Issue 2442
Welcome to RV Travel’s Daily Tips Newsletter, where you’ll find helpful RV-related tips from the pros, travel advice, RV reviews, RV videos, and more. Please consider subscribing for any amount you choose, one time or ongoing, to help us be better tomorrow than we are today.
Today’s thought
“We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Root Beer Float Day!
On this day in history: 1991 – Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet.
Tip of the day
Why you need an extra set of RV keys
By Gail Marsh
It happened to us shortly before sunrise. RVing our way from Missouri to Florida, we faced a very long day of travel. We were ready to lock up the RV and hit the road when we suddenly realized that our keys were missing. We used flashlights to search the ground around our rig and luckily the light reflected off our keys! We could lock it up and be on our way.
As any seasoned RVer knows, life on the road is filled with unexpected twists and turns. One of the most frustrating and potentially trip-derailing situations is losing your RV keys. Whether they slip out of your pocket during a hike or get misplaced in the hustle of packing, lost keys can quickly turn your dream vacation into a horrible nightmare. You need an extra set of RV keys.
Ask Dave
When using generator, why does RV roof air conditioner drain house batteries?
Dear Dave,
I recently installed a battery monitoring system with a 500-amp shunt. It is a Trimetric TM2030 system from Bogart Engineering. I have a battery bank system comprised of four 240-amp lead acid batteries. I moved all my negative cables from the batteries to a 500-amp bus bar then ran a single cable from the bus bar to the negative terminal of my batteries, then another to the 500-amp shunt. Everything works as expected, except the rooftop air conditioner. …
Read the rest of Steven’s question and Dave’s answer
RV walk-through
MDC XT12HR compact overland travel trailer—tiny but feature-full
By Cheri Sicard
In this video, Shane from ROA Off-Road gives us a tour of a great compact off-road travel trailer, the MDC XT12HR. For such a small trailer, only 12 feet in length, it still manages to fit in a full wet bath and a queen-sized bed!
Click here to read more and tour
Video of the day
How to fix and prevent clogged RV toilets
By Cheri Sicard
Is your RV toilet clogged? In the video below, Josh the RV Nerd, one of the winners of our 2024 RV video awards, talks about an important, albeit disgusting, topic: How to prevent and fix clogged RV toilets.
Featured article
Illuminating the fascinating history of the traffic light
By Gail Marsh
As RVers, we rely on them. They are one of the best ways to prevent traffic accidents and to keep motorists moving smoothly on the roadways today. But did you ever wonder how it happened? How was the traffic light invented in the first place? I wondered about that, too.
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Reader poll
Do you use your RV as an office for a job?
Quick tip
Leveling board reminders
If you level your rig with boards, it’s critical that the entire tire be supported on the board. If the tire “overhangs” the board, it can damage the tire structure. A 2 x 6 often is big enough, and it’s an easy find at the lumber yard. Redwood is light, but not always easy to find.
Website of the day
How to Maintain & Extinguish Your Campfire
This helpful and well-designed page on smokeybear.com is a great resource. Now more than ever it’s important to know how to maintain a proper campfire (when allowed), and once you’re done for the evening, know how to put it out.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Now don’t take offense, but we need to tell you something… you suck. You really do. But don’t worry, this will help!
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:
• 32 percent say they never “dreamed” of owning an RV. They just decided they wanted to do it one day and went out and bought an RV!
• 21 percent have owned six or more RVs in their lifetime.
• 13 percent have visited a zoo or an aquarium within the last six months.
Recent poll: How old were you when you first learned to drive?
Recipe of the day
Grilled Coconut Chicken
by Ashley Muller from Chandler, AZ
This is a fantastic way to up the flavor in chicken breasts. The coconut milk marinade makes the chicken moist and flavorful. Once grilled, the chicken is so tender you can cut it with a fork. You taste hints of the nutmeg and cardamom from the marinade. We love the crunch from the toasted coconut in each bite. It’s sweet, salty, and savory. Yum!
Trivia
The first Chocolate Chip Cookie was actually made by accident in Whitman, Massachusetts, in an inn called the Toll House. In 1938, Ruth Graves Wakefield one day planned on making regular chocolate cookies but got the great idea of throwing chunks of a chocolate bar into it. Much to her surprise, the chocolate did not mix well with the cookie and instead, it filled up with tasty chunks of chocolate. This fortunate turn of events led to the emergence of the Chocolate Chip Cookie and the birth of the Toll House company.
Readers’ pets of the day
“Fiona, Niki and Ellie, Miniature Schnauzers and Mini Dachshund. This is the girls’ first time camping in our new 14MS! I’ve made a list of things we will still need to get, including another box of fence panels for their yard!” —Nadara Feldman
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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Use 2×8 lumber for leveling pads; only a little more cost but tire will be protected.
Yes, and also support BOTH dual wheels.
This is what I have been using for 25+ years. I cut 2 sizes some 12″ and some 18″ long and I cut a 45 degree bevel on each end. You can also take 3/8″ plywood and glue and screw to these to make them last longer and avoid splitting.
Most black tank treatments/tools require driving to agitate. What if you are at least seasonally stationary? Have you seen a jeweler’s ultrasonic cleaner? Does anybody make a black tank attachment to simulate driving using ultrasonic waves? My thinking is it would help solids sitting in liquid turn into a more easily flushed slurry.
Jim, here is an opportunity for you to stay up all night and invent this ultrasonic ‘shaker’. I actually like the idea.
It is a good idea, I agree with Tommy. It could be done like a bed at a Best Westen circa 1965, just no quarter. A tank wrapped in an vibrating and insulated blanket with a 10 minute timer or simply a vibrating puck mounted on all 4 sides of the tank.
Having used an ultrasonic cleaner in my dental practice I think you would need one hell of a transducer to create enough energy to work through the mass of the black tank and it wouldn’t be cheap.
From the dentist’s office to the RV black tank. Hmmm. Ultrasonic cleaners are also used to clean small engine carburetors though. I think a big enough unit to work on black tanks would also vibrate the cabinets off the RV walls.
Turn on the tank cleaning system on the way to bed. Sleep like a kitten and wake up with clean teeth. Maybe?
Lol
I haven’t gotten my Members edition of this newsletter for several days. Why not?
Good morning, Peter. I’ve just checked our records and they show that the Subscribers Edition of the weekend newsletters were sent to you this past weekend and that you opened them. There is no Subscribers Edition of the weekday newsletters, if those are the ones you’re referring to. Thank you very much for being a subscriber. We appreciate it, and we appreciate YOU!👍 Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you for your reply. Now I understand. Have a great week!
You’re welcome, Peter. I am having a great week, and I hope you do, as well. 😀 –Diane
Thank you, Emily and Diane! 🙂 Today’s pet picture is adorable! They all appear to get along well. 🙂 Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
The dogs are beautiful. I’ve had schnauzers and they are the most personable ones. Mine were never away from my side. Heidi was 16 and Abbey was 9 when they passed.
Now I have a cat who showed up on my porch, came in and stayed. I found out that she was a Maine Coon when I took her to the Vet. Now she acts like a dog as she walks with me or is on my lap when I’m sitting.
I do not cook, therefore I do not suck at cooking.
“We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.” ―Leo Tolstoy
Who knew?? Sargent Schultz -“I know NOTHING.” – was at the highest degree of human wisdom. I always tried to convince my wife that I was watching intellectual TV.
I’m sitting here outside at a campsite, near 6900′ elevation with a cooling breeze, 80 degrees out and with a cold beer in my hand. Reading today’s edition is like icing on top of the cake. So nice to be out again!!
Yay, Bill!!! Sounds perfect! You and your wife have more than earned it.👍 Have a good evening/night. 🤗 –Diane
Will do, thanks! 😃
My RV toilet did back up. I called a septic company who charged me 150 to completely clean out the system. So for that price I much prefer them to me. Although this does come in handy to keep the guy from having to come back out even though small businesses do need the business.