Internet while on the road

[obxfanatic]

Hi all.

I am planning on traveling for two weeks with my travel trailer and I need a reliable Internet connection while on the road. I will be working during part of this trip and I will need reliable connectivity. Does anyone have any advice on on a service that they have been successful with? How about a Mifi service? I plan on going to the Charleston, SC area and also the Panhandle of Florida so I need a reliable MiFi vendor. I am guessing Verizon has the most coverage.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[magpi26]

If you have a smart phone, one option is to use your phone as a hot spot which is basically making it function like a router. I do this while I am traveling and find it to work well for e-mail and internet searches on my laptop or ipads. I am sure it may not be great for large data functions like video and gaming, but for most business functions it works fine for me. You may have to look at your data plan from your phone provider to see if you need to temporarily boost your plan while you are traveling.

[StoneyG]

The smart phone or a device like a MiFi is about the only practical solution and then you have to have a cell signal which is something that we've been without on occasion. I now check coverage maps when I'm traveling in remote/rural areas.

[wana65stang]

Just go and buy a new GMC Pickup they come with WiFi through the On- Star

[ependydad]

The phone can work, but may require you to upgrade your data plan. It could be cheaper to buy a "pay as you go" MiFi device if this is a one-off.

I've been up and down the eastern coast with AT&T and have been satisfied with everywhere I've gone.

[bob caldwell]

Originally Posted by wana65stang

Just go and buy a new GMC Pickup they come with WiFi through the On- Star

And the rest of your life payments !

[jkaspar20]

We have Verizon service and purchased the Jet Pack. Once past initial cost it is $10.00 a month and share data plan. I purchased external antenna for those remote places. If you pick up 4G you can run 10 devices. 3G is 5 devices. I have found the Hot spot on phone works well with antenna near by but the jet pack works real well with external antenna in fringe areas. You buy antenna with pig tail for the jet pack. You can install an app called "open signal" to help you find nearest cell tower. (which side of rv has strongest signal ) for those marginal areas in the sticks.

[Mark S]

We have had pretty good luck using my wife's ATT iphone 5 hotspot. She gets 5 Gig a month for $50. We upgrade her plan before we leave and then downgrade when we finish the trip.

[Pierre Allard]

What about internet on the go that they sell at Walmart? it is like 50. for 5 gig no limit of time

[Pierre Allard]

internet on the go - Walmart.com

[StoneyG]

Originally Posted by Pierre Allard

What about internet on the go that they sell at Walmart? it is like 50. for 5 gig no limit of time

While traveling we use at least 10GB per month and I will subscribe to 15GB for email, Facebook, shopping and searching. But we may be heavy users.

[brer_rabbit10]

I have a Verizon MiFi. It costs $50 for the service plan which was designed for 1 hr video conferencing each month. Using just data transfers I've never gone over and it seems to be quite reliable and quite speedy.

[Witch Doctor]

I don't think you can beat the Verizon MiFI jet pack for what you want. It's 4g but some remote places I dropped to 3g. But I traveled all over the USA from the east coast to the west and from North to South. I always had a signal.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by wana65stang

Just go and buy a new GMC Pickup they come with WiFi through the On- Star

As does Dodge

[meganjoe]

Originally Posted by jkaspar20

We have Verizon service and purchased the Jet Pack. Once past initial cost it is $10.00 a month and share data plan. I purchased external antenna for those remote places. If you pick up 4G you can run 10 devices. 3G is 5 devices. I have found the Hot spot on phone works well with antenna near by but the jet pack works real well with external antenna in fringe areas. You buy antenna with pig tail for the jet pack. You can install an app called "open signal" to help you find nearest cell tower. (which side of rv has strongest signal ) for those marginal areas in the sticks.

Could you please give more detail on the jetpack antenna??

Thanks, Joe

[bpdlk33]

Most RV parks I have used while traveling have had internet wifi that worked from ok to well. The ones that didn't, I would use my phone as a hotspot as long as I had a phone signal the hotspot worked well. My cell service is AT&T.

[whj77372]

We use our Note 4's as hotspot via Verizon and we are pleased
with the speed. I have found that the Wifi at many RV parks is not up to our standard.

[SkipnTerri]

Originally Posted by Pierre Allard

What about internet on the go that they sell at Walmart? it is like 50. for 5 gig no limit of time

We traveled to Charleston, SC last winter and used Internet on the Go from WalMart. Worked like a charm.

[SkipnTerri]

Originally Posted by whj77372

We use our Note 4's as hotspot via Verizon and we are pleased
with the speed. I have found that the Wifi at many RV parks is not up to our standard.

Plus, they're not secure.

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

And the rest of your life payments !

Not a heck of a lot more expensive than the Walmart Internet on the go, and I will say, it works great. Would hate to have a family all streaming movies on a cross-country trip though.

But, you still have to be within AT&T cell tower range for it to work. So not sure how it works in the middle of nowhere, where it can't reach a tower. I believe it will work on 3G service too; or so the AT&T coverage maps so state.

https://www.onstar.com/us/en/services/coveragemaps.html

And, when my almost free plan is expired, I probably will not keep the feature.