America’s Original RV Newsletter. Since 2001
Issue 2878 • New issue every weekday
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Today’s thought
“I’m a big cockeyed optimist. I try to accentuate the positive as opposed to the negative.” —Betty White
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Empanada Day!
On this day in history: 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
Tip of the day
10 smart ways to repurpose empty tissue boxes
By Gail Marsh
RVers are always on the lookout for clever storage solutions and creative hacks. Before you take your boxes to be recycled, consider these ten unique ideas to give your tissue boxes a second life. These are really smart!
RV review
Earth First Campers Tag-Along—The $5,000 “Swiss Army Knife” of pop-up campers
Most budget campers cut out extra features to hit a low price, but Earth First Campers Tag-Along goes the other way. It stays small, light, and garage-friendly, yet still packs in a bathroom, hot water, storage, a sink, a cooler, and even a propane fire pit. That mix is why the Tag-Along gets called the “Swiss Army Knife” of campers. Check it out.
BUMPER SNICKER: “If it’s not broke, we haven’t used it enough yet.”
In the RV shop with Dustin
How an RV suspension works, plus upgrade tips
In this “What’s In The Shop?” video, Zach takes you along to inspect a typical fifth wheel RV suspension system. He explains the typical suspension system and gives examples of suspension upgrades and the benefits of having them. During this inspection, he found a worn shackle link that was almost broken. If this were to come loose during travel, it could cause serious damage to the unit and those behind you. You do not want this to happen to your RV!
Article and video
How to safely connect an RV at home—power, water, and sewer
An RV gets a lot more useful when it has full hookups at home. Here, Jared Gillis from All About RVs shows how power, sewer, and water can turn a parked rig into a guest space, a trip-prep station, or an easy place for extra living or office space. Jared’s at-home RV setup looks a lot like a small RV site, but he also points out lower-cost options that still cover the basics. This is a great hookup “starter kit”.
Featured article
Has your RV refrigerator cooling unit gone bad?
High on the list of RVer nightmares is this one: Opening the refrigerator door to grab a “cool one,” and coming back with something warm. An RV refrigerator that’s lost its cool just isn’t funny. While some fridge problems aren’t too difficult to fix, a bad cooling unit is decidedly a “bad news” situation. How do you know if your cooling unit is shot? Read all about fridge cooling units here.
THE MORE YOU KNOW… Lobsters can still die from disease or predators, but aging itself doesn’t increase their risk of death. That’s because they produce an enzyme called telomerase, which helps protect their DNA from damage as their cells divide—allowing them to keep growing and potentially live indefinitely.
Ask Dave
What tools are still made in America?
Reader poll
When RVing, do you collect souvenirs?
Keep your Blackstone/griddle good-as-new
This simple griddle cleaning kit helps RVers keep their flat-top grills in great shape trip after trip. With scrapers, scouring pads, and a pumice grill stone, it quickly removes grease, burnt bits, and buildup without scratching the surface. Clean before and after cooking, and your griddle will last longer—and be ready for the next campsite breakfast. Learn more about cleaning your Blackstone in Gail Marsh’s article here, or buy this griddle kit here.
Quick tip
Check the wiring behind your refrigerator
Linda posted this in our Comments: “I just want to give everyone a heads up on a safety issue. Our fridge died after 11 years in our 2011 Bighorn. We decided to replace it with a residential fridge. When we pulled it out, we found two electrical lines, one for the microwave and the other for the kitchen counter outlet, running behind the fridge. Both lines had been leaning on something hot at the back of the fridge, as they were both burnt through to the copper. The fridge had never been run on propane. Given that fridge fires seem to be a concern in RVs, maybe it’s not the fridge, per se, but the electrical wiring. It would be worth it to check out what’s going on back there.” Thank you, Linda!
On this day last year…
- Ask Dave: Why does toaster oven trip the GFCI in RV bathroom?
- Article & video: Five clever camping beds you can build for a custom sleeping space
- Featured article: This is one way to NOT haul your ORV—Youch!
EVER WONDER… what would happen if you got into an accident, needed medical help, or both while on the road? Here’s a tough look at that reality when you’re far from “help”.
Website of the day
50 Best Motorcycle Roads in America
Did you know that about 22 percent of our readers own a motorcycle? That’s quite a few of you! If you own one, check out these incredible drives to take with yours.
Trivia
In pioneer times, if an arm or leg was seriously wounded or badly broken, it would have to be cut off. There were no serious painkillers for the operation, so patients were given a bullet to bite on so they wouldn’t scream. Today, “bite the bullet” means to accept an unpleasant situation with courage.
? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ?
We couldn’t pick just one (you’ll see why), but these will really come in handy! Ooooh, boy. These things really make us excited to hit the road! And there are so many to choose from!
Readers’ pet of the day
“This is Plum (Jack Russell Terrier Mix, age 5), my daughter’s dog. Plum is always dressed for the occasion. This is at a ‘Pup Crawl’ in Boston leading up to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day.” —David Plummer
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!
LIVE: Mission to the Moon
As bandwidth allows, this stream will feature live views from Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft, without commentary, as it makes its journey around the Moon. You will see a blue screen if there is a loss of signal, or if the bandwidth is needed for mission activities. You may see what appears to be a black screen when the vehicle is in darkness.
Leave here with a laugh
Today’s weather forecast across the nation
THIS MAP UPDATES TWICE A DAY
Visit Current National Radar Weather Map
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RVtravel.com All-Star Team
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Plum is just adorable, and I love the outfit. I can’t say I have seen a better St. Patrick’s day outfit this has got to be the best. Keep on camping.
Such a good pup, so cute! Plum would love to see your wardrobe.
The “Hang an egg carton in your front yard..” dominated the Tips newsletter. Ads drive me crazy!
Linda posted about the burnt wiring behind her gas/electric rv fridge. In order for an rv fridge to work, those tubes have to be hot to circulate the ammonia solution. If the wires were trapped under the boiler tubes for ll years the insulation would still get burnt.
Ah yes, biting a bullet. And let’s not forget they were biting on something softer than brass – lead. Most folks today understand that is decidedly an unhealthy thing to do. Fortunately, even back then, most of the time people would be offered a leather strap to clamp down on to protect their teeth and perhaps tongue.
If I was plum I would be ashamed to be seen out in that outfit.
I thought he was trying to pee.
RE: On this day in history…
If Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin can sell war bonds, why not Robert De Niro and Bruce Springsteen?