unattended pets

[SteveJ]

Our 6lb killer attack Chihuahua is perfectly content to cook her brain laying in the summer sun in our Florida back yard for half the afternoon, or longer. If we park in the shade with the Fantastic fan running, she's good 2 go up into the 90's. We do have to make sure that the shade doesn't go away with the advancing day.

Attack Chihuahua is also not one of those snippy little nervous P.O.S. She's is content with snoozing the day away waiting for her mommy or daddy. She will growl a bit if another dog walks by. Too funny.

[rothskeller]

Originally Posted by jon

These RV 10K BTU air conditioner units must be made for Florida 100 degrees at 100% humidity in the sun with the windows closed. Just parking out of direct sunlight and using a roof vent would bring the temp down to a safe level. Might be uncomfortable but people have lived (survived) without air conditioning forever.

I admit, I'm looking forward to experimenting when I get my new van. Park it with the side windows open, the shades down, the roof vent open and fan turned on, the windshield and front windows covered, and a remote thermometer inside: just how hot does it get? As bad as a car? How much does the roof fan help?

Sadly, that won't be for many months. Mercedes has a very long backlog...

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by AZ ADVenturist

We don't "own" a dog or other animal. But INMHO it is Crue/irresponsible to leave any dog unattended/unsupervised - disgruntled or not. Would any responsible person leave a toddler or any other high maintenance being alone for more than a very few minutes?
I've had this discussion with my neighbor when she leaves her dog home alone. That is when the dog becomes 'disgruntled', stressed or just lonely.
And Barks non-stop. Guess where this otherwise "Lady" tells me to 'stick it' when I calmly tell her about it. We've had this problem when camping too.
Dogs should be supervised, and seen but not heard unless spoken to (like children)!

Obviously never owned a dog.

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by rothskeller

I admit, I'm looking forward to experimenting when I get my new van. Park it with the side windows open, the shades down, the roof vent open and fan turned on, the windshield and front windows covered, and a remote thermometer inside: just how hot does it get? As bad as a car? How much does the roof fan help?

Sadly, that won't be for many months. Mercedes has a very long backlog...

It will not get nearly as hot as a car, given the above conditions. It will be a bit warmer inside if parked in the sun. Parked in the shade the interior will be quite close to the outdoor ambient.

Just a little something else. When first parking our Roadtrek it gives off a lot of heat from underneath, especially if it's hot out. What we sometimes do is fire up the genny to run the cabin A/C to try to set a chill inside. A half hour usually does it, sometimes less, depending on conditions. A good time for a meal break, if required.

[Mat Mobile]

Thanks for the link InterBlog. And I agree with you.

Everybody jumped to the worst case scenario of hot van in summer going for a hike in the desert which is just stupid and unacceptable.

But for us, on our first trip with our dog it became necessary a few times to leave him in the van unattended. Here's some examples:

• grocery store
• a nice lunch or cup of coffee at a nice place recommended in guide books (on a cold rainy day)
• museum

In none of these cases was he in real danger and never has he bothered anybody. We park in the back of the parking lot with windows open and/or on cold days. We're also installing solar panels and a quality roof fan to ensure even more safety for him.

The worst case scenario was the ferry that forced us to leave him in the van for 17 hours (of sleep at night). But it wasn't too bad in the end.

To be frank, we would much rather bring our dog with us 3 weeks and leave him alone half an hour every other day than leave him at a shelter that cage him for 22 hours a day.

Plus, he comes from a shelter and he's "van sized" (12 lbs.). He has an amazing life with us.... other than the fact that we have to work.

I would not trust the "automatic start mechanism" for my dog's safety. I actually think it's more appropriate for keeping your van ready when you return from hiking in warm weather or from a day of skiing... But I wouldn't order it.

This will probably (has already?) turned into an ethical debate... But it's a forum to ask questions and the OP has a legitimate question that deserves practical answers. So just my 2 cents.

[jon]

Seriously that is one of the reasons I installed a 8K BTU 12 volt air conditioner is so I could turn it on low while sleeping. It's the only solution I could find. It's not cheap but is seems that it will work. They do make 12 volt portable units that seem satisfactory for pets. You can find anything on google;
http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/arc...n-12-volt.html
https://www.webasto.com/au/markets-p...s/fresco-3000/

[eric1514]

Just a note: Here in ID, a bill is working it’s way through the legislature that would protect a person from criminal or civil suit if that person broke into your car because they thought your dog was in distress. A barking dog might just do it.

[rothskeller]

Thanks, folks, for the great discussion. I think it's pretty much put to bed any thoughts I might have had about relying on a VoltStart or equivalent system to leave my dog unattended for long periods of time.

Since that is the primary use case that RoadTrek and others cite, I'm left wondering what practical purpose VoltStart serves. But that's only idle curiosity since my van isn't going to have such a system anyway,

[mumkin]

Many long time period boondockers love their VS because it keeps the batteries topped up whenever needed. And one doesn't have to be constantly checking charge levels... since the VS is doing it for you. It can be helpful running heat and AC at night. They seem to love it. It wouldn't be something that I would need.

[skagitstan]

I prefer not to leave a gas (or diesel) engine running unattended.

And if a place on a camping trip doesn't allow my dog, it loses my business.
National forests near national parks are usually far less crowded, commonly have just as nice trail systems, and aren't near as paranoid about dogs.

[mlts22]

There are some alert systems which use satellites and have multiple stages. First, they alert the owner, and second, they actually open the door of the vehicle. Better an escaped pet than a dead one.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by mlts22

There are some alert systems which use satellites and have multiple stages. First, they alert the owner, and second, they actually open the door of the vehicle. Better an escaped pet than a dead one.

Your pet will make a nice meal for the local coyotes. Thank you very much.



ps. Thank you for your iPad, your telephone lens, your wallet, your drone...

[InterBlog]

Temperatures in our van have routinely reached 105 to 107 F even with heat countermeasures, because we live in the deep south. This is one of the reasons why we installed an EasyStart and run our a/c off lithium for up to 2 hours at a time. It has proven to be quite reliable, within its natural capacity limits. I have left the a/c running with the dog in the van in outdoor temperatures up to 103 F. That's where the Canary comes in handy with its continuous temperature feed. If the a/c quits unexpectedly, I can see it and I just leave the restaurant and high-tail it back to the van.

I don't really understand why someone would be upset that I leave my dog in our van for 30 minutes. I have lived exclusively in the van myself for up to 30 DAYS at a time.

I've got a series of blog posts in which I discuss heat countermeasures which include re-doing the roof with Bus Kote, making an exterior side window shroud, making a custom rear door screen, making an Insul-bright cover for the slider window, making Reflectix shades (not very effective when used alone, but every little bit counts), using the fitted commercial Heatshield window and cab coverings, and I'm sure there's more heat-related stuff that is not coming to my mind right now. I will be expanding the use of the Insul-bright once I get certain technical issues sorted out.

Also, I stumbled across a Class B owner a few weeks ago whose rig was spray-insulated underneath, *after* the upfit had been completed. She said that the rig had come from Canada and the previous owner had added that. She was very pleased with the gains in thermal efficiency that had come from the job. I have noticed that my metal table leg floor sockets become so hot in the summer that it burns my bare feet to touch them. I've wondered whether any under-chassis improvements could be done to minimize heat transfer through the floor.

[BBQ]

.

This would help

[Oliver2017]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

This is one of the reasons why we installed an EasyStart and run our a/c off lithium for up to 2 hours at a time. It has proven to be quite reliable, within its natural capacity limits.

I am very interested in being able to do this...do you mind providing a shopping list of every thing needed...I am in the beginning planning stages of building a camper on a Promaster 159 wb.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Oliver2017

I am very interested in being able to do this...do you mind providing a shopping list of every thing needed...I am in the beginning planning stages of building a camper on a Promaster 159 wb.

I'm in the process of publishing a series of four summary blog posts on our system. The first one provides a general overview. The second one describes the AC system (alternating current, not air conditioning). The third one will describe the charging and inverter system and the fourth will cover DC components.

Those posts have links to the specific products we used, except, as I note by way of disclaimer, the little parts are not all described because it would take me six years to write all that stuff down. So on the diagrams I show wires and whatnot but the specific gauges, connectors, etc. I also don't discuss tools, which are a big part of this process.

This Air Forums thread was initiated by my husband to discuss the project in real time... LOL, it's up to 58,000 views. I must warn you however that some of the discussed design features were subsequently changed and the forums do not allow us to go back and edit to describe which ones.

My husband is a mechanical engineer and it took him months of research to work out our system design to his satisfaction. Good luck with yours, and most importantly, don't cut any corners or build anything that you don't completely understand.

Being able to run the roof air conditioner off lithium is the neatest thing. So is rolling down the highway while microwaving a burrito or a boomerang pie. The whole project was time and money well-spent.

[MsNomer]

Originally Posted by AZ ADVenturist

We don't "own" a dog or other animal. But INMHO it is Crue/irresponsible to leave any dog unattended/unsupervised - disgruntled or not. Would any responsible person leave a toddler or any other high maintenance being alone for more than a very few minutes? …
Dogs should be supervised, and seen but not heard unless spoken to (like children)!

I had lunch with my vet yesterday and told her about this post. She laughed and said, "What a perfect way to ruin a decent pet."

[InterBlog]

We need to care for children and pets without spoiling them. Or else, yes, they will be ruined.