Issue 2326
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
“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Pistachio Day!
On this day in history: 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park. AND in 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Tip of the Day
Off-grid RV kitchen tips to extend boondocking time
By Cheri Sicard
When it comes to boondocking or RVing without hookups, there are things you can do in every part of your rig that can extend the amount of time you will be able to comfortably live without hookups. Last week I focused on the bathroom; this time we turn towards RV kitchen tips to maximize boondocking time.
Between food prep and storage, cleanups, cooking, and water usage, how you use this area of your RV can have a major impact on how much time you can spend off-grid.
Is an RV considered a “home” in a bankruptcy proceeding?
The homestead exemption is a legal regime to protect the value of the homes of residents from property taxes, creditors, and other circumstances. So does an RV qualify as a home that cannot be taken away from its owner as the result of a bankruptcy? Randall Brink has the story.
Ask Dave
What do group ratings mean for deep cycle batteries? And are Costco Interstate batteries the same as others?
Dear Dave,
You and others have mentioned batteries using different group number designations. What do those numbers mean?
Second question: I was told that Interstate has different quality levels for their deep cycle batteries. The RV service organization that replaced my house batteries with Interstate claimed that they use a higher grade than those sold at Costco for a lower price. Is this true? —Gary, 2020 Fleetwood Pace Arrow, 34-ft. diesel pusher
Quit struggling with hose and cable hookups at the campsite
Are you tired of struggling to hook up your coax cables, water hoses and other connections when you arrive at your campsite? It’s a snap with Cable and Hose Grips from J Wright Concepts. Save time and frustration! Life is too short to hassle with the little stuff! Learn more or order.
RV Reviews
Honest RV review of the 2024 Jayco Eagle HT 25RUC fifth wheel
By Tony Barthel
This Jayco is one of those where the new HT series has fewer fancy gizmos and features and is a more affordable product.
Essentially this is almost the typical fifth wheel platform with a twist. Spanning the back of this trailer is a large U-shaped dinette. Over in the slide is a couch with three seating positions, each of which offers full reclining functionality.
In the RV Shop with Dustin
How an RV furnace works and what we look at to diagnose issues
When you bring your RV into our repair shop, or any repair shop, here’s an example of things we are testing during a bench test and some of the components we’re looking at for RV furnace issues: checking current, voltage, resistance, DC and AC power, circuit board, relay, blower motor, sail switch, high limit switch, gas valve, igniter, flame sensor.
Click here to continue reading
Video of the day
“Million dollar” beach house in a box truck—Amazing conversion with smart, innovative design
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below from Tiny House Giant Journey, we meet Scott, an avid surfer who takes us on a tour of his box truck conversion tiny home. Scott likes to park at some of California’s most popular surfing spots. His box truck beach house has everything he needs, and he gets the same million-dollar views of neighboring homes, without the price tags.
The latest news for RVers:
- RV manufacturer leads auto industry in 2024 recalls
- Man catches freeway ride on a travel trailer—VIDEO
- Starlink News: A sleek new dish for RVers; retiring older satellites; illicit Starlink usage in Ukraine
- “Permanent full-timers don’t have to follow the same rules they give us—junk lying around, more pets and vehicles than allowed…”
To read more recent news, click here.
Tips to avoid communication roadblocks while RVing
No RVer likes to see roadblocks. A roadblock may mean taking a detour, anxiously traveling an unfamiliar route, or experiencing a frustrating delay in your ultimate arrival time. Communication roadblocks between you and your travel partner can also cause angst. Unlike a physical roadblock, it’s best to address the communication roadblock rather than detour around it. You don’t want the communication roadblock to become a habit. Read these great tips from Gail Marsh to keep the lines of communication open while RVing.
Attach items in your RV without using nails
This new, super-strong double-sided adhesive tape will hang most objects in your RV without using nails. Works on wood, metal, plastic, aluminum or glass surfaces — indoors and outdoors. Use EZlifego tape to keep carpets in place. And it’s easy to remove and use again later. Highly rated. Learn more or order.
Reader poll
Have you ever ordered a pizza delivered to your RV?
Quick Tip
Secure your RV awning while traveling
Reader Mark W. says he gets peace of mind regarding his RV awning while traveling. How? “I use a large piece of Velcro wound several times around each arm of the awning up near the top. I have to use a picnic table or ladder to get it there, but it takes away the worry.” Thanks, Mark!
Website of the day
7 wonderful animal sanctuaries to visit in the U.S.
If you’re an animal lover, put these incredible sanctuaries on your list of places to visit! Get up close and personal with the animals and learn about the wonderful work these places are doing.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
This is too funny! EVERYBODY can relate to this (and everybody will laugh at it!). Keep this by your bedside table and let it be your mantra for the day…
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
- Have Walmart campers changed for the worse? RVtravel.com readers share their observations
- Around the Campfire: Campgrounds pivot to accommodate the changing needs of campers
- The golden years: Why there’s never been a better time for RVing
Recipe of the Day
Southwestern Chicken & Rice Skillet
by Kathy Cromer from Cincinnati, OH
An easy and delicious chicken and rice skillet. It’s filled with veggies and Southwest flavor. The seasoning is just right, not overpowering at all. We loved the bits of sweet corn and the hearty black beans. We sprinkled a little cilantro on top of the melted cheese at the end to add a pop of freshness. Great for a weekend meal.
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Trivia
According to the USDA, a sandwich is defined by the presence of… what? If you guessed meat, you’re correct. So the next time you eat a grilled cheese, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you can’t call it a sandwich! The USDA says that in order to qualify for a sandwich to be called a sandwich, it must have at least 35 percent cooked meats and be no more than 50 percent bread.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Roadie (Boxer) is new to RVing (as are we) and enjoys watching what we call KOAtv.” —Karen Fesler
Welcome to the wonderful world of RVing, Karen, Roadie and Co.! Roadie is going to LOVE all the shows on KOAtv!
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!
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 enjoy reading my RV Travel Newsletter each morning but wish this little issue could be resolved. When reading the main page, I become interested in a certain article. I click on the article to view the entire article. After reading the article I click on the back button to return to the home page. At this point the home page comes up but it reverts back to the top of the main page forcing me to scroll down again looking for the point where I left it. It is somewhat annoying! I don’t know if there is an answer for this but eliminating it would enhance my enjoyment while reading the newsletter. It should return to where I left off. TYIA
One solution is to double click the link. This will take you to the article on a different page.
Check the settings in the browser. Mine is set to open links in a new tab. After reading the link, I close that tab and the previous page is where I left off. Not sure if this is possible on all phones though. It is on my Iphone using Safari.
This has been hashed over several times and the answer depends upon what device you are using…..which you didn’t provide.
Good morning, Michael. Here’s how Emily explained this a few weeks ago: “We had to do a few things to clean up the site and having links not open in new tabs was one of them (we put a note about it in the Saturday newsletter a few weeks ago where we explained it: https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-travel-newsletter-issue-1135/ ). I know it can be frustrating and annoying. If you would like a link to open in a new tab, all you have to do is right-click, ‘Open in new tab.’ That’s what I do every time on every website. If you get in the habit of doing this on every link click, on every website, it will make things a lot easier for you.” [Update: Apparently right click doesn’t apply when using an iPad.] I hope that helps. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Right click doesn’t apply using an iPad
Thanks, Bob. I have no clue about any of that stuff, but I’ll add this caveat to Emily’s explanation. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
On an IPad, if you hold your finger (or stylus) down on the link, a menu will pop up with one of the choices to open the link in a new tab.
instead of just touching the link, hold your finger on the link for a couple seconds and an option box pops up. Choose ‘open in another page’ and, when you’re done reading the article, just touch the ‘back’ button at the bottom to return to your place on the original page. This is for an iPhone, not sure if it works like that for an Android.
Tim,
Thank you‼️ I greatly appreciate your advice as it works perfectly as you stated.
Hmmm, doesn’t seem to work on my Apple laptop……..
That’s why I use Android, none of that fruit salad to mess with, lol. My Android with chrome always goes back to where I was with the back arrow, no long press to open in a new tab stuff.
Trivia: The USDA has nothing better to do than to figure out what makes calling a sandwich a sandwich? That’s utter nonsense. If I want to call a PB&J a sandwich I’ll call it a sandwich. There’s our tax dollars at work, folks. I think I’ll go have a grilled cheese SANDWICH now….Lol
EXACTLY!!! Looks like USDA has too many staff if they are sitting around coming up with their own contrary definition of a sandwich!
I agree totally!!!… That is why this country is in the FINANCIAL MESS we are in now!! The Federal Government waste money like it is going out of style!!
I agree. And for the record, to me, a hot dog IS NOT a sandwich.
Thank you, Emily and Diane! I guess it is good that the USDA doesn’t inspect my “sandwiches.” 😉 I hope you both have a great week! 🙂
Thanks, Neal. We hope you have a great week also! 😀 –Diane
I had an awning begin to open on I-80 coming across SD. and it is under the aluminum OEM cover! The immediate road side fix was to secure it with rubber tarp strap. The fix was to drill holes at an angle (high side forward), at eye level, thru the awning arms when closed and secure them with pins which I bought at a SD hardware store. Also, it is an 18′ awning with a center rafter – which must press tightly against the center of the rolled up awning. It had slipped down from vibration etc., relieving tension at the center of the awning. It has not happened again. Also, it is now an electric conversion from the manual Dometic install but I still use the three pins!
I tried the Velcro wound around each arm for keeping the awning place, it did keep the fabric from blowing up like a parachute. It did keep the arms in place. Your experience may be different.
I guess subway doesn’t sell sandwiches because they sure don’t have 35% meat and have over 50% bread.
They don’t and their food is under scrutiny from the FDA. Tuna fish? Don’t count on it.
If I am going to order anything it is certainly not going to be pizza when I know there is a Thai restaurant just down the street. Yum.