Bubba On The Road is no more.
Well, sort of. We still have our RV, at least for another week or two, but after that, we’ll be transitioning to living back in a sticks and bricks apartment for awhile. I don’t see us ever moving back into an RV. It wasn’t for us as a family, so that’s probably in the past. I’d like to build a camper van at some point, but for the foreseeable future, that’s not happening either.
So what do we do now with everything?
Bubbaontheroad.com was always about integrating technology into our lives and improving the quality of life in an RV. Smarter, more comfortable, and more connected. That was the saying I always used when contacting companies for review product. We can keep that theme going with smart technology, information availability, and comfort, but apply it to a rental stationary unit instead of one on wheels.
That is where BubbaSoSmart.com comes in. BubbaOnTheRoad.com will still connect here, and there will still be camping posts, but we are broadening our scope to technology in general, smart technology specifically, and smart technology that can be utilized in rentals even more specifically.
To that end, I am reaching out to companies with products that can be installed, and -more importantly- removed, without damaging the structure so the lessee can take it with them and not lose their deposit when they move out. There are smart locks, thermostats, doorbell cameras, lightbulbs, door sensors, motion sensors, small appliances, whatever. There are a ton of options we can use without breaking things or our lease.
Because we are already predominately an Apple ecosystem household, we will most likely continue to be one and use primarily HomeKit for smart home automation. With things homebridge though, we can still use other systems and link them together. That will be one of our first posts, setting up HomeKit, then setting up a Raspberry Pi to use HOOBS so we can interface HomeKit with Google and Alexa and other protocol.
With that in mind, we have the following in the pipeline:
- HomePod Mini and HomeKit Setup
- Raspberry Pi with HOOBS
- Nest Learning Thermostat, third generation
- Ring Doorbell, 2020
- Level Bolt smart lock
That will start our project on its way, but we’ll add articles about different smart home products that are no review/install specific as well. (We already have two of the parts installed and working on the posts.)
After that, things I want to work on include smart lighting since we live on the second floor with an interior staircase and I want that lit better, lights in other rooms that we can control with Siri, smart appliances that can be used on the counter instead of having to replace a fridge or oven, and other things like that.
Things will hopefully move quickly, though our pace of installation and review relies mostly on cost of the products or support from the manufacturers. I’m not sure if Smart Home technology companies will be as helpful and supportive as RV technology companies were, but we shall see. What we can’t get for review, we may be able to purchase, and that doesn’t change our stance on our reviews.
Stay tuned for more!
