lesn8r wrote: how about webcam on a thermometer? Setup a simple website and check periodically?
just a thought
Thats not a bad idea. I could check it on my phone. We already have a laptop and the coach already has an inverter. You wouldn't need the inverter but the laptop would be on its battery power once the genset went off and many don't last that long. So $130 seemed cheap enough but a webcam is under $30 now. Another thought that I just haven't tried yet. We have two cell phones and they both have auto answer in handsfree mode that you can set. One could turn the tv on loud and all you have to do is call every once in awhile to hear if the tv is on which means the genset is on. Doesn't guarantee the AC's are on but a pretty good indicater.
Also, I have seen the $500 pet dialer thing and it looks a little cheesey. And thats a little high.
You mentioned generator so do you mostly boondock? The reason I ask is that all of the private campgrounds and some State Parks have rules about leaving pets un-attended whether in the coach or outside.
As others have said, I wouldn't trust the power source and I personally wouldn't trust technology to my pets well-being.
Now if you are talking about your RV parked in a stadium parking lot, then I don't know.
There was a recent post where someone mentioned that a camper left his generator on all day while they were gone from the campground and a neighbor went over and shut it off. Now, other than the satisfaction of putting this guy "six-feet-under" if it was my generator, you still have the welfare of the animals to consider.
Steve
2007 Springdale 291RKL
2003 F150 King Ranch
2001 Dodge Van w/Wheelchair Ramp
1991 Palomino Mustang PUP
Eureka Timberline Tent
Yamaha IF2400isc
Yamaha EF3000iSEBC "Politically Incorrect And Proud Of It"
Yes, this is in a college parking lot, all reserved spots. There are several hundred motorhomes in each and we all leave our gensets running all weekend. Genturi's are required. Anyone caught turning off a gegnset would be shot. No stand-alone gensets are allowed, they have to be built in. This Florida and the first 3-5 games, its high 90's. We have one of the few shady spots and we keep the ac on 72 so it would take a few hours to get to dangerous temps. We are rarely gone more than three hours. I am going to play around with the two cell phones, auto answer hands free, Polder kitchen thermometer alarm. Its a three year old diesel Onan genset and has never quit but you never know. Some have slung magnets and stopped, etc. One of these years the old hounds will cross that Rainbow bridge and my life will be simple again.
They probably wouldn't like being left alone in the house all weekend without anyone to let them out. And the AC could fail there, too. Besides, these are standard Poodles and if you leave them alone too long they will run up a big credit card bill ordering stuff off the internet, calling their cousins in Germany, etc. We take them everywhere, including long trips so they get left for a few hours here and there. These are truly perhaps the most spoiled, coddled dogs in the free world and are usually within a four ft radius of one of us.
This problem is something I've been thinking about a lot in our run up to going full timing. Leaving the dogs at home won't be an option as the TT will be our home. I'm sure there are going to be times when we will want to go places where the dogs can't go and we will have no option but to leave them in the TT alone for a few hours. We usually have the TT pretty cold when the weather is hot outside so if the power should go out it might take a while for it to get dangerously hot and hopefully if it did go out they would try to get it online again pretty quickly. However I would still want to know about it just in case. Some of these options eeem a little expensive and cumbersome. Sure would be nice if you could just tell the owners at the CG that you are leaving pets alone and if the power should go out give us a call. Don't know if I'd trust them anyway.
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