Ten Tips For Sheltering In Place In Your Tiffin - 3/28/2020

The COVID-19 virus has caused many of us full-time RVers to find new and creative ways to pass the time, mainly because our home is no larger than 16' by 45'. This means that there really aren't many “major” projects that need to be done. Honey-do lists – even they even exist – are incredibly small. It's not as if we can finally get that new sun room or porch built that our spouse has wanted for years, right?

So how have your intrepid Parental Parolees been passing the time while sheltering in place? Thankfully, we're both healthy so we've been able to devote all our waking hours to these activities.

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1. See this? It's a paint kit Tiffin supplies to every new owner of their coach. It's used to touch up areas that get chipped or scratched. Find a chip or scratch somewhere on your coach. Apply paint. Watch until dry. Fully dry. Don't cut corners on this important task. Watch until paint FULLY dries.
2. If you're like us, many RVers have two sets of chairs for relaxing outdoors; one for sitting and rocking, and one for reclining. Deploy both sets of chairs. Rock or sit for an hour in one. Recline for an hour in the other. Repeat process as necessary.
3. Your coach can never be too level. Nor can your methods for determining level be too stringent. Use a traditional 3-foot level to determine accuracy. Use just light taps on the manual adjustment of each jack to place that bubble EXACTLY in the center of the level. Then take out your smart phone and make sure the Bubble Level app agrees with your 3-foot level. Now is NOT the time for sloppy or slipshod work!
4. If you have one nearby, invite the grandson or granddaughter over for a couple of days; making sure they are properly sterilized and sealed in plastic bags. On rainy days, throw a small bouncing ball back and forth for every hour in between meals. Trust me, they'll lose interest long after you do.
5. Take walks. Every hour. If you have a pet, make sure they go through your physical fitness routine with you. After a couple of days, they'll be wanting to shelter in place anywhere you aren't.
6. If you're like me, you're responsible for grilling outdoors. Change up the menu a bit. There's no reason why you can't have burgers for breakfast, grilled chicken for lunch and grilled pork chops for dinner. Mix it up a bit by grilling bacon for most every meal.
7. After #6, find a way to hide any scale you might have brought with you. Locking it away in a little used basement bay works best.
8. Reorganize your storage. Cycle your indoor stuff to your basements bays. You'll quickly find out what items you use and don't use. Get rid of anything you never have to go outside to fetch.
9. If you have the H&I channel on your TV, binge watch every episode of every Star Trek series six nights a week. Make bets on which red shirt dies first on any Original Series episode. Make sure you do the over / under on how long the first one lasts.
   
10. Test the limits on your important systems in the RV – especially your electrical system. We found out you can't run the microwave / convection oven, the toaster oven, one Fantastic fan and the fireplace all at once without kicking your inverter offline. Hint: don't ask us how we know.
    

We hope these tips help you make it through these trying times of sheltering in place. Be safe, and be smart!