Over the past several years, smart technology for our homes has taken center stage. Home appliances as everyday as refrigerators and washers come equipped with wireless technology. Home thermostats can be adjusted through an app on your phone. Home security systems can be turned on or off from anywhere in the world. You don’t need to be physically home for any of it.
That technology is crossing over into the RV world. Smart tech isn’t just about convenience or safety, it’s about enhancing your life and making it simpler to manage your home environment. What sort of smart technology options are we seeing in the market right now, and what could be coming down the pipeline?
Diagnostics and monitoring. Lippert Components Inc. designs a OneControl smart system for various RV manufacturers. According to an article by Sun Cruiser Media, the company’s Brent Hamood was quoted as saying, “RVers can not only control basic functions such as running out an awning or turning lights on and off they can receive information about the unit and will have some remote diagnostic capabilities.” Diagnostic capabilities? There might be something to this smart tech thing. How many times have we run into a problem and spent hours trying to understand it, much less fix it? In addition to diagnostic capabilities, smart technology can help track key pieces of data that would have been manual for an RV otherwise – monitor tire pressure, battery life, tank levels, and even a GPS-monitored RV locator.
Ease of use. Another benefit of smart technology is that tasks that typically take two people, such as extracting slide-outs or adjusting awnings, can be done single-handedly. You can be the spotter and the one controlling the event. Plus, this can help reduce the hassle of setting up and taking down camp.
Security. RVers invest a lot in their trailers and rigs, so, just like at home, smart technology can help RVers have peace of mind. Door and window alarms, perimeter systems, motion triggers, and video surveillance, are some of the options when it comes to security. Airstream has one of the most advanced smart technology systems to date. It has Smart Control Technology with many of the abovementioned aspects and includes it in all current classic models. Through its Smart Control App, RVers are able to turn interior lights on and off, extract and retract awnings, set the interior temperature, open and close power shades, turn vent fans on and off, monitor the propane tank, locate the RV, monitor tire pressure, monitor the water tank, and monitor battery levels.
To make this all work, RVers need an up-to-date cell phone model, an app, a subscription for data for whatever service is being utilized, connection to Wi-Fi, and some source of power for the RV.
Most smart technology is incorporated into new RV models, with installation into older units currently more cumbersome – but that will likely change over the years as the technology develops. Some RVers will embrace this, while others will want to keep things simple. In which camp are you?