FW with a dog

[pjpoppins]

Let me start off by saying we just bought a TT. Brought it home winterized it and covered it we live in CT. I want to bring our 50lb black lab with us as much as possible. She is very docile and sweet. I know she will be happy just laying around (like she does at home) with us camping. She is home alone for 8 hrs sometimes more when we are at work.
How does it work with dogs at FW? We want to go for a couple weeks in 2016 and I want to bring her but IDK. Do people use the kennel service? I know the RV dealer said to never leave the AC on when you're not around to monitor the amperage. When we go to the parks we almost always take a midday break (especially if we go in the summer). If it were cool in our camper she would be fine by herself for a few hours, she doesn't bark or make a fuss. Just trying to figure out what we will do. Thanks.

 

[JanL]

Here in Florida, it doesn't take long to turn a non-air conditioned RV into an oven. Everyone I know leaves their A/C on while in the parks all day. You could even set up a web cam to keep an eye on her while you are away from the RV. I hear the dog park is great. She will love being with you instead of a kennel back home.

 

[North of Mouse]

Let me start off by saying we just bought a TT. Brought it home winterized it and covered it we live in CT. I want to bring our 50lb black lab with us as much as possible. She is very docile and sweet. I know she will be happy just laying around (like she does at home) with us camping. She is home alone for 8 hrs sometimes more when we are at work.
How does it work with dogs at FW? We want to go for a couple weeks in 2016 and I want to bring her but IDK. Do people use the kennel service? I know the RV dealer said to never leave the AC on when you're not around to monitor the amperage. When we go to the parks we almost always take a midday break (especially if we go in the summer). If it were cool in our camper she would be fine by herself for a few hours, she doesn't bark or make a fuss. Just trying to figure out what we will do. Thanks.

Have been camping for 46 years and have never heard that about the AC! Why would 'anyone' turn their AC off when they leave and come back to a scorching hot RV?? Makes no sense to me, and have never known anyone to do this??

Take your dog with you and relax!! - And, yes, leave the AC on!!!

 

[CDNCruiser]

I'm like the other folks, never heard a comment like that about A/C - we leave ours on all the time. Our coach has two roof A/C units, we set one at the desired temperature and the other one a few degrees higher. If the first one should quit (never happened yet) the other will take over.

Here's a link to a blog I wrote a few years ago - our puppies just love Fort Wilderness!

http://land.allears.net/blogs/guestblog/2012/02/disney_fun_with_your_pets.html

 

[whiplash]

We've taken our two, Toy Poodle and Cavalier KIng Charles every time we've been at the Fort. They absolutely LOVE the Fort, love all the kids and other doggies. They ride around with us on the golf cart (must have a leash on them) and love it ! When we go to the parks we just leave the AC on. Never heard (as others have said) about not leaving the AC on. As a matter of fact, on hot summer days it pretty much runs 24 hours a day. Take the pup, he'll have a blast, lots of NEW critter smells. Relax and enjoy !

 

[pjpoppins]

I guess the AC was kind of part 2 of my question. We haven't even used the camper yet. The "guy who did my walkaround" of the camper said that power supplies from campgrounds can be less than adequate due to old wiring etc. He recommended getting a gauge inside the RV to show the amperage coming in. He said that if the amperage is too low it will burn the AC unit out.
Anyway, it sounded very reasonable to me to leave my dog in the camper with the AC running while we go to the parks but I wasn't sure what the etiquette is. I know she would be fine and would love to be with us.
Thank you!

 

[KristinU]

Howdy fellow Nutmegger! Congrats on the new camper!

I also have never heard anyone recommend turning off the AC during the day. We leave it on for our dogs quite a bit, and especially when we go warmer places.

By the time 2016 rolls around you'll have the 2015 camping season under your belts and will feel a lot more comfortable about the prospect! The way we do it is to take a nice walk in the mornings and hit the dog park, then go to the parks, then come back mid day. If we go out again we walk again and then keep it fairly early for getting back. We have used the Best Friends kennel for daycare when we had long days planned, they stay open pretty late for pick-ups.

In the spring and fall around here we like to camp at state parks, so usually no hookups. In that case we leave the fantastic fan and another battery operated fan on then we set up our cell phones (Samsung Galaxy S4) to monitor the temperature in the camper and alert us via text if it gets above our threshold.

Our boys are in crates in the camper as they are at home, keep them safe and they're happy in their dens. When we camp and just hang out at the campsite all day, they'll start letting us know that they'd like us to leave and give them a nap time! They get so much exercise with walks and hikes when camping, so they get tired out!

Oh, and the AC or fans helps with some white noise so they're not hearing as much noise outside.

One thing, though, is that we are always prepared to have one of us stay behind with them if they aren't good and ready for nap times. That happened on a Fort trip a few years ago when we just had one of our boys. It was the day after that late night that I mentioned and he was feeling needy and started barking as soon as we locked the camper door. DH stayed behind and DS and I had a mom and me morning at the Studios. It worked out just fine!

Since we're in the same region, here's our blogs where I record all of the campgrounds we visit (one from each camper - most recent to oldest):
http://winnieadventures.blogspot.com/
http://visaadventures.blogspot.com/
http://alineradventures.blogspot.com/

 

[pjpoppins]

Where are you from in CT? We visited friends at Charlie Brown last summer (about 15 minutes from our house). It was one of the nights that convinced us that camping is right for us.

 

[KristinU]

I guess the AC was kind of part 2 of my question. We haven't even used the camper yet. The "guy who did my walkaround" of the camper said that power supplies from campgrounds can be less than adequate due to old wiring etc. He recommended getting a gauge inside the RV to show the amperage coming in. He said that if the amperage is too low it will burn the AC unit out.
Anyway, it sounded very reasonable to me to leave my dog in the camper with the AC running while we go to the parks but I wasn't sure what the etiquette is. I know she would be fine and would love to be with us.
Thank you!

Yes, he's right, but most of the time it is OK. Here's a good way to make your own tester with things readily available at the big box stores: http://www.myrv.us/electric/pg/tester_30amp.htm

You'll also want to get a surge protector if he didn't sell you one already.

 

[Teamubr]

I was going to jump in on the crazy comment about running the A/C, but I see lots of others beat me to it. Technically, the guy was correct about some campgrounds having poor power supplies. In over 30 years of camping, I have only stayed in one place that I suspected had issues. The main breaker in the camper kept tripping. Everything seemed to work fine, but the main would trip for a "normal" load. I switched over to the generator for the night.
This was in a very run down campground that was a little scary on many fronts. The Fort is so far at the other end of the spectrum that I wouldn't worry about the electrical service.
The other thing is in Florida heat and humidity, it would take several hours to cool down a camper in the summer months. Why bother running it at all at that point.

Shoot, I commonly will stop some place an hour out from the campground, fire up the generator and run the A/C while driving so I can have the camper cooled down when we get there. I wonder what the RV guy would say about that?

j

 

[KristinU]

Where are you from in CT? We visited friends at Charlie Brown last summer (about 15 minutes from our house). It was one of the nights that convinced us that camping is right for us.

We're in Manchester! And we go to Charlie Brown every spring for a rally with a big group from another forum. We have friends in Willington and my mom and dad were camp hosts out at the West Thompson COE campground last year (and will be again this year).

 

[pjpoppins]

Cool! I hope to stay away from that area until far after Christmas! I know manchester is more than just Buckland Hills but I always just associate the 2.

 

[pjpoppins]

I was going to jump in on the crazy comment about running the A/C, but I see lots of others beat me to it. Technically, the guy was correct about some campgrounds having poor power supplies. In over 30 years of camping, I have only stayed in one place that I suspected had issues. The main breaker in the camper kept tripping. Everything seemed to work fine, but the main would trip for a "normal" load. I switched over to the generator for the night.
This was in a very run down campground that was a little scary on many fronts. The Fort is so far at the other end of the spectrum that I wouldn't worry about the electrical service.
The other thing is in Florida heat and humidity, it would take several hours to cool down a camper in the summer months. Why bother running it at all at that point.

Shoot, I commonly will stop some place an hour out from the campground, fire up the generator and run the A/C while driving so I can have the camper cooled down when we get there. I wonder what the RV guy would say about that?

j

lol that's why I'm glad I asked you guys and not my buddy. I could see it now, "Dude stop being such a %$#@ and run your generator already".

And running the generator down the road...I would have been using my CPR training on the guy lol.

 

[jbrostek]

I think its well covered. Youll be fine with the pup. I recommend you take the pup camping once or twice where you wont be gone long periods of time. Let it get used to the new "home" in a way. But even after a weekend or two my pups settled in and actually get a little crazy every time I pick up the trailer keys.

I run both my AC and heat all the time when I am not at the RV. If you are really worried about the power at your more frequent campgrounds you can purchase a surge/energy management system. It will protect the unit from power surges, brown outs and other potential wiring issues. Up until now I really had not thought about one, but I nearly had issues on one PA campground and now considering it for my 5th wheel.

 

[KristinU]

Cool! I hope to stay away from that area until far after Christmas! I know manchester is more than just Buckland Hills but I always just associate the 2.

LOL, most people do! We're just over the border from Bolton a bit beyond where 6 and 44 meet up. I avoid the Buckland area of Manchester between now and the new year as well...that's what Amazon and independent mom and pop shops are for!

Can't wait until Thursday, though, when 15,000 runners all converge on Main Street for the Road Race - I love it!

 

[bama_ed]

We're in Manchester! And we go to Charlie Brown every spring for a rally with a big group from another forum. We have friends in Willington and my mom and dad were camp hosts out at the West Thompson COE campground last year (and will be again this year).

Whoa.

Connecticut is not that big a state. Ya'll HAVE to be neighbors or somethin'.

I mean, I know it's not Rhode Island, but still....

PJ, pets at the campground is one of those topics sure to get responses.

Bama Ed

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

We bought our rv so we could take our dog with us and didn't have people to watch her. We leave her for about 4 or 5 hours tops WITH air conditioning always. Never leave ur pet on a warm day without. Never heard of anyone saying otherwise. You'll learn ur rv's air. Ours LOVES to travel in motorhome gets so excited. Just traded ours for new one and heading first time to FW early spring hopefully. We had our first rv for 13 yrs and never had prob at campground but do believe in not leaving dog too long. Have used kennels when we've flown down and they're fine but my little dog not a fan.

 

[North of Mouse]

Shoot, I commonly will stop some place an hour out from the campground, fire up the generator and run the A/C while driving so I can have the camper cooled down when we get there. I wonder what the RV guy would say about that?
j

Yes, we use the generator while driving also. We never let the coach get too warm and dh will flip the gen. on and off occasionally while driving - don't want everything to get hot, and the engine air is definitely not equipped to handle the complete unit.

 

[KristinU]

Whoa.

Connecticut is not that big a state. Ya'll HAVE to be neighbors or somethin'.

I mean, I know it's not Rhode Island, but still....

That's for sure, Ed! We're all neighbors up in these parts. Plus it makes it easy for us to tick off states on the sticker map

 

[StormyCA]

We're taking our first trip to FW in April. Our Doxie is a barker so we're leaving him in 'doggy daycare' at the kennel. We can drop him off at 7 am and pick him up as late as 1 hour after park closing. That works for us!