August 2020
We had an interestingly scary thing happen while traveling in our RV last night. Stayed at a Motel 6 that had full hook up RV sites in the back in St Robert, MO. Checked in at about 1:30 pm at the office. Got our site assignment and parked. At 9:30 pm we get a knock on the door. Hubs grabbed our ‘protection’ while I cracked open the door just a hair. There was a guy standing there who made some smart remark about checking on Bella. Bella? That’s our dog! Oh! He was reading the note on our door that said ‘In case of emergency, please rescue our dog, Bella’. He thought he was being funny – I didn’t.
Anyway, he said he worked for the motel and wanted to know why we didn’t check in at the office. I explained to him that we DID check in and waived my printed receipt for him to see. He apologized and left. He has no idea how close he came! One step closer and it would have been his last step. Keep your rightful ‘protection’ close by people and keep your doors locked!
Note: I checked in under my name. He may have thought I was a lone female traveler. I’ll use hubs name to reserve sites from now on. You ladies need to do the same.
For you Ladies who ARE a lone drivers, you need to reserve and check in using a fake MALE first name. If your dog is a male, use his name! Ha!
Also, get a pair of cheap, old, men’s boots at Goodwill and set them outside your door. That will give the appearance that there’s a man traveling with you.
Update: After posting our story someone mentioned that they put a Ring Doorbell on their RV. It’s motioned activated and will alert you to anyone outside your RV plus you can see them on your phone and talk to them via the Ring Doorbell phone app without having to open your door. Duh! What a great idea! Guess what we ordered today!! It requires WiFi access but we carry our own WiFi. If you don’t have your own WiFi most parks provide it and most phones have hotspots too. My major concern was attaching it to the RV and what to do when traveling. She said she used a double sided tape such as Gorilla tape or T-Rex tape to attach the baseplate and takes the actual Ring device off when traveling. Due to our travel needs, we normally use Amazon Prime but this time I bought direct from Ring because I couldn’t get what I wanted, in the time frame I needed due to our traveling schedule from. I bought the Ring Doorbell 2nd Generation with an inside chime for $129 including tax with a free 2 day delivery. Score!!
Website: Ring Doorbell
This is what we bought:
Update: Got the Ring Doorbell installed and all set up!! Looks great and works great too!! Holder was secured to the RV with Gorilla tape squares. We didn’t secure the door bell onto the holder with the screws provided because we wanted to take it off and charge it when we travel, plus we didn’t want to risk losing it during travel. If the holder should fall off, that’s easier and cheaper to replace. So far the holder is stuck really good and has withstood rain and several trips.
Important Safety Notice!
November 11, 2020 – Ring Recalls Video Doorbells After Several Catch Fire. The company had to recall 350,000 doorbells following 23 reports of them catching fire. The video doorbell’s battery can overheat when the incorrect screws are used for installation, posing fire and burn hazards. The company, which was acquired by Amazon in 2018, said that the recall affected its “second generation” video doorbells, which can overheat if the batteries are punctured during installation due to customers using incorrect screws to install.
Only Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Generation) models with certain serial numbers are included. Please note that there is no need to return your device if it has been properly installed. When the correct screws are used for installation, the battery is not damaged. For more information on the recall, click here.
So another person can remove the ring doorbell ???
They could but it would first have to occur to them that it’s not attached and they are on camera the moment movement is detected and we are notified if movement is detected. If we were in one spot for a long time we’d probably screw it down but we move every 2 wks or less. But you can certainly screw and unscrew it if you want.
Great idea. My son has this at his house. Lives it.