Key Features At The Edge Of Camper Technology

Do you want your camper to stand out from the rest in meaningful ways? Is a flashy exterior less attractive than a set of interior tools and great bonuses that make life on the open road easier? There are a lot of features on the market ranging from the gimmicky to the groundbreaking, but these features are worth keeping an eye out for if you're in the market for a new camper.

Smart Home Tech Comes To Smart RVs

Smart homes are an advancement in automation and remote control. From a smartphone or a computer, lights can be switch on and off, thermostats can be adjusted, and security systems can be monitored with greater ease.

Although the engineering behind smart home and smart recreational vehicle (RV) technology can get quite complex, the concept is simple: hand-controlled switches are replaced with receivers that accept a signal from whatever controlling device you choose.

RVs with this smart management technology are entering the market and becoming built-in features options rather than something you'd have to hack yourself or get from a third party vendor. Speaking of hacking, although the introduction of remote control brings in a lot of concerns about if a hacker is able to control your smart home or RV, there are safety features that many non-technical buyers don't consider.

Kill-switches to turn a smart home back into a manually-controlled home are available, and you can always keep spare faceplates for any manual controls you have. This means that you can remove the smart management receivers and put the old style back on if you suspect that something is happening, and your investment isn't wasted as you avoid a hacker and report the incident. Such attacks aren't common, so constantly changing back and forth isn't a realistic issue.

Full-Circle Mobile Networks

Mobile hotspots are nothing new, but they're worth explaining for the other great features available for campers. Your mobile phone--whether it's a brick phone, flip phone, or smartphone--is a radio that accepts cellular signals. Since mobile internet has become big enough that many people use the internet on phones more than the actual call feature, mobile hotspots were developed to do one job--receive data signal and distribute internet.

The mobile hotspot takes the place of the Ethernet or phone jack inside a home. Mobile internet signals are sent to your devices either as a cellular signal, wireless internet (WiFi) signal, or both. Unfortunately, the way that data is distributed through a computer network--routing--leaves a bit to be desired.

A mobile hotspot can heat up if overburdened, and doesn't have great security customization by default. For these reasons, many camper owners pick up low-profile routers to handle the network more smartly. Smaller routers designed for small spaces such as one room apartments, RVs, and campers broadcast a signal that doesn't reach too far and can be programmed to transmit less power for less power consumption and range.

These features are helpful for conserving power and making it harder for someone to hack into your network from afar. In addition to having more security control, a hacker has to move closer and be a little less hidden to connect to your network reliably. The mobile hotspot can also be connected via direct cable so you only need to control one set of broadcast waves.

Contact a camper professional, like Crowder RV Center, Inc., to discuss other features and accessories available for the cutting edge campers on the market.