Safety concerns with RV living

[nipiybirb]

Hi all, i've been dreaming of making a home in an rv or a trailer. I've lived the van life on and off for about 7 years in a grand caravan, so living small is what im used to. My parrotlet is young and curious, and ive been introducing her to alot of things and driving with her on occasion, so im sure she'll get used to trailer life.

The main thing im wondering is how to make it safe for her in the trailer. Trailers are mostly run on propane with heating and appliances. I intend to convert to electric for the stove and heating. Are well ventilated wood stoves safe?

Are propane refridgerators and on propane on-demand water heaters a risk? What were all the renovation/ conversions that you've done to your rv to keep your bird happy and healthy?

I dont plan on moving it alot, more live in it full time and travel in my camperized van for roadtrips.

I havent lived in a trailer before, but have friends who have complained how wet and cold it is (although the trailers werent in nice condition, and were living in it as an upgrade from a tent.) All trailers run on propane, and i dont have experience with heating a van (i either found housing or live in the southern USA for the winter.


Any tips are very appreciated! My pets come first and foremost, and the best life i can provide for them is my priority. Just would love to explore options for alternative living, as the housing and rental market is rough.

 

[Clueless]

@Alien J

Care to chime in?

 

[MommyBird]

Hi all, i've been dreaming of making a home in an rv or a trailer. I've lived the van life on and off for about 7 years in a grand caravan, so living small is what im used to. My parrotlet is young and curious, and ive been introducing her to alot of things and driving with her on occasion, so im sure she'll get used to trailer life.

The main thing im wondering is how to make it safe for her in the trailer. Trailers are mostly run on propane with heating and appliances. I intend to convert to electric for the stove and heating. Are well ventilated wood stoves safe?

Are propane refridgerators and on propane on-demand water heaters a risk? What were all the renovation/ conversions that you've done to your rv to keep your bird happy and healthy?

I dont plan on moving it alot, more live in it full time and travel in my camperized van for roadtrips.

I havent lived in a trailer before, but have friends who have complained how wet and cold it is (although the trailers werent in nice condition, and were living in it as an upgrade from a tent.) All trailers run on propane, and i dont have experience with heating a van (i either found housing or live in the southern USA for the winter.


Any tips are very appreciated! My pets come first and foremost, and the best life i can provide for them is my priority. Just would love to explore options for alternative living, as the housing and rental market is rough.

check out lithium batteries. Ecoflow has packages for RVs and they also sell solar panels to recharge them.
I recently bought a home backup system. very easy.
4 Best Power Options For Powering Your RV

 

[Alien J]

I was a new full time RV'er (about 3 months) when a friend called to tell me about a 19 day old baby cockatiel that was at death's door (the parents had quit feeding it and the owner didn't feed it either), did I want to try to save it?

At that time, my fiance and our two dogs were in a tiny 26' RV. We bought that first to see if we would like the RV life.

Of course, I couldn't say no to the bird. I certainly didn't think too much about the safety issues, because I wasn't overly aware of good bird care (and , to be honest, I didn't think the bird would make it through the night). The only bird experience I had was in raising a wild Band Tailed Pigeon the summer before. I sure learned very quickly (shout out to everyone on the Avenue)!

Anyways, that was almost 7 years ago and until this past Spring, we continued RV'ing. We did get a bigger (33') RV, which was a big help. There were many scary moments as our "new" RV turned out to be a lemon. Nothing better than being broke down on the 60 highway in southern California in August when it's 105 degrees and you're 6" away from speeding 8 lanes of speeding cars.

I would say the best thing you can do is be prepared for things like break downs. How will you cool the bird? If you're living in the trailer (are you thinking of a pull along or driveable motor home?) and it needs to be in a shop, where will you go? TD ended up on the dining room table in the biggest cage I could get that would fit there (this means that I lived without a table for 6 years). Cooking wasn't easy with him there. I did most of my cooking outside over a campfire. They say not to keep your bird by windows or doors due to drafts, but where in an RV are you not near a door or window? We hung blankets around the dining area. Heating was another issue (though not much as we followed the warm weather). We spent most of our time in California. Once, with no other option (generator wasn't working and no electric hookup where we were)) we had to use a portable propane heater. We slept in shifts. We had a problem of the rig filling up with fumes off and on. One day we had to stop every 20 minutes or so to take TD and the dogs (and us) outside, wait 10 minutes for the fumes to clear out, then drive 20 more minutes. We had a week long heat wave once. It was 110 every day. We were living on just one check then. We took turns misting TD pretty much 24/7 that week. Looking back, I'm surprised he survived some of our experiences!

So, we've proven it can certainly be done. I'd recommend you don't do it in a 33 year old RV! And if you do decide to live the traveling life, and an emergency comes up, know you can always reach out to us here. Any situation you could get into, I've probably been in and I could share how we did it!

Good luck to you. It really is an adventure!

 

[Clueless]

We also had a phenomenal lady that did the rv thing with her macaws for a while. She passed away but her knowledge remains here on the forum. You can search threads here.

Look for Hankmacaw.

 

[Pixiebeak]

A radiant heat panel will keep your bird warm without having to crank the heat. The smallest they make is more than enough, I use the sweeter heater and have for over 20 years.
I would hang a clear shower curtain in front of door open in the hallway leading to her cage area as an adult exrta precaution from escaping. Or added screen doors. I've come home to unexpected free birds who have gotten out of their cages .

 

[nipiybirb]

I was a new full time RV'er (about 3 months) when a friend called to tell me about a 19 day old baby cockatiel that was at death's door (the parents had quit feeding it and the owner didn't feed it either), did I want to try to save it?

At that time, my fiance and our two dogs were in a tiny 26' RV. We bought that first to see if we would like the RV life.

Of course, I couldn't say no to the bird. I certainly didn't think too much about the safety issues, because I wasn't overly aware of good bird care (and , to be honest, I didn't think the bird would make it through the night). The only bird experience I had was in raising a wild Band Tailed Pigeon the summer before. I sure learned very quickly (shout out to everyone on the Avenue)!

Anyways, that was almost 7 years ago and until this past Spring, we continued RV'ing. We did get a bigger (33') RV, which was a big help. There were many scary moments as our "new" RV turned out to be a lemon. Nothing better than being broke down on the 60 highway in southern California in August when it's 105 degrees and you're 6" away from speeding 8 lanes of speeding cars.

I would say the best thing you can do is be prepared for things like break downs. How will you cool the bird? If you're living in the trailer (are you thinking of a pull along or driveable motor home?) and it needs to be in a shop, where will you go? TD ended up on the dining room table in the biggest cage I could get that would fit there (this means that I lived without a table for 6 years). Cooking wasn't easy with him there. I did most of my cooking outside over a campfire. They say not to keep your bird by windows or doors due to drafts, but where in an RV are you not near a door or window? We hung blankets around the dining area. Heating was another issue (though not much as we followed the warm weather). We spent most of our time in California. Once, with no other option (generator wasn't working and no electric hookup where we were)) we had to use a portable propane heater. We slept in shifts. We had a problem of the rig filling up with fumes off and on. One day we had to stop every 20 minutes or so to take TD and the dogs (and us) outside, wait 10 minutes for the fumes to clear out, then drive 20 more minutes. We had a week long heat wave once. It was 110 every day. We were living on just one check then. We took turns misting TD pretty much 24/7 that week. Looking back, I'm surprised he survived some of our experiences!

So, we've proven it can certainly be done. I'd recommend you don't do it in a 33 year old RV! And if you do decide to live the traveling life, and an emergency comes up, know you can always reach out to us here. Any situation you could get into, I've probably been in and I could share how we did it!

Good luck to you. It really is an adventure!

Cooking outside makes sense, i can still use my propane stove without worrying about the fumes affecting her.

Thank you so much for the information! I really appreciate it

 

[nipiybirb]

A radiant heat panel will keep your bird warm without having to crank the heat. The smallest they make is more than enough, I use the sweeter heater and have for over 20 years.
I would hang a clear shower curtain in front of door open in the hallway leading to her cage area as an adult exrta precaution from escaping. Or added screen doors. I've come home to unexpected free birds who have gotten out of their cages .

I have a panel for her she sleeps on the same perch as it but i havent seen her snuggle up to it yet. Guess that just means she doesnt need it

I use those screens with the magnets around the house and its been great.