How about WiFi? (Possible New Option)

[bclemens]

We are often approached by guys pedaling their wares and the whole "even travel trailers are doing it" stuff. (which is true in this case)

The latest...wifi extenders. Effectively a roof mounted wifi antenna that acts as a signal receiver and router for the coach. (Winegard, ASA, King and others)

The advantage...connect all your phones, smart TV's, iPad to this device. Then, when you get to a campsite, connect this ONE wifi device to the campsite wifi and all your devices have the interwebs through the router. No need to set them all up again.

They come in two flavors. Straight wifi (not to be confused with internet) and wifi with 4G (which actually can be internet). The Wifi device is what it is. The 4G one can provide internet over 4G as your connection when a local wifi connection is not available. The cons to the 2nd device is that it is more expensive and the data packages aren't cheap. With most cell phone plans offering unlimited data, not sure why you would pay for additional data. (my thought at least)

As I look at these...my electrical engineer is concerned that a wifi device like this is a bad thing. If you have (3) smart TV's, two iPad's and two iPhones connected, the local campsite wifi looks at them all as ONE device and will throttle the speed. Whereas if you connect those phones, TV's, etc separately then they each get full bandwidth. I'm not 100% sure they're that savvy yet (again, my thoughts). It also serves the same purpose as a router I can buy off the shelf for under $50.

So. What are you thoughts? Experiences with a wifi repeater now? Or do you even have issues currently? Is anyone streaming TV? DO the local campgrounds even have fast enough speeds to support it?

[Retired JSO]

I use my WiFi box from my cell phone provider and all my toys and TV’s stay connected no matter where we are. I’ve even streamed a movie from an area that had sparse cell phone coverage.

[TeachTexas]

Originally Posted by bclemens

DO the local campgrounds even have fast enough speeds to support it?

This is the big question. Many campgrounds wi-fi systems are just too primitive for high speed connections and balk at the data pull for even a single device. For some steaming is a far off dream.

[FOURWHL]

Yes yes yes. I say include them. These are the ones I'll be putting on my rig at some point.

Wifi - https://www.wifiranger.com/shop/prod...liteac-pack-fm

4G - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GDZLUJ0...B1BODE52G&th=1 - Note that this does not covert 4g to wifi rather boosts(repeats?) the 4g signal

That said realistically you do have some valid concerns:
- I've not been terribly impressed with campground wifi. Cant fix a bad internet connection. That said, why not be prepared for the campground, or even restaurant that you can connect to that does work.

- 4G I really see as being a need for when going off the beaten path. I always seem to be just over the edge of connectivity in the wrong direction. A few more bars would really be nice. Especially with unlimited plans making a comeback.

-Disclaimer: I have no realworld experience with either, but I've done enough research to convince myself they're worth the time/money/effort whatever that is worth.

- Also seems to me that having that many devices would be a lot simpler for the end user who doesnt want to "deal with it all" to have only one device to connect. There's always the option to disconnect/reconnect to the campground that one device that needs its own bandwitdh.

Put the power in the hands of the user I say!

(edited 4G link to use the one with the correct antenna)

[Flybob]

One problem is the wifi bandwidth of the campground service. This is especially critical in a large RV park ( lots of wifi enabled RV's). Essentially the available bandwidth is constrained by the service providers link and then shared by everyone. Unless the campground has a very high capacity link or the hardware to constrain (throttle) individual connections it could be a problem. Might be nice to have, but thinking that once the options becomes the norm the constraints mentioned above could render it of marginal value.

[fclark00]

I use the weboost 4g lte Wifi Booster to boost the verizon mobile hotspots on our phones. I also have an AT&T hotspot in case verizon is not working. The Weboost is a guaranteed 2 or 3 extra bars of service and is the difference between being able to stream movies or not. If your phone or hot spot gets anywhere near the antenna you can see the bars increase. I have 5 devices that all have unlimited data so the booster is all I need.

[rskeans]

My experience (or luck) is that the majority of parks just do not have the bandwidth to handle many users. I never watch movies, but I just need some connectivity to make sure my world is not falling apart. i.e. email for income property, banking status, etc. I can get that off my phone (usually).

[halla]

I would include wifi. Most of us know you cant stream etc at a campground, but boosting signal for email etc would be nice. You know a new HD unit is being ordered tomorrow. Shoe Bin, wifi extender. Wink wink.

[ependydad]

Brian - I know there are a few FR brands that are offering WifiRanger Sky as part of factory options.

I think you’ll find that most full timers have some kind of WiFi extender/booster but less for using campground/free WiFi and instead are using it as a network management tool.

I’ve given up on using campground WiFi except out of necessity (2 years fulltiming). I’ll use my Verizon hotspot first and then fallback to my AT&T hotspot. Lastly, I’ll try campground internet.

But, I love my WifiRanger because I can switch everyone’s devices at a time. If I’m feeling saucy, I can even split what people are on. (And, as importantly- I can shut off internet to specific devices.)

Going into wilderness areas, a quality cell booster is required.

You’re right that we’ll hit throttle points quicker with everyone through one device. If it’s ever that important, you can just disconnect devices from the router.

IMO, so long as it’s a quality extender/booster, then it’s a value add.

[shultz01]

I say make either a cellular booster or WiFi router available as options.

I've worked in telecommunication in business-to-business sales for 26 years. I currently sell wired and wireless services...and security services. Security is a big concern these days. Your phone, tablet, hot spot, or laptop can be hacked via a campground WiFi or a bad person pretending to be the campground WiFi. Once they're in your device they can log your keystrokes and gain access to all your data...even hold it for ransom. So the more important question about the campground WiFi is not how much bandwidth they have, but how secure is their network and what are you doing over it?

My preference would be a cellular booster because everything I do stays on the cellular network that is exponentially more secure than any campground network. Unlimited is back on networks that work where we go...like Verizon and AT&T. Switch to unlimited and use campground WiFi as an alternative. Use your smartphone as a WiFi hotspot if you need to connect a laptop or WiFi-only tablet.

Me personally...being in the industry...I look to be disconnected on our trips!

[KatnKeith]

Seems like a Cell signal Booster and a Wifi booster would both be useful.

[ddemoret]

We pick our new Isata 3 less than 2 weeks ago. I added an Alfa wifi booster before leaving the dealer and used it for the week on our drive home. My reasoning for the booster was for security and one point of connection for our devices. It worked great and we even streamed a movie. I will add a WeBoost if I find out it's needed for my phone reception but right now doubt it will be necessary.

[emm-dee]

It would be a benefit for those who want the boost/repeat, etc., to have the wiring in place from the factory. No worries about drilling a bunch of holes. Just access the pre-installed wiring then “plug-n-play”.

[ependydad]

I’ve long said that a dedicated tech cabinet and conduit to the roof from it would be a hugely welcome addition. Leave me a pull line in so I can run wires easily and I’d be in love.

In the tech cabinet, I’d want 2 x 12v receptacles, 4 USB charging ports, and 4 x 120v outlets (if the rig has an inverter, having these on it would be perfect).

This would give the owners the ultimate flexibility and I can’t imagine would cost the manufacturer much at all in parts or time to install.

Same for a conduit from the roof to where the batteries are. This would aid future solar installs.

But, I do know that it’s not something everyone uses and you have to decide between the extra cost for a small subset of users. But if you did it, I’d sure think you were super swell.

ps, sorry for the thread hijack- but it’s sort of related. Give me access to easily install a WiFi extender or cell booster and you don’t need to include them from the factory.

[ependydad]

As for picking what hardware to install- I’d strongly recommend you follow what the technomads at RVMobileInternet.com have tested lately.

[FFred]

WI Fi is simply an expense to most campgrounds .

They have some because its needed to look OK in campsite listing books.

A booster to get a week signal would help in some ,

but streamed TV is a decade off.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by bclemens

So. What are you thoughts? Experiences with a wifi repeater now? Or do you even have issues currently? Is anyone streaming TV? DO the local campgrounds even have fast enough speeds to support it?

We have installed the WiFi Ranger Elite, following the lead and suggestions of the TechNomads.

In our experience, campground WiFi is rarely good enough to use as a multi-device internet source so, again, we are following the TechNomads suggestion and using a Hotspot. The Hotspot connects to our WiFi Ranger and provides a nice secure and firewalled network for our Coach.

The other key to the puzzle is the addition of a Cellular Booster. Again, following the lead of TechNomads, we have installed a WeBoost 4GX RV booster. This booster works in concert with our cellular Hotspot to give us a strong and reliable cell signal to provide WiFi to the coach.

(Watch for a connectivity update next year when we go out west & up the AlCan Highway )

At a typical 24mbs, we have more than enough bandwidth to stream Netflix, surf, & run our Apple TV. Currently we have 2 iPad Pros, 2 iPhone 7+'s, 1 MacBook Pro, Apple TV Gen 4, Alexia, and a Roku connected to the network with no issues. Locally, we have a 18TB media server that casts movies, TV, video and photos locally over the WiFi network.

Generally speaking it is a pain in the @$$ setting the WiFi Ranger and WeBoost up aftermarket primarily because you are drilling holes in the roof (or in our case routing WeBoost cables through existing A/C ductwork). It would REALLY be nice if, at a minimum, capped ductwork from the roof to a tech closet would be installed at the factory - especially from such a high-end manufacturer as Dynamax.

[mlmay12]

Originally Posted by fclark00

I use the weboost 4g lte Wifi Booster to boost the verizon mobile hotspots on our phones. I also have an AT&T hotspot in case verizon is not working. The Weboost is a guaranteed 2 or 3 extra bars of service and is the difference between being able to stream movies or not. If your phone or hot spot gets anywhere near the antenna you can see the bars increase. I have 5 devices that all have unlimited data so the booster is all I need.

X2 for weboost. I have had very good results with this (Truckers Antenna) mounted on roof. Boosts signal even in places where I could get no data. I set my smartphone next to the inside antenna and put it in hotspot mode for all the other devices to use.

[LittleMoose]

I agree that wiring the coach at factory for whatever one desires to add at later date in the way of wifi or cell boosters is the most important thing. It would be nice for Dynamax to lead the way in this modern necessity. How many and what kind of connections is what you need to decide. Just think in terms of modern TVs who advertise how many input and output plugs they. People want them available for whatever devices they choose to add. I think that is what you should concentrate on, rather than offering the devices themselves. That way everyone can choose to buy after market what they like, based on favorite brands, quality, needs, or whatever.

By the way, 5G will be coming in the not so far future and hopefully will do away with the need for wifi for many of us. I am hoping that will be the end all for a while. Of course the cellular companies will gauge us dollar wise at first for its use.

[Hi Rider]

I, too, have had difficult WiFi connections at every RV park I've visited this summer. I upgraded my smartphone to a newer model last week and added a "JetPack", which is a small Internet access point. The JetPack is much faster than any Internet service I have experienced at an RV park. The cost to me is only $10 per month. The downside is that my first outing using it this past weekend has used about half of the download volume that I'm entitled to according to my contract. I'm checking it out with Verizon this week.