Issue 2472
Today’s thought
“Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you.” ―
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Monte Cristo Day! Does that sound good to you? Here’s a delicious recipe for one.
On this day in history: 1787 – The United States Constitution is signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, bringing the Constitutional Convention to an end.
Tip of the day
Are slide awnings a necessity or a waste of money?
By Gail Marsh
We’re not sure what to do. Our first RV had them. We’ve had three RVs since, all without them. I’m talking about slide awnings or slide-out toppers. No matter what you call them, people have very definite opinions concerning these covers.
We’ve had our current fifth-wheel RV for two years so you might be wondering why this topic is just coming up. Here’s what happened: We were in Florida last year parked under a mahogany tree. (FYI, the fruit of a mahogany tree is a very large, rock-hard nut. Sometimes when a mahogany tree’s nut falls from the tree, the shell cracks and breaks upon impact.) Well, when we arrived home from Florida, we traveled to Iowa. Upon opening the slides, you guessed it, broken mahogany seed pod pieces slid out. We’re not sure how we were able to successfully retract the slide and then extend it again without incident. But it certainly made us stop and think about awnings for our slide-outs.
RV walk-through
Tour the 2024 Thor Luminate DD35: Biggest kitchen in a Class A
By Cheri Sicard
If you are in the market for a Class A motorhome with a BIG kitchen, join Matt and Andrea from Matt’s RV reviews for a 2024 Thor Luminate DD35 tour. As usual, Matt is “super excited” to share this tour with you. Last year was the first for this particular motorhome, but Thor came out with a new floor plan for ’24 that features one of the best kitchens Matt has ever seen in a motorhome. And Matt has seen A LOT of motorhomes. Check it out.
Ask Dave
Is it safe to drive with propane on in RV?
Dear Dave,
We’ve always traveled with the propane “on” for the RV refrigerator. Now people are telling us it is unsafe. Yikes! Please advise, and thank you! —Rebecca, 2011 30′ Classic Airstream Read Dave’s answer.
Video of the day
How to make a travel scrapbook and preserve your RV memories
By Cheri Sicard
The memories you and your family make while RVing can undoubtedly last a lifetime. What better way to preserve those memories than by creating a travel scrapbook of your adventures? It’s a fun activity that leaves you with a priceless personal family souvenir. In this video, Grace of Grace on Tour shares her methods for creating a beautiful travel scrapbook. This is easy and fun!
Featured article
How can I know if RVing is right for me?
By Gail Marsh
A would-be RVer recently posted a question on Facebook. Chip said, “My wife is all hyped up about RVing. She’s ready to buy an RV and take it traveling immediately because we’re both recently retired. I like to think I’m a little more pragmatic. I mean, we’ve never even talked about RVing. She says I’m a stick in the mud. What do you think?” Oh, Chip. Where to begin? Continue reading.
Quit struggling with hose and cable hookups at the campsite
Are you tired of struggling to hook up your coax cables, water hoses and other connections when you arrive at your campsite? It’s a snap with Cable and Hose Grips from J Wright Concepts. Save time and frustration! Life is too short to hassle with the little stuff! Learn more or order.
Reader poll
Do you answer phone calls from unknown callers?
Quick tip
Simple way to fill your coach battery cells
Are your coach batteries difficult to reach to fill the cells? Head off to the drug store and pick up a water bottle with an “enema” hose and fitting. Fill the water bottle with distilled water, hook up the hose with the shut off clip. Now lead the “business end” of the hose to each cell and use the shut off to open/close the fill-up flow.
Website of the day
The ultimate Route 66 road trip
Get your kicks ready and get on down to Route 66! This guide is a good place to start.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Betcha never thought you could fit one of these in your RV, did you? This is pretty neat, we must admit. Get ready to jam out (but maybe quietly if you’re in a crowded RV park…).
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:
• 11 percent have stayed in more than one national park campground within the past year. An additional 9 percent have stayed in one.
• 74 percent say they would continue traveling in their RV if their partner died.
• 54 percent say they put in a lot of effort to make sure they recycle.
Recent poll: Would you sell your RV right now for a good price?
Trivia
We haven’t tried this, so take this bit of trivia with a grain of salt. Rumor has it that if you empty a can of Coca-Cola into your washing machine along with your usual detergent, it will lift all stains (including those from grease and even blood!) from your clothes. Anyone brave enough to try it?
Readers’ pets of the day
“French Bulldog rescues who have the same mom but different dads. Inseparable usually, but when one gets more attention than the other there can be a squabble, but nothing major. Ducky (the black and tan) has a sweet nature and is the leader, while Dolly (the sable) is more adventurous and happy to tag along.” —Alistair McDonald
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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Gail’s link did not work.
It says “No posts to display”
Tried the coca-cola thing and didn’t work
When searching the Internet for Coca Cola in a washing machine to clean stains on clothes I got many hits. It’s true!
well, if you found it on the internet…it must be true then.
The link for the article on slide toppers doesn’t seem to work.
Todays Trivia reminded me that many years ago that Coke would remove paint from a car!
Snoopy
Yeah, and take rust off of bumpers (when bumpers were made of steel).
I use a turkey baster to fill my battery cells, it works well for me
I do the same, although not the same one in the kitchen.
My husband has a turkey baster in the garage to fill battery cells.
Our apologies, readers. The link to Gail’s post on slide awnings has been fixed. Danged gremlins! Sorry for the inconvenience. Have a great day! 😀 -Diane at RVtravel.com
IMO best way to refill battery cells with distilled water is to not do it. For very little more money I buy AGM (maintenance free) batteries. They are 100% interchangeable with flooded acid batteries, and typically have less post corrosion. Personally I have saved money because I don’t have cells low on water that kills batteries sooner, so AGM batteries (for me) last longer. I also don’t have tools in the bay for filling batteries, nor that jug of distilled water.
I feel like if that coke thing works laundry detergent companies would have added some formulation of what makes it work to their detergent.
I would think that Coke would be making detergent if it really worked. I’m not sure that I want to add sugar and coloring to my wash, to get blood out of my white shirt.
Thank you, Emily and Diane! 🙂 Additional thanks to Diane for so quickly removing the gremlin that prevented Gail’s article from loading. Especially so, given the time zone differences. 🤔😯 DW seems to view stains as bad things rather than signs of past achievements, so I will try the Coke supplement and see if I live or not. 😉 Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
You’re welcome, Neal. Thank you for, as usual, “having my back” and notifying me of the issue. Always very much appreciated.👍 Have a good night.🤗 –Diane
You’re very welcome, Diane! 🙂 😊🤗 Good night! 🙂 😊🤗