RV Temp Monitor System

[knotdonne]

I know this has been addressed multiple times. I'm sorry. And, I know the RV Nanny is worth every penny of its 900$ price tag. I just can't do it. What is the cheapest way to monitor the temperature for my dogs' safety? I know, I know, we should never leave them, but when we do? I've read about aiming a camera phone at a thermometer, baby monitors that work on cellular, and just wonder if there's a new thing in 2016 that works great. Help!?!?

Monty and Rita thank you in advance. Monty is ready to go, Rita... not so much.

[Wayne&Sam]

I went to rvnanny.com and the site is dead. You just saved $900. You're welcome.

[azflycaster]

We used the cellular version of the Temperature Alert monitoring system. It can be setup to alert via text, phone and email for high temps and power outages.

http://www.temperaturealert.com/land...kCUaAhCu8P8HAQ

[ArkFortyCal]

We have a wireless hot spot we keep in the trailer and use a FLIR FX internet camera. This enables us with the ability to check in from our cell phones to see how the dogs are doing and see the current temp. The app also allows you to setup alerts if the camera is disconnected from power (I.e. you blow a fuse and the AC stops), and alerts if the temp goes above or below your setting.

http://www.amazon.com/FLIR-Indoor-Wi.../dp/B00RCYEL7U

[Zybane]

Does anyone use the MarCELL system?

http://www.controlproductsonline.com...-209-l-en.html

Seem's like a pretty great idea for those of us that leave pets in a trailer. Uses Verizon and monitors power outages, temperature etc. Only $8 a month.

It even lets you know if it loses cell signal. Seems like an amazing device/service.

[Zybane]

Plus this is really cool:

https://www.nubocam.com/

[ArkFortyCal]

I mentioned in another thread last week the we utilize the FLIR FX wireless internet camera for all the thing you have mentioned. Allows alerts for signal loss and temp changes, etc. Perfect for pets.

[Zybane]

I guess I should have pointed out that both the items I posted connect to the internet directly via LTE. That is a big difference to those items like FLIR FX that have to connect via wireless router.

Wireless router service at campgrounds is notoriously bad and unreliable. The only other option would be to have a constant hot-spot for LTE to be converted to wireless for wireless cameras to use. This introduces multiple points of failure, and higher energy use.

[ArkFortyCal]

I agree on lack of quality of campground wireless, I don't even try anymore. We use a wireless MiFi from AT&T and connect the camera directly to this. We pay an extra $10 per month on our cell plan and shut it off in winter months.

We power both devices with a USB charger. If not connected to shore power (and the weather is cool for the dogs), I picked up a 12v plug that charges two USB devices.

[Zybane]

How has the data usage been? I'm looking for multiple cameras, so having multiple LTE devices hooked to cell phone starts to get pricey.

[ArkFortyCal]

We've never had any issues with data usage since we only use our camera 3-4 hours a weekend. We don't want to leave the dogs unattended for that long since we don't cage them and they are just roaming around the airstream. The FLIR FX has a cool daily summary, so you can see you what your pets were doing and where they were hanging out. You have to pay a little extra for this as a service within the app but it came with 4-5 free summaries that we used and we never paid any money, this just gave us an idea of what the dogs did when left alone

[jonnie3]

I hope I can get some recommendations on how to monitor the internal temperature of my airstream while away. I have two small Maltese dogs and have experienced two occasions when my trailer lost power; once due to a weak campground circuit breaker, and a second time due to using too much power. Thankfully I was at the trailer when this happened. Would like a way to use my iPhone to either be notified or to monitor my trailers internal temperature in the event I have another power loss. Thank you for your suggestions in advance.

[Bgibbs]

I use a Pump Alarm for our vacation home to detect a power outage and it has worked flawlessly. I was concerned about food spoilage in the fridge in case of a power outage. It uses cellular to send you a text message if power is lost. Of course, you must be in an area with cell coverage. It also has provision for two additional sensors. The ones supplied are for water detection but they offer one for low temp detection. If you could come up with a sensor to detect high temp, it would notify you if you lost your a/c. Don't know if such a sensor exists. The Pump Alarm is available on Amazon for a little over $200.

[jonnie3]

Was hoping to find a more economical solution. Someone mentioned something about turning a laptop with camera into a surveillance device by downloading an app called teamviewer. Sounds promising if I could do that with a mini IPad. Then I could keep a thermometer in view while also keeping an eye on the pets. Need to do more research on that one.

[RandyNH]

So your thinking that a laptop, with a camera, with a cellular connection that you can only tell what the temp is IF/WHEN you happen to access it, to see, is more economical than a one time $200 small box?
You would need to check it all the time to "see" what the temp is and then with that you need to have enough band width to carry the entire video signal or you won't see anything, drop out of 4G coverage and you can bet you won't be able to access it. The SMS that the Pump Alarm sends out is a micro burst and in areas where you can't get enough signal for a phone call, it can still send it the message as soon as it can ping the system.
The inputs could easily be reconfigured to connect to either your current thermostat or just hang a new one, set the temp you want and then it will alert you when the contract is made.
Nevermind the power needed to run the laptop and camera
Just do it right the first time and it will be more "economical" in the long run.

[VTSmitty]

We researched this for quite a while for the same reasons. Our dog and cat sometimes have to spend the day alone in the trailer while we're out hiking, and the ability to monitor temperature helps our peace of mind. We bought a SensorPush (search it on Amazon), and added the WiFi gateway so that we can connect through our hot spot instead of just Bluetooth. Since the gateway can also run off battery (we use a RavPower 23000mh) it means that we can still monitor temps when we're boondocking and don't want to run off the inverter.

We had looked at other monitors, but couldn't match the SensorPush for cost, features, and flexibility.

Dan

[AirMiles]

Here is the system I use. It costs less than $200 to set up and uses two cellphones which you may already have. Here is what I posted in my generator thread:

One of my primary uses for the generator is to have an air conditioned space for my dog for quick stops while traveling. With the generator, we can stop in hot weather for a sit down meal or a quick site seeing tour and have a cool place for my dog. I have set up a monitoring system for the trailer that will call my cellphone if the power goes off or if the temperature rises above 85 degrees. If the generator stops, I get a call. If the A/C breaks, I get a call.

The parts to build this Travel Trailer Pet Monitoring system are 1) two cellphones, one for inside the Airstream and one to carry with you, 2) a Home Sitter 700 call out alarm https://www.amazon.com/Control-Produ.../dp/B002MUAIP8 3) XLink Cellular Bluetooth Gateway https://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-Techno.../dp/B00135XU7Q to send the call from the Homesitter to your bluetooth cellphone 4) an inverter https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Power-...estek+inverter to power the bluetooth gateway in a power failure. I use this system to both monitor the travel trailer when I make extended stops on the road and when I leave the dog in hot weather.

[VaTravelers]

Originally Posted by VTSmitty

We researched this for quite a while for the same reasons. Our dog and cat sometimes have to spend the day alone in the trailer while we're out hiking, and the ability to monitor temperature helps our peace of mind. We bought a SensorPush (search it on Amazon), and added the WiFi gateway so that we can connect through our hot spot instead of just Bluetooth. Since the gateway can also run off battery (we use a RavPower 23000mh) it means that we can still monitor temps when we're boondocking and don't want to run off the inverter.

We had looked at other monitors, but couldn't match the SensorPush for cost, features, and flexibility.

Dan

Dan, I did the research and should receive my SensorPush and gateway tomorrow. I haven't decided on the RavPower option. I have a Verizon Mifi so I'll play with it all to see how it works best for us. Thanks for the post and we'd be interested in any lessons learned. Ps. We love visiting Vermont. Our son lives in Burlington and works for Vermont Creamery.

[VTSmitty]

Originally Posted by VaTravelers

Our son lives in Burlington and works for Vermont Creamery.

We both worked in Burlington before retirement, and it's a great town. I hope your son's a skier or rider, as it turned out to be a pretty decent winter on the slopes. Now if the rest of the snow in the valley would melt so I can go golfing...

We just bought a second SensorPush to keep in the refrigerator and alert us if there's any high temp issues. If you have any questions about the sensor or the gateway don't hesitate to contact the company; their support is really good, and all my questions received a quick response from the owners.

Nice pups!

Dan

[knotdonne]

I ordered the Sensor Push and gateway since it doesn't need 2 phones-- I often travel without hubby so I don't always have his phone and we do have the mifi. Thanks for the suggestions.