RV Security Camera Using Wireless Video WiFi Doorbell and Smartphone App

The thought of RV Security may sound extreme but it is becoming more popular. Have you ever wondered if anyone is lurking around your RV while you rest for the night in a Walmart parking Lot? How about when you're away from the RV all day? If money is no object then the sky is the limit with today's technology. Most of us have a limit, so what are some good options?

I was looking for an exterior camera that could alert me on my smartphone if any motion was detected. I also wanted it to be able to store a clip via SD card or cloud. Finally, it needed to be weatherproof. Every camera I looked at with these requirements was in excess of $200 and most if not all I found required a monthly fee for cloud storage.

TONBUX Smart Video Doorbell Wireless Home WiFi Security Camera

I turned my direction to video doorbells. What I found were dozens of them. There were a few however that were under $100 and offered lots of free features. I chose the TONBUX Smart Video Doorbell Wireless Home WiFi Security Camera. It claimed to be weatherproof, included charging cable, batteries, a 16GB mini SD card (more on this later), 170 degree viewing angle, and even free cloud storage.

The first step after unpacking is to install the included batteries and SD Card. I then charged the batteries with the included USB cable. For a mounting location I chose next to the door, after all it is a doorbell. I used VHB tape to attach the mounting plate in lieu of screwing holes into the exterior of the RV.

Once the batteries are charged and the mounting plate is attached to the RV it was time to pair the video doorbell with my smartphone. First download the Anyhome App from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Now you must understand these devices work with WiFi so you need WiFi in your RV. The doorbell will find the network that your phone is using so make sure your smartphone is connected to your RVs WiFi network. Open the Anyhome app and simply follow the prompts. When completed pairing it will ask for you to name your device and assign it a password.

After it is all set up you can open the camera to get a live view. In the camera settings you can choose a wide variety of options. Cloud storage or SD Card storage, the orientation your phone displays the video, and environment.

The most important option will be PIR detection. This allows you to set movement detection to low, medium or high. You can even disable it so when you're at your RV enjoying yourself it will not capture movement or send alerts to your smartphone.

At the very bottom of the options screen you will see update firmware. You can check anytime to see if the device firmware has the latest updates. Mine required an update.

It is important to note that the video doorbell will stay connected to the RVs WiFi network. After setup your phone can use any WiFi network or your phones data to connect to the video doorbell.

This now allows me to open my phone and get a live video of what is going on outside my RV. More importantly I can set the PIR to alert me when movement is detected.

This was the perfect low cost solution for me. Time will tell how well it performs. The one thing I have noted is that even with the PIR set to low I will sometimes receive alerts for a squirrel or small animal passing by.

In conclusion after testing this unit and an identical unit by Wonbo both work well. I did have some issues with slow loading time. I tracked it down to the SD card. Removing the SD card made the device operate much faster and consistent. Since the unit comes with free cloud storage for the previous seven days I removed the SD card and just use the cloud. Remember this is a device under $100 dollars and is basic in its features. If you want 24 hour recording and a feature rich app to operate the cameras there are plenty out there. The Ring or Nest are higher end units and apps but both will require an initial high cost and a monthly fee for full features.

If I were purchasing this again I would purchase the Wonbo Smart Video Doorbell. The Wonbo is the exact unit as the Tonbux and uses the same Anyhome app. It is $10 less and does not come with an SD Card or USB cable.

Check out my short video below of the install. It shows the unboxing, pairing and mounting of the doorbell.