Issue 2429
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Today’s thought
“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Tropical Fruit Day!
On this day in history: 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
Tip of the day
What’s ready to fall off your RV?
By Dave Helgeson
What’s ready to fall off your RV? More specifically, what is ready to fall off from under your RV?
A couple of recent summers we set out with our RVing friends for an extended RV trek. Both trips almost ended as soon as they started.
During the summer of 2020, we were on our way to boondock and explore the Blue Mountains of Northeast Oregon. After spending one night in transit to our first destination, we pulled off at a rest area near La Grande, Oregon. We needed to dump our holding tanks and fill our freshwater tanks to the brim as we would be boondocking for days on end. Upon filling my freshwater tank to overflowing, I pulled up and parked off the side of the road so our friends could do the same. That’s when I noticed the torrent of water pouring from underneath my travel trailer.
Ask Dave
RV’s issues not covered by Camping World extended warranty. Have we been ‘CW’d’?
Dear Dave,
We took our unit into Camping World for what we thought would be a few minor warranty-covered items. First time out was a couple of weekends ago, after dewinterizing, and we had the following issues. Camping World is telling us it is over $5K to fix and is NOT covered under our extended warranty. …
Read Wendi’s questions and Dave’s answers
RV walk-through
2023 Thor Scope 18G small Class B van—long weekends and around town
By Cheri Sicard
In this video, we join Steve from Thor Motorcoach for a tour of the 2023 Thor Scope 18G, a small, budget-friendly (relative to others in its class), Class B camper van.
This camper van is small enough to be your around-town vehicle as it fits in any parking space. Nonetheless, it packs in all the comforts of home for when you want to take off on a trip, or even have a comfortable ride for day trips and activities.
Video of the day
How to make a fruit platter with WOW factor for your next potluck!
By Cheri Sicard
Get ready to WOW the crowds at your next potluck and it won’t take a lot of time to do so. In the video from EasyPeasyKitchen, we learn how to make a professional fruit platter. With summer’s fruits filling the markets, the timing is perfect.
Click here to read more and watch
Featured article
Your ice maker could be growing mold. Make sure you clean it!
By Dale Wade
Ah, spring has arrived. We pulled the RV out of storage for this year’s maiden voyage. As I went through the spring checklist, I came across “Check the ice maker.” I pulled it out of the box, opened it up, and found black mold around the inside edges. Whoa. Let’s clean that portable ice maker.
Reader poll
Towable owners: What type of vehicle do you tow with?
Quick tip
A battery fill solution for close quarters
“The standard battery service bottle doesn’t work in my Bounder 38N battery compartment—too tall. I use a squirt bottle with a nozzle, attaching a length of 1/4″ vinyl tubing to the spray port. I add the distilled water by placing the tube in the service opening and pumping the spray nozzle. I use a flashlight and mirror to check the level.” Thanks to Phil A.
On this day last year…
- Ask Dave: What can I do to restore faded fiberglass and damaged RV decals?
- RV walk-through: First look: 2024 Jayco Redhawk 29XK Class C Motorhome
- Video: Simple and ingenious: Secret DIY RV storage solution
- Featured article: Ghost Town Trails – Tunnel Camp, Nevada
Website of the day
Best U.S. State Fairs
Ready for a state fair? We are! This list from the Travel Channel lists the best ones across the U.S. See you there!
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Are you hungry? Good. Oh, you’re not hungry? That’s okay, you will be! We love these!
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:
• 37 percent have a dash cam on their RV or tow vehicle.
• 19 percent buy their clothes based on price, not on quality. Only 10 percent buy their clothes based on quality, not price, and the remaining 69 percent say both are equally important when buying clothes.
• 81 percent enjoy visiting offbeat roadside attractions.
Recent poll: Do you worry about breaking down with your RV in the middle of nowhere?
Recipe of the day
Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
by Grace Pulley from Gillette, WY
Love the flavors of chicken cordon bleu but not the work? Then this casserole is for you. It’s filled with chicken cordon bleu flavors, but it’s an easy-to-put-together dinner. There’s tang from the Dijon, a bit of smoky flavor from the ham, and it’s filled with chicken. Thanks to the cream of chicken soup and Swiss cheese, it’s super creamy. On top, the Panko/butter mixture forms a tasty little crust. This is very filling so you won’t need any sides. An easy dinner casserole.
Trivia
Demographic data reveals that young male drivers are particularly at risk for being involved in fatal accidents, with 84% of speeding-involved fatalities involving males predominantly aged 16-25.
Readers’ pet of the day
“Our ‘Stowaways’ (Bluey, Sea B [from Seaborn], Swirl, Digger and Durban aka ‘Spot’) go on all our RV trips. No food, no plastic bag, no walking in the rain.” —Andrew Vactor
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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RVtravel.com All-Star Team
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Be careful “who or what” you are poking and carry a very long stick.
My kind of pet, they don’t bark, or poop and pee allover the campground. Some campgrounds smell like a kennel.
Battery(ies) in space too tight to easily check water level? Switch to AGM (maintenance free) – really they don’t cost much more, have same power and lifespan. Only maintenance is proper recharging and periodically checking capacity for eventual replacement. Really a great idea if your RV is stored remotely and the battery(ies) are on a maintenance charger.
Or purchase a battery watering system which consists of a series of tubes going to replacement battery caps and a squeeze bulb with a tube dipped into a container of distilled water. A few squeezes and all cells are filled to the appropriate level without having to visually check them. Costs about $60; worth every penny!
Since we removed our cast iron skillet from a former TT decades ago, cast iron is only used at home. It was one of our weight reduction moves.
What an adorable group of pets to travel with.
My “pet” would get along great with yours. He’s a beanie baby mouse, who guards my computer. 🙂
From a camp host perspective, the identified Pets of the Day are PERFECT. No incessant barking, no indignant owners, no “crap” left behind! (Just removed at least 8 lbs of dog crap from a campsite that had 3 large dogs, and the owners [here only 3 days] obviously thought it was beneath them to pick up after their damn dogs)! You are welcome to leave your dogs at home…
I really hate it when a few bad apples ruin things for the rest of us. We camp with dogs (down to 1 old man pup now) & pick up the poo left by previous camper plus our own dogs, even if we are boondocking. There are some of us that are responsible pet people. Sorry for the mess you had to deal with, that is disgusting & just wrong.
I don’t believe the so called “data” about Male drivers. While there are many kids who like to hot rod…didn’t we?…I have seen way too many wrecks caused by women drivers…especially when they can’t seem to put the cell phone down.
😮
The phones are the biggest problem, male and female. I’ve seen my neighbors daughter get on her phone as soon as she gets in the car. she’s only been driving for a few months. Distracted driving causes more accidents than speeding. Maybe not fatalities, but who knows when one will happen.
Thank you, Emily, Diane, and Kim! 🙂 Andrew has the right idea of traveling pets; no food, water, pills, sickness, or death with his bunch. 🙂 Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels regardless of mode, and safe stays! 🙂
Got it!👍 Thanks, Neal. Have a great rest-of-the-day. (I’ll be walking this evening after the sun gets off the track aka “rotisserie.”🥵) 😀 –Diane
Although the pets of the day are cute, sweet little stuffed animals, nothing compares with the excitement and the thrill of letting my dog know she’s going for a walk, letting her smell all the wonderful plants and things around as we walk and see her excitement. It just makes our day we’re so happy for her and she loves it so much you do every morning and every evening.