RuuviTags are excellent sensors: a coin-cell radio transmitter measures temperature, humidity and air pressure accurate to ±0.2 °C and lasts for years. But there is a catch — they only broadcast over Bluetooth Low Energy. Range: around 10 metres. As soon as you are further away, you can no longer see your readings.
To solve this, Ruuvi sells the Ruuvi Gateway: a stationary bridge that reads the sensors and forwards them to the internet. Useful — but pricey. The official list price is around €200 (€199 net at Ruuvi), and the gateway is meant for a wall socket at home (mains power, WiFi/Ethernet in one fixed place). For a motorhome that parks here today and there tomorrow, that is the wrong form factor at the wrong price.
The good news: for a fraction of that, you can still get your Ruuvi data online reliably.
Why RuuviTags alone aren't enough
A RuuviTag is a pure transmitter. It has no WiFi, no mobile network, no internet connection of its own. For the readings to arrive anywhere, a receiver has to be within Bluetooth range to pick up the data and forward it. With the manufacturer app that receiver is your smartphone — which is why you only see the values when you are standing right next to it.
For a remote view you need a permanently running bridge (also called a "gateway"). That is exactly the role Ruuvi's expensive gateway plays — and, in our case, the CampMatic device in the camper.
CampMatic Guard as a cheap Ruuvi bridge
The CampMatic device reads your RuuviTags over Bluetooth and sends the values to the cloud over WiFi or 4G. From there you get them from anywhere — exactly what the Ruuvi Gateway is otherwise responsible for, only from €59 instead of around €200. And unlike the stationary gateway, CampMatic is built for mobile use.
Concretely, your Ruuvi readings arrive here:
- CampMatic app — every RuuviTag as its own tile with live value and history chart.
- Telegram bot — a push alert when a threshold is crossed (e.g. frost risk), plus on-demand queries by command.
- Home Assistant & MQTT — the sensor appears automatically via auto-discovery as an entity for your own dashboards and automations.
The price comparison at a glance
| Ruuvi Gateway | CampMatic Guard | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | around €200 | from €59 |
| Ruuvi in cloud & app | yes | yes |
| Home Assistant / MQTT | yes | yes (auto-discovery) |
| Connection | WiFi (2.4 GHz) or LAN cable only | WiFi — or 4G with no WiFi at all |
| Works without fixed WiFi | – (always needs WiFi/LAN) | yes (4G variant, from €89) |
| Telegram alerts | – | yes |
| Gas bottle & onboard battery | – | yes (Mopeka + BM2) |
| Suitable for motorhomes | limited (stationary) | yes (built for it) |
The Ruuvi Gateway prices are approximate and can vary by retailer and promotion — the point stands: as a pure bridge it is the significantly more expensive option, and for a camper not the right one.
No WiFi at your pitch? Game over for the gateway
This is the decisive difference in everyday camper life: the Ruuvi Gateway connects only over WiFi (2.4 GHz) or a LAN cable — there is no mobile option (4G/LTE, SIM). On a campsite without usable WiFi, on an aire or when free-camping, the gateway is simply offline. And your home WiFi is no help when the camper is parked 150 km away in winter storage.
That is exactly what the CampMatic Guard 4G (from €89) is for: it goes online over the mobile network with its own SIM card — completely without WiFi, across Europe. So your Ruuvi readings reach your phone reliably even from a remote pitch or distant winter storage. If you do have WiFi, take the Guard WiFi from €59 — both variants cost far less than the gateway.
More than just a bridge
The real difference is not only the price. The Ruuvi Gateway can only forward Ruuvi sensors. CampMatic is a complete camper hub that includes Ruuvi reception:
- Gas bottle — fill level via Mopeka sensor, remotely.
- Onboard battery — voltage and state of charge via BM2 (1..n batteries).
- Ruuvi environment — temperature, humidity, air pressure (1..n sensors).
- Truma heater — with the Truma line also controllable, not just observable.
All in one app, side by side. That lets you spot connections that stay invisible in separate island apps — for example when the inside temperature drops even though the heater is running and there is still gas.
What if I use Home Assistant?
Then you are in exactly the right place. CampMatic registers every Ruuvi sensor automatically via MQTT auto-discovery — no tinkering, no gateway of your own. Temperature, humidity, air pressure and battery voltage are immediately available for your own dashboards, automations and history charts. Our post on integrating the Truma heater into Home Assistant shows how it works in detail.
Set up in minutes
- Activate the sensor — start the RuuviTag once with the manufacturer's Ruuvi app.
- Add it in CampMatic — in the settings under Devices → Add device, select the Ruuvi environment sensor.
- Done — CampMatic finds the sensor automatically when in range and shows it as its own tile. In parallel it flows into Home Assistant over MQTT.
A step-by-step guide with images is in the CampMatic help under "External devices".
Conclusion
If you want to see your RuuviTag readings remotely, you need a bridge. The official Ruuvi Gateway costs around €200 and is a stationary home device. CampMatic Guard from €59 does the same job, is mobile (WiFi or 4G) and throws in Telegram alerts plus gas and battery monitoring. For campers — and for anyone who wants to keep an eye not just on Ruuvi but on their whole onboard system — it is the cheaper, more complete solution.
→ CampMatic Guard WiFi (CM_LC_01) — monitor Ruuvi, gas & battery, €59
→ CampMatic Guard 4G (CM_LC_GSM01) — the same, with no WiFi at all, €89
→ CampMatic Truma WiFi (GC_HW01) — control the heater too, €149
Not sure which device fits your setup? Check the help or write to us — we are happy to help you choose.
