What To Do With Your Pets If You Need To Leave Your RV, Skoolie or Campervan
I see this question get asked quite often in a bunch of the RV/Camping/Skoolie/Van Life groups I belong to and it’s a pretty fair question. We love our pets, they are essentially our children so of course they come with us when we go camping. But what if we need to run to the grocery store? What if we need to do laundry that’s away from the campsite? How can we make sure they are safe and don’t die when it gets hot out?
Real Talk Rant
It always baffles me when people ask this question they always say, “what do you do when you need to go to the grocery store?” First of all, what are you buying? We live in a small mobile machine – granted some of these skoolie’s have a full size fridge and freezer – but for the most part we don’t have those and those that do, typically have a large enough family that someone can stay behind for the actual grocery shopping part. But what the heck are you buying and how are you storing it that takes you more than 20-30 mins? Not to mention that there are curbside pick up options (and have been for a long time). I understand wanting to use the restroom if your van doesn’t have a bathroom or wanting to stretch your legs. But if you’ve got your pet in your vehicle, you don’t get the luxury of taking your sweet time. Get in, go to the bathroom, get your stuff and get out. You can do all that and leave the van running with the a/c going full blast.
Rant over and with that finally off my chest, let’s get into some things that you should have regardless of your take on grocery store runs.
In Case Of Fire
The number one thing you can do is make sure you have a safety plan in place at all times. I highly recommend getting a fireball. Direct from the Elide’s website:
“In only 3 to 10 seconds after contact with the flame, the detonator located inside the ball activates the wick on its outer surface. An immediate explosion is caused: the extinguishing powder disperses over an area of 8 to 10 square meters (equivalent to a standard fire extinguisher of 2.5kg). The external force of the explosion then pushes oxygen out of the fire zone, the fire instantly extinguishes by the action of the blast.”
So basically, you see a fire, you grab the ball and throw it at it. Tiny children can do this. Of course, with a pet (specifically a dog) you’ll want to be careful that they don’t think it is a toy and get to chewing. The components are actually non-toxic and biodegradable, but still, you don’t want them chewing on it. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering ‘how does this help me if I’m gone?’
“One of the most important advantages of the fireball is that it automatically triggers in the presence of fire. If placed in areas of high fire hazard, where most fires occur, it will activate automatically when it comes into contact with a flame.”
Keep it in the kitchen, keep it by the propane, keep it by the motor, keep it in any area you might think a fire could start and you won’t have to worry about it. Plus, it is good for 5 years and requires no maintenance or servicing.
There are 2 available on Amazon; one from AFG (which comes in a variety of patterns and colors) and the one from Elide. They are both about the same price based on size $90-$130.
If you want to get really crazy or have some for your home and your camper, Elide has a kit, which is 3 large and 2 small for $600. However, one of the large ones should cover a small camper, a Skoolie that is less than 30 ft or a converted van.
Temperature Monitor
After you have fire safety covered, you should get a temp monitoring service. There are several on Amazon. Most use a cell network (the most common is verizon), so if you have cell phone service your pet monitoring service will work. There is a monitor that you put in your unit and an app you download on your phone. It sends you alerts when the temperature gets out of control or there is a low battery.
The 2 most popular ones I found were MarCell and Waggle.
For the Waggle brand device, the units are priced at $180 ($280 for the GPS service) + the subscription fee, which varies depending on the length of time. You save more money by paying for a year at a time. If you’re a sunchaser this is definitely your best bet for safety but those winter temps can be harmful too.
MarCELL is a more widely known device it runs off both Verizon and AT&T networks (you have to pick one, you cannot get it to work on both). It also boasts that it runs in Canada off all carriers. Not from Canada so I can’t confirm. Their device rings in at $190, with their base subscription being $14.95/month (again, it’s cheaper if you pay yearly).
Both systems have a 2 day battery charge so if the power goes out, you’ve got 2 days worth of charge before it no longer sends updates. But for the love of all that is holy please don’t leave your pets unattended for that long. They have to be fed and go potty!
There is one option I found that does not require a subscription (the unit costs a little less too) but does require wi-fi. So if you use your phone as a hotspot for wifi, then the Tempstick won’t work for your needs. If you have a separate hotspot device from your cell phone then that’s completely different (since you can then use your phone to monitor the temperature, while leaving the Tempstick and the hotspot in your vehicle). The unit costs $150, operates on 2 AA batteries and so long as you are connected to wi-fi you’re good to go.
Doggy Day Care
If those are not something you can invest in for whatever reason, I have another solution and it’s called Doggy Day Care. Doggy Day Care is an option that most people don’t think of but would work well for anyone who needs to step out for an extended period of time.
You simply find a place that offers it and as long as your pet is up to date on their shots (and they should be if you’re a good pet parent) you should be all set. Some might require proof of flea medication but that’s been pretty rare in my experience. Just make sure to call ahead and ask the requirements. PetSmart has day care at most of their locations and they offer a ton of options and you can even get coupons for your first time but even smaller “Mom & Pop” boarding facilities offer daily drop offs. I am from a small town in rural Iowa (it’s an hour south of Omaha, NE) and it has a doggy day care. So it is possible that they have one near you even if you’re in the sticks.
I worked at one in the Dallas-Ft Worth area and the price was $25 for the day (7am-6pm) or $10 for a half day. When I looked up PetSmart’s prices, it was similar ($23 for a full day $17 for a half). There were 2 play sessions (that’s the full day) or 1 play session (the half day). Your pet is given water and a walk while they aren’t in play time. If your dog isn’t dog friendly or you’ve got a few pups and they are okay together but not with others then you could opt for 1 on 1 play time, which just meant they played outside or indoors with one of the staff. We even had a few dogs that didn’t like other dogs or people and they literally just sat in their room unless they were being walked. But at least you would have someone who could walk by and check on them. Plus, indoor with water, a/c and a cot to lay on versus being in a car with no one to check on them?
~$25 seems like a VERY inexpensive price to pay for peace of mind while you go for a jaunt in a national park OR have some much needed personal time to do errands or get a haircut. This is something I have always done with Willow because she needed to be socialized.
Those are my three pieces of advice on how to keep your pet’s safe if you need to step away from your van for extended periods of time.
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