Pet Temperature Monitor

[alcain4]

What do you all use for monitoring the inside temp of your RV for your pet's safety while you are away?

[Mustang65]

Monitoring the temperature in an RV is not really that difficult, but the method of sharing that information with you while away from the RV is a little bit of a problem. There are units (expensive) that will send you a text based on the parameters that you set up. These units have a cell phone chip in them and use the 2G, 3G cell. There is a monthly cell service charge of about $7 - $15, which you can turn on and off. If you decide to go with one of these products, do not purchase a 2G model, as here in the USA the cellular companies are eliminating 2G from their towers.

Some use the internet (Public AP internet is ok) and they basically send an message to a special address that your personal cell service uses for this process. Verizon uses vtext.com and it then sends you a text to your smart phone. I use this service on many of my Home Automation programs (AC power, city water flow if away, fridge/freezer temperatures....)

What we do is set the AC thermostat for 76 and leave a key where we can have someone let the pup out if there was a power failure. We really were never gone for any length of time so for us it was not an issue.

https://rvtailgatelife.com/2018/rv-p...ature-monitors

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[GarlicDude]

We just leave the AC on low.

[alcain4]

Thanks, we do the same. Just always concerned that AC stops for whatever reason and we wouldn't know soon enough.

[oldmanAZ]

On our 'to buy' list is a Sensored Life MAR-500A Marcel Cellular Monitoring System. We don't have it yet so really can't say anything about it. There a few choices for units that notify you via cellphone.

[robkelly]

We have a Temp Stick. Only used it a couple of times as we rarely leave the “kids” alone, but being able to check the temp was great peace of mind. We’ve also used a Petcube to be able to see/hear how the “kids’ are doing.

The Petcube came in very handy last year. DW checked on the “kids” and could see them both cowering in a corner with a look of terror on their faces, and also that they’d knocked over a small lamp. Needless to say we headed back in a hurry. Turned out that the new batteries I’d put in the smoke detector weren’t so new, and the low battery chirping was causing the panic.

[TWP723]

We also leave the air on. We keep the inside of the RV the same temperature we would if we were there. In most cases, they are as comfortable as you are. In the summer, we rarely adjust the temperature. Especially if it's a site that's completely open and the Sun is cooking. When I get back, I want it comfortable. A couple years ago, we stayed at Massey's Landing in Delaware. We were in a site completely open in the month of August. Temps got close to 100 and humidity was almost the same. It was thick and nasty. But we turned the AC on and never touched it. It ran for 7 days straight 24-7 regardless if we were inside or not.

[Bassdogs]

Check with the CG host and any neighbors who have been there for a number of days. Ask them about the reliability of the power grid in the CG. If it has been off and on frequently then your trips away from the RV will be limited. In extreme temps like often experienced in the south in the summer, we won't leave the dogs alone for very long. Otherwise in moderate weather outages of 1 or 2 hours isn't going to cause them a problem. Site selection is also a wise habit. Find one with ample shade.

[oldmanAZ]

Discovered a new one yesterday:
MOTOROLA Cellular-Connected MultiSensor Reports Temperature, Humidity, Water leaks, Acceleration/Earthquakes, Light Level, Power Loss; Model MC4000 ~$100 and $5/mo for the cell connection.

Like the Marcel MAR-500A, the MC4000 doesn't need a campground wifi connection and will call out via its own cellphone connection.


These will both work if you are boondocking, but do have a cellphone connection.

[dee]

That motorola one got me excited, then I noticed it didn't have GPS. Can't believe they didn't include it.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by dee

That motorola one got me excited, then I noticed it didn't have GPS. Can't believe they didn't include it.

Why would you need GPS when monitoring temps?

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by dee

That motorola one got me excited, then I noticed it didn't have GPS. Can't believe they didn't include it.

The GPS could be a great feature if your RV was stolen. BUT, don't count them out yet. It's a cellphone connection so law enforcement could locate it via towers if it came to that. AND it might have GPS, marketing just doesn't know it yet.
I called tech support yesterday to find out more about the cellphone connection - can it be turned on and off to save money when not on the road, does it start when I buy the unit or can I turn it on a few months from now, etc. - but tech support said they didn't have that kind of information yet.

[Duke4857]

How did we do this before the cell phone system?

I think this is interisting so I had to make a comment to follow the thread. If I was on the road more often this would be something I/we would might do. This is a great way to know the puppys are safe while a person was gone for a few hours. There are places where dogs are not allowed. We do have a registered service dog, but there are still places I would not take him.

[dee]

Originally Posted by RetiredOne

Why would you need GPS when monitoring temps?

You don’t. But it is capable of monitoring several things, it has the telematics connection, so GPS would make sense. You could monitor your rv while you aren’t using it.