Leaderboard

Caution before travelling. We had planned to leave Friday for a ten day camping trip to the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly. It would have been a great trip, and we planned to listen to Tony Hillerman audiobooks on our drives. But several days ago we decided to cancel the trip, and to remain at home. We made this decision before the National Parks (and National Monuments?) started restricting entry, as noted by Overland. Here is the reason I am posting now. Our NPR Utah radio station covers the entire state, and in the past several days they have had several stories about how Moab is discouraging visitors because their health care infrastructure, like in many rural areas, is minimal. No ICUs, no infectious disease physicians, no ventilators. They do not want visitors getting sick and the community not be able to provide adequate health care. It is surprising that an area whose economy depends on tourist dollars would be discouraging visitors, but these are exceptional times. Then tonight, Moab shut down the town to visitors. All restaurants are closed. All “short-term lodging (hotels, motels, condos, townhomes, guest homes, RV parks, and all camping on public or private lands)" in four southern Utah counties are closed to non-residents. In other words, unless you are already there, you cannot camp anywhere. More info here. It is nice to think that our self-contained travel trailer can go anywhere, but right now that may not be true. We like to camp in remote areas, and right not that may or may not be permitted. Check before you depart. Safe travels, everyone. And wash your hands!

Here is a continually updated STATE by STATE guide of closures and restrictions, courtesy of Campendium (a great app)... "Some parks and campgrounds are closing or changing their procedures for camping due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. If you would like to add info or a place to this list, please submit closures here: Campendium Form. During this time, campground policies are changing quickly. It is wise to call ahead before traveling to your destination." Campground Closures and Responses by State There is a long Corona Virus (Covid-19) discussion in the GENERAL FORUM .... please post general info and chat there. ... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4016-sars-cov-2covid-19-and-travel/ Thanks, John E Davies Spokane WA

Andrew, thank you for the additional information. We are considering the Victron Connect App.

Paste this description below into the Amazon search bar and it should take you to the correct hose and connections. See the picture above MENSI 12FT Male/Female Quick-Connect RV Propane Extension Hose Compatible with Blackstone 17"/22" Griddles

Earlier posts described the covid-19 epidemic as “blown out of proportion,” or “over blown,” or “media hype.” I have to strenuously disagree with those characterizations. This virus is extremely transmissible between people, and epidemiologists predict 40-70% of Americans will likely get infected. Yes, 80% of those people infected will have mild to moderate symptoms. However, 20% of infected individuals will have severe respiratory problems. Many of these people will require hospitalization. Many of these hospitalized people will require advanced interventions, including isolation, ICU care, and treatment with a ventilator. Unfortunately our health care has limited numbers of hospital beds, ICU space, and especially ventilators and trained respiratory technicians. The best estimates are that 1-3% of infected people will die. How many die depends upon how well our health care infrastructure can deal with the number of cases. In Italy they were slow to respond to the epidemic, and people are dying in record numbers. They don't have nearly enough hospital beds, and physicians are having to make triage decisions as to who gets treatment, and who lives and who dies. Read about it. It is very upsetting. You may have heard the term “flatten the curve.” Simply put, this means that if we do not shut down large gatherings and practice social distancing, based on the data from other countries, within a month we will have an enormous spike of infections, and 20% of those will have severe problems. Our health care system will not be able to cope, and many will die. If instead, we can slow the rate of transmission, then people will get infected over a much long period of time. This does not necessarily mean that fewer people will get infected, in total, but that fewer people will be infected at any point in time. That means there will be fewer people with severe respiratory problems at any one time, and hopefully there are enough ICU beds and ventilators available to meet the need. And that means fewer people will die. While each one of us is unlikely to have an infection with severe problems, it is nonetheless very important for all of us to do what we can to slow the rate of transmission.

Yep - as far as I'm concerned Bruce and Cheryl get the credit for this one. I'm not sure just how they came upon these products from Duragloss other than the Duragloss Company is located in North Carolina. I'm also not sure how they came up with the detailer/liquid wax combination, but I do know that it really works on all surfaces (yes, that includes the mirrored surfaces) inside the Oliver. A light spray, wipe with a micro-fiber cloth, flip the cloth over and wipe again and you're done without streaks and/or haze- its so easy.

I think that the most recommended polish here is Duragloss, which I can personally attest to, but also many owners have had good success with other products like 3M marine wax, Maguires, etc. Some people really like Rejex, but I personally didn't care for it. Some searching will probably provide you with a handful of threads on the topic. Many of us use a mixture of 4 parts Duragloss 923 and 1 part Duragloss 952 in a spray bottle for cleaning the interior and as a touch up spray on the exterior, cleaning off bugs and such. I don't know who first came up with that mixture, but it really makes the interior shine. On the exterior, I think waxing twice a year is the typical recommendation, adjusting for use, climate and storage conditions. I don't know if I remember a discussion here on which type of pads to use.

Plug converters: We've yet to run into a campsite that didn't have 30a service, though I guess there's one out there. External Surge Protection: If you have the built in then I wouldn't Wheel chock or “X” blocks: We tried the X-chocks and found them to be unreliable and a PITA to use. I prefer the cheapy hard rubber chocks, four of them. Extra 25′ potable water hose: Not necessary to spend extra on these, but they're nice. Jack stand blocks: I use the Camco legos. I should probably find something lighter and less bulky though. External water filters. We have this one but have yet to use it - I wouldn't call it essential, but their 'essential system' would be the one to get. Extra grey water discharge hose: We have a cheap 100' garden hose from Home Depot that I got because it was...grey. For composting toilet: We use regular TP - nothing you get will have time to degrade much all before you dump, so it's really just a question of bulk. We prefer peat over the coco, and just carry three or four gallon ziplocks of it in case we need to dump the toilet while travelling. Tool Kit: I think there are a few lists/threads on it if you search. I carry way too many, and then bring more just in case, so I'll limit my advice to just a decent screwdriver and wrench/socket sets, hex set, some vice grips/pliers, utility knife, etc. A rubber mallet is indispensable for knocking chocks out. A multimeter can be handy. Tire gauge. Gloves. A few repair items are good to have: gorilla tape, assorted zip ties, self fusing silicone tape, butyl tape, screen repair kit, fuses. Cookware: The Magma set is pricey but you won't regret it. Also, also, and also. Utensils: Most of the RV specific things we bought ended up getting quickly replaced by duplicates from our kitchen. For us, there's enough room in the drawers not to worry about space saving products. Here are a few things that we really do like though: tumble trivets, drying mat, wine crate, Dishware: We have these. Cute, but that's about all I can say for them. On my to do list is to find a way to safely carry real dishes. We also end up using paper plates more than we should. I spent a small fortune on Strahl glassware since I figured they're used in restaurants so they'd hold up, but after one trip they were cloudy and covered in scratches. You could probably run over them with a truck though and they'd survive. But we just bought a few of these to try and have high hopes. Utensil and plate organizers: These and these fit the drawers really well. Dish soap and hand soap: We just keep a small bottle of Dawn in the pantry. I'm used to one of these at home for hand soap, so I got one for the trailer. Paper towel dispenser: We love this one. Above the sink with screws and caulk. Inside entrance matt: This fits the space almost perfectly Ground matt at exterior entrance to trailer: This one does the job Extra matt for outside of bath area: Definitely needed - we have this one. Trash receptacle: We bought this but it's too big and we don't do a good job of separating the recyclables. But it does fit well under the dinette and travels well in the shower. We have a tiny little pedal bin from Ikea in the bath but they don't seem to make it anymore. Toiletry organization suggestions: We use these in the bath cabinet. Also these with the clear tops. Any kind of cabinet or closet organizers that are essential: We use these for clothes. If you can find the Rubbermaid bento boxes, the medium size works great in the upper cabinets. Unfortunately it doesn't look like they make them anymore. Toasters: The Breville Mini is one of the few (perhaps the only one?) that fits in the microwave cabinet Coffee maker: Join the dark side. I'm still shocked how good these are. It travels in the sink. Other stuff that we MUST HAVE at pickup??????? Patience.