JimK

I am not sure I even know where to begin so I will just run down a list in random order: 1. You might want to consider replacing your CPAP. Almost all the major Phillips/Respironics CPAPs are available in 12 volt models which typically use much less power and you will not need to run an inverter that also wastes power. If you plan on doing much boondocking the price of new CPAP can be worth it. Hopefully yours is old enough to warrant a replacement through your medical coverage. If you do replace the unit be sure you check the specs yourself. Few providers have a hint as to what works for RV travel. They tried to give me a 110 v unit with an inverter and I had to sent the first unit back. 2. If I understand the specs the RockPals was a mistake. The 300W unit provides 280 watt hours of power; i.e., 23 AH. I am not sure that is even enough juice to power a 12 v CPAP for one night's use. Recharging is also an issue because it takes over 4 hours. You certainly don't want to run a generator for that time period. 3. If you want to boondock, you will want to start with a decent battery bank. You need to look at your power needs such as CPAP, electronics, and the ability to run a furnace at least down to moderately cool ambient temps. Depending on your usage you will probably want a minimum of 2 batteries so that you can last for at least a couple of days of normal use. You will need at least 1 battery in the 70-100 AH range to power the CPAP for a couple of nights. 4. Regardless of the battery bank, you really, really need to think about solar if you are going to boondock regularly. You can get by with a pair of portable units but that is a major nuisance and they occupy a lot of valuable space. Roof mounted units are out of the way and the units are now quite inexpensive so you can overdue it and charge quickly even on relatively cloudy days.

You can disagree all you want. I had my service throttled with and without PDA . That typically started somewhere around 20 gigs or so. Perhaps your plan is different. For a long time I had unlimited service that truly seemed unlimited. When my old phone had to be replaced that plan ended and for a while I did not have unlimited. Verizon was happy to charge me a hefty amount if I had high usage. At this point I don't remember the details. Later I got the unlimited plan I now have which is throttled with excess use. They also seem really prone to throttle when they are buying coverage for an area where they do not have cell towers.

Our experience matches what seems to be a consensus of the previous comments. On the old plans tethering was not allowed unless paid for separately at a hefty charge. Many of us went to PDA net to circumvent the restrictions. With or without PDA net, Verizon track data usage and throttled back service somewhere around 20 gigs. Now the smart phones come with tethering built in so PDA net is no longer useful and may not work at all. Verizon continues to throttle service around 20 gigs. I have heard the number is actually 22 gigs but I have not seen confirmation of that. 20 gig covers quite a few hours of internet surfing, but with only a few evenings of use for streaming and Zoom/Skype applications. I also learned the hard way not to leave Maps or other navigation apps turned on for hours while driving.

All great suggestions. We have changed plans numerous times looking for the best coverage. We have even tried to use the pharmacies to help with the selection. Unfortunately that has not stopped us from paying thousands for drugs due to insufficient coverage. Every prescription we have had in at least 10 years has been for generics, when available. Most of our expensive drug costs are due to my wife's prescriptions. Even the cost of my simple statins and antihypertensive generics has double in the past couple of years. There are major law cases and investigations which have lead to the conclusion that many drug companies have conspired to avoid competition and raise prices for generics. Those cases will be in the courts for years if not decades.

My wife and I have Medicare with full Plan F supplemental. For the past several years when I assemble the data for tax time, we have consistently been over $20K per year. That includes a couple of thousand for dental insurance and dental costs not covered. We are trying to do the minimum. My dental bills could easily go beyond the $20K by themselves. Anyway, discounting the dental, we are still over $20K/year. That includes the supplemental and drug coverage and LTC insurance, drugs not covered by insurance, PT my wife needs that is not covered, transportation costs, etc. Out of pocket drug costs are one of the biggest expenses and total many thousands. It is no joke that people talk about not being able to take their drugs because the costs are too high. What has happened to drug prices is incredible and the coverage is not keeping up.

Havaheart trap. Then shoot them with in the head with a BB gun. At one time I thought I would do the humane thing and drive them a few miles from home. I think they made the return trip about as fast as I did.

I have no idea what advice you expect. You have priced insurance and found it to be very expensive. I had the same issue and put off retirement until I was at least within a few months of age 65. If you think medical insurance is expensive now, you might want to think about delaying retirement anyway. Costs can get really high even when Medicare kicks in. You will need to pay for supplemental insurance and a prescription plan. They may still leave a great many expenses uncovered. In your early 60s that might not seem to be much of a concern but that will change. Also remember dental and hearing is not covered. Those can also generate major expenses as you age.

I have had my issues with other materials. I won't use anything but Dicor. The non-sag formulation is designed for vertical surfaces. It does not set as smooth as the self leveling when used on horizontal surfaces, but it works perfectly well. Dicor seems to last forever, forms a good seal on about any material and does not dry or crack when exposed to intense sunlight and heat. Sadly, I just bought a spare tube and the cost was double what I paid a few years ago...now $14 from Tweety's.

I replaced my fluorescent lights close to 10 years ago. LEDs are substantially more efficient. LEDs offer more choices and the quality of light will be better. In the old days we were used to yellowish lighting from tungsten bulbs. Now we can chose yellow LEDs in the 3500 kelvin range or more natural light in the 5000 K range. I use 5000K LEDs and now that I am used to them I would never want to do back to what I now consider sickly yellow lighting.

No, you did not have to go into a store to get a battery, old or new. The last time I was in a store was early March. Since then I went once to pickup books at the library. You select online and then retrieve a bag of books at the lobby entrance. Amazon delivers almost everything I order within 1 day. If you do not want to buy constantly from Amazon there are plenty of other choices. It is also very likely that internet buying will cost less than buying in a regular store.

If you put chlorinated water into the tank, the chlorine will slow dissipate. That is the main reason it helps to keep using and replenishing the water. If you remove all of the chlorine, then it makes no difference how long you let that water sit in the tank. More non-chlorinated water coming into the tank will do nothing to stop or decrease the bacterial growth.

I got 7 years and even then the issue was a slight leak. I could have purchased a rebuild kit with new seals but decided for less than $100 it was better just to replace it.

I full timed for a couple of years and now typically go out for a few months each year. I can only remember having one serious issue with dirty water. I could see the silt coming out of the tap. I put some water in a collapsible jug and it was very cloudy. I decided not to use that water and moved on within a couple of days. I have not had any similar issue but that taught me to be careful. I check the water clarity before filling my tank. If the water is full of silt and particulates I would not want to trust it to be safe.

I had mentioned this on another thread, but IMO it is poor practice to use any filter that removes chlorine. Without chlorine, tanks and plumbing lines and the HW system will develop bacterial growth. Often that is merely harmless pseudomonas. Studies have also shown that Legionella often contaminates RV water systems. Fortunately Legionella infections are infrequent but they can be very serious and even fatal. There is no reason I can see for removing chlorine from your water system. Instead just filter your drinking water, either with a faucet mounted filter or using a Brita or similar brand water container with a filter. In areas where the water is not chlorinated to begin with I sanitize my system frequently or periodically add a small amount of chlorine to the tank. Bacterial can readily grow whenever chlorine is not present. When I did research in grad school, I used a 10 gallon jug of highly purified, reagent grade water. The sides of the jug started to turn pink due to pseudomonas bacteria and I had to bleach out the container every few weeks. If you filter out the chlorine and have an RV water tank with an large opening, I suggest you feel the inside of the tank with your fingers. It will be slimy with bacteria.

Geez, that pump cycling has become a part of the sounds I associate with RV living, sort of like the sound the rain makes on the roof. Maybe an accumulator would make the pump last longer. My RV has had lots of use over 18 years of life. I never do water hook ups so I cannot imagine the tens of thousands of gallons pumped. I did have to replace the pump about 7 years ago.

Kirk, perhaps you did not notice. I recommend against using a filter that removes chlorine. I would restrict filter materials to those that remove sediment only. Personally I have never found the use for any filter. I would try to avoid using water with a lot of particulates or silt. and I would not want that in my RV tank or supply lines.

IMO it is important to keep your water system in good condition. That means sanitizing at the start of any trip or whenever the water has been stagnant for a few weeks. If you do not sanitize, odors can develop from bacteria growing in the system. Testing has shown that Legionella is a fairly common contaminant in RV water systems. Development of Legionella disease is not common but it can be a very serious disease and it is not worth taking any chances. Sanitizing means use of about 1/4 cup of household bleach for every 15 gallons of water. Minimum soak time is 1 hour with most of us soaking for a couple of hours or more. The biggest issue in sanitizing is often dealing with the hot water side of the system. To make it easier some campers replace the standard drain plug with a valve to facilitate draining the tank. I am also careful in choice of water for filling the tank. Water should come from a municipal water system or from a system which is periodically tested. The water systems are tested in national parks and forests. That may not be true for all campgrounds with their own water systems. Chlorine is another major issue. Most municipal water systems will add a small amount of chlorine to maintain the clean water towers and supply lines. That chlorine will help maintain RV water tanks. Some campground or RV parks do not have chlorinated water. It might be necessary to periodically sanitize the tank. Some RV water filters remove chlorine. IMO that is a poor practice. The chlorine is there for a purpose and helps maintain the RV tank and system. If you need to use a filter, consider using only a sediment/particulate filter. Even with precautions, I use a Britta or other final filter for my drinking water. If nothing else it can remove unwanted or unfamiliar taste.

I was 64 1/2.

Many UHaul stores can fill propane cylinders.

I have used my cassette toilet a lot, including 2 years when full timing. I never had much issue with odor in the RV whether I used chemicals or not. The real issue came when dumping. If I dumped at an RV dump station, then I rinsed out the tank afterwards , then that helped a lot. If I had to dump in outhouses or using a flush toilet, then rinsing out the tank afterwards was not possible or not feasible. The odor would start to build and I would use chemicals. The old fashioned blue stuff with formaldehyde worked great. The newer stuff without formaldehyde did not seem to do anything. Some dump stations post signs asking not to use the formaldehyde chemicals since they impede the bacteria that break down the dump station waste. That would also apply to outhouses and flush toilets with the waste going into a septic tank. Maybe I am wrong but I continued anyway with the believe that the small amount of waste and small amount of chemicals would not make much difference in a septic tank that holds thousands of gallons. In any case I would not use chemicals if I knew in advance I would have access to a dump station. Dumping a cassette in a toilet or outhouse should involve some courtesy. I never dumped in those areas when others were around and when that was all that was available I used chemicals to keep the odor level as low as possible. Otherwise the odor can linger for quite a while.

I have made numerous trips across country and have a few comments that might help. First I am not a morning person so I like to take my time in the morning and typically get a late start. I am lucky to be on the road by 9am. Even then I usually plan for a quick fuel/pit stop in an hour or so. Afterwards I drive until noon or so, maybe 4 hours total. I stop for lunch and a 20 minute nap. I find a short nap does absolute wonders. After lunch and a nap, I typically drive another 3-4 hours tops. Then I stop again for another snack and short nap or end my day at that point. In the winter months with short days, I stop late afternoon well before dark. If I am lucky and drove on the open road, I might have made it about 350 miles. In the summer months I take my 4 pm nap and hit the road again often for another 4 hour session again stopping before dark. There are plenty of times I have driven 600 or so miles with some serious snoozes and without becoming stressed or worn out. The distance depends on the driving conditions. Good conditions on a Interstate can mean lots of stress free miles in a single day. Because I never know exactly what to expect, I never plan and force myself into a schedule. Instead I start looking for overnight spots and alternatives a couple of hours before I need to stop for the day. Where I look also depends on the part of the country. Many States have absolutely outstanding rest stops; others not so much. Walmart Supercenters outside of urban areas are almost always a good choice. Truck stops can be good or horrible. In some areas the best choices might be local, BLM or forest service campgrounds. Again, it is best to have several possibilities in mind. Worst case I end up driving an hour or two after sunset. That is typically more exhausting than the hours spent driving in daylight. After a little experience on the road you can get really good at picking spots with nothing more than Google Maps as a guide.

Kirk, there is some great information for the link you posted. Included in the discussion was the need to have some consistent approaches. That is not happening. Most of us here on Long Island are hunkered down and have food delivered and even then wipe the containers with a rag sprayed with diluted bleach. All of the precautions and the social distancing and the masks and the shutdowns have really helped. The governor wants voluntary quarantine for visitors from States with growing infection rates. Meanwhile we have an Indian friend who had a relative arrive from India. In case you are not aware the infection rate is now really bad in India. They are just bringing a new 10,000 bed hospital online. Anyway, the plane was full, no empty seats, no one wearing masks. There were no restrictions and no screenings at either end. What is wrong with this country? Anyway this is supposed to be an RV oriented forum. With that in mind I have no idea when travel is going to make sense again. Maybe locally, but I had planned a 4 month 15,000 mile trip.

There was not much knowledge of infection at the time. We do not what happened with the Spanish flu. There were 3 waves of infection with the middle wave being worse for deaths. A total of about 50 million died worldwide with an equivalent of about 2 million deaths in the US, adjusted for the current population. People took precautions but it continued to spread. My grandfather was living in an isolated part of the Southwest. Regardless, he died. Fortunately the 3rd wave helped save a lot of lives. The virus finally mutated into a less severe disease.

I saw the video of Rand and Fauci. Amazing. Fauci did not get to his position by being a good doctor with scientific knowledge. He is politically astute. He is still trying to put out some sort of message and facts and at the same time survive with a President who wants to believe Covid should be swept under the carpet and we should get back to normal. It seems clear we are headed for tough times, which have just started. We are still looking at a couple of million deaths unless there is a very effective vaccine available within a few months.

After all this time it is amazing how little we know about Covid. There is a myth that Covid is only a major concern for those who are elderly or who have some sort of pre-existing condition. It is clear that younger people are less likely to die. Some of the statistics have been warped because of the nature of nursing homes. First most are not actually geared towards "nursing" and they have limited trained medical staff, if any. They did not have procedures or PPE to protect their workers or the elderly. One infected, even asymptomatic, employee could infect dozens of patients on a single day. There were plenty of deaths because of these tight living spaces. Fifty elderly died in a Vets home a mile from my house. Plenty of people of all ages have died including those in their 50s and 40s and sometimes younger. There also seems to be some confusion about pre-existing conditions. Almost every older adult will have something that qualifies. According to the CDC recommendations the worrisome pre-existing conditions include close to 50% of the entire adult population. So when you hear that someone with a pre-existing condition died don't think they were severely ill and about to die anyway. Regardless of age you might also be in that category. There is another really important consideration. In my area of NY we had a lot of first responders die from Covid even though they were otherwise healthy and often of middle age or younger. It seems that getting a big initial dose of Covid virus means the infection can because severe rapidly and the risk of death goes way up. Maybe a mask and other precautions are not 100% but they can protect just by lowering the amount of initial exposure. No one wants to see this pandemic go on and on and eventually infect millions of Americans and potential kill a couple million or more. China showed that with severe measures they could control and virtually eliminate the virus within a few weeks.