Leaving dog in the bus?

[NSBBus]

Husband and I are about a quarter way done with our bus conversion!! YAY!

We have a large dog that will be coming with us. He is 12 so can't always make it on long hikes with us.


What does everyone do when/if they need to leave their dogs inside during the day? Wondering if we can avoid getting the AC and how much this would inconvenience us if we plan our route to cool places

The original plan was to have AC in the 'bedroom' and run it off a generator or plug in at a campground if we need to leave him for a few hours and it's hot.
Also we were gifted this remote thermostat that alerts us on our phones if it gets too hot in there. Not foolproof... but seems likely to work.

[milkmanchip]

With or without AC you're probably going to want to build some screens which you can get supplies at Home Depot or any DIY store it takes about 15 minutes to build one screen with their super easy kits and you just hold it on the outside of your bus with a clip like the old screens on a house in the old days. The dog should be fine in the vehicle as long as there's moving air and he has water, I would think.

[Johnny Mullet]

You do not NEED air conditioning. A good roof vent with a fan like Fantastic Fan or MaxxAir will do as long as you block the sunny side windows and open the shaded side windows. The more roof vents, the better.

[milkmanchip]

I concur with Johnny mullet roof vents are a necessity 3 or 4 if you got a long bus... With one or two with a fantastic would be... Fantastic sorry

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by NSBBus

Husband and I are about a quarter way done with our bus conversion!! YAY!

We have a large dog that will be coming with us. He is 12 so can't always make it on long hikes with us.


What does everyone do when/if they need to leave their dogs inside during the day? Wondering if we can avoid getting the AC and how much this would inconvenience us if we plan our route to cool places

The original plan was to have AC in the 'bedroom' and run it off a generator or plug in at a campground if we need to leave him for a few hours and it's hot.
Also we were gifted this remote thermostat that alerts us on our phones if it gets too hot in there. Not foolproof... but seems likely to work.

My friends dog just died because his AC went out while he was out of town. Long story how it all went down but it sucks. I leave my dog in my van if its only for 5 minutes or less but I do have an RV roof vent I run on high and I leave the windows down too.
I guess it depends a lot on your location.
I know here in FL I'm legally allowed to break into cars if an animal or child is left inside and let them out of the heat. I've not gotten to break any glass yet but I'm super jazzed about getting to when the opportunity arises.

I'm glad you asked this question as I've seen lots of skoolies with pets and no ac.

[Pizote]

We have a class-c and are moving towards the bus. Whenever we take our dog and leave her in the RV while on hikes, we leave the A/C running off the generator. They are poorly insulated and not worth taking a chance. We have three vents on it and that's not enough to keep it below 100 on warm (not hot) days.

[NSBBus]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Sounds like there are mixed opinions on the subject...

Perhaps we'll try a fan, shade, and cool weather for awhile and see if it becomes an issue.

[Pizote]

Strictly speaking, in California, it is illegal to leave a dog/child in a vehicle unattended. This is intended for the warmer months. If the vehicle has cooling (subjective) it might be overlooked. But my understanding is that the laws state that anyone can break into a vehicle to remove animals and children if left unattended.