost always put additives in their RV’s black water holding tank.
• 42 percent say they always or most often buy their groceries at Walmart while on the road.
Recent poll: Do you have social media accounts that together add up to an audience of at least 100?
Recipe of the Day
Blueberry Apple Crisp
by Samantha Bideau from Louisville, KY
Apple crisps are a popular fall dessert. We love the addition of fresh blueberries to this sweet treat. The combination of apples and blueberries adds fresh flavor to this easy dessert. It’s filled with spice flavor thanks to the cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. On top of the fresh fruit is a buttery and crunchy oat streusel topping.
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Trivia
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are the sons of Donald’s sister Della Duck; in Donald’s Nephews, their mother is instead named Dumbella. In the original theatrical shorts, they were sent to visit Donald for one day; in the comics, they were sent to stay with him only temporarily. In both cases, the boys’ parents were never mentioned again. The boys and “Unca Donald” ended up living permanently in the fictional city of Duckburg, in the fictional state of Calisota.
*Who is Nevada’s most famous ghost and where can you find her? Yesterday’s trivia tells you.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most-visited National Park. In 2022 the park saw 12,937,633 visitors! Learn more about RVing the park in this article by Dale Wade.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Hooks (Vizsla) loves to travel to dog shows and field events. He patiently waits in my Beyond for his turn to shine!” —Anne Corrigan
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!
Forget single-use hand warmers, these are better
If your hands are always cold, this is for you! These rechargeable hand warmers are a perfect gift for anyone who spends time outdoors in the cold. The hand warmers have three levels of temperatures and warm up on both sides quickly. The warmers are charged via USB and can even be used as a power bank to power your cell phone and other devices. Stay warm with these.
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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About Huey, Dewey and Louie – my daughter told me how to tell the difference…
Dewey – wears blue – think dew or water
Louie – think L for leaf – wears green
Huey – red is a color – hue – wears red.
Some trivia for you. 😉
Blessings, Donna
Dogs can’t read.
Plus they get thirsty when the owners forget about the water bowl.
About the bears……….I have always wondered, if bears can be triggered by “an empty ChapStick tube or candy bar wrapper”…..why we are instructed to lock everything into our cars
or vehicles? It seems to me that this would attract them to break in! I “get” the logic behind the bear-proof food storage lockers that some parks offer. But not the “lock it all in the RV” idea. Can someone explain?
Bears and food – black bears are a bit less aggressive than other bears around humans, but don’t mistake that for tame! Grizzly bears have been documented raiding tents because they smelled food – the clothing the campers wore while cooking!
In the 50s we stayed in a cabin on the lakes in Wisconsin. The night time event was to drive to the local dump to watch the black bear.
On the leave here with a laugh today. YES this sign is needed today with the phone in the face crowd.
Sorry to say you are completely correct!
I love that photo of Hooks. He’s beautiful
Growing up in Michigan we would sometimes camp in state forests campgrounds. They were mostly in the woods, on inland lakes and had only outhouses, a water pump and trash containers. It was not uncommon to see black bears in the campground. One day we had a cub climb a tree right next to our trailer. Everyone was out there watching him, not even wondering where mom was. That night a bear came in camp and helped himself to our neighbors cooler which they had put under the hitch of their boat. It ate everything but the head of lettuce. The lady was so scared as they were camping in a tent, that early next morning they packed up and left.
The need for these caution signs these days makes me sad. Lawyers force us to make allowances for idiots, instead of letting Darwin and their parents educate them.
Regarding the Roswell tours – I was under the impression that the actual ‘site’ of the crash was on private property and inaccessible to visitors. Earlier this year we spent three nights in Roswell taking in all the UFO stuff – and there’s tons of it. On every street corner, in many business names, everywhere. It was fun. Oh, and they had what appeared to be a brand new Harbor Freight store that was immaculate. We stayed in a really nice small family-owned RV park that was clean, and everything worked. What a concept!
Looks like pot-a-bowl water to me
LOL 😂
Frank Zappa spent a lot of his time stoned, and this thought sounds like it came from one of those moments. A mind is not like a parachute. It is more like a door. Sometimes it should be open. At others, it is vitally important that it should be closed. Each of us is responsible for determining the position the doorway of our mind should be in at a given time. We do this by educating ourselves and by developing a moral compass. The mind of our culture is dangerously open.
Actually, no. Frank was not a drug user. He spent his time writing music.
Frank Zappa was anti drug use
When my mother and I went on our camping trips or just a spur of the moment trips we always stopped at old cemetaries. Since her death I pass by them but do not stop but keep going. Eventually I might one day stop at one. But for now I just pass them by.
Thank you, Emily and Diane.