July Heat - pets - power outages?

[1derfultigger]

We'll be visiting in mid-July and are very aware of the heat at that time of year as we are from the Southeast as well. We've been camping in our travel trailer for several years now but last year was our first at a large RV resort (Myrtle Beach). During the week that we were there we had our breaker trip on the hookup post several times during the week and I can only assume that was due to power spikes from so many people running A/C at the same time. Is this a known issue at FW as well at that time of year? It's an easy fix when you are around but there will be several days when we will be in the parks for hours. Our little dog does very well for extended periods of time by herself faithfully awaiting our return but we are a little concerned about the power going out while we are gone.

So, two questions for the masses really:

First, is the power issue one that is a known issue at FW?

Second, do most people who bring pets make it a practice to kennel their pet(s) while in the parks and/or come back during the day to check on them?

 

[rwenzel2]

I can't speak to the pet part, but I can about the power. When we were tthere last month in site 419, we noticed that the power level was very very low. We keep a meter device in our camper that measures the level - I don't know the technical term for it. We called maintenance, and they sent someone out, and he said that loop (and I guess some others) have recurrent power issues. Infact, there was a fan device pointed at the breaker box (not our plug in) that they have to keep running in most months because the power transformer (still don't know the technical term) overheats. I know we couldn't run the A/C (it was really warm most days) and the microwave or TV at the same time. I think I might be at least somewhat concerned about leaving my pets in the camper and counting on the A/C working without interruption.

 

[1derfultigger]

Thanks for the info.

The issue with running things at the same time I have had experience with before. I believe the microwave and AC are the 2 biggest load-hogs in a typical RV. I've seen where running those 2 things at the same time would trip a breaker regardless of what's going on in the rest of the park. Probably, as you said, related somewhat to the level of power you are getting in to begin with. That shouldn't be an issue we have to worry about, however, as our little dog does some amazing and funny things at times but I don't think she's yet learned how to make her own microwave popcorn.

I think she's happier on her own than at a kennel but I don't want our vacation ruined because of having to worry about her well-being all the time.

It has been our experience that, it seems, more RVers than not carry pets along with them. Just wondering what others might do in this case given the potential issues.

 

[stillh2o]

I'ved camped at FW a lot of times and never had a power problem. One time they were upgrading transformer in your loop Disney came by and told us when and how long it would take. We travel with a dog to I have a system on my motorcoach if power failed the generator will start and run the A/C until the power comes back on..

 

[stacktester]

I've read that if you leave your camper, you must kennel the pets. I think in the gazette it says "no pets alone". I know it's FL law not to leave animals in vehicles too but not sure if they classify rv's as a vehicle. Not trying to be a know it all but I would check for sure so you don't get a hand slap.

 

[Donna]

I've read that if you leave your camper, you must kennel the pets. I think in the gazette it says "no pets alone". I know it's FL law not to leave animals in vehicles too but not sure if they classify rv's as a vehicle. Not trying to be a know it all but I would check for sure so you don't get a hand slap.

I don't think disney's kennels have enough space to possibly handle all the pets at FW, even if you include the FW kennels and the kennels at all the parks, there is not enough space for this. I assumed when i heard something about pets and leaving them, they meant outside tied up at your site, not within the RV itself. Good question to ask!

 

[stacktester]

I had to satisfy the post. I called FW front desk and was told they are allowed as long as there is a/c.

I doubt your a/c will trip but I was thinking if it did then what. Little Fido melts and that's not good. If it's say June-Sept. I would kennel them unless u can check in after a few hours.

 

[terri01p]

I would think that alot of people camp because they like to bring their pets along.. I'm one of those. The only reason I'm staying at FtW is because my dog is old and would really freak out in a kennel and we have no reliable help for her so she comes with us and stays in the tt where at this point in life sleeps all day basically. I try to just keep the air, one light and a radio on for her, to not overload the power source, I've often thought about power surges and what would happen if that happens at wdw . When we were at pirateland in myrtle beach this pass summer this happened and my neighbors that were sitting outside flipped the breaker for us...no big deal because we were in and out so much, but WDW I don't know I wonder if you left one window open or cracked if that would help ? I love my dog we have had her 10 years.

 

[1derfultigger]

What a coincidence you are from NC and you mention it was Pirateland where you had this issue. That is where I was referring to in my original post. I have no feel for the size of FW vs. Pirateland so it should be interesting. When we were at Pirateland last summer, it was almost a daily occurrence to have the breaker trip. Some of the times it was our fault for running the microwave while the AC was on. We soon learned to bump up the thermostat and wait for the AC to go off before we ran the microwave. But, there were a few times where nothing was running but the AC and maybe a light or two and the breaker just tripped. Like I said, though, it was no big deal to fix - just reset the breaker. But, if we aren't there to know it happened and fix it for hours, what then?

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the responses. I imagine that, with the heat and the length of stay we will have, we'll probably just park hop in the early part of the day and go back at night, if at all, and just come back and relax and check on the dog in the heat of the afternoon while the kids go to the pool or something. We were thinking about an excursion to Universal for a day or two though so that's my main concern at this point.

So, Terri, where in NC are you from? Obviously not the same area as us since you put "beautiful NC". LOL - just kidding...

 

[stillh2o]

My motorcoach has 4 A/C units with all units run I can still run the microwave and I never had a low power problem at FW.

 

[terri01p]

What a coincidence you are from NC and you mention it was Pirateland where you had this issue. That is where I was referring to in my original post. I have no feel for the size of FW vs. Pirateland so it should be interesting. When we were at Pirateland last summer, it was almost a daily occurrence to have the breaker trip. Some of the times it was our fault for running the microwave while the AC was on. We soon learned to bump up the thermostat and wait for the AC to go off before we ran the microwave. But, there were a few times where nothing was running but the AC and maybe a light or two and the breaker just tripped. Like I said, though, it was no big deal to fix - just reset the breaker. But, if we aren't there to know it happened and fix it for hours, what then?

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the responses. I imagine that, with the heat and the length of stay we will have, we'll probably just park hop in the early part of the day and go back at night, if at all, and just come back and relax and check on the dog in the heat of the afternoon while the kids go to the pool or something. We were thinking about an excursion to Universal for a day or two though so that's my main concern at this point.

So, Terri, where in NC are you from? Obviously not the same area as us since you put "beautiful NC". LOL - just kidding...

I have not stayed at FtW yet, but I have been though there on our last trip and I can tell you it is a whole lot bigger than pirateland. I'm just going to check on my dog in the middle of the day also, so I think it should be alright.
Oh by the way I live in Gastonia, so if you know the area you know , beauty is in the eyes of the beholder... ...hehe

 

[Disneefun]

We worry about this problem, as well, although not so much at FW as some of the other places we stay. We bought a battery operated crate fan from Petsmart. Since our dog stays in her crate when we're not home, we hang this from the wire door of the crate in hot weather. Even in our house she seems to love it as it moves the AC around a bit more. But when we're camping, we know that it would provide some relief should there be an outage.

That said, however, we do make certain to come back by the camper at least every four hours or so to make sure all's OK. And if it's super hot outside, we tend to stay in the camper anyway and do our touring earlier or later in the day. Dog or no dog, I don't like being outside when it's super hot and sunny.

 

[aldebnj]

We stayed at FW the first week of July, 2004 with our dog and the temps were over 100 most days. We did not have any problems with the breaker tripping or with the AC. The trailer stayed nice and cool and our heat challenged Pug stayed very happy. We were in the 300 loop.

Hope this helps and happy camping,
Al

 

[Minnie's Mate]

We stayed at FW last summer in July and our Airstream is new so I know there wasn't an age issue with the A/C unit. We had several occasions on one afternoon that the breaker tripped. I believe we were in loop 1700, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, one way to combat the problem I found was that the fan runs on low when you use the thermostat and the fan is in the automatic mode. When the A/C and compressor come on at the same time it causes the spike and the breaker to trip, not the usage from other campers. Using multiple high wattage appliances when the A/C comes on will also increase the affect of the spike. If you turn your A/C to high, and not use the thermostat (automatic temperature control) your fan will run constantly, but the compressor only will cycle on and off. This will put less of a spike on the breaker at the pole and be much less likely to trip the breaker. It will, however, be very cold when you return for the evening! But you can also adjust that with the manual control on the A/C controller. I tried this later in the summer and it seemed to work at other camp grounds when we had issues with the breaker tripping.