top of page

Bringing Smart Living to the Open Road

  • rcdbarclay
  • 6 days ago
  • 3 min read

What are your thoughts on home automation? Is it overkill in a small space, or does it even make it better?


When people hear “home automation,” they often picture a suburban house filled with gadgets: smart lights, thermostats, voice assistants. But what if we told you the future of smart living isn’t stationary at all? At Barclay RV, we’re proving that intelligent, connected living doesn’t have to stay rooted to a foundation—it can roll on wheels. And with Home Assistant, a powerful, open-source home automation platform, our Travel Homes are getting even smarter.


Here’s why Barclay RV and Home Assistant are a perfect match—and why home automation in an RV just makes sense.


Rethinking the Smart Home: Mobility Meets Intelligence

Barclay RV was founded on the belief that mobile living shouldn’t be a compromise—it should be an upgrade. We build travel homes that feel like real homes, with premium materials, functional floorplans, and yes—smart systems that work with your lifestyle.


Home Assistant brings the intelligence layer. It’s an open-source platform that integrates seamlessly with hundreds of devices, allowing you to create automations, monitor your systems, and control nearly every aspect of your living environment from one dashboard. For RVers, that’s not just convenience—it’s transformational.


The Power of Automation in a Small, Mobile Space

Why automate an RV? Simple: Because every square inch matters—and every system counts.

With Home Assistant inside a Barclay Travel Home, you can:

  • Control lighting, including brightness, color temperature, and mood presets, from your phone, a wall mounted tablet, or with your voice

  • Monitor the vitals - battery levels, solar output, water and propane tanks in real time

  • Automate temperature control using integrated fans, heat, or air conditioning systems, floor heating, based on time of day or occupancy

  • Set geolocation triggers, like closing the shades when you leave or turning on exterior lights when you return to your RV after dark

  • Create energy-saving automations—for example, turning off high-draw appliances when batteries fall below a set threshold, or being mindful of what to run when you are off-grid.


All of this can be customized, connected, and run locally—meaning it still works even when you're deep in the wilderness with no cell signal.



Customization Without the Cloud

One of the most appealing features of Home Assistant is that it’s local-first. Unlike many smart home systems that rely on internet access and proprietary apps, Home Assistant runs on a local device that we install in the Travel Home, giving you control without relying on the cloud.


For RVers, this is huge. You’re often off-grid or in areas with limited connectivity. Home Assistant ensures that your automations and controls don’t go dark just because your signal does.


Built for Real Life on the Road

Barclay RV builds for lifestyle-first functionality—and that means integrating tools that make real life on the road easier, safer, and more enjoyable. Home Assistant allows you to customize your Travel Home to the way you live.


Want to wake up to gentle lighting and warm air on chilly mornings? Done. Want to Open the shades, hear the weather, play your favorite music when you say "good Morning"?, no problem. Want to know the cabin temperature of your rig while you’re out on a hike, just in case you left your dog inside? Covered. Want to automatically shut down your inverter when you leave the RV to conserve power? Easy.


The Future of RV Living Is Smart—and It’s Here Now

At Barclay RV, we’re not just building RVs. We’re creating modern, mobile homes designed for full-time living—and Home Assistant is a key part of that vision.


Home automation isn’t just about luxury. In an RV, it’s about efficiency, peace of mind, and total control over your environment, no matter where you are. With Home Assistant in a Barclay Travel Home, the smart home revolution doesn’t stop at the driveway—it comes along for the ride.


Want to learn more about how Barclay RV integrates smart systems into our builds? Visit www.barclayRV.com  or send us a note. What would make your life easier? We want to know.



Comments


bottom of page