Working as a travel nurse while living in an RV is a great way to bring your home with you wherever you go. There are a lot of reasons people may decide to live in an RV while travel nursing, but a huge factor for most people is being able to bring their pets along without having to worry about finding pet-friendly housing.
Bringing your pets along in an RV can allow you to travel with multiple pets, elderly pets who are less able to adjust to new spaces, or bring along large breed dogs that may make rental housing difficult.
Tips for RV Travel With Pets:
However, one aspect of living with your pets in an RV that does not get talked about enough is how to ensure your pets are safe when you are at work or sightseeing around town.
While modern RVs come with tons of features and amenities that can make your home on wheels, feel very much like a “regular” house. But keep in mind RVs are made to be lightweight and portable, which can cause the quality of different aspects to be less than what you would see in a regular house.
Safe Temperatures
One huge concern when traveling with pets in an RV is maintaining safe temperatures for your furry friends while you are out and about. Unfortunately, RV air conditioners and heaters can sometimes be temperamental, or thermostats might not be 100% accurate.
In rare times when your heating and cooling malfunctions, it’s important to have a remote monitoring system to keep an eye on your home when you are away. Extreme temperatures can happen quickly in an RV since insulation is minimal, and the risk of freezing temperatures or heat stroke can be detrimental to your animal’s health.
First, you will need a WiFi setup that connects to whatever monitoring system you choose. Some options for RV WiFi are using a hotspot or using mobile wireless systems. These are WiFi routers that act similar to a regular router, but rely on cellular service to provide your internet.
Temperature Monitor Options:
Next, you can decide if you want to use a simple temperature monitor or something more complex. The temperature monitors are actually great for monitoring things like underbelly temperature as well, especially if you are traveling somewhere that gets below freezing and you are worried about pipes freezing.
Basic temperature monitors are relatively cheap on places like Amazon, and you can usually buy multiple for around your RV.
If you prefer something more high-tech, you might consider looking into a specialized pet camera. Waggle is a very popular brand that has everything from temperature monitoring to treat dispensers and cameras.
Waggle also provides some great information on heat stroke in dogs and why it is so important to keep an eye on their environmental temperature when you are away.
Of course, paying for a dog walker or pet sitter to check in is always an option.
However, the risk of a malfunction happening right after someone leaves is still there, and the temperature in your RV may still be too high for your pets to survive until the next person is there to check in on them.
RV Travel with pets is a great option for many travel nurses. Just like anything else, being informed and prepared is extremely important to keep your entire family happy and healthy. Don’t skimp on pet safety while traveling in an RV, even if you are convinced an accident won’t happen to you!
Interested in a travel nursing job? Our job board is a great place to search for assignments, and if housing is an issue, our housing page can help. It’s time to make a difference!
