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Thank Heavens for Our Motorhome

Bordercollie
Explorer
Explorer
Somebody must have knocked down a power pole nearby when power went out about 3 PM . Edison estimated power would be back on in four hours, it finally came back on at around 2:30 AM. Luckily our motorhome had a full propane tank. When I returned from Ralphs grocery pickup, I put all the frozen and non-frozen perishables in the RV fridge and brought non-perishables into the house.

This is one more example of how a motorhome comes in handy for other than camping our touring, if parked in your driveway. Now I gotta transfer stuff from the motorhome fridge to the kitchen fridge.
12 REPLIES 12

jjrbus
Explorer
Explorer
The RV is our
hurricane escape pod and life support system. Only ran from one hurricane with it so far. I would not mind the hurricane. It is the week or so afterwards with no gas, electric, internet etc.

rockhillmanor
Explorer
Explorer
My mantra was if I decided to buy in Florida after rv'ing?

Was to keep RV in case of power outage and evacuation due to hurricane.
That meant finding a home and property that allowed parking of RV on property.
Found it all in Florida! Although I don't have to shovel snow anymore I have used the RV for 3 hurricanes so far!!

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Explorer III
One of the primary reasons we moved up to Payson {at 5,000'} was to find a property where I could store all of our toys {24' class C, car, truck, Rzr, Can Am Spyder and my cargo trailer} at home. We have two driveways that total 80 yards {55 and 25} and a second {free standing} garage on our .57 ac lot. Beyond the obvious convenience I am saving $125 a month vs paying for storage. While we have yet to experience any power failures in the year we have been here we have the 4KW genset always available should we need it.

I widened one driveway 3' X 24' to enchance the parking pad for the motorhome and hired an electrician to add a dedicated 30 amp box adjacent the pad so the coach has AC 24/7. Now our smallish {1,400 square foot} 3 bedroom 2 bath house has become a 4/5 bedroom 3 bath abode as we can easily sleep 2 - 4 folks out in the coach if the rest of the house fills up... which we have done a couple of times.

Now before and after any trip we can do our prep, clean up and any general maintenance at our convenience. At our last home the HOA dictated how long {not very} we could keep the coach out in front as it had to be parked on our residential street which was a serious PITA.

About the only potential natural disaster that we might someday be subject too would be a forrest fire. If a fire commences anywhere near us we will go into full bail out prep mode. I can load all of our valuables from the safe to a large plastic tub in minutes. The coach is kept fully fueled {gas and LP} with half a tank of water that can be supplemented very quickly. Restocking the frig/freezer can be easily done.

I can hook up the cargo trailer to the coach and load our Can Am for use as a toad in about 20 minutes... turn the key and we are down the road and completely self contained for a couple of weeks. Our primary/most likely initial bail out area would be down the Beeline {Highway 87} 45 minutes to Roosevelt Lake where there are hundreds of sites. We could also head north on the Beeline or east on 260 depending on the weather and the location of the fire. Our best friends in Angel Fire NM {which is just an 8 hour drive from our house} put in a nice RV pad with hookups on their 2.5 ac slice of heaven so we will have that as a backup/longer term escape.

Here is a shot of our coach awaiting our next adventure:



:C

rjstractor
Nomad
Nomad
Many years ago we lost power for 4 days after an ice storm. I kept the house warm and lit by running a cord inside from the motorhome generator. I spliced a 3 prong plug into the natural gas furnace so it would run from the generator. Probably not code legal but it worked!
2017 VW Golf Alltrack
2000 Ford F250 7.3

bobndot
Explorer II
Explorer II
I planned to use previous rvs to do the same but during a multi month rv repair we lost power for a few days. Had to run a generator ext cord thru a window.
Another time while our daughters were home and we were away in the rv , a storm knocked out the power. I figured it was time do try plan B.

I just had my electrician install an interlock switch on my house panel and an outside 240 outlet . My Honda 7000IS plugs into the 240 receptacle and powers up my entire house. I just bought a plastic shed to house the Honda during rain storms. I plan to cut screened vents into it and install a box fan to circulate air. If im home, i will let a neighbor use the rv Onan if they need it.

bukhrn
Explorer III
Explorer III
This is exactly why I refill gas & propane tanks when we return from a trip.
2007 Forester 2941DS
2014 Ford Focus
Zamboni, Long Haired Mini Dachshund

Seon
Explorer II
Explorer II
Several years ago had massive fire that knocked down PG&E lines and we had no power for 4 days. That's when I had eu3k Honda that I hooked up an extension cord to the house for the Fridge, lamps and TV. Since then I installed a transfer switch and replaced the Honda with a Predator. Fortunately I haven't had power outage since but am ready.

vjstangelo
Explorer
Explorer
Whenever there is a power outage after dark, we head to the Moho and fire up the genset. Watch TV and since the summer storms are usually the culprit, the AC too. Note we always park with a full tank so with care could run a week or maybe 2 on that fuel.
2012 Winnebago Vista 32K
2011 Honda CRV Toad

WinMinnie02
Explorer
Explorer
May not be the best bug out vehicle but will come in handy when the power is out. Take good care of the generator., it saved us especially during Hurricane Sandy, no power for 2 weeks. Hope people learned a valuable lesson from Covid, be prepared.

bgum
Explorer
Explorer
We just run an extension cord from our rig to the freezer and refrigerator in the house and move to the rig for AC until the outage is over.

Seon
Explorer II
Explorer II
I agree that RV's has useful functions other than camping LOL.

wanderingaimles
Explorer
Explorer
Living in the southeast, near the coast, hurricanes give you those reminders annually.