I have a 2018 Vilano 365RL and the wife is insisting that we make the control panel a smart home panel so she can control the AC from her smartphone from the bedroom. Is this possible and has anyone done it? I know Spyder makes a smart home panel but I don’t know anything about the requirements. TIA
What your wife is requesting was is for sure the best benefit I got out of adding the module. I can check and control the temperature in the rig remotely (I used the Eclipse module) and didnt have to get out of bed to crank the heat on those cold mornings. Since we boondock a lot we typically keep the heat at 55 at night to preserve resources - makes for a rough time climbing out of bed.
There are multiple ways to accomplish this and having the G6 is what keeps things possible (could be some bumps though). Vanleigh chose the wired switches and the small interface for those early years which really defeated where the system shines. They started doing the remote battery powered panels making it so they didnt have to run the electrical to all of the switch locations - however the base of the system is still the same as what they used in later models.
I do know of folks that had the older panel upgrade to the large screen they started using in the Vanleighs in 2020. I also know owners that have used the Mira in the earlier G6 versions. Another owner in the group (@Shawn) is currently having some difficulty getting his Mira playing nice with his system but currently I believe his thought is that the Mira module coming from a friend with a Class A might have different software levels. Firefly is assisting him with resolution.
You will need to check the G6 system versions and then check with Firefly and Spyder to see what is needed and if it is possible. The Firefly modules (Mira and Eclipse) are pretty spendy. I think the last price check of those devices was from Stuart who said they were $850 and $950 respectfully along with a monthly subscription for the Eclipse module.
I have several other posts that include details on the modules and options like this one: Phone app for Spyder system - #21 by RyanB
Really the three options are:
- Mira (bluetooth) or Eclipse (bluetooth / wifi) module from Firefly. Pretty expensive route. You will for sure need upgrades to that G6 but Spyder usually accommodates those for free.
- Coach Proxy which is a once discontinued solution for the Spyder systems and now revived for a group of folks. It was primarily used on the Tiffin motorcoaches but there are several Vanleigh owners that have gone this route since the device is usually under $300. It is far more robust than the Firefly solutions for integration of scheduling and smart controls but also is much more technical. It takes some work to make it work “out of the box”. Another VL owner Marcus is extremely knowledgable on coach proxy. The website will show it is discontinued but the facebook group is where the developer, the support live and where you can buy the module. I think that previous post showed information on that previous post.
- If you just want AC controls and go without the other options you could also go with the Micro Air RV Thermostat. I dont recall the thermostats in the earlier Vanleigh models but there were several people in the Vanleigh Facebook groups that used Micro Air instead of the Firefly solution. They are a pretty easy 1-1 replacement with the standard thermostats you find in RVs but your 2018 might be a bit different.
The EasyTouch RV WiFi Thermostat | Bluetooth Smart Control | Micro-Air – Micro-Air, LLC
Sorry that is a lot of text so if you made it this far you are a trooper.
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Please check my work but I believe this was the thermostat used in earlier Vanleighs and then the associated Micro Air Thermostat.
My mira module is at firefly now getting flashed to oem. Hope to get it back next week if all Is good with it. They will let me know. I have the g6 system with the 7” screen. In my 2022 320GK