I love writing my blog, even when we're on the road in our RV. And I love my human parents for making sure we have all of the necessary electronics for me to access the Internet, call friends, watch a good movie or catch my weekly Animal Planet show on TV.
First and most important is safety and security. A cellular phone is pretty important for RVers. You never know if you need to call ahead to change or make a reservation, check in with friends and family, call a doctor or call for help. Even a prepaid simple cellular phone can make a difference in safety.
Next is access to the Internet. For some who don't travel with laptop computers, you can access the Internet at most public libraries. Also, many of the campgrounds now offer WiFi or computer access in their office. My humans travel with a laptop and IPad, both on our own air card/WiFi system. So we can access the Internet anywhere, anytime. If you'd like more information on how our system works, just email me.
Most RV campsites also offer cable or satellite hookup. You may be interested in the InMotion satellite system. Installed it runs about $2,000 at North Trail RV in Florida. It allows you to get satellite programming while traveling with no need to worry about raising and lowering an antenna, or forgetting to lower your antenna before you drive away (oops).
DVD players now come as part of game systems too. This way you have one box with multi uses. My human parents like to play games sometimes and watch movies other times, so they have a Playstation 3 they carry in our RV. If my furry parents and I are going to be left for an hour or two, we get to watch a movie. This way, if the weather is bad and we loose satellite, I won't freak out from the TV loosing it's signal. I don't really like the strange noises the TV makes when the signal is choppy.
Another great electronic is an IPOD player. My human Dad made all of these really nice recordings of music. He just plugs it into the stereo and picks music for us. My furry parents and I really like the Classical music. When I was born, they used to play it for me and my siblings every night. Boy were we happy puppies!
Most every RV coach has a standard built in radio. It's not a bad idea to also have a weather radio, especially if you plan to do much traveling in bad weather prone areas. Let's see, I live in the Florida Keys and we usually have to shutter up a few times a year for hurricanes. So, if you are in an RV campsite, our county will make you leave prior to bad weather arriving due to a hurricane. In other areas, Kansas and California for example, dogs and humans can get pretty scared from a tornado or mudslide. Generally, a weather radio will keep you informed of any approaching bad stuff. I prefer a closet or under the bed if it's gonna lightning. I don't have either in our RV, so I usually choose to snuggle with my human parents.
Lastly, my human parents have 2 way radio's. They use them mostly to communicate when they are backing into our RV site or moving the RV into a tight space. Another good use is when we go for walks. We usually walk one furry at a time. So whichever human parent is walking us can carry a radio just in case something comes up and they need assistance.... other dogs loose, run out of poo bags, got lost, wild animal sighting (yikes)!
Oh, and my smart human Dad bought an extra cellular charger to permanently keep in the RV. Have you ever seem an apple store on a small town country road? OK, I mean APPLE, as in IPhone and IPad silly. But I love apples, so I'm gonna keep an eye out for an apple fruit store when we go to the N.C. mountains. They have apples, right? I know they have pumpkins. We're gonna stop and get a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch. Maybe they have an apple patch!
Sorry for the fruit tangent. I sometimes get carried away when I think about really yummy things.
Happy Tails to you!
