Issue 904 • May 22, 2018
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QUICK TIPS
Fresher-smelling dirty laundry
Dirty laundry smell running you out of the rig between washings? Stick a laundry softener sheet in the pile to counter the odor. You can use the dryer sheet in the dryer when it comes time to dry the newly cleaned clothes.
Have hot water handy all day, while conserving LP
RVer Bill Hall conserves LP, but still keeps hot water available. He found a large coffee urn (45 cups or so) at a yard sale. He keeps it on his galley counter when hitched to shore power. Bill says it’s plenty to keep the dishes clean and for the occasional cup of tea or noodles. He plugs it in first thing in the morning, keeps it topped off throughout the day, and shuts it down at night. Thanks, Bill!
Travel with all RV windows closed on road trips
On road trips, make sure you travel with all RV windows closed. This will help keep fumes outside and prevent dust from entering the living area. In addition, any open rear windows may suck unwanted fumes and odors into the RV. Thanks to Ron Jones, AboutRVing.com.
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New & interesting finds at Amazon.com
See what really cool stuff Amazon is featuring today. It’s a whole lot of fun just browsing through all these great items. The selection changes every day, so check back often. You never know what you will find, which is part of the fun of visiting here. Check it out.
MORE QUICK TIPS
Tip for lining up trailer hitch and ballProblems “seeing” when hitching up your travel trailer? Get two telescoping magnetic part retrievers at a dollar store, and stick/stand one on your ball and the other on the trailer hitch. Just back up keeping the sticks aligned, and when the one on the ball is pushed over, you’re lined up perfectly over the ball. Thanks to Wolfe Rose.
What Canadians might do about nonexistent ZIP code at gas pump in U.S.
Attention, Canadians traveling to the U.S. with credit cards. George Bliss offers the following information: “A reminder for Canadians traveling to the U.S. For security reasons, a lot of gas/diesel pumps in the U.S. require you to enter your billing address Zip Code when using a credit card. In Canada we don’t have Zip Codes but use letters and numbers for our postal codes. So if your postal code is R4S 6L5 you need to enter just the numbers followed by two zeros, as in 46500. This won’t work at all pumps but will 80% of the time.” Thanks to George Bliss for this tip, and to Steve Delany, who added this tip to our Reader Comments section.
Do you have a tip? Send it to Deanna (at) rvtravel.com .
Is your RV sitting in your driveway?
It could be earning you money! Cover the costs of your monthly payments or fund your next trip by renting out your RV. A Class A motorhome, for example, can earn you up to $4,250 a month! Join thousands of happy RV owners who are earning money from their underused vehicles. Find out more at Campanda.com.
WEBSITES OF THE DAY
Waze
Well, it’s an app, but hear us out. Waze is the best app for GPS navigation. Almost like a social network, Waze takes data from real-time users to make your drive as easy as possible. Cops ahead with a radar gun? Waze will tell you! Is there something blocking the left lane ahead? Waze will tell you! If there’s an accident, it will even tell you the speed limit of traffic near the accident. Trust us, you’ll want Waze on your phone.Â
Nomadic Matt
Matt’s website isn’t all about RVing, but he does have some very helpful articles about traveling, and life on the road in general. Highly recommend you give it a read!
Epicurious
Click here for food … need we say more? Epicurious is one of the largest websites about everything food related. Recipes, informative articles, videos … everything!Â
Check out the long list of great RVing-related websites from RVtravel.com.
Save your knees when working under your RV
Do you ever need to reach under your RV to grab something, adjust something, add air to a tire, or remove a leveling block? If you’re parked on dirt, gravel, hot pavement or other uncomfortable surfaces, your knees can take a beating! This kneeler pad, for about $9, will save the day. The RVtravel.com staff uses its pad all the time. Learn more or order.
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LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
A pirate with a peg leg, a hook and an eye patch walked into a bar. “Why the peg leg?” asked the bartender. The pirate said, “I was swept overboard and a shark bit off my leg.” “Wow!” said the bartender. “How did you get your hook?” The pirate replied, “We were raiding a ship and a sailor cut off my hand with his sword.” “Amazing!” said the bartender. “So how did you get the eye patch?” “Got seagull poop in my eye,” answered the pirate. “You lost your eye to that?” asked the bartender. “Well,” said the pirate, “it was my first day with the hook.”
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Best-selling RV products and Accessories at Amazon.com. UPDATED HOURLY.
RV Daily Tips Staff
Editor and Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Associate editor: Deanna Tolliver. Staff writer: Emily Woodbury. Contributing writers: Russ De Maris, Bob Difley, Gary Bunzer, Roger Marble, Mike Sokol, J.M. Montigel and Andrew Robinson. Advertising coordinator: Gail Meyring.
ADVERTISE on RVtravel.com and/or in this newsletter. Contact Gail Meyring at Gail(at)RVtravel.com .
Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We’re just human! So don’t go spending $10,000 on something we said was good simply because we said so, or fixing something according to what we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. Tips and/or comments in this newsletter are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of RVtravel.com or this newsletter.
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Sorry Guys but Waze is a dog-app. Power burner requiring to be continually plugged in & exceedingly beware of alternate routing advice which is meant specifically for commuters & not tall difficult to maneuver vehicles.
I use a top of the line Garmin kept updated & went into the settings adjusted them to fit my criteria.
Really don’t care for your new format. Loved the articles from experts in various subjects. Now all I see is one sentence snippets from other RVers. Wish your articles were back.
I agree that WAZE is a good app but as with any other app, it has it’s limits when used for RV nav. It’s only as good as those that use it. It’s great in the greater Bay Area of San Francisco or in the Dallas Metro. you get far less functionality in, say, Wichita KS. Use in the toad, good. Use in or with the coach, not advised.
We get the pads for kneeling at our dollar store. Better price
Regarding WAZE, it also is a power hog. Keep your device plugged while using. I like it for my toad.
the BIGGEST problem with Waze is – it’s a HUGE power burner. You can almost watch your battery dying as you go down the road. Obviously plugging in your phone is the answer, but still . . .
My old 97 tow vehicle has limited “power points” (still referred to in the manual as cigarette lighters!) and we already have a dash cam, Sirius radio, and our Tom Tom GPS plugged in. It looks like an overturned spaghetti bowl spilling out of our dash . . .
You “tow” vehicle is the one doing the towing. You mean your “towed” vehicle. :>)
I use WAZE in my cars but in my RV I use it as a secondary app to warn of hazards. My primary unit is a GPS app for oversize vehicles for obvious reasons.
Come on Kev tell us about this GPS app that you use in your RV.
Waze is a wonderful crowd-sourced app that works very well for our tow vehicle, but would never ever use it to route us while driving the motorhome. Many times we have been routed through neighborhoods with low hanging branches etc. to avoid traffic ahead……beware!
Read may reply above to Tommy.
Regarding WAZE. While WAZE is a great traffic info resource, it knows nothing about the size and clearance needs of your rig. So use with caution.