LindaH

So, have you tried the instructions and did they work?

I'm assuming this is meant for me. My original post, above, was 7 months ago and I've since figured it out with the help of fellow forum member mrschwarz who sent me step-by-step instructions to get the router working with the Visible phone. I gave tazh2o the link to the instructions in his original post.

See if these instructions will help -- they helped me when I was having problems getting my Visible phone to work with the router (instructions were provided to me by forum member, mrschwarz): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1deQiLekBPFNiST0iafzFRYs-CK25pzkr?usp=sharing

If the only way you have to watch TV when boondocking is by running the generator, if you do any amount of boondocking, you'll want to set yourself up with an inverter and some way of recharging the batteries that don't require running the generator all the time (solar and/or wind energy).

We boondock/dry camp about 98-99% of the time. The tanks on our current RV are about 30/30/30 and we can go a full week before we have to dump (we do carry three 5-gallon water jugs to fill the fresh water tank between dumps). We might be able to squeeze a day or two more out of it, but I'd rather play it safe than wake up in the middle of the night to use the facilities and find that the black tank is completely full! If we had tanks your size, we could go at least two weeks between dumps, maybe even closer to three weeks. We are very judicious in our use of water, taking navy showers (which we do, anyway, even when we're at home), not keeping the water running while brushing teeth, etc. We have a 4,000-watt generator that runs off the motorhome's gas tank. In the winter, when we're boondocking at one of the LTVA's, we'll fuel up on one of our trips to town to get propane. We get propane about once a month and we top off the gas tank maybe every other trip (it's never below half). We do have solar, though, so only run the generator for about half an hour first thing in the morning to get a head start on charging the batteries while the furnace is running. Then we use it during the day if we need to use the microwave or other AC item that we don't run off the inverter. I'm not sure what you mean by "portable" water tank...maybe you meant "potable" as in your fresh water tank? At any rate, see my comments above. Gray and black tanks of 51 gallons each and a fresh water tank of 91 gallons would last us at least two weeks, and probably closer to three. But that's us...we've had a couple of decades experience boondocking/dry camping. I suggest doing what 2gypsies said -- go to an RV park, fill your fresh water tank and make sure your gray and black tanks are empty. Then go about your daily living using just the water in your fresh water tank, being judicious on your use of water and see how long it lasts YOU. You won't be able to run your generator in an RV park, of course, but you'll get an idea of how long your water supply and tanks will last. The more you boondock/dry camp, the better you'll get at conserving all of your resources.

Unfortunately, many people aren't using gas cans. There was at least one person seen filling up plastic grocery bags with gasoline! (Well, they at least double bagged them!) 😲

Tom Mahood does search and rescue and on his website, he relates the story of the Death Valley Germans. It does not have a happy ending like agesilaus' ordeal, but is fascinating reading.

This article is talking about people who are gone from their homes for a few hours a day, not months at a time. We used to live in Glendale, AZ (and in Quartzsite). When we left for the summer, we'd do what bobsallyh described plus cleaned out the refrigerator and propped the doors open. Canned goods, or any other food stuff that might not survive the heat went with us. There were a couple of years where we left our fifth wheel in AZ while we traveled in a truck camper. We did the exact same thing to the fifth wheel as described above plus we put Reflectix in the windows and put bottle jacks several places on the frame in case the tires lost air. Oh, and we also put the water and sewer hoses away.

Kirk's advise about checking things like air bag inflation, etc., is good. Also, have you had a front-end alignment done...preferably once it's loaded for a trip? Additionally, having your rig weighed -- all four corners -- would be a good idea to make sure your rig is properly balanced once it's loaded. Finally, what is the wheel base-to-length ratio of your motorhome? Too short of a ratio can cause handling problems.

If you already have your vehicles and have paid sales tax when you purchased them, you shouldn't have to pay sales tax again when moving to another state. About the only exception would be if the sales tax in your new state is more than that in your old state -- in that case, you'd pay only the difference.

On our way back home this spring, we stopped at the Pilot station in Stanfield, OR and had to pump our own gas because of COVID. But we'd stopped there on our way down to AZ the previous November and had an attendant pump it for us. I found it strange that, during the middle of the pandemic, an attendant pumped our gas in November, but they changed their policy by the time we stopped there in March. An attendant at the Sinclair station in Jordan Valley pumped our gas in March on our way home, so it seems to be a hit and miss policy across the state.

No, it hasn't gone mobile yet, but according to the FB page RV posted, Musk says Starlink should go mobile by the end of the year. We use our phone as a hotspot, too, but it doesn't help when you're someplace that doesn't have cell service. Are you really paying $40/mo for Visible? You do know that you can drop that down to $25 by joining a Party Pay Plan with 4 people?

That's what the higher level of Escapees mail service does (Categories B & C) -- scans the outside of the mail you receive and then you can log into a secure website to view what you've received. It does, however, cost an additional $10 per month for this service over and above the cost of the mail service itself. Escapees Mail Forwarding Service Categories and Rates · Escapees RV Club

I don't believe mail forwarding services are eligible for Informed Delivery, but don't know this for a fact. You can always go to the USPS's Informed Delivery and enter your address to check. However, the Escapees mail service does have a level of service where they send you an email with scans of the mail you've received.

We always have our mail forwarded on a temporary basis when we head south for the winter. When it's time to return home, I cancel the forwarding and then have our mail held. If I know when we'll be returning, I give instructions to have the held mail delivered on a certain day; otherwise, I check the box that says I'll pick it up at the post office.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/08/verizon-recalls-2point5-million-hotspot-devices-due-to-fire-hazard.html

In reading about 10S, I'm getting the impression that one wouldn't be able to download Quicken to it...correct? That's the main reason I wouldn't be able to use a Chromebook and it sounds like I should avoid 10S, too.

We have a Girard, too, and I hate it much for the same reasons. We had so many problems with it this past winter that I'm just fed up with it! This summer we're going to check into whether or not we can replace it with a tank water heater and how much it would cost if we can.

That's interesting...ours isn't scored.

It could be that it will be only for international flights -- I don't fly, so haven't paid particularly close attention to the issue. However, I don't think airlines have instituted asking for proof of vaccination yet, but some are considering it. It wouldn't make any sense to do so now (IMO) since so few people have been vaccinated. Here's one article on the matter...a Google search will bring up others: Will You Need the COVID-19 Vaccine to Travel? (aarp.org)

No, not yet. But airlines are considering asking for proof of vaccination before you can fly and I would imagine other places may start asking for proof, too.

We *could* fold it in half, but our card is on fairly heavy card stock and I would be reluctant to fold it in half.

We got our first earlier this month and our second is scheduled for April 8.

Well, if your card is anything like the one we received, it's larger than credit card size and doesn't fit in a wallet. Once we receive our second shot, we'll be taking a picture of it on our phones and leaving the physical card at home. Once a vaccine passport app is available for the entire US, we'll do that, too.

They're also not a replacement for an oven for those of us who boondock most of the time since it requires running the generator for long periods of time.