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.

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