Quad drones

[rarebear.nm]

Have you used drones, like a quad drone, to scout out a road for rough areas, mud holes and turn around area prior to driving it in your RV rig? How well does that approach work for you? What drone models are reasonable for this purpose?

[Primerump]

Originally Posted by rarebear.nm

Have you used drones, like a quad drone, to scout out a road for rough areas, mud holes and turn around area prior to driving it in your RV rig? How well does that approach work for you? What drone models are reasonable for this purpose?

I have a DJI Mini 2 drone, I sometimes use it for scouting potential boondocking areas, it's small, light and has a good camera. more often though, I just walk the road or area of interest. other than that, it's a good drone for taking pictures of scenic areas. it's also under the registration weight, so no FAA paperwork required.

[Max Headroom]

Originally Posted by rarebear.nm

Have you used drones, like a quad drone, to scout out a road for rough areas, mud holes and turn around area prior to driving it in your RV rig? How well does that approach work for you? What drone models are reasonable for this purpose?

I don't use my drone for this, but it's certainly possible. Sometimes I use it to scout trails in my SUV. If you already have a drone, fine. To go out and buy one for this purpose? Pricey.
A decent, reliable drone with a good camera is going to be pricey.
Yes, there are cheaper drones, but many don't have good station keeping.
I have a few of these, but most are not as easy to fly as you would think, meaning easy to crash/lose.
I have a DJI mini pro three, and it's super easy to fly, extremely stable, sends back a great picture (I have the controller with the built in monitor) over quite a distance. Especially out in BFE. Flight time is 30+ minutes.
DJI makes a pretty decent machine, but it's not perfect. They are so paranoid that the GPS database sometimes contains 'no fly zones' that don't reflect reality, much bigger than necessary, or even no fly zones where none are required. But this is more of a problem near cities.
The machine itself is pretty well built and flys well. Some folks have reported battery clip failures, but so far I haven't seen any of this.
The other thing to be aware of is there are a lot of places out in the middle of nowhere that these things are going to be prohibited. Local authorities, tribal councils, blm and parks people and many others are regulating their use, even in sometimes very sparsely populated areas.

[Brunnie]

I use mine, DJI Mav Air, to scout things. I've never had any problems with BLM lands, you just have to know where any restrictions apply.

[Bobby F]

If you're wondering if the cheapies will work for you . . . don't bother.

I've tried three different $150 drones. All were great fun to fly - awesome control, zippy, will come right back to you at the touch of a button - but the process of getting an image from them was impossible for us.

Seems like they had a range to our screens of about 50 feet, and even the recording-to-a-card function wouldn't ever work.

[rtaggio]

Originally Posted by Primerump

I have a DJI Mini 2 drone, I sometimes use it for scouting potential boondocking areas, it's small, light and has a good camera. more often though, I just walk the road or area of interest. other than that, it's a good drone for taking pictures of scenic areas. it's also under the registration weight, so no FAA paperwork required.

Exactly what I do unless there is lots of tree cover, then I may use the electric bike

[glwinger]

You also have to consider the legality of flying drones on state and federal lands and private property.
Drones over a certain size must be registered with the FAA.

[SJ-Chris]

Many times I have used this "drone": https://earth.google.com


Here are some of the benefits...
- Cost: $0
- Range: Unlimited (can use it 1000s of miles away)

- Works at night and gives clear, daytime imaging (even at night)
- Legal to use anywhere
- No FAA registration required


Happy Camping!

Chris

[boiledowl]

Originally Posted by SJ-Chris

Many times I have used this "drone": https://earth.google.com


Here are some of the benefits...
- Cost: $0
- Range: Unlimited (can use it 1000s of miles away)

- Works at night and gives clear, daytime imaging (even at night)
- Legal to use anywhere
- No FAA registration required


Happy Camping!

Chris

Not near as fun though

[Sherpa Vern]

I have a Mavic 2 Pro with a 20 megapixel Hasselblad camera, that takes beautiful pictures and video. I used it to survey roofs for hail damage in the Wichita, KS area. It does a great job for that purpose, without a ladder or the inherent dangers of being on a roof.

Much of Wichita is in a restricted flight zone, due to the proximity of a major airport, but permission to fly can be requested and granted with specific restrictions, usually only to stay at or below 400 feet.

The Mavic Pro 2 has proximity sensors in every direction to prevent collisions, so flying a road with a tree canopy is possible and after finding a clear space, hitting the home button will cause the drone to rise to a safe altitude, return and land at the place from where it departed, often the hood of my Jeep.

When I acquired my drone, spare batteries and chargers, it was $2,000. That would be a bit overkill, just to survey a road that I can tell you now, I would never drive on with my motorhome, but would be very capable of doing so.

As far as restrictions, the main restrictions are put on where you can take off and land. The only agency that controls air space is the FAA. There are lots of other rules about flying over groups of people, etc.

Flying over houses is not illegal, but hovering and taking pictures or video into windows would be stupid and likely get a legitimate response from law enforcement. The challenge then, is for them to find you after you press the home button and the drone rises to 300 or 400 feet and flies off into the sunset at 44 mph and lands 3 or 4 miles away.

Like with most things we can buy with good intentions, some will use them for stupid reasons. I only use my drone for scenic purposes now, but it will still be my best tool to survey my motorhome roof, without going up a ladder.

[SJ-Chris]

Originally Posted by boiledowl

Not near as fun though

LOL....I 100% agree!



I bought a DJI Phantom 2(?) many years ago (12?) and used it for business. It still works, but DJI discontinued the APP and therefore I cannot use it anymore!

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by SJ-Chris

Many times I have used this "drone": https://earth.google.com


Here are some of the benefits...
- Cost: $0
- Range: Unlimited (can use it 1000s of miles away)

- Works at night and gives clear, daytime imaging (even at night)
- Legal to use anywhere
- No FAA registration required


Happy Camping!

Chris

You've listed some "pros", here's a "con": it's not a real-time image; you're seeing what it looked like some undetermined time in the past.

[SJ-Chris]

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

You've listed some "pros", here's a "con": it's not a real-time image; you're seeing what it looked like some undetermined time in the past.

You are 100% correct! Using google earth will not give you CURRENT conditions. It is usually 3-6 months in the past.



When planning a trip, I have used google earth many many times. One thing I'm always worried about in a 30' RV is, "Am I going to be able to park? Am I able to turn around if needed?" Since roads and parking lots don't change very often, it is incredibly useful for this. It also lets me inspect from overhead particular campsites/etc.


-Chris

[Primerump]

Originally Posted by SJ-Chris

Many times I have used this "drone": https://earth.google.com


Here are some of the benefits...
- Cost: $0
- Range: Unlimited (can use it 1000s of miles away)

- Works at night and gives clear, daytime imaging (even at night)
- Legal to use anywhere
- No FAA registration required


Happy Camping!

Chris

that assumes one has an internet connection, the locations we camp are way off grid with no service.