Smartphone controlled camper thanks to CaraControl

The advent of smartphones and tablets has revolutionized and redefined the concepts of remote control, monitoring and control. Smart home systems that have been appearing for over a dozen years, intelligent household appliances with which we can connect from any place on earth or remote connection with our cars - we have already got used to all these amenities.

Until recently, however, this trend remained rather alien to the caravanning industry. Recreational vehicles consist of components from many manufacturers, and their "linking" into one body is therefore not (and never was) an easy task.

The most spectacular integrations of recent years that have become really loud (to name a few) are the MACH Adria system, the Hymer Connect App (on-board functions, base vehicle monitoring), and iNet from Truma / ALDE (air conditioning, heating).

Universal control system

It perfectly "combines" many useful parameters and functions into one user-friendly system. What is CaraControl? The most important element of the installation is the control unit connected to the electro block , i.e. the heart of the vehicle. In addition, a number of other devices, sensors and wired and wireless systems can be connected to the control panel, thus allowing them to be monitored and controlled.

In practice, we can enjoy the following amenities:

• remote monitoring of the temperature inside and outside as well as heating and air conditioning control - e.g. we remotely set a comfortable temperature when returning from the slope to the vehicle
• remote lighting control - including light scenes (up to 10 light sources with dimmers)
• remote view of the status of clean and gray water tanks and the ability to turn on / off the water pump
• remote monitoring of the motorhome's battery status (residential part and car battery)
• monitoring of the vehicle location based on the GPS signal
• cooperation with wireless alarm sensors, as well as with gas sensors from other manufacturers
• in some vehicles the possibility of remote key-free opening of the vehicle
• the ability to issue voice commands
• possibility of convenient operation on the screen of a media station instead of a smartphone (e.g. ZENEC "combines")
• a special gas level sensor (the so-called gas pad) allows you to monitor the level in the cylinder and warns in the event of sudden losses that may indicate a leak in the installation

In addition, the automation of the device allows you to avoid unpleasant surprises, such as:

• CaraControl can automatically turn on the heating of the tanks if there is water in the tank and the temperature drops below zero.
• We have water in the system and the temperature inside the motorhome drops below zero, then CaraControl turns on the heating to prevent the water from freezing in the system

Communication inside the vehicle takes place via energy-saving Bluetooth. In general, the system is characterized by very low energy consumption - in standby mode, it will not discharge the battery for up to 100 days.

It is also important that remote communication outside the vehicle takes place directly between the mobile device and the system installed in the vehicle (sim card) on the NB-IoT (Power Wide Area Network) radio technology without the need to take care of data transfer and roaming (works in all over Europe). It is also not a cloud-based system (no need to register or login to the service server).

The perfect solution for rental companies

As part of the subscription agreement, car rentals through CaraControl gain a powerful tool for tracking the vehicle's position, and also have an insight into the car's on-board systems, being able to remotely diagnose the source of any problems reported by customers during the rental.

The software allows you to generate statistics and even predefine alerts (e.g. exceeding the agreed mileage or leaving a certain zone). This is a significant support in the daily work of operators of companies providing services related to rental.

Summary

The heart of the vast majority of motorhomes are the so-called electroblocks. Several companies specialize in their production (eg Schaudt, CBE, Nordelettronica). Many of them can be connected in a more or less complicated way to the CaraControl controller and gain access to a really rich range of functions. We should remember, however, that the complexity of motorhome structures and technical modifications of the components may affect possible limitations.

The creators of CaraControl are constantly working on updating their solutions and provide professional support to users. Before making a purchase decision, each potentially interested customer must answer the question what scope of functionality he is interested in, and then verify whether a given electro block in a given motorhome model can be combined with CaraControl. According to the manufacturer's declaration, the system supports the solutions of Alde, Truma, Dometic, Webasto, Schaudt, CBE, and Nordelettronica. However, we must bear in mind that there are vehicle manufacturers that focus on proprietary solutions, for which it will not be possible to obtain a significant range of functions - for example, Pilote vehicles.

Compatibility check

Regardless of the limitations - if your electric block works with CaraControl , you will fall in love with this system - just like us.
For confirmation of possible compatibility and individual pricing, we recommend contacting an authorized representative of the CaraControl brand - iSmarThings from Krakow.

Authorized CaraControl sales and assembly points in Poland

voiv. Silesian

• Camper Planet ( www.camperplanet.pl )
• Transa-M (www.transa-m.pl )
• Lontex (www.lontex.pl )
• Dethleffs Silesia Camp Trans-Sas Camping Center ( www.silesiacamp.pl )

voiv. Lower Silesia

• ACK Benimar Polska ( www.kampery.ack.com.pl )

voiv. Lesser Poland

• Elcamp Group ( www.elcamp.pl )

voiv. Masovian Voivodeship

• Skylark ( www.skylark.pl )
• Campery Złotniccy ( www.zlotniccy.pl )

voiv. Lodzkie

• Kutno Camping Center ( www.centrumcampingowe.pl )

voiv. Greater Poland

• CarGO! ( www.cargo-group.pl )

Business partners wanted

If you run a business related to the sale, service or rental of motorhomes, iSmarThings is looking for commercial partners in Poland to build a distribution network and assembly sites in our country.