It’s Saturday morning March 28, 2020, as I write this to share with you. The Coronavirus continues to spread across our nation and has to a great degree halted or adjusted our RV travel plans. I myself am hoping to ‘hit the road’ VERY soon and I wanted to share my thought process with you.
Reviewing the main points I raised in my video above – before setting out ‘on the road’, ask yourself, are you safe where you are now? The answer to that question may greatly determine whether you choose to head out.
IF you do choose to travel by RV, I’m asking myself the following –
If you get sick enroute, how will you fare at your new destination? Will the campground be open? (Check KOA.com for a list of closings of their campgrounds – and for some indication of areas/regions that may have more widespread closings of campgrounds.) How will you be received upon your arrival (by the locals)?
What about medical care, prescriptions, etc.
Personally, I have medishare (Christian health sharing) which includes free tele-health sessions with doctors (video or phone.) I’ve used this service in the past to get prescriptions which can be called into a local pharmacy (anywhere in the U.S.) That will be my “first line of defense” (as long as I have a phone/internet signal.) I’m also optimistic about the potential for hydroxychloroquine to be a real solution in case I get sick. I’m looking forward to reports of its use in NY State (and elsewhere) as it was shipped to NY State hospitals on Gov. Cuomo’s request and I believe the first patients received it last Tuesday (March 24.)
Places to AVOID when traveling by RV…
As noted in my video, here is an INTERACTIVE MAP that is updated real-time to see where reported cases exist. Using this mapping tool, you can zoom in to various regions of the United States to see where hot spots exist.
Personally, I’d advise you CALL AHEAD and find out if campgrounds are open and if visitors are welcome in the area you plan to visit. I know that tourist locations like Moab, Utah and the Outer Banks of North Carolina are already closed to visitors.
You probably want to avoid regions under a “stay at home” orders – at a minimum, call the State Police for the state you plan to pass through that is under such an order to see if you’re even allowed to travel into or through that state. I’m in Idaho and I’ve already consulted with the county Sheriff to ensure I can leave Idaho with my trailer and enter Wyoming (which is NOT at this time under such an order.)
Traveling for Business? Consider purchasing OR renting an RV Camper
As I mentioned in the video above, I offer a Concierge RV Buying Service that can help you to get the RIGHT camper at the BEST possible price. I’m also affiliated with Outdoorsy – a “bnb style” RV rental service. Click HERE to see if that is a viable option for you.
In closing…
Please do use the space below to stay in touch and share your plans for the coming weeks. It’s a stressful time for all of us, but with mutual support, we’ll all get through this together.
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Alan, I am sorry for you. Here in Tucson, I hate waking up to clear skies and temperatures in the 70’s to low 80’s. Just kidding! I don’t know about staying through May because the temperatures creep into the 90’s. Looking to head back to Alaska or look for areas to camp out of the hot desert environment.
John, Nice, best wishes for safe travels. We’re all treading in uncharted territory. Al
Alan; thanks For your common sense information. I am spending my down time at a safe location in Tucson. I live in Alaska and I am anxious to return. I have an Outdoors Rv and would have no difficulty heading back to Alaska now (4/2/20), but listening to you about staying safe in a secure location now is a responsible idea. Besides, there is still 3+ feet of snow at my home anyway. Canadian officials will allow residents of Alaska to travel back to Alaska. You will need an Alaskan drivers license and Alaskan tags on your vehicle. My only concern is the warmer weather setting in in Tucson. I plan on leaving towards the middle of May while the weather isn’t a little warm, but dry in the southwest.
John,
Its a personal call for all. This morning I awoke to 16F and heavy snow! I’m about DONE with this type of weather – after all, its April 2nd already! IF I head out, it will be through VERY rural areas and TO a rural area – with the possible exception of ending up in Cheyenne, Wy. A town of 60,000 – but so far at least only about 35 reported covid cases. I’m right next to Jackson, Wy and they have nearly as many cases! I feel heading to warmer weather will help somewhat – at least in my head if nothing else. I haven’t seen 32F in 3 days, and I can’t remember the last time I saw 50F. Al
Just traveled from Central Florida to Eastern Ontario, Canada, arriving home yesterday in our 5th wheel. While not a long journey we did traverse parts of nine states. We were not in a hurry so planned on a 4 night, 5 day trip. Usually we would spend one or more nights at a Walmart, Rest Area, and/or Casino, with at least one night at a campground to add fresh water, dump and refresh batteries etc. This time due to Covid-19 we decided to go campgrounds only. Walmart had shortened their hours in most if not all states which meant less traffic, less security overnight. Some states have closed some or all rest areas, and Casinos in most areas were also closed. We booked all the campgrounds before leaving Florida after mapping out our preferred distance per day traveled. These campgrounds were located in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Stay at home, limit travel pronouncements had been made in each of the States we traversed but did not cause us any issues. The campgrounds booked had a variety of check-in processes in play. One required on-line payment with site number texted to our phone, one required an envelope containing cash only payment be placed in a mail slot of the office door. In that case the site number was on a peg board for each reserved guest. The site number, printed on a large sheet was then held up for a person in a golf cart to see who then led you to your site. The other two campgrounds required you to go into the office. In one, there was plexi-glass installed between us and the office staff, while in the other they made sure your hands were sanitized prior to your entering the office. Upon exiting these last two campgrounds we made sure we further sanitized our hands before getting back in the truck. At each fuel stop we only paid at the pump and made sure to use single use gloves. When stopping at open rest areas we only used the facilities on board our 5th wheel and did not interact with any other folks. The trip home this year was certainly earlier and a bit surreal but completely manageable. We had plenty of food and water on board so that was never an issue. Had we required to replenish these an online order would have been placed at a nearby Walmart or other grocer with curb side pick up scheduled. Happy to be home as we now start our government mandated 14 day quarantine for returning citizens.
Alan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m not surprised by any of the actions you took – all common sense – and at what you encountered (closed rest stops, open campgrounds with modified check-in procedures, etc.) Glad you’re back home, as our VP just said (I’m listening to todays Presidential briefing) “we’ll get through this together” and in a few weeks it will be behind us. I’m amazed at the pace of development of vaccines, treatments, test kits and how our federal gov’t is distributing assets.
Alan Sills