RV owners who use supplemental oxygen - can we talk?

  I am starting this thread to see if we can get a conversation going on the trials and tribulations of being an oxygen dependent RV traveler.  I hope we can use the thread to address any issue that a poster wants to address regarding the use of oxygen in an RV.
  I am a 78 year old user of Oxygen Therapy since November 2017.  I have COPD and knew that sooner rather than later I would be needing supplemental oxygen.  I now have an Invacare Oxygen Concentrator and Home Fill unit at home along with five small tanks that I keep filled for around town use.  Until recently I used the oxygen only at night while sleeping and when exerting myself.  In the past 3 weeks my need has increased due to exerting myself even for very minor things such as taking out the garbage can or climbing a ladder or lifting anything heavy.  My home oxygen needs are all covered by Medicare and a local oxygen provider.
  A couple of weeks ago, I decided to buy a portable oxygen concentrator for use on the road next summer.  It is an Invacare Platinum model with two batteries, supposedly good for about 10 hours at a 1 liter rate and less at higher rates of course.  Problem was it did not work right out of the box because the screen would not indicate any messages necessary to operate it.  So I sent it back on Friday - It arrived at the repair facility today and I was notified that I should have a replacement arriving today - not here yet.
  I think the portable unit will do what I need in the way of providing oxygen while on the road, especially at night and when exerting myself.  I also plan on carrying my tanks for emergency use and if they empty, find a place on the road where they can be filled.  That's the part that I am not sure of and if anybody wants to chip in some advice I would welcome it.
  Please feel free to add to the thread with any of your advice or concerns that maybe others can help.

Bill

Who is your home Oxygen supplier.  If Apria, they have a service most everywhere and you can make arrangements for support while traveling.  I have not used them yet but have talked to them about it and it seemed workable.

You weren't able to get a concentrator on you medical plan?  I'm now worried about my coverage if you failed. 

Jim, my home medical supplier is Mercy Health and that is also my current medical providers in Springfield, Mo.  They respond to my oxygen needs 24/7 and are paid by Medicare.  To be honest I have never talked to Social Security directly but my doctor tells me that he has never seen a situation where they cover both home and portable uses but admits also that he hasn't kept very close track of it.  Inogen claims they can get you a portable unit on Medicare but the hooker is that they also want to provide your home unit (if you want one) and once they have you outfitted they require you to turn in any other equipment you have rented from other suppliers.  Then SS will cover it - or so they claim.  But they are not local and I have read a couple of testaments on their service that just flat out scare me.  So I bought the unit with a 5 year warranty and know that I still have complete 24/7 home care from my Mercy providers.

Bill

A guy that stayed in the same RV park we did in the winters used a very portable concentrator for both night and while walking around which eliminated the need for tanks.
This HERE is the web site. We would have bought one but my wife uses oxygen in conjunction with a cpap machine which requires a continuous flow rather than a demand type like the Inogen concentrator above.

Clay, the Inogen G-3 would definitely work for walk around and for night duty at home.  And Medicare would pay for it.  The only problem is once has a problem it has to go back to a repair facility which is anywhere from one week to two weeks turnaround - that's the part they don't tell you.  Also the unit shown for $2495 is great but has only a single battery.  If you add another single battery, the price goes to $3495.  I read their MSRP pricing policy for dealers and it requires that $1000 be added for added batteries over that $2495 price.  Yet I have seen dealers price them at $2700+ with two batteries.  I believe that Medicare may cover both a home and portable unit from Inogen but you would not have tanks or tank fillers. Some would say great until the portable unit goes down.  My local oxygen supplier is 24/7 service and friends have told me they have called at 3am and had service in one hour for a broken concentrator.  It's nice to know you have that instant service instead of mailing a unit in for repairs.  JMHO

Bill

I got my new replacement POC from Invacare on Wednesday and after charging it up it works perfectly.  Need to adapt to a bit of noise from the concentrator as I am used to just carrying a small tank.  I then went and loaded the Piccolo O2 app for my smart phone and the thing is a real tattletale.  It tells me how many liters are flowing, how many batteries are installed and exactly how much running time I have left before run out.  It also sends a beep to the phone when breath is not detected for one minute or when the warmup period is excessive.  Those two items are a bit annoying to have an alarm sent to the phone.  I can partially understand why the batteries are so expensive.  Other than being a medical device (license to steal), they are lithium and have a button on each one that you can push and get a lighted indication of how much power is remaining.  I determined that I can travel locally with one battery that gives 5+ hours at 1 liter and 4+ hours at 2 liters.  The book says this unit (Invacare Platinum Mobile) can be run 24/7.  IIRC the Inogen must be shut down for a period after 8 hours. 

Bill