Issue 2422
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
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” —Arthur Ashe
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is Cow Appreciation Day!
On this day in history: 1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championships begins.
Tip of the day
These are the home remedies we swear by for bug bite itching
By Gail Marsh
Love spending time outside? You bet! Nothing better, right? Well, except for the mosquitoes! I swear these pesky insects ring their dinner bells to alert all their friends the minute I step outside the RV. I’ve learned to liberally apply insect spray before hiking, picnicking, or any other extended outdoor activity. The thing is, I am in and out of the RV several times a day. And I don’t always remember to spray so I end up with bug bites.
Mosquito bites can be especially frustrating. These pesky insects take a sip of your blood and in exchange give you a bit of their saliva. A mosquito’s saliva contains certain proteins that cause your skin to itch and burn (a mild allergic reaction). My ongoing battle against these pests has driven me to find a variety of home remedies readily available to those of us “on the road.” These tips seem to work (most of the time) for me. Maybe they can help you, too.
Ask Dave
My RV’s flooring is soft. Can I remove the top boards to replace?
Dear Dave,
My RV has a soft spot on the floor near the kitchen and entryway. I was told by a reliable repair shop that the floor is a sandwich of thin plywood and Styrofoam and that there is no structure underneath (unlike a porch) where you can remove the top boards and replace what holds those boards up. Is that true?
I am of a mind to place 3/8″ plywood over the whole area to cover the soft spot since it seems like there is plenty of solid floor around the edges of the soft spot. I love this trailer—everything works in it and I do not want to go out and buy a new one. Any thoughts on why my RV’s flooring is soft and how I can replace it? —Richard, 2015 248RKS Bullet
RV walk-through
2024 ProLite Suite Micro Camper—only 590 pounds!
By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, we join the team from Bloeski’s Wrecking Crew for a tour of the tiny ProLite Suite Micro Camper. This tour is given by the trailer’s owner as he shares his thoughts after owning and using it for the previous year.
Video of the day
How to replace an Airstream rivet in under a minute
By Cheri Sicard
Airstream owners pay attention! In the video below from The Ramblin Hamblins, we get a lesson on how to replace an Airstream rivet. Not only that, but how to do this task in under a minute.
Featured article
Explore real-life places from famous fictional movie and TV locations with your RV
By Lucinda Belden
What places do you have on your bucket list to see in your RV travels? One of the things we enjoy most is seeing Americana at its best. For us, that means traveling to see things like the world’s largest ball of twine, the smallest skyscraper, or the oldest time capsule. People are creative. But have you checked out fictional places (or real places in fictional movies) yet such as restaurants or haunts where characters hung out in movies or television, or were made famous in books? You should consider visiting famous movie and TV locations on your travels.
Reader poll
Do you call your spouse or significant other “Honey”?
Quick tip
You need to know how your RV “measures up”
The importance of knowing how “tall” your RV is can’t be understated. But how to do it? Bob suggests getting a 2×4, a thick piece of Styrofoam, or even firm cardboard. Put your choice up on the top of your air conditioning unit (or whatever the highest point on your RV is), then use a tape measure to measure up to the bottom of the object. That way you’ll have (hopefully) the figure for the tallest point of your RV.
Website of the day
10 Places To Visit Where You Can Always Beat The Heat In the U.S.
Are you hot? So are we. Let’s check out one or two of these cool places in the U.S., shall we?
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Oh, come on! It doesn’t get crueler than this! This would be absolute torture (but pretty funny if you were the one watching…).
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:
• 27 percent would consider themselves to be organized and say that everything they own has its place.
• The majority of readers, 54 percent, have Verizon as a cell phone provider.
• 20 percent say that within the last year, 100 percent of their clothes purchases were online.
Recent poll: How likely will you stay in a campground that involves a 3-mile drive on a dirt road?
Recipe of the day
Chicken With Strawberry Sauce
by Jenny Roberts from Knockemstiff, OH
We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed this chicken with strawberry sauce. While the ingredients are unusual, both sweet and savory, they are delicious together. These chicken breasts would make a nice summer dinner served over rice. Or, slice and top a green salad.
Trivia
The average travel speed in Midtown Manhattan fell to 4½ miles an hour in May, the lowest ever recorded for the month, according to Sam Schwartz, who has tracked traffic trends in the city since the 1970s. Traffic jams cost the U.S. economy $224 billion in time and fuel in 2022, according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, besides creating deadly air pollution. Transportation produces nearly 30% of U.S. emissions —Wall Street Journal
Readers’ pet of the day
“Mercedes (German Shepherd) is loving the RV life. She keeps watch to meet everyone who strolls by with or without a dog. She is our faithful pal.” —Suzanne Bell
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
Watch what happens when a bird discovers it can steal a golf ball and then make it bounce on concrete. Hilarious!
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RVtravel.com All-Star Team
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Living in Naples Florida among mosquitoes, the best immediate itch relief applying rubbing alcohol. Instant relief, alcohol drains the infected area.
Works quite well to quench thirst on a hot day too.
Either a waste of good booze or you’re drinking the wrong stuff.
The mix you put with it maybe as alcohol is dehydrating! Now, a beer on the other hand…… HA
Excellent point!!!
Quick tip
You need to know how your RV “measures up”
Just as important (IMHO) is knowing the overall length of your rig. We’ve had two RVs come into the campground where we workkamp this year and neither knew the real length of their rig. They both claimed 27′ but one was 32′ 5″ and the other was 33′ 7″. That’s more than 5-6′ longer than they thought! Know your rig!!
Many older State campgrounds have 30 feet as a maximum length. Ran into one that listed max length as 25 feet. Actually, because of the size restrictions, nicer, quieter RV parks.
A lot of the manufacturers posted length are confusing, especially if you if use the model number as the length.
I have a 270th. The overall length is 30’10” from the bumper to the coupler. The outside length of the box is about 28′.
The inside measurement is 27′. Normally, if you have a rear spare, it is not included in the overall length.
Now when I reserve a campsite I list it as 35′ length.
We stayed at a KOA in Canada, and put down 31′. The trailer was sticking out on the road and they would not move me to a longer site even though there were ones available during the entire week.
Darn those Canadians.
…And they put cheese curds and gravy on their French fries! 😉
YUM!👍😀 Have a great day, Grumpy and Cancel. 😎 –Diane at RVtravel.com
…My rig is listed as a 27 RQ. In fact it is closer to 30′ and not a rear Queen but a rear double or whatever two skinny beds are called.
Lucy is a 1988, guess the builders haven’t changed their descriptions.
Probably the same engineers who make everything next to impossible to service-reach-Etc.
I call my sweetie sugar booger. Have called her that for 50 years. Makes her smil and shake her head.
Your “Quick Tip” assumes the air conditioner is the tallest point on your trailer. I can tell you on mine, it isn’t. Always measure to the tallest point and never assume.
ACs are usually and predominately the tallest point on a trailer so what’s taller on your specific trailer? Most RV’ers don’t load or have anything taller for safety and wind drag issues.
our satellite dome is taller than the a/c
My fan cover is taller. Go ahead and assume, see what happens.
Folks on here are smart enough to figure that out. Smh.
Even more assumptions.
Apparently you missed this in the tip…
Put your choice up on the top of your air conditioning unit (or whatever the highest point on your RV is).
No, he didn’t. I added that after the fact.😉 Have a good night, Rick and Rick. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Love the Pet of the Day, Mercedes. German Shepherds are great companions and protectors. Ours have traveled across Canada and the U.S with us and loved the RV as their ‘Dog House.’
And great shedders!!!
Love German “Shedders.” Would love to have another, but can’t deal with the hair.
The Quick Tip wasn’t complete. It’s best to measure from the top of the tallest roof top structure to the ground while being connected to the tow vehicle on flat ground and using a level to ensure no induced error by the 2×4.
Thank you, Emily, Diane, and Kim! 🙂 Mercedes looks like a great companion! 🙂 The laugh was funny, so funny that I shared it with DW. 🙂 Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
Just a note on measuring the height of an Rv. If you have a motorhome with air suspension, either all 4 four corners or only the rear, be sure to measure with the unit at road or travel height – not with depleted air bags!
I had not realized how many caves I have visited until I went down the list. My Mother’s great grandparents from Germany homesteaded in South Dakota and lived in a small dug out cave on the property until they could build a sod hut down by the creek bank. As a teenager we visited my great uncle who’s refrigerator was a cave out back of his house.
I have only visited five of the caves. I wonder why Louisiana doesn’t have any caves.