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You’ve gotta stay connected! Email, WebEx, Zoom, Netflix, Plex, Hulu, Amazon, RV Trip Wizard…..we all rely so heavily on the internet to complete everyday tasks. In this blog we talk about what we use in our 2020 Newmar Dutch Star to stay connected!
Resources to help you
I am not a mobile internet expert, nor do I want to recreate the information provided by the experts over at sites like the Mobile Internet Resource Center who specialize in this type of information. They have years of experience and various contributors to their content. In this post I want to cover MY thought process and setup based on OUR needs. Yours may be similar, or be completely different. I also thought I might be able to add some Newmar Dutch Star specific install information as I didn’t find many model specific examples.
Some resources I utilized on my journey:
- Mobile Must Haves – a partner of MIRC, tons of great information and hardware, including bundles to get you started.
- Changing Lanes YouTube – Chad does a great job explaining their setup and what works for them. Very informative video.
- Mortons on the Move – good overall RV related content.
Determining Your Mobile Internet Needs
Deciding what mobile internet to get is a personal decision, it is not a one size fits all situation. You need to ask yourself some basic questions to get started.
- What do I need Internet service for?
- How much monthly data do I need?
- Do I NEED to be connected for work, or is it just a nice to have?
- Where do I camp most – boondock, public campgrounds, private campgrounds, etc.
- Am I willing to mount hardware onto the RV (or pay to have it done)?
- What internet options\limits do I already have available?
- What is my budget?
Starting with these questions may prompt more questions than answers, but it will give you a starting point.
This can quickly turn into a very complicated, in-depth conversation. Utilize every resource you can find…. I joined the Mobile Internet Resource Center, a wealth of information! I did find the information overwhelming, but they do help guide you down the path of choosing what’s best for your needs.
Our Mobile Internet Needs
At the time of writing, we are both working in IT, both working remote. I’ve been a teleworker for over 12-years and absolutely love it. While before I’d always say my office was “Delta Airlines, seat 2A” because I travelled so much, my current role as a Product Manager has allowed me to slow that pace down considerably. Karen was primarily an ‘in-office’ worker, but due to the 2020 Pandemic, she’s been working remotely with an unknown future of remote vs in-office. We wanted to take advantage of this and spend more time in the RV in various places where we can work as normal, then experience something different off work, and ultimately determine where we want to live next.
Mobile internet needs vs wants
As we started down this journey, the first question was “What do we need Internet for?” And the answer, for us, is “We need reliable internet wherever we go, including outside of the coach (in a client’s office, for example) for online business activities including email, sharing of large files, instant messaging, video meetings (via various methods: WebEx, Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams) and Voice over IP (VoiP) communications.” Not a short order….if we could stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, Plex, etc. that would be a huge bonus.
How much monthly data do we need?
Trying to determine your monthly data needs can be difficult, especially if you’re used to an unlimited, 1Gb fiber line and use data to your heart’s content! Our home setup has monitoring tools in place so I can view the data usage and saw we use anywhere from 300-800 Gb a month. That’s a huge number and a huge range, but one without restrictions, with anywhere from 2-6 people online (2 kids were home doing eLearning for school, school breaks and work groups), streaming all sorts of services, updating X-Box, etc. But, we quickly saw we’d need more than a 50 or 100-Gb data cap.
Having even a remote idea of your data usage will help you choose service plans.
Mobile internet and camping locations
Consider where you like to camp the most, then what’s available in those settings.
- Upscale RV Resorts (High-end resorts)
- Private Campgrounds (Traditional campgrounds or KOA-like)
- Public Campgrounds (State/Local/National Parks)
- Remote Boondocking – at the end of a dirt road far from town
Each of these will bring its own challenges, and it’s best to understand that most campground wifi is not going to be guaranteed, consistent or always even usable. It’s best not to rely on it, but use it if and when it’s available AND good quality.
Aside from wifi, consider the cellular signal in these locations. Are you near a larger city, or out in the middle of nowhere? Maps of cellular carriers coverage areas are available on their websites, it’s best to look at them compared to your preferred area of travel to see if you even have a chance of success.
Mobile internet external hardware mounting
As you define your NEEDS vs WANTS, you will start looking at the different hardware that’s available. You’ll likely find that in order to get a good signal you’re going to need some kind of external antenna. The type of antenna is directly related to your needs + preferred camping location.
Can you get by with a simple window mounted antenna? Or do you need a roof mounted system that’s hands off? Or do you need a directional antenna that you’ll need to setup and/or move each time you park?
Are you comfortable getting on your roof to install an antenna? Can you drill a hole in your roof? Run cables and maybe wire in power?
These are all things you should consider as they will impact your overall choices or costs.
Mobile internet - existing options
Considering what existing options you have available to you today is important to deciding what you want to add to your mobile internet setup.
We currently have cellular plans through AT&T with unlimited phone data. This is NOT hot spot data…what’s the difference? Phone data is what you use on your phone to surf the web, check email or use apps. Hot Spot data is where another device is connected to the phone (like an Xbox, tablet, laptop, etc.) and using the phone data. This traffic is limited – we get 50 Gb of “hot spot data” per phone. So between, us, that’s 100 Gb of AT&T cellular data to use. I also have a work phone, also on AT&T, same limits, pushing us up to 150 Gb of hot spot data. Now, we can go over the 50 Gb and there’s no additional charge, but they will throttle the speed….we could end up with such low speed its unusable.
Mobile Internet Budget
Determining your mobile internet budget can be tough, You want to find a balance between low cost and your needs (or wants). The type of plan you get will also be determined by your hardware and where you spend the most of your time.
For example, if you plan to primarily travel where there’s strong Verizon, you’ll want to look at Verizon data plans and hardware that works with Verizon sim cards.
Maybe you’ll be in areas with both AT&T and Verizon, and it’s important that you are always connected. If this is the case, you might be looking at dual modem setups with two different carriers. These are going to cost you more, both in hardware and in service fees.
Our Current Mobile Internet Setup
The diagram above shows our current configuration as of August 2022. We do not get to spend much time on the road yet, so it’s easier for us to plan ahead to ensure we have signal when we need it, or take time off when we don’t.
In general, we need reliable internet to complete our work tasks, which is generally on-line meetings with video and voice. Because we still own our primary home, we did not want to spend hundreds of dollars per month in carrier fees, however did want to plan our hardware choices to be expanded in the future. I had no problem mounting things on the roof, either myself or hiring that work out.
Internet Sources
After considering that we desired an internet source that we could remove from the coach, this eliminated any hardware that had the modems, and therefore sim cards, installed onto the roof. While accessible with some effort, it would be inconvenient to remove the card and would still require another device like a hot spot.
Hot Spot Device
We originally had the FMCA Tech Connect hot spot. Unlimited cellular data for $49.99/month + annual FMCA membership fees. When we first signed up the service was under Sprint, but they soon merged with T-Mobile, quickly expanding our coverage area. **Side note, we really like the other benefits of FMCA and with a coupon code were able to get a 3-year membership at a reasonable price.
In June, FMCA announced they were discontinuing the T-Mobile service and moving to AT&T at a higher monthly cost. Since we already have AT&T cell phones we didn’t want to continue with the FMCA plan and the search continued. We wanted to stay with T-Mobile as they appeared to have the best coverage for where we travel most, so went with the Calyx Institute plan. This plan is an annual membership, $750 (equals $62.50/month) for the first year (includes the hardware), $500 (equals $42/month) for subsequent years.
Satellite Internet
Satellite internet options have become more readily available, Starlink being the most well-known today. Their plans are changing all the time, and as soon as they added official support for an “RV Plan” I placed our order. They have also announced support for in-motion use, but we do not yet have a roof mount that would properly support Dishy to enable this feature. We will try out the service this fall then decide how to proceed.
Cell Phone as a Hot Spot
Our backup Internet sources are our 2 personal cell phones on AT&T with 50 Gb hot spot + 1 company cell phone on AT&T with 50 Gb hot spot.
Mobile Internet Router
The heart of a good RV internet system is the router. This is the central piece that brings signals in from different sources and broadcasts them in a consistent way. This is important for a variety of reasons, but for us, it’s ease of use from our various devices – we connect everything (phones, laptops, TVs) to our own private network one time, and if the router is connected to internet from any source, our devices will be too. This eliminates the need to connect every device to the new network every time you move. It also gets around the systems that only allow a specific number of devices to connect – technically, only one is connected to their system.
We originally purchased the WiFiRanger Spruce mobile router for around $120 USD. This mobile router has no modems in, but will rather accept tethered devices via USB (1 USB, up to 3 devices via powered USB) or will connect to wifi (campground) and utilize that, all broadcasting as your own wifi network. Our primary source of internet to the Spruce was the FMCA hotspot, tethered via powered USB adapter which will keep the device charged while providing a hardwired connection. The Spruce has an easy to use web user interface for setup, maintenance, and connecting to internet sources, but I would rate it just “ok” for usability.
We have upgraded to the newest Pepwave router (at the time), the Max Transit Pro. It is not inexpensive, but a much better piece of equipment. It has 2 modems, a fast processor, 7 antenna ports (including 4 cellular, 2 wifi and 1 GPS), WAN, LAN and USB ports. It’s specifically built for mobile use, so it’s very stout! We will use this as our primary router, using the various internet sources available – Starlink, T-Mobile hotspot, AT&T phones or public wifi.
Mobile Internet Antennas and Boosters
Our first FMCA hotspot was an Sprint MiFi 8000, it had two hidden antenna ports. I purchased the Netgear MIMO antenna which really helped improve the signal overall. [You’ll want to read up on and understand MIMO antennas]
Due to the Sprint\T-Mobile merger, FMCA was moving to new 5G hardware. They are replacing the MiFi 8000 with the Alcatel Linkzone 2, which I read nothing but bad reviews on. I did read that you could reach out to FMCA Tech Connect and pay for an upgraded hot spot – the Inseego M2000, which I did. After some back and forth and a new SIM card, we are up and running. However this device does not have any external antenna connections (nor does the Alcatel). The Calyx Institute plan uses the same Inseego M2000 hardware.
We added a WeBoost Drive Reach RV cellular signal booster for those times the hot spot is struggling to get a signal. I mounted the antenna on the provided spring mount to one of the brackets for our Girard awning.
We also added a Parsec Husky Pro 7, 7-in-1 5G rooftop antenna. This boasts 4X4 MIMO 2X2 WIFI and GPS. This is using the magnetic mount and some custom risers attached to the roof. We will be testing this out this fall. The unfortunate part is that this antenna does nothing for the hotspot.
Summary
The internet options that work for YOU depend solely on your needs, budget, where you camp most, etc. This guide hopefully gives you some questions to ask yourself and some resources to utilize to figure it all out. And you can see what we did, and we’ll continue to post updates on what works and doesn’t work for us along the way, and what changes we make.
Internet offerings change ALL the time, almost daily it seems, so best to utilize resources that watch that and send out updates.
I will update this post with a link to the install in our 2020 Newmar Dutch Star.
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