Issue 2336
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
“Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Napping Day (the day after the return of daylight saving time)!
On this day in history: 1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.
Tip of the Day
Don’t like guns? Alternatives for self-protection
By Mike Sherman
Do you want to feel protected while camping but you shun guns? There are alternatives that will help you in the event you find yourself under assault, either by an animal, or a human being acting like an animal.
Non-lethal weapons have, of course, been around since the beginning of time. Some might think a rock or a baseball bat is a non-lethal weapon but the law recognizes them as deadly weapons. If you rely on a baseball bat for personal protection, keep in mind its use requires you to be up close and personal with your attacker. But what about a defensive spray? They can save your life with a 15-foot separation between you and the offender. Continue reading about the benefits of pepper spray and other self-defense options.
Ask Dave
How do I know when my LP tank is at 80 percent?
Dear Dave,
This is more of a general RV/propane question. When I fill my onboard propane tank I know it is only filled to 80%. The info panel says 100%. Is that 100% based on it only being 80% filled, or is it a true indication? In other words, if I use some propane (5-10%), will the info panel drop to three lights since the tank is 75% or below? Thanks for all the great info! —Geoff, 2007 Winnebago/Itasca Cambria 26A
RV Reviews
Keystone’s popular 2024 Cougar 23MLE—New price and floorplan
By Tony Barthel
Today’s RV review is of the 2024 Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 23MLE fifth wheel. Last year I remember seeing a prototype unit and I thought this was one of the better small fifth wheels I had seen.
Apparently, so did you, as you’ve made it a home run hit in the Cougar lineup, which is already a popular brand of RVs. Looking back on this floor plan, a few things have changed. But one of the biggest surprises, to me, is the change in price.
In the RV Shop with Dustin
The importance of inspecting your seven-way cord and junction box
In 2022, a class action lawsuit was filed in a Montana federal court against Forest River, Inc. This lawsuit alleges that all Forest River fifth wheels built between 2002 through 2022 are equipped with an unsafe wiring system. 50 pages of documents accuse the manufacturer of not safely insulating and protecting wires between the towing vehicle’s seven-way cord junction box and an RV’s battery. This can increase the risk of a short and create a hazardous condition.
Video of the day
How to prevent RV theft and keep your RV secure
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, we join Joshua from RV Gear & Far for some useful tips on how to prevent RV theft and ways to keep your RV secure whether it is on the road, at your house, while out boondocking, or in an RV storage facility.
Kudos to Josh for putting in the disclaimer that with enough determination, any RV can be stolen. But by implementing his advice you can significantly reduce your chances of that happening. Why would a thief want to work harder when it is to his or her benefit to commit the crime as quickly as possible? The goal of this video is to make stealing your RV so frustrating for a thief that they will look elsewhere.
The latest news for RVers
- Bye-bye biodiesel? Chevron may foreshadow the future
- RV stocks take a beating; Thor drops like a rock
- Train versus motorhome – RVer escapes death by seconds (Video)
- Starlink Roam news for the week of March 4, 2024
To read more recent news, click here.
Clogged showerhead cure—courtesy of Walmart
There’s nothing like a good, solid, hot shower after a cold day. Or a day of mechanic-ing, gardening, playing with the grandkids, or whatever. But if you climb in the shower stall and crank up the water, you may find disappointment. That once-upon-a-time high-pressure flush can somehow seem to lose its luster. The tiny jets in showerheads can get clogged. We have the cure for a clogged showerhead. … Read Russ and Tiña De Maris’ easy tip here.
Reader poll
Have you ever had to take your RV into the shop because of a recall on it?
Quick Tip
This is important to know when buying new tires
Need new tires for the rig? It may be best to stick with the same tire specification as the original equipment. If you do decide to change specs, make sure you always match up your tire and wheel capacity. For example, NEVER mount a 3,000-pound capacity tire on a 2,000-pound capacity wheel.
Website of the day
Forvo
Learn how to pronounce any (and they mean ANY) word in English or another language. This website is good to know about!
Take an extra 10% off a GhostBed luxury RV mattress!
The GhostBed RV mattress is 10” deep, crafted with gel memory foam for coolness, has 3 layers of luxurious comfort and is perfectly sized for your RV! Ahhhh… Wake up relaxed and rejuvenated. RVtravel.com readers now get an EXTRA 10% OFF a GhostBed Luxury RV Mattress! CLICK HERE and use code RVTRAVEL10. Watch RVtravel.com’s Tony Barthel’s RV mattress review here.
Popular articles you may have missed at RVtravel.com
- Around the Campfire: If RVers had a magic wand, how would they use it?
- Exterior evaluation: Routine RV inspections can prevent major water damage
- Camping at the surreal Porter Sculpture Park in South Dakota
Recipe of the Day
Salisbury Steak Meatballs
by Liz Lanza from Centerville, PA
Definitely add these Salisbury steak meatballs to your dinner rotation. Thanks to onion soup mix and Italian bread crumbs, the meatballs have a nice savory flavor. After simmering in the Crock Pot, the gravy becomes nice and thick. It is great over egg noodles. The flavor combinations are perfect in this recipe with minimal ingredients. Serve with a veggie on the side and this is an easy dinner option.
Trivia
The rise of airline travel led to the invention of luggage on wheels. In 1970, Bernard Sadow was stuck in customs with heavy luggage after returning from a vacation in Aruba. While he was standing in line, he watched as a worker moved heavy equipment on a wheeled platform. At that moment, Sadow realized luggage should be on wheels too. Soon after, and after a few different design prototypes, he was pitching his “rolling luggage” to Macy’s.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Tessa is very smart, listens well, and is a very happy camper. She loves the RV and meeting new people. She also loves the snow, but when she comes back inside, this is the place she goes to for a while.” —Sharon Been
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.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
We love this so much we wouldn’t want to get it dirty! Why would we get something dirty? Well, you’ll see!
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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This newsletter is copyright 2024 by RV Travel LLC.
I suppose wheels are rated by tire weight. I usually find wheels to be rated by the maximum air pressure they are designed to hold safely. There are rim diameter and width sizes too of wheels based on the tire that will be installed on the wheel. Installing a greater load range tire is fine if the wheel rim is rated for the higher load range pressure of the tire. Because someone might just air up the tire to the maximum pressure on the side wall.
FYI. the best place to reply to articles is below the ads after the article. More people will see the replies.
The pop up adds make very unpleasant to try to read this news letter.
Make an ongoing donation to RVTravel & get the subscriber version of the newsletter. What I see on my newsletter seems no different than ever.
Want more money to have the same thing….and say you are making it better…have your new forum prove to u it is better before u use them….
I am not sure what has happened to RVtravel Newsletter but it has become frustrating to read. In the past few days the inclusion of pop up ads is disturbing. Additionally, the constant jumping of the page back to the beginning of the Newsletter is annoying. Lastly, every video ad automatically plays which I have tried to stop but no matter the setting in Facebook, they play anyway. I have been a past and a current paid reader to this Newsletter and have enjoyed it very much. However, if this stuff continues I most likely will leave the Newsletter. Come on Staff, figure it out and let’s get back to allowing us to read your newsletter in stead of dealing with these frustrations. TY
Sadly, not enough paid subscribers. There was a update in Sunday’s nrwsletter
In the beginning it was thankful for readership to donate, contribute, now more of a demand. It’s like “Prime”, you can have ad free, but it’ll cost you $5.99/mo. Rvtravel is following suit since making a splash on the internet. Why do you think they brought back their YouTube channel. Ads=$$$$$$.
Really? So you think RVtravel should just absorb the increased cost of publishing this newsletter? Do you really think they should publish at no cost to the readers? If the majority of free (cheap) readers would make a reasonable donation then they wouldn’t have to resort to increased ad revenue from outside sources– the people reading this for free need to step up and donate in order to keep the newsletter going. Do you honestly think the cost of doing business — any business — will always stay the same? Gil I don’t know if you’re a paid subscriber or not, but for those that are not you have no basis to complain.
Thank you for your verbal, and financial, support, Charlie. We appreciate it, and YOU, very much! Have a great day.🤗 –Diane
Hi Gil,
Oh man, if only we made money on YouTube! We brought back the channel because we think that readers will find the videos informative and helpful. That’s the focus. IF we make a few dollars a month to help pay for the work that goes into making the videos, isn’t that fair?
We’re working with a new ad vendor and so we’re trying to cram years of tweaking our old ad vendor’s ads to fit our reader’s preferences into as short of a time as possible with our new ad vendor.
Please give it a couple weeks and it will get better. We’re confident that we’ll have the ad content and positioning ironed out soon.
-Kim
Michael, I think your problem is either the settings on your computer or cell phone. Sometimes when they do updates it also changes the settings. I have the same problem with my cell phone always going to the top after reading an article. Computers always want to snoop and if you put controls to stop it. Than like me I have issues using Apples Safari. I use, duckduckgo app instead.
Amen, wow what a change is right for us paid up members.
Michael,
Since you’ve made a donation to RVtravel.com you are getting the ad free version of the weekend newsletter.
Now we’ve always run ads on our stories, we literally could not produce the content we do without them because most people simply do not donate.
I hope you took a moment to read Chuck’s essay on Sunday, I think it helps explain what’s going on.
-Kim
I have been reading RV for a few years every morning use to look forward to it but any more its just really slow and all the adds! The tips and stores use to be good and now all down hill I don’t think I will be wasting my coffee time anymore . Thanks for the earlier reads!
What I find the most annoying is videos automatically starting to play as I scroll down the newsletter. Most annoying! I’ll drop the newsletter if I have to continue with this new experience. It’s not worth the aggravation to me. I don’t mind paying for an add free version. What’s the solution?
The solution is to just keep scrolling and reading. Disregard the video if it isn’t of interest to you.
Hi,
As someone who has ADHD, the constant motion of the video is a distraction that I almost can not disregard the video. It takes me two to three times longer to read and understand an article with such distractions in it. Often, if I am not motivated to read the content, I will leave such sites.
William
I made the donation for the ad free newsletter (once) …still had disgusting, annoying, irrelevant and insulting ads on the website.
Yesterday’s newsletter was questionable whether or not it was better – with all the broken link issues. Today’s ads seam to be a “better quality” than the prior ads – all the movement is VERY ANNOYING.
I have been a paid subscriber for a couple years and still have all the pop up ads. Should I?
Hi, Les. The ads are in all newsletters and posts except the Members editions of the two weekend newsletters, as always. The records show that you were sent the Members editions of the weekend newsletters, so you shouldn’t have seen any ads in them. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we’re adjusting our new ads. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Lately when I click on the “read more”, my screen goes immediately to the bottom of the RV newspaper/NOT the link. If I try it again, it works. Maybe it’s my computer, but it happens almost every time I click on a “read more” link. Maybe this is happening to others, too?
Thanks, Janice ps. the email on the bottom of the email is wrong and I don’t know how to change it.
I tried to donate yesterday and it wouldn’t let me.
Keep trying, I got it to work.
Thanks, Kathy and Leslie.👍 Yes, the donation option was malfunctioning yesterday, but Kim, our IT dude, fixed it. Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Cash ok?
Hi Leslie, we had a major problem with our payment software which has been (mostly) fixed.
If you go here you can make a donation and then you’ll be subscriber to our ad free weekend newsletters.
-Kim
Thank you, Emily and Diane! I don’t know if this is an Fyi for Diane or Kim, but the “XXXX” placeholders for another article by Dave Solberg did not get populated; it still shows the placeholder Xs. 🙂 Similarly, the form to ask Tony to review an RV is absent apart from the word “broken.” [I’m using DUckDuckGo as my web browser application on a Samsung Galaxy 23 Ultra.] Thanks again! 🙂
Thank you, Neal. The first goof is all mine!😖 I got interrupted when I was looking for another post to link in there and forgot to go back and add it. Ugh! Regarding the form to ask Tony for a review, I’m not sure about. I’ll check with Emily on that one. Thanks for letting us know! Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
You’re very welcome, Diane! 🙂 I can relate, I used to regularly post stuff our group did on the Energy Information Administration’s website, long ago and far away. (I loved the way our ftp software said, “uh oh” when the network link to the document being posted was wrong. Sometimes I did it wrong just to hear “uh oh.” 🙂 Thank you, Diane! I hope you do, too! 🙂
Maybe I need some software to tell me “uh oh” when I goof.🤔 Nah. I’d be hearing it all day long.🙄😅 Take care. 😀 –Diane
Diane, I doubt you would be hearing it very often; that is just not you. Hang in there through this transition.
Thanks, Jack and Jean. That’s very kind of you. Regarding the transition–well, I made it through the weekend. More than 500 comments to moderate (while doing my regular work) just between Sat. morning and Sun. night, and some of them were just a little cranky.🙄 But it’ll get better as we make more adjustments. We appreciate your, and everyone else’s, patience and understanding in the meantime.👍 Have a great day! 🤗 –Diane
Hang in there. We all trust what you’re doing and really appreciate your time and efforts to see things through.
Thank you, Bill. We’re getting there slowly but surely. Have a good afternoon/evening. 🤗 –Diane
Can we have a paid ad-free subscription? Tell me how much and I’ll gladly pay. Love your RV newsletter. Have loved it for years. Want to continue to love it. Let me know how much. I contribute annually but will be glad to send more. Name your price…
Thanks, Emily. As it says at the top of our “regular” (i.e., non-Members) edition of the weekend newsletters: “For the ad-free, full edition, please become a voluntary subscriber for a one-time donation of your choice. Your support means a lot to us!” Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Hi Emily, we had a major problem with our payment software which has been (mostly) fixed.
If you go here you can make a donation and then you’ll be subscriber to our ad free weekend newsletters.
-Kim
I use Linux and have little problems with pop up ads.
The pop up advertising is very distracting and I’ve decided to end my subscription after being a paid subscriber for a number of years.
How many times do I need to see the same pop up???? C’mon get rid of them, they are very annoying. Once I “X” out it should cancel any further pop for the same profuct. I’d consider even paying for an ad free news letter. Tell Grainger I’m never buying from them so stop popping up.
Hi Bob, I hope you had a chance to read Chuck’s essay on Sunday, it helps explain why our ads have changed. We’re using a new ad vendor and we’ll be going through some teething pains while they work with us to optimize ads on the site. Hang in there, it will get better.
-Kim
As a paid member I am done. Please cancel my subscription if this chaos continues. I have enjoyed rvtravel over the years but this is too much for me to stomach. Woody Strock
Hi Woodrow,
We’re still tweaking the ads. That video pop up that appears in the right corner of the page seems to be a hot button for a lot of folks. That ad is replacing a video ad we had in the sidebar that went along with the recipe videos. But it sure is annoying, I think we can all agree on that. We’re working with our ad vendor to iron out these kinks, as Chuck said on Sunday (be sure to read the Sunday newsletter if you haven’t). Hope you’ll bear with us as we work with our ad vendor to find the right balance of ads that appear both in our newsletters and stories (since you’re a subscriber you should be getting the ad-free version on the weekends).
-Kim
Looks like there are a lot of unnecessary complaints today. If they had read what Chuck had to say yesterday for the Sunday edition, they would be more understanding! So perhaps one should go back & read what Chuck was talking about. Hey he’s not exactly ecstatic about the situation but times change.
Hopefully this will work out for the best, give it time!
Snoopy
Thanks for your patience and understanding while we’re working out the kinks, Dave!👍 Have a great day. 🤗 –Diane
I’m going to guess that 90+% of us know nothing about online publishing and the tribulations involved. While some of this ad popup stuff and error messages is annoying, I don’t find the information in the newsletter any less usable. So I have to scroll a bit more than usual. This newsletter comes out every day. With a print magazine that comes out once a month, there is a lot more time to make sure everything is perfect. I swear, some of you sound like fair-weather readers. Sorry, someone had to say it. Pile on.
90%+ and I’ll bid 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98….yup getting close to my lack of knowledge of online publishing. All the RV travel staff does a great job and their efforts a greatly appreciated by 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99% of the readers. Sold,
Piling on Tommy! I couldn’t have said it better – thanks! It’s like nag, nag, nag…. good grief.
Thanks, D and J, as well as Impavid and Tommy! We sure do appreciate your patience and understanding as we work out the bugs in the new ad program, or whatever it’s called.🤔 Have a great day! 🤗 –Diane
Couldn’t have said it any better Tommy, thanks!!
The good news is, other choices are available to read RV Newsletters. The bad news is, they are worse for pop-ups and video banners. I choose RVTravel.com. I am hoping that Chuck and Emily will find the right balance between revenue from advertising and subscribing readers.
One big difference is that Chuck will work to find a good balance while his competition will not. It is one of many reasons that RVTRAVEL is #1 for readership. It is a tough balance and I commit to sticking with Chuck and the RVT team for couple of more weeks while they work to acheive the needed win/win balance.
PS. So, for those of you that check back in 2 weeks to see if I am gone or if the banners are gone….. LOL😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 it could be a secondary win ….🤣😂 and you know who YOU are….LOL.
I’ll be checking on you !🫣
I’ll be watching (as always), Cancel.🤔 (That is, if I’m still here.🤣) Have a great day! 🤗 –Diane aka Big Sister
I’m never leaving. NEVER EVER EVER EVER. 🤣😂
I’m just as sure that Kim is all over it as I am confident that Chuck will find the right balance. No profit, No publication.
Best always Diane.
Yay!👍👍 It’d be awfully quiet and lonesome around here without you, Cancel. Yep, everyone is working on the changes. I’ve been squawking (extremely loudly) to the powers that be, since I see what’s going on all of the time and read every comment, good or not-so-good. So, I’ve been a real pain-in-the-patootie with Chuck, Kim and Emily the past several days. I try to keep my mouth shut but then it just explodes out of me, and I have to vent in an email to them.🤣 But, like I’ve been saying, thank you, Cancel, and everyone (who’s sticking around), for your patience and understanding in the meantime.🤗 Take care. 😀 –Diane
One can always hope…😎
I use Firefox with DuckDuckGo. After the first couple of days, I haven’t been bothered by all those pop-up ads. I think Chuck is doing a great job in trying to get this problem resolved, so don’t give him any more stress. Give him a break.
Wow, you Type A people need to chill before you’re found slumped over your keyboard.
Same result as calm down..probably.
I have read all the comments today and agree with most of the negative ones about the new advertising. I am going to stop reading the daily and week end news letters for a few weeks until they work out what the final lay out will be. I am a contributing reader and enjoy reading the review every day. But I can’t concentrate on the articles with all those moving advertisements going all over the place.
Try using a different browser like DuckDuckGo-No more pop-up ads (or sites tracking you)-it’s been great since we switched!
You, the reader, have the cure for pop-ups. Consult your IT person. Give it a rest, quit yer ‘itching.
As a paid subscriber for years I have not had any of the problems with this newsletter as mentioned by others. I only access the newsletter using a Dell laptop computer running Windows 10. My browser is Google (I know, a lot of issues with Google) but everything has been trouble free. Thank you guys for putting out a very informative and timely newsletter. Not all of your subscribers are whiners. The fact that it seems most of the complaints come from the same few suggests to me the problem is with their equipment
I’ve been using Google since 1998 (replacing search engine Dogpile) on Macs, PCs, and several phones and tablets with NO problems. RVTRAVEL is a very well done website and I agree that most issues are end user based.
I’m a paid subscriber. I understand the financial side of producing this newsletter is of utmost importance. However, as a paid subscriber I won’t tolerate the change in ads, especially the video ads that pop up automatically and start playing with sound. I’ll patiently bear with you as you try to get this right. If a higher subscription level is the answer, I’d consider that as well.
Have you tried using DuckDuckGo as a web browser -since we switched to it, No pop-up ads anywhere on this Newsletter or anything else we open on the internet, yay!
I have made a donation so assume I am a “paid subscriber”, but neither here nor there — Here on my desktop, using Frontier, I have seen none of the problems that appear to be taking place for other people. I guess I have just been able to ignore advertising, just like I ignore it on TV or in print. It makes our world go round whether we like it or not. I have not noticed any changes at all lately. I come here for the information and community and enjoy it, and normally I am an easily distracted guy, especially by change. Just FYI, I’m still a happy camper.
But: Never in the history of calm down has anyone calmed down by being told to calm down.
2 words my wife will never hear from me…… again.
Mystery Product: “Not all those who wander are lost.” However, those who are lost probably do wonder.
👍 Very true, Kelly. I frequently wonder why I’m wandering from side to side as I’m trying to stay in my lane while walking daily at the local high school track. My walking buddy, Holly (30 years younger than me), has no trouble walking down the middle of her lane.🤔 However, at least I can’t get lost at the track, and haven’t gotten lost yet on the 1.5-mile drive from home up to the track.🤣 Have a good evening, Kelly. 🤗 –Diane
What is all this hooraw about ads? My email comes in from Thunderbird, and the newsletter opens in DuckDuckGo, and I’m not seeing ANY ads. I don’t even an adblocker, so to whomever is complaining about ads, there are simple solutions that YOU can apply. I can’t see requiring RVTravel to solve issues associated with cellphones or tablets that don’t use standard OpSystems — they’re busy enough putting together the best RV-related newsletter. Take responsibility for the issues on YOUR end and stop blaming them. Reread the 2nd sentence above — I wouldn’t even be aware of problems with ads if it weren’t for the complaints from people who can’t take even those simple steps.
On my 17.3 screen, no problem, I can ignore them, if I want.
If I was on my Chromebook they may take up the whole screen.
You folks don’t work for nothing, and I’m hoping not peanuts.
I’m sticking, I enjoy you folks, even most of the commentators!
We’re very glad you’re sticking with us while we work out the obnoxious kinks in our new ad delivery system, David. Thank you! And don’t burn my marshmallows when we’re down there roasting them at the campfire on the beach, where we’re both stuck.😉 (My comment in response to your comment on Backroad or offroad RVing.) And you can call yourself whatever you want. I think folks who comment in our comment section are commenters. (How’s that for a redundant comment?🙄) A commentator is one who provides commentary, i.e., analyzes and discusses topics like for the news, or a sports commentator. Take care. 😀 –Diane
P.S. To me we commentors-ers..you know what is telling me I’ve spelled it wrong.
It’s the same as if we are sitting around the campfire with new or old friends shooting the XXXX. No one is getting out of hand saying Oh! you are one of those.
Just don’t burn my hotdawgs or marshmallows…Rock-On!