Monthly Archives: August 2014

Severe Weather — It Happens

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When you are asleep do you worry about this,

or maybe this

or even this?

Well I did!!

At the beginning of camping season and at the end of camping season are the most dangerous times for storms expected, or not. And if predictions are correct and this is an El Niño year then things could get really bad or not.
What is an El Niño? El Niño is an ocean-atmosphere climate phenomenon that is linked to the periodic warming of waters across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This warming is part of the natural climate system. On average, an El Niño event occurs every 2 to 7 years and typically lasts about 9 to 18 months.
So why should you worry or even be concerned about an El Niño ? During periods of El Niño warm water builds up off the South American coast and this sends more than the normal waves of moisture into the US. These waves of moisture can, and do cause more storms, some of which are more severe than storms in a non El Niño year. This translates into more severe thunderstorms and more than normal tornado’s
While you can use your phone most of the time for weather alerts and weather radar, when you are out camping your phone may not get a signal or changing weather conditions may suddenly make your phone not work. And the basement of a 5er is not a safe place to be. So what is a person to do?

During the check-in process to get your RV site, you should ask, where do we go in case of severe weather and do you have a method of alerting the campground of approaching bad weather?
In most cases the park will have a severe weather location, like a cement block bath house or underground facilities. But most will not have a warning system. It is left up to you to know when bad weather is approaching and it is time to take cover.

So now your phone has no bars and the park has no way to tell you that a large thunderstorm is approaching your RV site. Now what are you going to do to keep you and your family safe? Buy a weather radio with built-in weather alert. Our government built, many years ago, a National Alert System to let citizens know about disasters before they happen. That was the old weather radio that went off (with its built-in siren) all the time for just about any reason (some good, mostly bad). After a lot of citizen complaints over many years a new system of alerting people was developed by the government that had a better built-in method of stopping false alerts and added text messages to each alerts displayed on a screen on the new generation of weather radios.

RadioShack SAME Weather Radio / Dual Alarm Clock / AM-FM Radio

I could go into detail on how this type of radio works but this is not a DIY Blog. This type of radio can be programed simply, thanks to SAME(Specific Area Message Encoding) technology you will only receive alerts for the locations that you have entered into the radio and you won’t have to worry about false triggers or deal with an event that has nothing to do with your area. Also some weather radios like the ones pictured (above and below) you can customize some of the alert types, so it only alerts you to the alert types that you have selected. For example, if the National Weather Service issues a thunderstorm watch and you have only thunderstorm warning selected. The radio wont alert you unless a thunderstorm warning alert is sent. Most of these radios have battery back-up and you can attach your HDTV antenna to them to extend the pick-up range of this type of weather radio. You should never leave home to go camping with out one of these special SAME radios.

RadioShack 7-Channel Handheld Weather Radio with SAME

Here is one that operates on just batteries and can be carried on the hiking trail or just outside around the campground.

No matter which one, or maybe both, you choose like a smoke detector or gas detector your RV is not complete and you are not fully protected nor safe until you have one.

 

Until Next Time

Is Your Pet Safe in Your RV When You’re Gone?

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This has been a major question with RVers traveling with their pets.  For some it was a reason not to go to a museum or sight-see some special area because there was no way to know. We have all read the horror stories of an RVer coming home to find their pet in a fight for its life or dead because of overheating in a hot RV.  Or worse yet did the power at the RV  park go off and come back on and reset everything, so that the air conditioning or heating system is not set to the right temperature?
With modern technology it should be simple and affordable to know if your pet is safe, while you are out enjoying the sights near where you are camping.  Lets look at some things that may work for you.
1. You will need an Android Smartphone that you will leave in the RV full time.  I would suggest a low cost  pay as you go Verizon phone.  The reason for Verizon is that, a Verizon Phone will work in more places than any of  the other Wireless Phone Companies. And for an RVer who is moving all the time you never know where you will be.

  • The phone needs to have bluetooth
  • Temperature Monitoring Feature (SamSung Galaxy 3 for example)
  • The phone must be rechargeable
  • You need to have both the AC and DC charger for the phone
The Verizon Moto G Prepaid Phone is an Android Smartphone that has most of the features you need.
Verizon Moto G Prepaid Phone

You will need to locate the phone where you get the best signal from Verizon and that is also near an AC power outlet.  You will also need to download from the Google Play Store an Application called
“Temperature Surveillance” located here Temp Surveillance .  The way this system works is the phone monitors your RV with your Android Smartphone. The day to day phone you normally carry with you will get an text message (SMS) if the RV  gets too hot, too cold or if a power failure occurs. The text message you will receive will  contain information about the RVs temperature and if there is a power failure or not in the RV.  All you have to do is tell the App the temperature limits high, low, and the telephone number where you want to receive the text alarms. Then just leave the RV Android phone plugged into the AC  in the space you want to monitor and you are done.

Positive: Simplest and cheapest method to monitor RV Temperature.
Negative: May not work with all cheap smartphones.
2. You will still need the Verizon phone above.  However for those smartphones that can not use the Temp Surveillance App here is another choice. The Elertus™ sensor monitors and sends alerts to your phone the instant an important door is opened/closed, a light is turned on/off, if temperature or humidity levels hit critical trigger points, or if the sensor is moved. In this case the Verizon RV Smartphone will have to be used as a Hotspot.  The Elertus will call your daily carried phone and report what the problem is.  This gives you time to get back to the RV and correct the problem.
 Some of the features of the Elertus are listed below.
  • 100% wireless, place it anywhere
  • No fees or subscriptions!
  • connects via wifi
  • temperature (-20°F to 150°F)
  • humidity (0 – 100%)
  • movement (accelerometer)
  • door sensor (open/close)
  • light sensor (on/off)
  • connection loss (wifi)
  • battery (0 – 100%)
  • free mobile app
  • access from anywhere
  • manage multiple sensors (ten per account)
  • alerts multiple users

To get more information on the Elertus system go here Elertus System of Remote Sensing

Here again the sensor sends information to you about the temperature in the RV and if power has failed.
3.  Another system (we are getting pricey folks) is Temperature Alert .  This unit would use the RV Wireless Phone as a HotSpot and send you text messages about the temperatures in your RV.
Temperature Alert Wi-Fi

The system does work well, but for some of us, it is a bit pricey.
The above unit is Temperature Alert Wi-Fi here is the Temperature Alert Cellular version of the same unit.

Temperature Alert Cellular

There are two more systems coming online later this fall
4.  The Wimoto THR001 Thermo Bluetooth Smart Thermometer Sensor.  This sensor will send the temperature information by Bluetooth to a device that will post the information to the Web using your RV Phone as a HotSpot.  Some of the features are listed below the picture.  This unit will be available later this Summer or early next Fall.

Wimoto THR001 Thermo Bluetooth Smart Thermometer Sensor

Some of the features are listed below;

  • Both infrared non-contact and needle probe thermometer in one. Infrared range 0 to 212 Fahrenheit. Probe range is -50 to 500 Fahrenheit.
  • Relays information to Bluetooth 4.0 SMART Ready devices such as iPhone 4S/5/5C/5S and certain Android phones and tablets with up to 100ft range
  • Acts as a datalogger when no smartphone or tablet in range and records information periodically for up to a month at a time.
  • Runs for 1-3 years on a single battery (user changeable) and weather resistant
  • Integrates with Wimoto Cloud Cube for real-time, always-on updates via the Internet

The thermometer sensor will send its information to the Wimoto Cloud Cube which will send the information to the internet and then be passed on to your everyday carried Smartphone.

Here is what the company said about the Cloud Cube; “Connects Wimoto Bluetooth SMART sensors to the Wimoto cloud service via Wifi. Extends the range of Wimoto sensors so that can be accessed from anywhere you have Internet connectivity.”  Here is a link to the Wimoto Cloud Cube that will be available late Summer 2014 or early Fall 2014.These are some of the best ideas currently available or that will be available soon.  It is important for all pet owners to enjoy RVing and that can be difficult when you are afraid to leave your pet behind in your Rig and strike out for adventure.

How hot is it in your Rig?  Now you will know.

Until next time.