As full-time nomads, our pets go everywhere with us. We’ve traveled in a bus conversion, a campervan, and now an RV. Our pets are always right there with us on every adventure. Unfortunately, though, we often run into places where we can’t take our dog and cat with us, and they have to stay behind in our RV while we run into a grocery store or get to go off exploring a National Park. Often, while we are traveling, we are off-grid and do not have access to shore power to run our RV’s air conditioning easily. As a result, we have to put a lot of thought into our travels to ensure our pets are safe.
We travel with the weather, planning our trips to stores around the afternoon temperatures. Recently, we have been using a Waggle Pet Monitor to ensure our pets’ safety.
Disclaimer: We have partnered with Waggle to review their RV Pet Monitor Pro+. That said, our views are our own and are not influenced by Waggle in any way.
Keeping Pets Safe While Traveling
Keeping pets safe on the road isn’t difficult, but there is some thought and planning for your adventures that we highly recommend. We have been traveling in buses and campervans for the past six years and have learned how to keep our rigs safe and comfortable for our pets during summer and winter.
- Insulated Window Coverings: We always make insulated window coverings for every window in our rig. Quality window covers that block out the heat or cold can make a massive difference in inside temps in your RV or campervan. In the height of summer, we can get up to a 15° temperature difference inside just by putting window covers on our windshield and side windows.
- Rooftop Vent Fans: When traveling off-grid and without an air conditioner, rooftop vent fans are the go-to way to stay cool in summer. Our campervan had two 12v rooftop vent fans that could blow into and vent out of the van. Combined with our window covers, we could keep the inside of our campervan safe even when it was 95° outside.
- Plan Your Errands Around The Temps: When it is hot outside, we stay with our pets in the RV, go for a drive, or find some water for us all to play in. Groceries, laundry, and hikes are all things we will do either first thing in the morning or the evening with good temps. In the winter, we’ll do the opposite and plan our trips out for the middle of the day when it is warmer.
- Waggle Pet Monitor: Recently, we added a Waggle Pet Monitor to our list of ways we keep our pets safe while traveling, and we have quickly grown to consider it a must-have for anyone traveling with pets.
We have longer detailed posts about staying cool in the summer and how to keep warm in the winter, which you can check out for more information.
Waggle Pet Monitor
The Waggle Pet Monitor keeps an eye on the temperature and humidity inside your campervan and sends real-time alerts through text, email, and the Waggle app. Within the app, you can set specific temperature ranges. If your RV, campervan, or bus conversion falls outside that range, alerts are sent immediately. Allowing you to take quick action to return to your camper or have friends and family check on your pets.
With the Waggle Pet Monitor we have in our RV, we have:
- Real-time RV temperature and humidity updates on our phone
- Recurrent 10-minute check-ins for continuous monitoring
- We are alerted in seconds when the temperature goes outside our set range
- We receive instant alerts if our RV loses power when we have access to shore power
- Can get notifications if our RV exits a defined virtual zone
- We can have friends and family get instant alerts if the temperature goes outside our set range
The Waggle Monitor works on a Verison cell signal, so the Waggle Monitor will work anywhere we have cell data. However, that does mean a subscription is required when using Waggle. Luckily, their monthly and yearly prices are not too bad and are worth our peace of mind while traveling to us.
Our Experience With Waggle Pet Monitor
The Waggle Pet Monitor solves one of our largest stresses while traveling: knowing what the conditions are inside our RV while we are away. Being able to pull out our phones and open the Waggle app from anywhere and knowing our pets are safe has relieved so much stress for us, allowing us to stop worrying and enjoy the moment. We definitely consider it an essential item for anyone traveling with pets.
Installation was a breeze. The wall mount Waggle sent with the monitor has a sticky backing, allowing you to install it anywhere in your rig. We installed ours right above our AC Thromostate as it’s a central location.
The battery can last anywhere from 2 days to a week, depending on how often you want the app dashboard to update. With the app updated every 10 minutes, the battery lasts two days on average. With 30-minute updates, the battery lasts four days. There is also an ultra-low power mode with hourly updates that extend the battery to seven days. No matter the update interval, you will get an instant notification if the temperatures go outside the set range. The update interval is just how often the app’s dashboard gets updated.
TL;DR
We’ve been enjoying our Waggle Pet Monitor. We can check the temperatures in our RV from anywhere, and the device itself is easy to mount. With the Waggle Monitor having its own cell connection, we don’t have to worry about whether we have WiFi or not; it just works. Most of all, though, it provides peace of mind, allowing us to enjoy our travels more and worry less.
