RV Travel During A Pandemic
I know we are all anxious to travel. We have heard from a number of you planning late summer trips hoping that the COVID pandemic will be quieter by that time. Planning is a good thing. It helps pass the time allowing you to choose specific places and activities to make the most of your time on the road. There is another reason to plan these days - planning for safer travel during COVID.
While planning our own late-summer trips, I began doing some research to find out what precautions we can take to travel safer and healthier. I found that everyone wants travel to begin - many businesses and jobs depend on travel and tourism so the pressure to get things "back to normal" is high. Having said that, our priority is to travel safely.
Fortunately, RV travel is probably the safest way to travel during COVID. You can minimize contact with people and social distance easily. Preparing meals in your RV, using the RV bathroom facilities rather than campground or rest stop facilities, and avoiding crowded activities and places is much easier in an RV.
Most of the destinations and activities we enjoy are outdoors - kayaking, hiking, bird watching, and the like are best done in state and national parks, monuments, and seashores. Yet, it's important to acknowledge that COVID will make a difference in the way you travel - even in an RV.
I'll give you a quick overview of what I have learned so far and provide a link to the websites that I used as resources for this article.
What I learned from the CDC Website
Read the CDC guidelines on their website...
Your Travel Plans
The Centers for Disease Control offers guidelines for travelers. Although the guidelines are general they can certainly apply to RV travelers.
The first recommendation is to consider the destinations you choose. Review the areas of the country or state you are planning to visit and check their COVID status. If the area is a "hot spot", with increasing spread, you might want to change your plans rather than increase your risk of infection. Also check to see if there are "shelter-in-place orders", since that may impact your stay.
You might also consider where you are traveling from. if you are coming from an area with an active spread of COVID, even if you have no symptoms, you could carry and spread the COVID virus, putting others at risk.
The people traveling with you, those you live with, and anyone you'll be visiting at your destination have to be considered as well. Are they older adults or have underlying medical conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID infection? This will shape your trip plans, who you travel with, and how you will handle self-quarantine, when needed, to protect others.
Social Distance
The recommended 6-foot distance from other people, also called "social distancing", helps limit transmission of the COVID virus. The infection is spread through breath vapor when you talk, cough, or sneeze. Still, if someone coughs or sneezes, that distance is too close, since coughing or sneezing can propel breath vapor farther than 6 feet. Keep social distancing in mind as you travel and make your "personal space" a bit larger than 6 feet where practical.
Face Masks
Just wear a face mask every time you are out in public. The CDC recommendation to wear a cloth face mask is as much for protecting others from your sneezes and coughs, as well as reducing your own risk from others. Make sure your face mask covers your nose, mouth, and chin and, it should fit flat against the sides of your face.
Put the mask on and take it off by the ties or elastic so as not to touch the surface of the mask. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling your mask and launder it after each use with hot water, detergent, and chlorine bleach to disinfect it. You can dry it in the sun (UV rays kill most viruses) or in a hot dryer. Make sure it is completely dry before using it again. If you're using a paper-type mask that cannot be washed, you might want to stock up with a supply of masks so you can dispose of them after wearing them.
Gloves
Most RVers know about and stock nitrile gloves for use when dumping the gray and black tanks. But these gloves are well suited for regular use when out in public places shopping, fueling up the RV, or using credit card machines or any frequently touched surface. The virus can live on hard surfaces for quite a while, so seriously consider gloves. They are disposable, so use them once and toss them.
Wash Your Hands
Our physicians have been telling us for years to wash our hands! The CDC reminds us that this simple measure is a major help in preventing the spread of any virus - especially with COVID. And, keep your hands away from your face. Touching your face after you've touched a contaminated surface puts you at greater risk of infection.
Clean your hands often.
Wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you've been in a public place, after touching surfaces touched by others, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, and before touching your face or eating.
If soap and water are not available, bring and use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub your hands together until they feel dry.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth before you wash your hands.
RV Travel is Better
The CDC acknowledges that RV travel may be a better travel option. Fewer stops, eating in the RV, using the RV bathroom instead of a rest stop or campground bathhouse make RVs a safer travel option. Still, you have to stop for gas, groceries, and supplies in public places. These stops put you at risk so minimize the number of stops and take care to use a face mask and gloves when fueling up the RV, going shopping, and registering or hooking up the RV at the campground.
Keep Your RV Cleaner
The CDC offers cleaning guidelines for household surfaces to prevent the spread of infection. Most of these recommendations will work for cleaning your RV. Keep sanitizing wipes with at least 70% alcohol to use on the RV's hard surfaces like handles, doorknobs, faucets, countertops, and bathroom fixtures. Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and wash your hands when you remove the gloves.
How healthy is your campground?
We use a lot of KOA Campgrounds when we are in transit and, like communities across the US and Canada, campgrounds are changing processes and procedures to reflect the COVID spread in their communities.
Because of the rapidness of change, it's smart to check your campground’s website for updates and alerts about their campground. For instance, each KOA campground location has its own webpage with updates and alerts about its campground. They also state that they are following CDC guidelines for cleaning their facilities.
One private campground we use in Maryland is open but reserving, checking in, and taking payment online only. Their office, bathhouse, and playground are all closed. It's a good idea to check with your campground on closures and restrictions.
It's also a good idea to make reservations. Although I know we like the freedom to "just go", a campground reservation will give you one more alert if destinations have to close again. The campground will typically contact you if there is a local mandate to close.
What about rental cars?
We almost always use rental cars when near a city destination. The CDC has a few guidelines for public transportation that works when considering a rental car. Their best advice is to avoid touching anything!
Think in terms of surfaces frequently touched by passengers or drivers, like the door frame, handles, and windows. Take along your hand sanitizer and use it. You might also consider wearing gloves when you pick up your rental car. Some services, like Uber, offer bottled water to riders. In light of the current spread of COVID, it is wise to decline anything offered. Use online reservations and payment and, if offered, use a curbside pick-up option instead of going into the rental car office.
Enterprise Car Rental offers all these services including curbside pick up. They have a page on their website that outlines how they are protecting their customers and employees as well as how they clean their cars between renters. Their 20-point cleaning checklist is a good start when thinking about disinfecting your RV or rental car:
Key and key fob
Steering wheel and column
seat belts
Center console
Door interiors
Door pockets
Interior door handles
Exterior door handles
Seat pockets and seat surfaces
Areas between the seats and consoles
Areas between seats and doorjambs
Cupholders and compartments
Instrument panel
Accessory panel/touch screen
Rearview mirror
Side mirrors
Visors/visor mirrors
Dashboard / vents
Gearstick/gear shift
Trunk release
U.S. Travel Association
The U.S. Travel Association is serious about making the travel experience safer. With the industry hard hit with unemployment and business closures due to COVID, there have been eight million jobs lost in the current crisis. They have released "Travel in the New Normal" guidelines their members will follow to help stem the COVID spread and offer safer travel. The “Travel in the New Normal” guidance is focused on six main areas, with the document providing specific examples for each:
Travel businesses should adapt operations, modify employee practices, and/or redesign public spaces to help protect employees and customers.
Travel businesses should consider implementing touchless solutions, where practical, to limit the opportunity for virus transmission while also enabling a positive travel experience.
Travel businesses should adopt and implement enhanced sanitation procedures specifically designed to combat the transmission of COVID-19.
Travel businesses should promote health screening measures for employees and isolate workers with possible COVID-19 symptoms and provide health resources to customers.
Travel businesses should establish a set of procedures aligned with CDC guidance should an employee test positive for COVID-19.
Travel businesses should follow best practices in food and beverage services to promote the health of employees and customers.
There is no way to know if travel businesses will follow these guidelines, but it makes sense for them to do so. When people feel safer, they are more likely to travel. If travel service employees feel safer, they'll provide a better service to the traveler. The guidelines are good for business and good for travelers. Almost all travel businesses have a website where they post how they are protecting their customers and their employees. It is our responsibility as consumers to find out if the businesses we frequent are following healthy procedures to reduce the chance of COVID spread.
National and State Parks
The National Park Service is following guidelines from CDC and state and local public health authorities to use a phased approach of opening the parks. The phased opening begins with outdoor spaces such as trails, boardwalks, observation decks, boat ramps, picnic areas, and other open landscapes. They recommend checking with individual park websites to check on its operating status. They also have a page on their response to COVID and safety information.
As a quick sample, we checked in with Cape Cod National Seashore and found the beaches, trails, and parking areas open but the public buildings - including restrooms- are closed. Cape Canaveral National Seashore is similar as is Acadia National Park, with outdoor areas open but public buildings not yet open. Most campgrounds won't open until after July 1.
Yellowstone shows most of its campground and facilities as closed until late June with the warning that the changing status of COVID could alter opening dates. Many of the tour operators and at least one RV campground are closed for all of 2020.
State parks seem to be following a similar phased opening approach. For instance, like many state parks, Maryland parks established measures to reduce the risk of contact with the COVID virus. This includes new cleaning protocols at their state park public facilities, restrooms, ranger stations, nature centers, and other public buildings. Canceling events and gathering of groups larger than 10 people seem to have become a norm as is restricting access by the public to certain park buildings and facilities.
Georgia state parks are limiting access to some parks, have closed visitor centers, are conducting reservations online, and made social distancing mandatory for all visitors. Increased sanitizing procedures are also in place. Some South Carolina state parks have limited hours of operation, canceled ranger programs, and closed playgrounds.
These are just a few of the state and national parks we checked and we recommend checking in early with each park you'd like to visit to monitor their status prior to your trip.
Designing a new normal for RV travel this year
Although there is no “silver bullet” to avoid COVID infection, there are a few habits and planning strategies that can make RV travel healthier.
Basic healthy safety procedures: wash hands frequently, wear a mask and gloves when in public facilities, keep a safe distance from others. Consider this the baseline for safer travel.
In the RV:
Use sanitizing wipes and wipe down interior and exterior door handles and steering wheel frequently
Wear gloves when you'll be touching surfaces outside your RV: Credit card machines, gas pumps, door handles, shopping carts, etc.
Wear your mask whenever you get out of the RV in a crowded or public place - even picking up groceries.
Wipe down anything new you bring into the RV (i.e., grocery bags, containers, souvenirs).
Leave shoes in the RV stairwell instead of wearing them in the RV.
Make sure to pack enough cleaning and sanitizing supplies for your trip
Destination and Campground safety precautions:
Wear gloves and a mask when checking in and hooking up
Keep at least a 6-foot distance from other campers - many campgrounds make this easy - just stay under your awning!
Use your own RV bathroom facilities instead of the campground restrooms and bathhouse.
Check before you go - Is the campground open? What safety procedures do they have in place?
Rental car precautions:
Use online reservations and payment
Opt for curbside pick up where available
Wear gloves and a mask when picking up a car
Use sanitizing wipes to wipe down door handles, steering wheel, radio, and air conditioning controls, shift handle, and any surface you would normally touch when using a rental car.
Eating out:
Avoid eating out if possible, but if you do need to "taste the destination", pick up curbside.
Plan meals to cook in the RV and bring along as much as you can from home to reduce the number of grocery trips while on the road.
I suppose we can get complacent when the pandemic is just part of a television news segment but when it strikes close to home, it becomes all too real. Even though we live in a more sparsely populated area, we know people who have tested positive for COVID, including a family member. Some have no symptoms, others have debilitating symptoms. That puts an urgency on taking the threat seriously.
My role as a travel adviser now carries a heavier burden. RV travel is what we love to do, but I have to remind our readers that any travel now carries with it the chance for infection with COVID - at least until a vaccine is available.
That said, we still hold onto hope that late summer will be a better time to travel in the RV. We are holding our plans lightly, ready to cancel them if the infection numbers spike or the situation degrades. In the meantime. we are reading and researching to find out more about safer travel, the ways infection is spread, the habits we will have to change, and the new habits we'll need to develop to stay safe. Please do the same, especially if you plan to travel anytime this year.