Working Remote: What is the Best Internet?

[jklbus01]

I've watched dozens of videos on the topic of having reliable internet in our coach. They all differ on what works. Having multiple phone carriers, satellite dishes, antennas and Starlink. I'm hopelessly confused.

We're new motorcoach owners and have never really travelled anywhere. We had a 28-foot Class C for four years but got no further than Oregon and Montana. Now we have the opportunity to travel and work from our RV, but we need reliable Internet.

What do you use? Is it reliable enough to work remotely? is it cost-effective? Can you afford it if you're not related to Bill Gates?

[16ACE27]

There is no "best", too many variables including cost:

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/

And check this recent thread on the same subject:

https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...tml#post422812

[DavidEM]

Post 39 in this thread nicely explains Starlink cost and technical features: https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f4...ink-36985.html. You do need a wide view of the sky above you, so if you want to camp in rustic, wooded sites it probably won’t work. But given that caveat, Starlink may be your best choice.

The other possibility is a cell phone connection using you phone as a hot spot or internally using a tablet. But it all depends on the cell connection. Some are fast and reliable, others are slow and spotty.

David

[ducksface]

Starlink
AND
an expensive directional cell booster at $600+ one time cost.

Having only one source is a grand way to get fired from your mobile job.

One is none.

[Judge]

I have used Starlink for almost 3 years. If you want to ensure you have something than can handle video calls, WiFi calls and uploading downloading a lot of data 99% of the places you travel, then Starlink wins hands down.

Now you need a relatively clear line of sight. Some obstruction can still give you adequate performance. We went to Alaska last year in a caravan. We had Internet and could make calls all the way through western Canada an Alaska.

After a few weeks of people in the caravan seeing us with access anywhere we stopped, about a half-dozen people asked me about getting it. I helped them order it and get it shipped to one of our upcoming destinations and setup.

I upgraded from the Gen 2 to Gen 3 hardware a few months ago and the wider field of view helps in areas with some tree branch obstruction.

Cell phone data plans can be found for less money...... but depending on where you travel there may be little or no coverage.... like our trip to Alaska.


I also have a Pelink 5G Router using a Basecamp 2.0 enclosure and the Winegard 360+ 5G antenna on the roof with two T-Mobile Sims that give me 30GB/mo each for $10/mo as an alternate source if we are going to be in areas with good cell coverage and I want to pause Starlink for a month or two, etc.

[Bob Nodine]

We have used cell based internet in our RVs for many years and my biggest complaint has always been that the providers will slow it down to a crawl during peak times. We once went to the FMCA International Rally in Perry Ga and the only time it was usable was after everyone went to sleep. At 2 am it worked great. Granted the population of the small town of Perry probably doubled with all the motorhomes there but I think the main reason for the slow down was because of all the vendors who were using cell based internet for point-of-sale.

We just went to Blue Ridge Georgia and at times our cell based internet was so slow it was useless. I blamed it on the provider in that area. Fortunately that campground has an outstanding WiFi system that was fast and you could connect your television to it and stream. That convinced me that we needed to purchase a Starlink system. When I got home and saw that until October 5th I could purchase the Gen 3 hardware for $299 I jumped on it. We plan on having both cell based internet and Starlink. With the in-motion plan at $50 a month and 50 GB of data and each GB over 50 only costing $1, we feel like that is reasonable. You can also deactivate it during the winter to keep the cost down.

If our health holds up we plan on two more big trips to Canada. I see the Starlink as invaluable when crossing the boarder because our phones will always work thru WiFi connected to the Starlink and we want have to worry about not having data available with the Canadian cell service providers.

I have the Trio flat mount on order and plan to mount the Gen 3 on the roof. With the Trio flat mount the Gen 3 antenna can be easily removed and relocated on the ground if the sky is blocked by trees. You can use standard RJ45 Cat 6 outdoor rated premade cables with the Starlink so I will use a short one permanently installed on the roof going into the electronics cabinet where the router will be permanently installed. That cabinet also has 110 VAC inverter power. I will add a second length of Cat 6 cable terminated with a waterproof bulkhead connector in a yet to be determined location on the outside of the RV. When the Gen 3 is removed from the Trio mount it can be used with the standard 150 foot cable and the kick stand and moved to a location with a clear view of the sky.

[GTM41261]

We went with a Pep Wave system from RV Mobile Internet. It has two slots for data cards we found that the ATT card was the most reliable Verizon was our back up. It also has a roof mounted antenna that does not boost the signal but draws in even weak signals. We would see like two bars on our phone but the pep wave would see 4. My wife ended up working as we traveled across country and it worked very well. If you use it to stream data it does go through your card quicker but still workable. I see that RV Mobile internet now has their own data plan and device. We will be signing up with them next year for our data usage.

[donhesler@yahoo.com]

Hello,
MY 2 cents. The problem with Starlink is you need a clear shot of the sky. In other words, no trees. Half the parks we visit have many trees, so Starlink is out. I purchased a Nomad system that uses Verizon. It is amazing. In fact we often lost our link via cable in our home and guess what, Nomad is faster by a lot.
Don

[Judge]

Originally Posted by donhesler@yahoo.com

Hello,
MY 2 cents. The problem with Starlink is you need a clear shot of the sky. In other words, no trees. Half the parks we visit have many trees, so Starlink is out. I purchased a Nomad system that uses Verizon. It is amazing. In fact we often lost our link via cable in our home and guess what, Nomad is faster by a lot.
Don

I was just in a park with a lot of trees last month. The Gen3 dish's wider field of vision helped quote a bit. I had some obstructions reported but the performance was more than acceptable.

If you have absolutely no view of the sky, then its an issue. But in over 2 1/2 years and traveling through western Canada and Alaska last year with lots of tree cover, only one time has the performance been sub-par having the ability to move the dish around to find the clearest line of sight.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by jklbus01

I've watched dozens of videos on the topic of having reliable internet in our coach. They all differ on what works. Having multiple phone carriers, satellite dishes, antennas and Starlink. I'm hopelessly confused.

We're new motorcoach owners and have never really travelled anywhere. We had a 28-foot Class C for four years but got no further than Oregon and Montana. Now we have the opportunity to travel and work from our RV, but we need reliable Internet.

What do you use? T Mobile Is it reliable enough to work remotely? Yes is it cost-effective? Yes Can you afford it if you're not related to Bill Gates? Yes

Now I have answered your questions, but there is no way I can say it works for you.

i.e.

Where do you need to be to work remotely? There is no internet service just anywhere or everywhere, just in most places; so what most places fit your needs? You are the only one to know that answer?

I have been working remote for years with and without T Mobile, never had Satellite. If I need Internet, I can assure you I can find it so working remote does not shake me.

I have Internet at home that frequently goes out ( Spectrum) but I use my T mobile as backup.

Now with that all said and from assumptions that you may plan to travel in wide open ranges in the middle of nowhere wanting to work remotely, you have no option but Satellite and price is not a factor when you have NO CHOICE.

[The Gritz Carlton]

We switched phone service to T Mobile and added the internet specific JEXtream RG2100 to the package. I changed out both TV's to smart ones and are very pleased with the service...$75 per month for the internet. Just got back from a 19 state, 6,400 mile trip from Panhandle up through the upper west across to Canada and only had two nights where service was an issue. Most campgrounds are adding high-speed streaming wifi as well. I wouldn't use that for banking but for TV is works well. My previous setup was Dish Tailgater Pro with the helmet, tripod and miles of cable. Now I have internet and TV in a wireless box not much bigger than a deck of cards. We also switched to YouTube TV and love it as well.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

We switched phone service to T Mobile and added the internet specific JEXtream RG2100 to the package. I changed out both TV's to smart ones and are very pleased with the service...$75 per month for the internet. Just got back from a 19 state, 6,400 mile trip from Panhandle up through the upper west across to Canada and only had two nights where service was an issue. Most campgrounds are adding high-speed streaming wifi as well. I wouldn't use that for banking but for TV is works well. My previous setup was Dish Tailgater Pro with the helmet, tripod and miles of cable. Now I have internet and TV in a wireless box not much bigger than a deck of cards. We also switched to YouTube TV and love it as well.

So is that JEXtream RG2100 is the technically legal way to have T Mobile Internet via a hotspot? How much data per month? I have the T Mobile Back box with unlimited that I think is selling for $35 or $40/mo right now. I am on plan that that rate as has not increased yet so it is only $25/mo.

My experience is similar with yours. I have only traveled in 12 states but it must be the right ones

If I am out in the middle of the nowhere I don't plan to be there long, unless I am at the Duck's Behemoth Ranch to which case, somehow I believe he would rig of someway for me to get internet at least long enough to take down a few steaks before he put me out on my merry way

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

So is that JEXtream RG2100 is the technically legal way to have T Mobile Internet via a hotspot? How much data per month? I have the T Mobile Back box with unlimited that I think is selling for $35 or $40/mo right now. I am on plan that that rate as has not increased yet so it is only $25/mo.

My experience is similar with yours. I have only traveled in 12 states but it must be the right ones

If I am out in the middle of the nowhere I don't plan to be there long, unless I am at the Duck's Behemoth Ranch to which case, somehow I believe he would rig of someway for me to get internet at least long enough to take down a few steaks before he put me out on my merry way

It's 50 gigs per month of 5G. We also have hot spot with phones but it's much slower (4G). And yes...Duck connected 124 coat hangers together and ran us an antenna out to the coach so we could have internet in his turnaround with hookups! One incredible guy!! He's gonna sell me that T Bird soon (I hope).