Issue 2368
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
“It is not the length of life, but the depth.” ―Ralph Waldo Emerson
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Bucket List Day! What’s on your bucket list?
On this day in history: 1885 – American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Tip of the Day
Gyms and truck stops offer exercise and showers on the road—great for boondockers
By Nanci Dixon
If you’re traveling cross-country or boondocking and need access to a shower or a chance to stretch those stiff driving muscles, a great spot can be the local fitness clubs or gyms along the way.
Try a gym membership for “free” showers
Friends of mine routinely stay overnight in the parking lots at Life Time Fitness when traveling. With their membership, they enjoy the chance to work out, swim and take a long, relaxing hot shower. They contact the gym, make sure it is okay to park overnight and that their 24′ RV will fit.
Ask Dave
Looking for new RV. Part 2: Why aren’t there many 26′-28′ travel trailers? Best time to buy?
We ran Part 1 of Linda’s questions about buying a new RV yesterday. Here are the rest of her questions, along with my answers.
Read Linda’s questions and Dave’s answers
RV Reviews
2024 Grand Design Imagine 2600RB—almost a home run
By Tony Barthel
Today’s RV review is of the 2024 Grand Design Imagine 2600RB. This is a floor plan that a lot of RV companies make and one of those that I recommend you check out a variety of brands’ implementations of. The reason is, even though this is the same floor plan as so, so many other RV companies make, the nuances of how a company does things can greatly affect your experience.
Spoiler alert: Grand Design absolutely nailed this with a few minor details.
In the RV Shop with Dustin
Having a towing maintenance kit could save your trip
By Dustin Simpson
In the past, Dave Solberg and I met for a livestream called Talkin’ RV Tech. We not only answered technical questions, but we also shared what we like to call “cool tools.” These are tools and gadgets that we actually use! We also believe they will be helpful to you. This clip is from one of those videos where we discuss towing maintenance kits.
Click here to read and watch the video
Video of the day
Editor’s note: Don’t skip past these “videos”! Did you know that Cheri’s “Video of the Day” isn’t JUST a video? Cheri writes an article to go along with each video, summarizing the whole thing. Don’t like videos? You can read the article and skip the video! Don’t skip past these!
Camping near Niagara Falls—New York’s Four Mile Creek State Park
By Cheri Sicard
Niagara Falls is a popular destination for RVers and, as such, the team from The Camping Loop wanted to find great camping near Niagara Falls. They found it at Four Mile Creek State Park and in the video they take us on a tour so anyone planning a Niagara Falls trip can see what to expect.
One big plus is the free “Discover Niagara” tour bus that picks you up at the campground and takes you to the falls and other popular attractions.
The Frontier Texas Museum is a travel gem
By Nanci Dixon
I recently visited the Frontier Texas Museum in Abilene, TX. During my visit, I will admit that being the only one in the museum’s darkened room made me wish I had dragged my husband with me. Picture buffalo stampedes, saloons with poker games gone bad, cattle drives, and Indian attacks. But overall, it’s a museum that should not be missed. (Apparently, Nanci was a madam at a well-established brothel in a former life. What?!)
Reader poll
If there were a permanent moon base, would you spend a week there if invited?
Helpful resources
• NATIONAL TRAFFIC AND ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION
• ROAD AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NATION
• WEATHER ALERTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
• LATEST RV RECALLS
• DIRECTORY OF RV PARKS WITH STORM SHELTERS
• THE BEST RV TRIP PLANNER APPS AND TOOLS
Did you buy a lemon RV? Here’s more about RV lemons and lawyers who will represent you if you need help.
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.
Quick Tip
Try these handy leveling tools
Got levels? Having bubble levels on the side and front or rear of your rig make it easier to level up when you’re setting up. Or use a small “torpedo” level. With your rig known to be level, see if your storage bay trim or windows are also level. If they are, you can use a torpedo level lined up on the trim anywhere it’s convenient.
Popular articles from this weekend you may have missed…
- RV tech reveals biggest RVer mistakes
- RVer says, “Campgrounds have forgotten their mission as campgrounds… The RVIA has failed campers as a whole”
- RVers, if you don’t know what balds are, you should! And no, not tires!
- Tour the MASSIVE 2024 HOST Campers Everest truck camper
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Oh, kids and adults alike will have so much fun with this! If you don’t click here now, it might disappear into thin air!
Website (article) of the day
Where to Find the World’s Longest Road
This isn’t a website, but an article from Travel + Leisure. However, it’s still extremely fascinating! Learn about this incredible 19,000-mile highway. Driving this would be a true trip of a lifetime!
Recipe of the Day
Easy Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
by Jrkgkf from Hoboken, NJ
Crock Pot recipes should be dump and go, and that’s exactly what this macaroni and cheese recipe is. No need to preboil the pasta. The noodles absorb the evaporated milk and cheddar soup. The end product is creamy, cheesy, and smooth. A great recipe to bring to potlucks or if you want an easy side dish.
Trivia
Why are marathons 26.219 miles? It seems like a pretty random number, doesn’t it? Well, when the British Olympic Planners were planning the 1908 Olympic events, they figured the distance from Windsor Castle to the royal box at the Olympic Stadium in London was 26.219 miles. The race was so extreme that it caught the attention not only of the public, but also of the Queen and the international press. Marathon running, specifically at 26.219 miles, became an international craze. Today, marathon runners are still running the distance between Windsor Castle and the royal box at the Olympic grounds.
Readers’ Pet of the Day
“Lily (Chocolate Lab) loves to chill and people-watch. She’s always ready for a road trip!” —Bonnie Quinlan
HELP! We’re running low on pet photos! Please 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!
Here’s everything to do if you lose your pet. This is an excellent resource!
Leave here with a laugh
All jokes aside, if you enjoy space and aviation museums, join Harvest Hosts and camp at the museums! Here are three of our favorites.
Did you miss the latest RV Travel Newsletter? If so, read it here.
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Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury, editor@rvtravel.com
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Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
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. RVtravel.com is a participant in many affiliate programs, including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of the potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers. This newsletter is copyright 2024 by RV Travel LLC.
Air and Space museum reminds me of an old joke. “In college I studied to be an Astronaut”!
“I took up space”.
I heard it as: “while studying to become an astronaut, I took up space.” Doesn’t matter though, either way is funny. Love todays Leave Here With A Laugh. Now, to me, that is funny.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if today’s Leave Here With a Laugh, were true (and more so, the Museum of Human Conflict and War).
Lily you are beautiful. Keep watchin’ people. You never know what they/we are up to!
I was always taught that the marathon came about when a runner during the Roman Empire ran with a message the marathon distance and delivered the message then dropped dead.
The Grand Design is a nice trailer but in case of fire, with this floor plan, your bed is the greatest distance from the exit.
The window in the bedroom opens…
Todays quick tip was very helpful but needed to add a Bulls Eye Round Level as it gives you a 360 degree reading, makes it so easy to set up level! Been using one since our 1965 Utopia trailer, dont even know where I got it, but still works great!
Snoopy
For leveling, there are smartphone apps.
The only place for a level should be a bullseye level on the floor of the freezer. That’s where it counts.
Thank you, Emily and Diane! 🙂 Have a great rest of the week and safe travels! 🙂