Ok, you must know by now I am a gadget guy and love my little electronic gizmos. So maybe it would be a shock for you to hear me say I installed a doorbell on our coach. Yawn! However it should come as no surprise that this is not an ordinary doorbell, oh no, nope! It’s a Wi-Fi video doorbell. I know what you are saying “Come on Dave, get out!?!?!” No I will not get out. In fact I am going to tell you more about it.
The Ring Video Doorbell is actually made for use on a house to replace your current traditional doorbell. But seeing we live in a motor coach, I had to of course install one. Hey, after all, it is our “house”. The best news to me was that it actually can run on it’s internal, rechargeable, battery! Yup…That means no wires need to be run or holes made in the coach. The batteries recharge via USB port and last for a very, very, long time. I have had this installed for over two months now and the battery is still at 85%!
What does it do you may ask? Well, when someone presses the button, it rings an app on your smartphone (Android or iPhone). From that app you can see the person at your door no matter if you are home or not. If you care to then chat with the person, you can do that via it’s built in speaker and mic. Even if you choose not to, it records the video onto a cloud storage area. Now the service does cost for the storage, however it is only $30 a year. (That’s cheap.) So that means even if you miss the call, your still get a video of anyone that pays a visit.
Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell
It even has motion sensitive areas. So you can setup zones for it to watch for motion and if detected, it will send you an alert and record the video. We do not do this however, for we do not need it to send us a notice and make a video every time we go in and out of the coach.
All in all, here is a video I did talking a little about it and showing you how it works on our coach.
Side Note…As mentioned in the video, you need full time Wi-Fi that is on the internet in your motor coach.
Purchase online on Amazon HERE and find out more about it from manufacturer HERE.
https://youtu.be/uV_exidxL4o
Cool little gizmo. Thanks for the info. Keep it coming.
I love it. Dave you are my next best person when it comes to my electronic devices, which by the way I love too. Amazing!
Oh Boy – more man toys! Yea….thanks for sharing David I would have never known.
Nice! I now have it on Amazon wish list. Thanks for this cool tech update.
K,cool, can you have two, one one the coach and one on your home??
Yes you can. Not an issue.
Very nice gizmo !!
Can I came and try ?? :-))
Nice! Do you find that people recognize it as a door bell? In other words, is it intuitive enough to the regular door knocking person? I wonder if a small sign may be a good idea….?
Hi…It says RING right on it. :) It has been used more than knocking thus far.
Gteat! I think I’ll get one for the coach and at home…
David
After reading the questions and answers on Amazon about the product. I have a number of concerns.
First is Security.
The way I read it, there is no encryption on the video files when transferred to and downloaded from the cloud. I novice hacker could get the files.
Also after 30 days you have to pay for the Cloud service.
If I wish, there is no way to record the video directly to my server.
Thanks
Roy
You have a concern over a video file of someone at your door? I can see maybe inside your home…But outside? I do not think that would be much of a thing for a hacker to want to view IMHO. I did mention that there is a fee, for this service at $30 A YEAR, I do not see this as a big deal at all. I spend more than that on one dinner. :)
Awesomeness!! I love your tips and tricks!!
My husband is loving all these little gadget you keep showing!! We are waiting for our new water system to clean the coach with!! And I purchased the pans you use! So keep up with all the information! Love it!
Glad to read. But I do have one questions…Pans?
How is the video, saw som comment on lack of quality video , as well as very slow response. Some info on your overall experience to include less than stellar performance.
Hi…Not idea what you mean by…”Some info on your overall experience to include less than stellar performance.” I never stated as such. Like any Wi-Fi device, it will act only as good as the connection you have. Me nor my wife have really not seen any issue per say with the video sent to our phones during an RING. Seeing that the event has to go from your Internet connection, to the RING servers, and then the notice is sent out to the app, yes, it can surely have a delay that could be caused anywhere along the path. But overall, we are happy with the response.
Looks nifty. But…
Does it have a way of ringing your gadgets when you don’t have a WAN net connection? What happens when people ring the door when the net is down?
I also saw that there isn’t a way to engage the intercom unless someone actually presses the “ring” button first to trigger an alert. If someone knocks, I’d still love to talk to them via the intercom and that doesn’t seem possible.
Still – super cool.
I think Cherie wants one. *grin*
– Chris
Hi…They have a internal bell you can plug into an outlet that will ring that can be purchased. As far as talking when someone knocks, well, that would require full time data to be happening which kind of would kill it as an idea for RV use for many. :) Not to mention, again for RV use, if someone knocks, you can talk with them as it is not like you need to go far. LOL For us, it is more of something to use when away from the coach. Even if we do not care to answer the call, we still know when someone stopped in for a visit.
I can’t tell whether or not the Chime ringer module will work when the WAN is down and the WiFi LAN is up. I may need to check in with Ring support.
The Chime requires an AC outlet too – not 12V friendly. I wonder if it could be hacked to run on DC?
Ideally I’d prefer a bluetooth doorbell that could ring devices without a LAN at all.
As for answering a knock – I saw a mention in some of the Amazon comments that being able to remotely initiate a call or view the camera is on the todo list. Hopefully soon.
It doesn’t need to burn data, just wait for a remote trigger.
Cheers,
– Chris
Hear hear, ???? these things DO need LAN only service interruption modes where the basic function of video (or just audio) intercom will work when WAN is down. Even if that requires a hub to facilitate processing.
Did you ever determine if the chime extension works without WAN?
I have both sitting in a bag waiting. It was an impulse buy at Walmart and they only had black and silver. Already was a bit aware about ring since before it launched. Thinking maybe black or bronze might look better with my color scheme. Then again Silver will show up more on black paint.
I haven’t permanently installed my wireless router, nor my outdoor AP client that connects to park WiFi.
Bought 100′ of split loom to run Ethernet from front to back of coach, and also, have to figure out how I’m going run Ethernet to the roof. Hmm, fridge vent to basement, air conditioner to plenum, to ? Just pondering.
I have a first gen Skybell at home that was really futuristic two years ago. ????????
Hi…The downside is still that it does require Internet to work with even the Chime being used. I have told them about this more than once…sadly I have not seen an update to address this.
Thanks so much for posting this.. very timely, as a video doorbell of some sort was on our list of potential upgrades during our renovations :)
I’ve heard the ring doorbells aren’t completely waterproof and will die after being exposed a lot. Is it still working? You should explain a wifi connection inside the rv is needed… or campground I guess. Out in the boonies it won’t work.. then again nobody will visit there most likely.
Hi…No issues at all and it has been working without issue and without fail. I did mention in the video that full time Wi-Fi is needed at the coach. I have added a note to the blog post.
David;
I have Ring feature at home. However, I’m thinking of getting creative and put one in back of trailer so I could see what’s going on behind me on road. You did mentioned about Wifi but wanted to clear up.
With router wifi being on but no internet service would I still be able to see from phone or tablet in truck? I understand that internet service is for to record or other thing but I wanted to see live and have my phone on same router with Ring. Would it work?
Hi…Sorry to say the RING requires internet to work. You may care to look for a solution that you can use with or without Internet like the MicroSeven Cameras. Like these… https://amzn.to/2Mx6qEc
Thx for the feedback :-)
Do you leave the ring door bell attached to the outside of the coach when you are driving?
Nope, we just left it off it’s mounting plate.
I bought one and plan to install it without screws. Why do you take it off when you are driving? Is it because you are concerned that it will fall off or that the “motion detection” would be going crazy while you are driving?
Thanks
Jeff
Because we do not think that it was made to be subjected to 65 mph rain. :) The new version, the 1080P version, you can not remove as it does not have frame to snap it on and off of. So, well, we try not to get caught driving in bad weather. Also, the new one, you need to be careful where you mount it as the batter comes out of the bottom so you need the clearance to get the battery out.
Dave~ what wifi are you using? I have Verizon. Is it using data the entire time?
Let’s just say I am a little advanced when it comes to data. :) We use Verizon & AT&T and RV Park Data. Here is how we do data, like I said, very different LOL… https://outsideourbubble.com/fast-rv-internet-vpn-bonding/
I have this doorbell on my MOHO as well. However, I do not have WIFI in my motorhome so I have to joint the wifi with the doorbell every time. does anyone know a way around this? can you make the device joint two networks? I have it set to the WIFI at my work now as that is where the MOHO parks during the day. I live full time in the MOHO so eventually I will be setting myself up with a mobile internet provider which will bypass the need for this all together. However in the mean time I was curious about joining multiple networks without having to disconnect the other one and manually set up the doorbell at each location.
You need to have a full time internet connection in your RV for this to work. You should have already setup a dedicated Wi-Fi network in your RV that all your devices, like the Ring Doorbell, connect to and then that network is connected to the internet via the Wi-Fi Parks Wi-Fi or something else like a JetPack. Sorry…You CAN NOT set the Ring to connect to muli networks.
Hello. How does the doorbell attach to the motorhome? Screws? Did you have to caulk?
Hi… I just used dual sided 3M Automotive tape.