unattended pets

[rothskeller]

A RoadTrek dealer justified their VoltStart system to me with this scenario: you want to go for a half-day hike in a national park. Your dog isn't allowed on the trail, so you have to leave him in the van, so you have to leave the air conditioning on for many hours, trusting the VoltStart system to recharge the batteries as needed. PleasureWay has AGS, much the same system (running the generator, in their case). However, for unrelated reasons, I decided to order a custom Sportsmobile, and they don't offer any such system. They pointed out that running an engine unattended is illegal in most states.

I'd be interested in the group's insights around this scenario (particularly those who are pet owners):
- Does your van have a system like VoltStart or AGS?
- Do you trust it with your pet's safety?
- Are you comfortable leaving your pet in the van unattended for long periods of time (independent of air conditioning)?
- Have you ever gotten flak (or a ticket) for using such a system?
- Have you ever gotten flak (or a ticket, or a broken window) for leaving a pet unattended in your van?
- If all of the windows are covered with blackout shades, and an attic fan is left running, would the van still get too hot for a pet?
- In the absence of a VoltStart or similar system, what alternatives are available that would allow the hike?

Thanks in advance...

 

[BBQ-ClassB]

.

LOL

Another Koolaid offer.

Would you trust the life of a dear member of your family to a hotchpotch collection of proprietary electronic parts made by unknown entities, then connected together by a group of anonymous "engineers". Have you counted how many points-of-failure in the set up?

:-D


I have nothing against VS.
I do smh when they try to sell it to pet owners.

 

[rothskeller]

.
Would you trust the life of a dear member of your family to a hotchpotch collection of proprietary electronic parts made by unknown entities, then connected together by a group of anonymous "engineers". Have you counted how many points-of-failure in the set up?

Heh. I think it's pretty obvious from my questions that I'm skeptical about it. But then, I'm an "engineer" myself, and skeptical is our natural state.

 

[Bud-ClassB]

" They pointed out that running an engine unattended is illegal in most states."

Yes it appears that way, I had no idea that 'no idling' had become so widespread.

Bud

 

[sharter]

I would do as many things as possible:
1. Blackout\reflective shades
2. Park in shade
3. Roof vent on
4. Iced water for dog
5. A\C if feasible (12v or voltstart)
6. Run A\C before you leave
7. Temp sensor that you can monitor from phone
8. Short haircut for dog
9. ...

 

[mumkin]

I rarely leave my dog in the rig alone... certainly not for hours unless it is a really cool day and the fantastic fan plus window is sufficient.

There are systems that are pretty good these days that can monitor the temp inside the vehicle... and connect to your smart phone... and also allow you to start the rig. Not cheap... but neither is the VS.

If I planned to do something like this, this is what I would get.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dronem...-on-module-black-gray/4290909.p?skuId=4290909

There is also a monthly charge I believe.

 

[Mat Mobile]

There are systems that are pretty good these days that can monitor the temp inside the vehicle... and connect to your smart phone...

Do you have a link for a product like this?

 

[Davydd]

I have Autogen (auto start) on my Advanced RV which is much more sophisticated than Voltstart. You don't leave a pet in your van depending on such a system unless you are right there.

For one there is no failsafe system.

Good luck monitoring with a cell phone in a national park let alone taking a hike for half a day in a wilderness in a national park.

There are idling laws attended or left unattended even though most auto start without a key is supposedly fool proof for theft. A tempted thief may not know that and once in could start your van other ways.

You are going to attract the attention of other campers and authorities especially if your dog barks or is seen unattended in the van. The attention is not going to be positive. It might not be just flak, a broken window or a ticket. You could get arrested. Even if you don't need air conditioning to prevent the van overheating you will still be subject to this attention if people know a dog is inside.

What are the alternatives available? Leave your dog at home with a friend, family member or kennel, leave your dog with a trusted friend or family member in the campground or don't go on a hike or anything leaving your dog unattended.

 

[BBQ-ClassB]

.

What good does it do when you are 2 hours into a hike and you get a cell message that your RV is overheating? :-D

 

[rothskeller]

.
What good does it do when you are 2 hours into a hike and you get a cell message that your RV is overheating? :-D

In a salesman's ideal world, you can then use your cell phone to remotely turn on your van's engine and air conditioner.

 

[avanti]

Sony is bringing back Aibo:

 

[Davydd]

In a salesman's ideal world, you can then use your cell phone to remotely turn on your van's engine and air conditioner.

Go back and tell the salesman that means the system had failed if you already had made precautions before starting out. Evidently, the salesman doesn't know his product because there are very few national parks with cellular access. So take all his BS with a grain of salt.

 

[Ron J. Moore]

Your the buyer.....and that Salesman makes his living on what you buy! With all the problems with Systems flying to the market, I won't be my pet's life on it. Ron

 

[jon-ClassB]

Get one of these 5 hour portable air conditioners. Make sure to use the dryer hose exhaust the warm air out the window:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1253665084/zero-breeze-the-worlds-coolest-portable-air-condit

 

[eric1514]

Get one of these 5 hour portable air conditioners. Make sure to use the dryer hose exhaust the warm air out the window:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1253665084/zero-breeze-the-worlds-coolest-portable-air-condit

Although I don't have a dog, and I wouldn't leave him in a van even if I did, that thing is slick.

 

[InterBlog]

Do you have a link for a product like this?

Yes, I do (Edit: this pertains to monitoring capacity, not remote start). I use a Canary which we permanently mounted in our rig on its own power outlet (husband and I DIY'd the installation). The Canary communicates with my iPhone through my Verizon air card.

Last week I had a mission-critical meeting in THE worst place of all - right in the middle of the urban core. My van is too tall to enter a parking garage, so I was forced to park on a seedy surface lot surrounded by skyscrapers. That, as I see it, is the number one potential break-in scenario. My dog was with me out of necessity and had to remain in the van. I don't care if someone steals my stuff, but if they break into my van, they'll let my terrified dog loose, and she'll be killed in the streets because she is an inside dog and she is not street smart.

During this meeting, I kept the video channel continuously open, including audio. My meeting was on the umpteenth floor of one of those skyscrapers, but not so far that we couldn't dial 911 immediately (there's both a siren alarm and a panic button built into the Canary display window) and sprint for the parking lot if something had gone wrong.

Think of it as being like Facetime with your rig. It's not a perfect solution but it's a danged sight better than being deaf and blind. I wouldn't use this in many scenarios, certainly not on a 2-hour hike away from the rig. But it does have its applications. I was able to concentrate on the meeting without being distracted by anxiety about my dog's well-being. The Canary also has live temperature feed, BTW.

Here's a pic of my disgruntled pooch, as seen from the feed on the umpteenth floor of that building. The vid feed is blurry in the background because it is optimized for the foreground, in order to distinguish faces. So I put a red arrow showing the blurry disgruntled dog.

 

[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)!

 

[InterBlog]

We value and safeguard our dogs, but dogs are not children. We cannot wait hand and foot on dogs (or children) as if they were our exclusive masters and this was our sole task in life. Most dog owners in this country have jobs. We go to work. We kennel or crate or otherwise house our dogs as needed during those times. Even if we could take them everywhere with us, it wouldn't be healthy for them because they need to sleep 12 to 14 hours per day (mine is older and she sleeps closer to 16 hours each day).

She gets disgruntled when I have to leave the van to take care of business. Guess what?? Being occasionally disgruntled never killed anyone, human or animal. She gets disgruntled because she assumes every activity is a walk, and she loves to go on walks, so she doesn't want to be left out. She'll live with it. And my multiple van security and monitoring systems (I described just one of them here) will ensure that she lives with it safely.

 

[rothskeller]

Get one of these 5 hour portable air conditioners. Make sure to use the dryer hose exhaust the warm air out the window:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1253665084/zero-breeze-the-worlds-coolest-portable-air-condit

I doubt that would serve in this case. Most class B rooftop air conditioners have around 11,000 BTU of cooling capability. I figure that's what's needed to keep a van cool, because the manufacturers aren't going to spend for more capacity than they need, right? This portable air conditioner puts out 1,100 BTU — one tenth as much. It's hard to believe it could adequately cool the van.

I did chuckle at their claim that it can cool a 50 square foot room. Great, you can have a cool bathroom, which is about the only room that small in a typical house. And that's in a house, with an insulated roof. Cooling a van has got to be a lot harder.

I'm not knocking the product, mind you. Pretty impressive. But I don't think it serves this particular purpose.

 

[jon-ClassB]

I doubt that would serve in this case. Most class B rooftop air conditioners have around 11,000 BTU of cooling capability. I figure that's what's needed to keep a van cool, because the manufacturers aren't going to spend for more capacity than they need, right? This portable air conditioner puts out 1,100 BTU — one tenth as much. It's hard to believe it could adequately cool the van.

I did chuckle at their claim that it can cool a 50 square foot room. Great, you can have a cool bathroom, which is about the only room that small in a typical house. And that's in a house, with an insulated roof. Cooling a van has got to be a lot harder.

I'm not knocking the product, mind you. Pretty impressive. But I don't think it serves this particular purpose.

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.