Tv & Internet

[KimGCollins]

We have a 2021 Keystone Carbon Toyhauler. It came with a tv in the main living area. We have installed one in the bedroom and one in the garage. Multiple campgrounds we've stayed at recently have had little internet service available. No internet means no TV reception. Any suggestions to improve our tv reception would be greatly appreciated. We have Roku on two sets and the other one is Fire tv. Also what is the best way to boost our internet connection when camping. Thank you for any information.

[Peto]

Starlink has introduced a recreational version of their antenna. Much smaller.

[NH_Bulldog]

We use the OTA antenna for local stations when available. Although we do have options for cellular data and boosting a cellular signal for WiFi, we admittedly do not use our smart TV functionality since we rarely if ever watch TV while camping.

[wiredgeorge]

We like to watch TV when camping in the evenings. I use a Roku which means data must be good enough. We approached it in two ways; if the campground WiFi is good enough for streaming, we use WiFi. You can check this on https://campgrounds.rvlife.com/ before choosing a campground. That site will have independent reviews which often mention the campground WiFi.

If you pick a campground with poor WiFi, then use your phone as a hotspot. The secret is to have an inexpensive unlimited plan. We use Consumer Cellular and they offer service through either AT&T or T-Mobile towers. Visible wireless uses Verizon towers. In any case, either (and likely others offering unlimited data) allow use of a hotspot.

We have dedicated systems to pull in either WiFi or cell and both have their own routers in the camper making comms a bit more secure.

Here is our set up on our camper:
https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=50959

[jxnbbl]

When we stay a "long time" (week+) we probably use the following 3 methods during the stay:


1. cable wired (if the campground has it).
2. campground wifi. The last 2 campgrounds have had great wifi and never went to option 3. (we had the trailer in these for 2+ months)
3. cellular - due to input from this forum I use Visible and have used this for 2+ years now. $25/month with unlimited data.


I have owned both Winegard gateway routers and currently have the Osprey as this allows tethering of #3 into the router.


When at a place like Disney where during "busy hours" good wifi goes to crap wifi....we switch to #3 and sometimes I just use it constantly during the stay.

[TXiceman]

Having sufficient WiFi is always an issue with camping. If you want o go the streaming route, you will need Starlink. We went with Dish Net satellite for our 10 years on the road.

Ken

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

Having sufficient WiFi is always an issue with camping. If you want o go the streaming route, you will need Starlink. We went with Dish Net satellite for our 10 years on the road.

Ken

I don't have Starlink and can stream quite well at most any campground we visit. We also dumped dish because the cost was out of line. Streaming with a Roku is far less expensive.

[dutchmensport]

What type of internet service are you using right now? Are you using a hot spot on your cell phone, or are you using a satellite system, or something else entirely?

If you are using your cell phone hot spot, then a phone booster is a big help.

WeBoost is probably one of the best. We use it whenever our phones have weak signals. Of course, there has to be "some" signal. It does not work at all or help at all in complete dead zones. We have both AT&T phones and Visible, which uses the Verizon network. The booster works very well, but..... it AIN'T cheap. BUT, after the initial purchase, it's worth it.... over and over and over again.

Click here. Follow the Vehicles. We have the Drive Reach Overland model. Works great, but that transformer does it very warm. Don't put it in a cabinet. You can get WeBoost from different sources, but the price is still within pennies of each other.

You can also get it from Amazon.com too (If buy stuff that way) Click here.

WalMart also sells them: click here for WalMart.

[TXiceman]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I don't have Starlink and can stream quite well at most any campground we visit. We also dumped dish because the cost was out of line. Streaming with a Roku is far less expensive.

You must go to different RV parks than we visit. We are often in locations with little to no cell service and internet so slow that a snail is faster. They do not have the band width to support streaming.

Happy Travels.
Ken

[jxnbbl]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I don't have Starlink and can stream quite well at most any campground we visit. We also dumped dish because the cost was out of line. Streaming with a Roku is far less expensive.

+1 on this...we have traveled about $30k miles and I depend on wifi and/or cellular to work when I'm on the road. My wife depends on it for streaming. There have been a handful of nights that I have to do off line work and/or read a book. We did get a weboost that I only take out when necessary and that hasn't had to be taken out too often (<10% of our stops)

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

You must go to different RV parks than we visit. We are often in locations with little to no cell service and internet so slow that a snail is faster. They do not have the band width to support streaming.

Happy Travels.
Ken

I’m with you. The campgrounds we stay at rarely have good internet, including our seasonal campground. And if up in the mountains out west, no internet or cell service. So, Starlink it is, which has worked quite well for us over the past 3 years.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by vampress_me

I’m with you. The campgrounds we stay at rarely have good internet, including our seasonal campground. And if up in the mountains out west, no internet or cell service. So, Starlink it is, which has worked quite well for us over the past 3 years.

One of the associated websites that this site links to has comprehensive reviews of campgrounds which generally include WiFi and Cell Speeds for almost all carriers. Suggest you check any campground where you may want to stay to see what the communications environment holds at that location...

https://campgrounds.rvlife.com/

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

One of the associated websites that this site links to has comprehensive reviews of campgrounds which generally include WiFi and Cell Speeds for almost all carriers. Suggest you check any campground where you may want to stay to see what the communications environment holds at that location...

https://campgrounds.rvlife.com/

Since we do have Starlink, I don’t worry about where we camp. Our seasonal campground is in a little valley by a state park, and has no cell service. It just got internet about 5 years ago. And it isn’t the best, but is there if needed. Plus, if you have to, we can go up to the office for better internet access. We used to have to go up the road a few miles to the cemetery to get cell service - the small parking area by the cemetery was called the phone booth by us campers. LOL. So, not having service doesn’t bug me. Also, I wouldn’t change our little seasonal campground for anything! We all love it the way it is. . My second favorite camping is up in the Big Horn Mountains boondocking. Definitely no cell service up there. So, we found a way around it.

ETA - we also don’t have “normal” internet at home. Only option at this time is StarLink or cell phones. MN is just behind the times in everything, as usual!

[jxnbbl]

I think there will come a time that I will get starlink for 'big trips' as I read that you can turn off/on without subscription the service. It does really depend on your location and what you use your RV for. For some it is their 'vacation home' for others it is a 'rolling hotel' and for others it is their 'home'. It reminds me of the conversation that I have at least once a year...



When we were first starting our careera we had a $30/month "communication bill" (phone bill). Today with all this technology the family bill is somewhere like $600 for "communication" so for the trailer I've kind of made an effort to change/extend what we have in our house service wise without increasing the communications bill.

[rlh1957]

Firestick, roku, smart-tv’s all rely on an internet wifi signal. If no wifi at park or you can’t use phone as personal hotspot you are limited to over the air antenna on your rig for tv channels. There are other signal boosters for cell signal, boosters for OTA stations but if no or little signal is available you can’t boost a signal that isn’t there.
Moving up in price range Starlink options pull from satellites so you can pick up internet & stream virtually anywhere with a view of the southern sky.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by rlh1957

Firestick, roku, smart-tv’s all rely on an internet wifi signal. If no wifi at park or you can’t use phone as personal hotspot you are limited to over the air antenna on your rig for tv channels. There are other signal boosters for cell signal, boosters for OTA stations but if no or little signal is available you can’t boost a signal that isn’t there.
Moving up in price range Starlink options pull from satellites so you can pick up internet & stream virtually anywhere with a view of the southern sky.

Some newer Roku boxes have ethernet input connectors.

[Kzneft]

I have a Carbon as well, and I use Starlink RV/Roaming. Yes, a little pricey at $150/month, but I get 200mbps internet no matter where I am at, then when camping season is done, I postpone my service until spring. We always dry camp in the middle of no-where, so works good for us.

[TomArmstrong]

One of the great things about the RV Life app is that people can post their wireless signal or read the reviews.

[ProRoad]

I recently started living in my 5th wheel in So Cal because I live in Utah but my short term job in the film industry will only hire me if I live in California. I work in Visual FX and always require large bandwidth and low latency. After working at home since Covid began, I have always had fast 600-1000 mbps in order to work efficiently.
Fast forward to this job which had me driving to the office daily which was a 3 hour roundtrip.
I have been dying to try Starlink but sure it would fail to give me the speeds I need as my family members all seem to live in the country with no other options..
Well, today is day 2 of working from the trailer using Starlink with the ethernet connection.
It WORKS! The speeds are typically 200-400mbps and the latency is about 20-25 mbps. The site https://starlink.sx usually shows 9-14 satellites linked above my location at any time.
I am working across the web remoted in to a computer in Portland Or. I am pushing 4k files and have had no real issues. Some minor lag on occasion which might cause me to repeat a letter while typing.
This is a game changer for anyone who needs real speeds worldwide. Just make sure you have a clear view of the sky and the mobile app helps guide you through that setup. Last thing to note is that I am on the standard dish with the home plan (Prioritized), the reason for this is that the speeds are higher than the RV plan. (Not Prioritized) and I needed the max speeds. I fully believe that the RV plan (same dish) would work just fine for any TV or internet traffic less than my WFH Visual fx work.