Issue 2415
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
“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Alaska Day!
On this day in history: 1953 – Workers assemble the first Corvette in Flint, Michigan.
Tip of the day
Plug your RV into a generator? Watch out for this!
By Russ and Tiña De Maris
Do you plug your RV into a generator for boondocking power? Here’s a simple, but important tip. We’re talking about portable generators, not rig-mounted gensets that use a transfer switch.
It’s like a line from Jerry Lee Lewis. With portable generators, “There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.” It doesn’t matter if your generator is sitting out on the ground, or stuck on your pickup truck bed, your generator is a hunk of vibrating steel.
Plug your RV into a generator and that not-so-good vibration can take a toll on your shore power connector. The real concern is not for a factory-issue molded RV plug but, rather, a shore power cord equipped with a replacement plug. We found this out—almost the hard way.
Ask Dave
Where can I get replacement parts for my 1994 Winnebago?
By Dave Solberg
Good day, Dave,
I am wondering if I can replace the roof-mounted front and rear (amber and red) clearance lights on my 1994 Winnebago Vectra. First, I have broken and lost a couple to low-hanging tree branches. Second, the lenses are getting very hard to find replacements or, and the salvage yard ones are brittle from ultra-violet and aging and easily break when installing. Also the gaskets are deteriorating. I am thinking of removing them, covering the wire/screw holes with a strip of fiberglass and Dicor sealant, and installing new ones, either 3/4″ round or 2″ LED types on the front and rear cap faces. Any thoughts on this? Thanks for your great, helpful articles over the years – appreciate them. —Doug, 1994 Winnebago Vectra WMC34RC
RV review
Scamp 19′ fifth wheel – Can I tow it with a Ranger?
By Tony Barthel
Today’s RV review is of the Scamp 19′, a fiberglass-bodied fifth wheel that may be the answer to the question a number of buyers are asking. And what is that question?
Can I tow a fifth wheel with a Ranger? No, seriously. I may even have to send someone to your house to pick you up off the floor after reading that. But let’s look at the numbers before you doubt me. Regular readers will know I am a sergeant in the tow police army, so I don’t take this lightly. See what I did there? Hehehe.
In the RV shop with Dustin
RV air conditioners: Maintenance tips and what to inspect
Join me in this video as I explain more about RV air conditioners and the maintenance they require and why it is very important.
There are several steps, some of which are best undertaken by a technician. You (or that technician) always want to make sure to inspect the RV roof air conditioner unit for debris and damage, wash inner coils (including the condenser and evaporator), clean drain tubes, replace gaskets and filters, perform amp-draw tests and so much more!
Watch the video and I’ll walk you through it all.
Video of the day
RV mod—Genius storage for an RV sewer tote
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, we join Joshua from RV Gear & Far as he shares a genius RV mod that creates storage for an RV sewer tote. These totes are super handy when you are at a campsite that lacks a sewer connection as you can dump your black tank without having to move the RV. However, where to store it is always a conundrum.
Featured article
Should campgrounds charge messy RVers an extra campsite cleaning fee?
By Gail Marsh
Should campgrounds charge messy RVers an extra campsite cleaning fee? That was the topic of discussion around the campfire this week. See what folks said about this idea, and then add your own opinion in the comments below. Have you ever seen this happen?
You may have missed these recent popular stories…
- RVers saying goodbye to RVing; “Who wants to spend $100 a night to stay at crowded park?”
- Genius golf ball trick solves low airflow issue in RV’s A/C
- Easily cut your RVing expenses in half
- 3 of my most perfect RV products
Reader poll
Do you enjoy riding scenic railroads?
Quick tip
Be careful with older motorhome entrance steps
“If you leave the master switch OFF when you drive away, the step should retract when you turn the ignition key ON. But when you park and turn the ignition OFF, guess what? The step is UP and the master switch is still OFF. The step may NOT extend until the master control switch is turned back ON. Watch that first step: It’s a big one! Newer RVs “remember” to extend the step, even if the master switch is OFF, after driving.” —From Motorhomes Made Easy
On this day last year…
- Tip: How to deal with losing your wallet while on the road
- Ask Dave: I have trouble filling RV’s fresh water tank. What’s the solution?
- Featured article: Warning: RVers are very prone to dangerous DVT, deep vein thrombosis
Website of the day
75 Fourth of July Recipes to Celebrate America
Are you ready for the 4th? Get your grocery shopping done early by knowing what recipes you’ll make ahead of time. These 75 recipes from Country Living look delicious!
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Now this is something that would be very cool to have. Think of all the ways you could use this! And in a few years, you’d be really glad you had this for your favorite memories.
Recipe of the day
Grilled Garlic Shrimp in Foil
by Daune (pronounced “Dawn”) Browne from Calais, ME
A fabulous way to grill delicious shrimp. The foil pouch helps to steam the shrimp and cooks them quickly. The garlic butter that’s also inside the foil pouch infuses into the grilled shrimp. Easy to prepare, serve the delicious shrimp with rice and a fresh vegetable for a lovely dinner.
Trivia
According to AARP, while tall grasses and wooded areas are prime tick bite locations, in nearly 75 percent of reported Lyme disease cases, bites occurred in people’s own backyards.
Readers’ pet of the day
“Tonkinese cats have many dog-like features and Chloe is very typical of the breed. She is curious, people-oriented, entertaining, a lap-sitter, playful, energetic, affectionate, intelligent and she talks (but not like a Siamese from which it was bred along with a Burmese). In this photo, she sits on a mat on the dashboard of our Tiffin Open Road Allegro.” —Sally Weigand
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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Sally Weigand’s darling cat is going to be seriously injured or even killed when riding like that on the dash when driver has to make a quick stop. It will be thrown into the windshield with severe force. Every time I see otherwise responsible pet owners do this I cringe. Please write an article about dangers to pets riding down the road on the dash.
Well now, that depends on the number of lives still in reserve. No?
The cat will slide a few inches at most before contacting the windshield.
Put kitty “safely” behind them in a carrier and she’ll have the length of the coach and everything in between to slam into and bounce off (E=MC2).
Chloe is fine as long as she doesn’t interfere with the driver. If you’re looking for an excuse to cringe, read up on gas prices…..
Well, no need for drivers to wear harnesses then because their body is only inches from the steering wheel. What could possibly go wrong? As a teenager, back when being restrained in the driver’s seat was “optional,” I personally learned what happens when the vehicle stops suddenly but your body and head continue to move forward those few inches, at full speed.
Hard to believe the negative ratings of Becky’s very valid comment. Even if you are a pet owner that allows the dog or cat to ride on the dash and are somehow offended at the thought of you being responsible for injury, you have to admit that the practice is potentially very dangerous to the animal. It is, after all, pretty basic physics.
Just for fun I ran an impact force calculater. A 6 lb object traveling 6 inches at 30 mph impacting a solid object for 0.1 sec has a peak impact force of 3.212 kN ( kilonewton) or 722.09 pound force.
Mikal, I’m impressed that anyone knows how to calculate that….and super impressed with the answer. Really an eye-opener.
Mikal, I agree that the pile on to Becky’s obvious love and concern for the cat is a bit harsh but it is a cat, with cat like reflexes and cat like spacial awareness, because it is a CAT and not a 6 lb inanimate brick in your calculation. Add in that a Tiffin Open Road does not stop on a dime nor take a corner or change lanes in a fashion to tip a JENGA stack sitting on the dash, let alone a cat. If that cat is at risk then the driver should lose their license.
Like Vince said, and I agree, a cat is safer on the dash than inside of a pet carrier.
However, I do admire Becky for her love and concern for the cat.
Not sure how the rating system on this is working – I checked thumbs up and it advanced the thumbs down count to 5 from 4. Seems a bit unreliable. No pet should be riding on the dash – nor should anything else! A blown front tire or whatever requires rapid maneuvering or braking is going to be a hazard to the pet, article or vehicle occupants. Wonder why seat belts and shoulder straps were installed. I recall a video by the Indiana State Patrol showing a facial tissue box on the back window shelf smash the skull of an occupant in the front seat in a head-on collision. There are also stories and pics of a piece of straw being driven into or thru a tree in tornado winds. Keep the dash clean
Hi, D & J. The rating system shows the “net” between thumbs up and thumbs down. In other words, before your vote it had 5 more thumbs down than thumbs up. When you voted with a thumbs up, the negative vote was reduced to four. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane
Hi Diane: No it was the opposite – it was at 4 and it increased it to 5 negative.
DW.
Oops! Sorry, D & J. I read it backwards. Yeah, that’s weird. Only thing I can think of then is that others were voting at the same time as you were and you were outnumbered.🤔 –Diane
I love the kitty and the description. Wish she lived in our house.
Thank you, Emily, Diane, and Kim! 🙂 I chuckled several seconds upon seeing today’s “laugh.” Chloe is an interesting cat. I had no idea that there are breeds such as hers. What is the furry thing to the left of Chloe? Catnip? Thanks again, have a great weekend, and safe travels! 🙂
We just enjoyed the story and picture of Chloe so much. What a beautiful kitty, and a joy to have! By the way, we loved the barbecue parking space, laugh of the day!😂
Pretty kitty, not getting into the debate on where she is riding. I bought the mystery product of the day last summer & we like it a lot. We use it to print pictures to put in our camping journal. No, the quality isn’t professional level but for the purpose we use it, it is perfect.
We also travel with a cat, however he is always in his carrier behind the front seat when we are driving. A loose pet in the vehicle is as much a distraction as a cell phone when driving.
If you don’t care about yourselves or your pet, please care about the other drivers on the road!
I, too, travel with my cat while pulling my travel trailer. I bought a carrier that fits the entire back seat of my truck. Plenty of room for her to move around.
I’ll bet the cat or dog has a better chance of surviving a crash out of any constraints. Caged in a kennel, seat belt; now a fire starting. Who’s going to have the time and energy to get them out?