Remote Shore Power Monitoring for a Seasonal RV Site

[UTTransplant]

Getting some good ideas here!

I have a Victron system with a CerboGX that's connected to our RV's "standby" WiFi (AT&T Mobley).


Even though you don't have a Victron system, I think you could use a Victron CerboGX with just a Victron SmartShunt. For example, the following shows the Victron devices connected to the CerboGX in my setup:

Actually we do have a Victron system. This looks handy. Cost is somewhere around $230.

Nope. Took your advice and looked for power outage alarms on Amazon. This one looks sweet: Risinglink WiFi Power Outage Alarm. Very cool. Thanks for the tip.

That is a lot cheaper and looks good. One of our big problems is actually the rare non-inverter powered outlets! We have decided to use the one the little fake fireplace uses since it isn’t hard to get to.

Hughes Watchdog Gen II. Sends global monitoring alerts to your phone. The app also displays the incoming power (volts, amps, frequency and watts). You'll want the one that also has EPO for power management. Surge suppressor + EPO.
Here's a link to Hughes:

Power Watchdog Surge Protectors — Power Watchdog Smart RV Surge Protectors

www.powerwatchdog.com

We already have a Progressive Industries EMS hard wired in. This would be a good idea if we had a new rig though.

 

[Derby6]

This would only work if I didn’t have the Starlink connected to an inverter plug. Since our batteries will run the inverter plug for days, it wouldn’t be a very timely way to get the info!

Yep that kills my bright idea. Unless you point camera at light or microwave time that is on shore power. But this requires that you look at it however many times a day you choose to.

Unless you are watching the camera all the time, how would you know when the power is out?

Ring cameras notifies you when it goes offline or to battery backup.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Where is the RV located? Is it absolutely necessary to have it plugged into shore power all the time?

I worry about lightening storms.

 

[OldWEB]

Ring cameras notifies you when it goes offline or to battery backup.

That is a good option! Nice to know.

 

[DutchmenSport]

I'm not being critical here, but ...

Let's say, you find a good system that will monitor your electric usage, the power goes out, you are notified, and you ARE 1700 miles from the camper. What are you going to do then?

Depending upon how long the power is "out", the food in your refrigerator could spoil completely. If it's extremely cold outside, any electric heat will not work and now your pipes run the risk of freezing.

If that happens, what can you do? Will you have someone who can run to the rescue and remove the contents of the refrigerator or winterize your camper? If you do that's great, but if not you are best to simply close up the camper, shut it down, and know it's safeguarded with no dependency upon any power.

If you are in a cold zone, winterize the camper before you leave. Remove all liquids from the inside, refrigerator and cabinets. Disconnect the battery. Unplug from shore power. Slides all retracted (in), doors locked, everything buttoned down. Make sure your campground management knows your intentions and leave.

 

[zulutron]

I'm not being critical here

You are.

Let's say, you find a good system that will monitor your electric usage, the power goes out, you are notified, and you ARE 1700 miles from the camper. What are you going to do then?

You have options, maybe not the best, but options.

 

[UTTransplant]

Where is the RV located? Is it absolutely necessary to have it plugged into shore power all the time?

I worry about lightening storms.

It will be in Quartzsite, AZ. I would like to keep the refrigerator on for staples. We will remove all the real food, and I will use the little penny on ice trick to double check everything is still good. I also would like to leave the heater set on 50 degrees, just in case. Lows rarely even get into the upper 20s in Quartzsite, so the heater won’t come on much. But it will be a lot nicer if I didn’t have to winterize and then dewinterize.

I'm not being critical here, but ...

Let's say, you find a good system that will monitor your electric usage, the power goes out, you are notified, and you ARE 1700 miles from the camper. What are you going to do then?

Depending upon how long the power is "out", the food in your refrigerator could spoil completely. If it's extremely cold outside, any electric heat will not work and now your pipes run the risk of freezing.

If that happens, what can you do? Will you have someone who can run to the rescue and remove the contents of the refrigerator or winterize your camper? If you do that's great, but if not you are best to simply close up the camper, shut it down, and know it's safeguarded with no dependency upon any power.

If you are in a cold zone, winterize the camper before you leave. Remove all liquids from the inside, refrigerator and cabinets. Disconnect the battery. Unplug from shore power. Slides all retracted (in), doors locked, everything buttoned down. Make sure your campground management knows your intentions and leave.

This is a commercial campground with a full-time professional staff plus some seasonal. The only thing that I would anticipate is a breaker popping because of construction in the campground (they are doing quite a bit of updating) or other reasons. In that case I will call the campground and ask them to check the breaker. As I said above, I am not really worried about cold weather. We are from Iowa, and in past years all our rigs have been stored near us so we are VERY familiar with winterization procedures over the past 40 years of RVing. Not having to do that is a big plus to storing in a relatively warm environment. And my refrigerator will operate for a couple of days, minimum, on the batteries and solar with clouds and short winter days. Trust me, Kevin and I discussed all this at length before deciding on this approach. And we actually do have a friend who arrives in October and stays until April. I could overnight her some keys and she would do what is necessary, but I really don’t think there will be.