NEWBIE almost an owner! - air conditioning question

Big Katuna wrote:
We have left our dogs in the RV for years.

Campgrounds don't have rules against leaving dogs in the RV. The have rules leaving dogs unattended OUTSIDE.

That's usually true, but we've stayed at more than one that had this rule. It makes some sense because some dogs bark from the time the owners leave until they get back. Ours don't. We leave them whenever we want. BTW, I just called this park, Saddle West, and confirmed.

Pet Rules

Pets (cats and dogs only) are allowed at the discretion of Saddle West.
All dogs must be on a short leash (no longer than six feet) at all times when outside.
Pets may not be tied outside the RV or left unattended.

I,think more folks who have camping rigs have dogs than those that do not. We have never stayed at a cg that prohibited leaving our dog inside when we went out. As long as they dont bark, no one cares. As a responsible owner, you must take all precautions necessary in extreme temperatures to see that your dog is not in danger. We leave the fans on, the heat or AC running and keep absences to 5 hours or less. i have on occasion asked a fellow dog owner to text me if they detect a problem...such as a power failure. No one has ever needed to do so.

Not only against some park rules, in some states and local ordinances prohibit this. It is illegal to leave a pet unattended in a vehicle.

Came back this week from a vacation around Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, where temperatures were in the 90s. At some places we wanted to visit without the dog, we cranked up the generator and turned on the a/c. We just parked away from other people so as not to bother anyone. This was for periods of no longer than an hour. I would much rather spend the money on gas to run the generator, which really does not amount to much, than leave my dog in a hot motorhome and place his life in danger.

We have left our dogs in the RV for years.

Campgrounds don't have rules against leaving dogs in the RV. The have rules leaving dogs unattended OUTSIDE.

If your dogs bark a lot, you will have a problem wether you are there or not.

If you have young energetic dogs that bark often, you will generate complaints.

We always exercised our dogs before leaving. We leave the tv on and close all the shades so they are less likely to see kids on bikes, other dogs, etc.

We have left them in the RV with the genset running the ACs. If it's hot out we get the coach down in the 70's and only leave a few hours.

There are temp alarms on the market that will call your cell. Some phones have a feature called hands free auto answer so you can call and hear if the tv is still on meaning the power is good. iPhones do not have this feature unless you jailbreak.

We always use a Genturi stack when we run the genset.

Moved from Forum Technical Support

AC Unit runs off 120V AC.......so need to be connected

Furnace runs off 12V DC so good charged battery will operate it over course of 8 hrs.


We have left our dog in RV with AC running.

If really hot we limit amount of time we are gone.

Leaving pets unattended is not ideal but does occur in reality.

BUT having pets and RVng requires compromises and they have to be more in pets favor than ours.

We looked at one of those this winter, it's a nice rig. As for the dogs, many RV parks don't want you to leave animals unattended. If the sun's out, these things get hot in a hurry if the ac fails or the park's power fails. We leave our three regularly but ask neighbors to check if it's hot. Ours bunk in the snow, so we don't think about a furnace! Have fun in your new rig.

Most campgrounds have rules against leaving pets locked up in the RV when everyone is away from the campsite.

You can leave the heat or Air Conditioning on while hooked up to the power pedestal at the campsite. Problem is, what happens if the power goes out or a breaker flips and your pets are suffering from heat or cold for too long while you hike.

If not connected to power then you would need to run the generator which uses fuel and may also be against campground rules when you are away from camp.

The answer- yes you can leave the pets but you may be breaking campground rules and local laws plus taking a chance that the power or Heat/Cooling stops while you are gone.

The last RV Resort we were in a dog two RVs away from us barked continuously while the owners were away from the campsite. The resort management received many complaints from other nearby RV'ers. The offending RV owners were asked to meet with the park manager when they returned.