Donated RVs House Front-Line Medical Staff in Coronavirus Pandemic

• RV manufacturers and American campers are banding together to volunteer their motorhomes and camping trailers to house medical professionals fighting COVID-19.
• According to a report from RV News, the Facebook group RVs for MDs to Fight the Corona Virus is the de facto hub for organizing the effort.
• In some areas of the country, donated RVs are being used to help quarantine homeless citizens who have tested positive for the virus, according to USA Today.

Sequestered at home and sheltering in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus–COVID-19–has dampened many Americans’ plans for vacations and getaways, but their RVs, motorhomes, and camping trailers may still see use this spring and summer. The outdoor-adventure community is coming together to provide them as temporary housing for medical workers and safe-haven quarantine spaces for homeless and at-risk people.

Thanks to the efforts of a growing number of motorhome and camper trailer owners via the Facebook Group RVs for MDs to Fight the Corona Virus, doctors, nurses, and hospital staff are being paired with available RVs across the country. The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) has also jumped onboard as of this week to help provide free spaces for the RVs close to communities who need medical staff.

Luxury travel trailer manufacturer Airstream has mobilized its inventory of Nest campers to serve as mobile coronavirus testing facilities.

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RV manufacturers are also joining in, lending unsold inventory to communities in need. Luxury travel-trailer manufacturer Airstream told Car and Driver that the company has mobilized its fleet of Nest camper trailers to serve as mobile virus-testing locations. The small fiberglass camper is intended as an entry point to the upscale camping lifestyle, and its working kitchenette with running water allows medical workers to properly wash their hands between patients.

“Like everyone, Airstream is looking for ways to do what we can to curb the spread of the coronavirus,” said president and CEO Bob Wheeler. “One of the best defenses seems to be testing. These are local heroes, and we’re doing what we can to help those doing the testing stay warm and healthy.”

A representative from Airstream also told C/D that in addition to lending available trailers, it has asked its sewing and upholstery team to produce safety masks and protective gowns to supply hospitals and medical facilities near the company’s headquarters in Jackson Center, Ohio.

A community of quarantined campers parked at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles, California.

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The state of California has purchased more than 1300 RVs and campers from FEMA and private companies to help house recovering patients in quarantine. The Golden State has been hit particularly hard with COVID-19 cases, but its many coastal parks and campgrounds make ideal places for quarantining.

If you have a motorhome or RV that you’d like to volunteer, join the RVs for MDs Facebook group and complete their online form to be matched up with a front-line medical worker or recovering patient in need.