Issue 2594
Today’s thought
“Your past experiences will flavour your future ones, that is human nature.” ―Deborah Cater
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Oreo Day!
On this day in history: 1899 – Bayer registers “Aspirin” as a trademark.
Tip of the day
Self-stick hat hooks keep kitchenware in place—brilliant!
We received this email and these photos from reader Kevin S. He wrote, “I was looking for an alternative to the expensive, heavy and space-consuming Rev-A-Shelf drawer peg system for stopping dishes from sliding around while underway.
“I found these self-stick hat hooks on Amazon. They work fantastically and cost a fraction of the Rev-A-Shelf product. Using these you also don’t lose any drawer depth because of a 3/4” plywood base.” Continue reading and see what Kevin did.
Ask Dave
Why do new RV batteries show only 3 of 4 lights green on monitor? Plus update
By Dave Solberg
Dear Dave,
After replacing the two lead acid batteries with deep cycle lead acid, my battery meter only shows three out of four lights green. It was charging at 13.6 when I installed them. Even after a couple days it still shows three out of four lights coming on, indicating it’s three-quarters charged. —Phil, 2018 Heartland Cyclone 4151 Read Dave’s answer plus an update from Phil.
Video of the day
Avoiding the dreaded RV poop pyramid
By Cheri Sicard
It finally happened to the Two Traveling Teachers. I am talking about the dreaded RV poop pyramid. Have you ever experienced this RV black tank problem? If you have, you know. If you haven’t, then you want to avoid it. A poop pyramid happens when solids build up in your RV’s black tank, essentially creating a pyramid of waste. Here’s how to avoid this unpleasant condition.
Featured article
How to determine if oncoming traffic has an advanced green light
By Gail Marsh
RVers are, in general, very careful drivers. We make allowances for our large rigs when braking, changing lanes, and so much more. However, there is one traffic situation that can be difficult to “read.” It’s sometimes hard to know if you’re safe in making a right turn on red because you can’t always tell if the traffic facing you has an advanced green light. I recently discovered the helpful video below. Read more and watch the 3-minute video.
Reader poll
How much water do you drink in one day?
Quick tip
Lean your ladder without damaging your RV
Need to lean your ladder up against your RV siding but afraid of scratching or marring the finish? If you’re working with a ladder that has open rails at the top (like an extension ladder) then grab a pair of work gloves and put them over the top of each rail—make the ladder “wear” them. Still stands secure, but won’t scratch!
On this day last year…
- Ask Dave: Follow-up to “Why do RV slides only work when plugged into tow vehicle…?” Rich found the answer!
- RV walk-through: The new Capri Camper Cowboy truck camper—Built for the apocalypse?
- Video: The absolute BEST WAY to buy an RV and why
- Featured article: Feeling a little… grumpy… in the RV park showers
Website of the day
Drive Weather App
From reader Jim J.: “Drive Weather is my new cross-country pal. Put in start location, end location and dial-in start time. A route will be shown (so far, close to my intended route) with temp, wind and precipitation forecast along the route for the time you are likely to reach that point. You can do the same thing with many weather apps’ daily/hourly settings and picking multiple cities along your route, but this is MUCH faster.” Thanks, Jim!
? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ?
Does your partner have a hard time hearing when you ask them to complete a chore? Do you know someone who has “selective hearing”? Do your grandkids sometimes not listen to your rules? Well, this will solve all those problems! And you’ll laugh like heck about it!
And the survey says…
We’ve polled RVtravel.com readers more than 5,000 times in recent years. Here are a few things we’ve learned about them:
• Out of a list of options, the highest number of voters, 34 percent, said they’d choose to go to a concert or live music event over other live events (like sporting events, a lecture, class, or author reading).
• 51 percent say that when someone asks for their name they feel the need to spell it out for them.
• 72 percent of people say if they could go back in time to the day they bought their RV they’d keep the one they bought and have now. 24 percent said they would’ve bought another RV, and 4 percent said they wouldn’t have bought one at all.
Recent poll: When staying in a luxury RV in a full hookup RV resort, are you camping?
Trivia
Bald eagles have approximately 7,000 waterproof feathers which “zip” together to keep them warm and dry in cold, wet weather.
Readers’ pet of the day
“Molly (Shih-Tzu) was happiest when on someone’s lap, but was a great hunter as well, scaring the squirrel population wherever we traveled. Perfect little dog, left us too soon from cancer.” —Jim Schrankel
Send us a photo of your pet with a short description. No blurry photos and 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
Today’s weather forecast across the nation
Visit Current National Radar Weather Map
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On the quick tip: if you are using your ladder to get onto your roof, it should extend at least a couple of feet above the roof edge, so the gloves will not help.
I use foam pipe insulation on the ladder rails where they contact the edge of the roof.
It’s inexpensive and comes in 6 foot lengths. Cut it to fit between the rungs and replace as needed. Use self-gripping velcro to hold it in place.
As far as the gloves, you can buy heavy foam ladder end covers. They fit tight and stay on the ladder
When using any ladder, it should extend at least 2 full (exposed) rungs above the roof line …3 rungs are actually recommended.
Thank you for the reminder, Wayner! Safe travels!
I use pool noodles on my extension ladder. Cut to length, slit down one side, attach with zip ties. No scraped paint or aluminum smudges.
Yep…so do I. I don’t zip tie them. I just snap them on in the best place. As Wayner states, if you are going to be on the roof, safety dictates the ladder extend above the roof line. Slit pool noodle pieces can be used between rungs, on rungs, on the ends…wherever you need them in different situations.
Thank you for the suggestion, Dan! Safe travels!
I use pool noodles on the ladder to protect the RV, and as Gordon said I always extend the ladder high enough so I can just step onto the roof standing up.
With the help of the IT guru at RV Travel we fixed my inability to post comments. Starlink was blocking “content” posting
Starlink…musk…nuff said.
Starlink is a fabulous system but you need to understand your options on settings. Elon Musk has nothing to do with my settings!!
Amen!
A fine example of T.D.S. with an extra helping of whine.
Now, now. Be Nice! Attitudes are best left in check. Please and thank you.
Welcome back, Engineer! And thanks for explaining what the issue was, in case other folks run into that problem. Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Well, we were close.
It looks like switching networks helped “unstick” the commenting software for you, but others report they have the same issue and do not use Starlink.
The hunt continues but all of the data we can get helps since we can’t replicate the issue on any of our test systems…
Not my imagination- some articles shown as new have been previously published – – I have the suggested product in my Amazon wish list from the earlier publication. I don’t mind if the article is a revised update, but wish it said so.
Hi, Jim, We do republicize older articles every now and again. Most of our articles are brand-new, but with 22,000 articles on our website, some of the older ones deserve a second round of love.
Very sorry for your loss, Jim! 🙁 Thank you, Emily and Diane! Have a great day and safe travels!
Molly was a sweet furry little Angel ❤️🐶. Thank you for sharing her.
Your little Molle was a doll, sorry you lost her too soon. We have a Gizmo, Shih-Tzu. He is 16 1/2 & basically hospice. So hard to say goodbye, they are wonderful little dogs.