Full-time RVers are feeling the effects of COVID-19 shelter in place laws. A new awareness campaign needs your help to keep RV parks open during the pandemic fallout.
Let Lawmakers Know RV Parks are Essential Businesses
Help keep RV parks open, contact lawmakers today.
Most states around the country have implemented shelter-in-place laws to protect the public against community spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 requirements are impacting full-time RVers who live on the road and the communities where they travel.
An estimated two million Americans live in their RVs by choice or necessity, but government leaders seem to be unaware of this demographic. And right now, thousands of full-time RVers are being forced to violate shelter-in-place laws to find a place to stay.
Under the new COVID-19 community health restrictions, RV parks and campgrounds are considered “non-essential” businesses. The new restrictions require all non-essential businesses to shut their doors.
Although implemented with good intentions, the shelter-in-place laws are creating hardship and personal safety problems for communities and thousands of RVers. With nowhere to stay, full-time RVers are hitting the road and competing for a limited number of campsites. In places where there are none, they are spilling into big box retail store parking lots and creating public health problems. And each time they move to find a new spot, full-time RVers are potentially spreading COVID-19 to new communities.
Keep RV Parks Open, Prevent COVID-19 Spread!
Do your part to prevent COVID-19 spread. Keep RV parks open!
Full-time RVers are at huge risk contracting and spreading the disease if they are forced to find new locations to stay put. As a result, the Escapees RV Club is diligently working with political and RV industry leaders to build awareness of RVers with no place to go. And now they need you.
In a news release from Friday, March 25, 2020, Escapees representatives write:
Reach out to your elected officials
Every day that passes, Federal and State campgrounds are continuing to close their gates. And, with the potential for more states and counties to mandate private RV park and campground closures, we need to act now. In addition to working as an association with our political leaders and our fellow industry leaders, we feel it is time to encourage each individual to reach out to their elected officials and explain to them why is it critical that they consider RV parks as essential businesses.
We have composed three samples to help you with ideas.
You are welcome to use any of them as you wish, but it may be considered more earnest if you modify the examples to better fit your opinions and circumstances or write your own words.
To find the contact information of your legislators, visit:
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
From there you can select your U.S. Senators, Representatives, Governor, Mayor, County Executives, and city, county, and town officials.
https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
Provides a simple way to find your state legislators using your address or current location.Who you select is usually based on your domicile state and/or the state in which you vote. You may want to include other state leaders if you are currently residing in a different state. In this case, you would use the zip code of the RV park in which you’re staying.
We suggest contacting your US Senators and Representatives as well as your state legislators representing your district. You may also want to contact other officials depending on your situation.
Remember, this is your time to help! Even if you are currently in a safe and secure location, there are many who are not so fortunate, or who could soon be evicted if mandates get out of control. Advocacy can take time, but the sooner we start to let officials know our stance, the better.
Full Hookups Save Lives. Help RVers Shelter In Place.
Whether you are a full-time RVer or not, if you want to do something to 1) prevent COVID-19 from spreading, and 2) help like-minded people who love RV travel as much as you do, please consider taking a few minutes to reach your local lawmakers and help keep RV parks open.
Encourage your representatives to exempt RV parks from COVID-19 shelter-in-place laws. Not only will you make it easier for RVers to stay put and stay healthy, but you will do your part to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from getting worse in the United States.
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
Someone has to clean the restrooms and pick up the trash that is left behind. It only takes a few that don’t care about anything but themselves to ruin it for the majority. One only has to look back at the Gov. shut down,and the damage that was done, to see what people are capable of.
Need to do this in Canada as well!
I agree that Canadian full timers need support too.
Our provincial parks have well spaced sites.
Maybe its time for a petition.
Agree! FUll time RVers are mostly people who care. About everything! Including people. Yes! They need facilities for RVers. God forbid that parks will close and leave RVers no choice but to dump their tanks roadside!
Self contained RVs don’t require restrooms, close them down. Anyone who leaves trash on their site, putting others at risk, should be heavily fined for littering and required to pick up their trash themselves.
Chip
As a long time and active RV’er I absolutely and completely DISAGREE WITH YOU 100%, NO! all RV Parks should be CLOSED. We RV’ers are no better than anyone else and we RV’ers should be honorable enough to understand that RULES are for everyone and they are not to be broken!
The author of this article should apologize for trying to insight a rebellion and a replacement reporter should take their place to write an article that encourages all RV Parks to close and stay closed and help stop the spread of the COVID-19 Corona Virus. All it takes is a little common sense to understand that a person can get infected and leave an RV Park going to another RV Park and everyone they come into contacted with for 14 days has been infected and they would probably move at the least twice and the original park, thats 3 TV Parks the one RV’er has spread the virus to! What’s so hard to understand about that? Everyone including RV’ers should do their part and help stop the virus, NOT help the virus spread!!!
Because RVer parks are closing is the reason RVers have to move!
What’s hard to understand about that?
And if you live in your motorhome full time you’re suppose to do what?
You have a very closed view of the situation. If a family, couple or individual has no place to stay in their RV what are they to do? You may have a home and property to park your RV but don’t deny others of their privilege. Social distancing can be accomplished while RVing. Wake up!
For some their RV Is the only home they have. Some Canadian snowbirds own a house in Florida where they spend the winter and return to Canada in late spring and stay in their RV which is the only home they own in Canada.
So this is essential.
If all RV parks are closed then where does the full timers live?
Closing them forces people to move, what dont you understand about this?
If they close the park you are forced to move. Many people live in their RV. Closing parks forces migration and consolidation.
Heaven forbid if a full time RV’r should have to open a black tank on a street curb under cover of night or into a storm drain but if there are no facilities to do this safely what do you think is going to happen?
We are on an RV park. It’s the only home we and all the others have. Majority of owners live here 24/7 and ALL are self isolating. The facilities are closed, as is the office. The managers use golf carts and are continuing to be employed. I don’t understand your intolerance. We’re you really just a weekend warrior who doesn’t the whole mechanics of the RV community. This is a vital business to many many people in many different ways. Keep them open. They are much more than just necessary or convenient. They are essential…..!!!
So where do full timers go Mr. North Georgia? They don’t have a home to go back to. Don’t agree with opening the National and State parks but private parks should be able to stay open to accommodate them. Even if you close the main office from people entering you could have a full hook up which would help.
Thanks for raising the issue. I agree that some private RV parks with full hookups should be permitted to remain open with all public facilities closed. Forcing full-time RV dwellers to move around compounds the problem. However, there must. be common sense limitations, especially in rural areas with very large parks and limited local health resources. There’s a huge 500-space park near me, along with many smaller parks, and only one regional hospital. (The park is closed, but it looks like some seasonal occupants were allowed to remain.) One common sense limitation would be no daily rates, only weekly or monthly. Another would be increased spacing, like only every other site occupied.
if all RV parks are closed then where do full timers go?
I am not a full-time RV’er, not even close. In fact we just purchased our 1st new (used) motorhome a few weeks ago. Just our luck, we buy a motorhome, they shut down the country. Simply the way our luck has been running lately. However, I am now much more aware of just how many people in this country do live full-time in an RV. Whether by choice or by necessity does not matter, the fact remains that the RV is their HOME. So I’m thinking about myself and wondering what I’d do if in fact my motorhome was my only residence. How am I supposed to “shelter at home” when I can not locate anywhere to hookup and hunker down. Sure I’m fully self-contained and can eat, sleep, drink and by merry in my motorhome. So I guess I’ll just drive around, wasting fuel and stopping to visit a hundred gas stations, propane filling stations, grocery stores and other locations I never would have been exposed to had I been able to find an open park or facility to call home for awhile.
Much worse though is what am I going to do when my black/gray water tanks need to be emptied. The parks and facilities with the sanitary means to dispose of that waste are all closed. We all know I’m going to empty those tanks no matter what, I have to in order to continue living in the RV. Just were I am forced to empty them is an issue that could open up a whole new public health issue.
The parks and RV facilities should remain open, for the benefit of those that require them – not for recreational camping or other non-essential purposes.
And NO, these facilities would NOT provide shared resources such as bathrooms or showers. The RV’ers would remain self-isolated and simply restock on supplies as needed – just like the rest of us.
What’s better, a million or more Americans driving all over the place, or a million Americans parked in safe and sanitary conditions waiting it out with the everyone else?
We haven’t seen anything yet compared to the potential future impact this could present. Oh gee, they didn’t have toilet paper at the store today, so what. At least the store is still there!! Push the country just a little further and we are all going to find out just how fast everything can go to hell in a hand-basket.
Personally I’d rather work together now, for the good of each and every citizen, then deal with what will become the “new reality” if we don’t.
I’m an American, you are an American, she is an American, he is an American, they are Americans, and though we may not look the same, believe in the same things, eat the same food or even sound like each other, we had better come together and show the world how a country can provide for and take care of their own. And we’d better do it quickly.
Many of the rural area have no cases yet. They are concerned that we would unintentionally bring the virus to them.
As an RV’er I have no problem staying inside my RV. When we hook up and unhook, we wear disposable rubber gloves so we are not touching anything in the campground – standard procedure for us. We can talk to people with social distancing. We have our own shower and toilet, so no need to use campground restrooms. Yes, we need to get gas but can wear disposable gloves when pumping. And we try to keep our pantry stocked so grocery shopping is only needed about every 2 weeks. We cook our own meals so no need to go out to a restaurant. I don’t see any problem with RV travel! If you don’t like the idea of people in a campground, don’t go near it!
RVers do not need to continue moving. Stay in the park until shelter in place restrictions are lifted. It’s not hard to figure out. Yes, close common facilities, people can stay in their home/RV just like everyone else, but please give them a place to park and stay put!
If everyone would stay put, then fine, but people are going to continue to move around and continue to the next place to camp. That negates the whole intent of “Stay At Home”.
For some their RV Is the only home they have. Some Canadian snowbirds own a house in Florida where they spend the winter and return to Canada in late spring and stay in their RV which is the only home they own in Canada.
So this is essential.
For now, parks should be open to full-timers only. As things loosen up, this will change.
non essential……essential is all bs………thats why i think the virus is fabricated bs………..likely a cia concocted deal……walmart? you will get the supposed virus there………..waiting in line touching things,,,,,,,its all bs……..rvs are perfect to avoid contact with others…….again i smell a stink to high heaven and its not my holding tank…….