Remote RV monitoring with ARLO GO MOBILE SECURITY CAMERA

FTC Disclosure: I was compensated in product by Arlo Home Security for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own.

Our RV was robbed recently. While parked in our nearby RV storage facility, a thief pried off our locking fuel caps and siphoned $200 in diesel fuel from the tank. RV theft happens.

We have no footage of this event. While our Arlo Pro cameras are reliably monitoring our brick and mortar home, there is no way for them to work on our stored motorhome. The issue is shore power. The home versions of Arlo, and many other modern smart home security camera systems, require an internet connection to the cloud via a base station and router, and a means of powering that connection. Storage facilities lack these necessary power connections.

Arlo (produced by Netgear) recognized that gap and developed the Arlo Go Mobile Camera. The Arlo Go, like its sibling Arlo systems, is an internet-enabled wireless 720p camera that is operated and monitored through the Arlo smartphone app. The differentiator is the Arlo Go is completely battery-powered and utilizes an embedded LTE cellular modem to communicate with the cloud.

We’ve been testing the Arlo Go Mobile Camera for the last two months and have concluded it is the most capable security camera for remote monitoring of our motorhome. These are the six reasons it works best for us.

Arlo Go is a completely wireless camera that can be mounted just about anywhere in an RV. Because our motorhome does not have access to shore power while in storage, the included rechargeable battery fills that gap. The camera also has an embedded LTE cellular modem that communicates with the cloud and alerts our smartphones to any perceived activity.

Because the unit is weatherproof, we have no issues mounting the camera outdoors to monitor potential theft of our basement storage and/or fuel tanks. For campers that leave precious valuables and gear outside, they can have piece of mind their belongings are under constant supervision.

Out of the box, Arlo provides 7 days of free cloud storage for up to 5 connected cameras of all triggered events. Because this is our sixth Arlo camera, we upgraded to the Elite plan for $9.99 per month.

The traditional Arlo cameras transmit video to a base station attached to a home router. The Arlo Go does not require this step or extra equipment. Simply download the Arlo app from the app store and create an Arlo account. Insert battery into the camera and press the sync button. Mount the camera. It could not be easier.

The Arlo Go requires a cellular account either through Verizon, AT&T, or the Arlo LTE service. We chose the Arlo-branded service with no contracts and our plan is only $3.99 per month for 15 minutes of triggered events.

In addition to live-view and night vision, Arlo includes two-way audio. You can hear (with good clarity) everything happening around the camera. You can even talk with your delivery person if needed!

The Arlo Go camera is limited to 720p high-definition video recording, I assume to curb data hogging. While the image is perfectly suitable for our needs, the finer details can get lost if needing to zoom into an image. In that regard, Arlo Go leans toward function over form. If you’re planning on traveling with Arlo Go, we suggest using the included Outdoor Secure Mount versus the magnetic mounts as the vibration from travel can cause the device to tumble to the ground.

I’m very confident the camera is capturing and alerting us to every movement in its view. Arlo’s new “Arlo Smart” feature can categorize and filter out animals, cars and other environmental triggers, however, we are not currently using that feature on our cameras because I like knowing when anything and everything happens around our property. Using the feature however, could limit the amount of unnecessary triggers and save precious data.

The only hiccup we’ve encountered is getting the app to arm the system only once both my wife and I have left the geofence with our phones. As it stands, the camera “arms” itself when I leave the area, despite my wife still being within range. This can lead to unnecessary triggered event recordings that can burn though a data plan. Arlo tech support is well-aware of the issue and is actively pursuing a fix. However, since we are using Arlo Go to monitor our RV in storage, this point is moot.

The Arlo Go Mobile Security Camera has completely replaced the original Arlo Pro camera in our motorhome. In the past, we had to worry about power outages and “dry” camping, and the Pro simply will not work in storage. The Arlo Go eliminates the need for shore power and is a completely self-contained smart home security camera. Every few months I’ll have to rotate out the rechargeable battery, but it’s a fair-trade for the peace of mind.

We highly recommend you check out Arlo Go Mobile Camera for your RV security needs. If you plan to purchase Arlo Go, please consider using our Amazon Affiliate link.

If you have any questions about Arlo Smart Home Monitoring devices, visit the website at ARLO.com or follow them on Twitter. You can also feel free to leave a comment below.