Issue 932 • July 10, 2018
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QUICK TIPS
Scheduled roof maintenance pays dividends
Having a schedule of physically inspecting your RV roof every six months is a good idea. Left unrepaired, roof tears or bad sealant around roof openings can let water get through, right down to that chintzy particle board or other roof substrate. Left long enough, water can infiltrate the sidewalls. Mold, mildew and huge repair expenses are the only outcome. Get up there and clean the roof with mild soap and water. Some RVers apply a protectant, too. Check all the seals around vents, antennas and end-caps.
Have a knife day!
With electricity expert Mike Sokol
A good sound tech (and RVer) always has a folding pocket knife handy for quick cutting and slicing chores. One of my favorite (and affordable) knives is the Gerber E-Z Out Skeleton Blade. It flicks open easily with a simple wrist motion (like throwing a Frisbee, just don’t let go) and locks securely in place. If the Gerber folder is too big for your pocket, there are smaller folders that still get the job done. Here’s what I got myself for when I’m in formal wear (yes, sometimes I have to wear a tuxedo when I’m doing sound for dignitaries). If security allows it this is what I tuck in my pants pocket: a Kershaw Shuffle II with a locking blackened blade. It includes a lanyard loop and bottle opener, so it’s also great for fishing trips since you can tie it off to your belt so it won’t drop in the lake. And we all know what to do with a bottle opener, don’t we?
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Answer to today’s email alert brain teaser: Corn!
MORE QUICK TIPS
Keep the “floaters” out of your fridge
And with apologies to one of our readers (your trusty editor lost his/her name), here’s a thought on keeping your refrigerated goods from “floating around.” “Instead of bars holding your food stuff in your fridge, consider purchasing clear plastic bins. With the bins, you can organize your common items, you can pull out the bins to select the item in the back of the bin without having to shuffle through other stuff to get to it, and lastly, you can insure that everything will stay in place during travel without the worry of something falling out when you open the door(s).” Thanks – whoever you are!
Know your own whereabouts
When you get into a new RV park or boondock site, it’s not a bad idea to jot down information on your location, including site number, park phone number, GPS coordinates, etc. If an emergency pops up during your stay, this information might pop out of your mind. A small dry-erase board mounted where you can easily find it makes a great place for this critical information.
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The perfect picnic table tablecloth
I bet you can’t guess how many of your fellow RV park neighbors will be impressed with this very cool tablecloth. You can’t guess because it will be too many to keep track of! But what fun! The tablecloth is 82 inches by 54 inches — perfect for most picnic tables. If you’re the RVer who has everything, well. . . you don’t really have everything, unless you have this. Learn more or order for less than $20.
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Editor and Publisher: Chuck Woodbury. Managing editor: Diane McGovern. 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. Marketing director: Jessica Sarvis.
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I’m a died in the wool charcoal guy. But, we’ve run into SO many places (the whole state of AZ for instance) where no open flames of any kind are allowed. I finally ‘threw in the towel’ and just take my cheezy propane grill (Wally World special). It’s a cheapy but it gets the job done.
Mike, I have found the perfect pocket knife for RVers it’s the Leatherman Squirt P4. It has everything you need for quick fixes. Pliers with wire cutter, knife, file (coarse and fine) , screwdrivers, and a bottle opener. It is well made and has a lifetime warranty.
Yes, that’s another nice one. I have the original Leatherman multi-tool which I bought probably 30 years ago, and it’s great with a leather belt case. They advertised that the serrated blade could cut through the aluminum skin of an airplane if you crash landed and needed to get out quickly. I never had the chance to try that out, and I’m not hoping to anytime soon. I also have a new Leatherman Skelatool which is really thin and fits in my pocket without leaving a big bulge. As you can probably tell, I really like my folding pocket knives and nearly always have one of them stuck in my pocket. That way when someone says “I need a blade” I can step right up and get it cut.
I just bought a cuisine art griddler. It has 2 sets of plates that griddles, grills, makes waffles and I found it at bed bath and beyond for one heck of a steal with my 20% off coupon. This is really nice if you don’t want to use your stove or fire up the barbie. I have made the waffles and used the grill part. If you want something convenient get this little deal. Much nicer then a George Foreman which to me looked flimsy compared to the cuisine art. I had to post this because I use my toaster oven for baking and now this? Wow. I don’t have a huge camper, just something small tow but yet able to use it like a small apartment. Eventually the television will be installed but for now? Getting ready to retire and hit the road.
I agree with you that what we do in our RVs is no longer “camping.” But it’s more than “parking.” So, I suggest a new word, using those two words, to denote what we do. I don’t think “carping” sounds as good as “pamping.” The latter also implies that we are more pampered than those in tents.
Full-time in a Winnebago Navion J
Why am I unable to see the Readers’ Survey anymore?
Sorry, Diane. It might just be that your security settings are too high (which is a good idea!) to let it open. You might just be able to click on the shield in Firefox or a similar ISP and choose “allow for this session.” Or you can back off your security settings one notch. We’re working on making the polls accessible for everyone. We apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime. I hope this helps. —Diane at RVtravel.com
Steve Barnes, Kamloops, BC
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We take 2 business cards from park desk for our wallets. Like authors suggestion to record site number and coordinates. Also put a date on back of card. Emergency Services will appreciate it.
Add to the knowing your whereabouts to know what county you are in so that when a severe weather alert comes across your smartphone you will know if it applies to you.
Also, if boondocking, note the name of the forest, park, or BLM land on which you are camping, directions to the campsite, plus the name, location, and phone # of the nearest ranger station. (And if you have over-the-air communication devices, get frequencies, handles, etc. so you can make contact that way if needed). I also keep a written description and identification of my RV (including how to recognize it from the air), and my own ID details, medical conditions, and description written on the white board inside my RV and in my Iphone. I also keep my emergency contact information in both places. In an emergency, we may be so stressed we can’t remember or find that information, or a medical condition or injury may affect our communication ability. We may never need it, but better safe than sorry.
Play store app for cell phones: Where am I.
Give it a try.
AMEN brother!
The “floaters” tip is a great idea for the bottom glass shelf above the drawer, but be careful about blocking too much circulation on the wire shelves. Cold air needs to move downward from the fins. I used to put the eggs on the top shelf next to the fins, but if too close they will freeze. Live and learn.
Thought the same thing about air circulation but the baskets with open venting will serve to contain your rolling items!!
We generally use a Coleman gas grill, but will sometimes grill over a campfire. It’s not grilling, but since we are more morning people, we love to cook breakfast in a cast iron skillet over a morning campfire. Perfect place to sit on a crisp morning with a cup of coffee too.
Nothing like doing bacon and eggs over an open campfire. After those come out of the frying pan I fry my bread in the hot grease. It is so good. When eating it you can actually hear your arteries clogging up.
We use both, an option that wasn’t provided in the survey.
Accordingly to where we are and how I feel, we might use Charcoal, Wood, Propane, and or Electric to cook our dinner. I carry grills for each
We carry options for all of the above as well! I also noticed this was not an option given on the poll.
Wanted to drop a line and say thanks, the RV Tips is ‘short n sweet’ but oh so pertinent. Keep on keepin’ on!