5 year RV nomad looking for better mobile solutions.
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:33 am
Greetings all! I have been poking around here for a bit now reading up on all the various and sundry modems, routers, plans, and more than you are all using. There's a lot of data to consume, and I'm hoping that by laying out my current equipments and needs, some of you who are more well versed will be able to save me some time and more importantly some money figuring out which way to go.
About us: We're a married couple who work from home in a 40ft fifth wheel toyhauler. She is a PHD who needs connectivity without failures for Zoom conferencing and Ignyte document databasing. I an an IT support veteran who also does some graphic design, and is also a gamer (PC primarily, also some PS4). We use a lot of data. As RV nomads, our cellular connectivity is our internet for business.
What we currently have:
- Novatel 8800L running a Verizon gUDP - old school actual unlimited.
- MR1100 Nighthawk with an unlimited AT&T plan through OTR mobile. (Currently seeing the AT&T proxy disconnects, running VPN on the PC's to offset this with 95% success.)
- 2 iPhones on a normal VZW plan that we do not use as internet connectivity for the house.
- A Galaxy S8 with a Visible plan I picked up to test - slow pings generally make me think I will end up dropping the service.
- WifiRanger GoAC router - the external Wifi antennae router isn't on the roof, as using RV park wifi has generally proved useless. Connected to the GoAC on our internal network are:
2 PCs (hers for work, mine for work and gaming), a PS4, 4 Alexa units, 2 Roku TVs, a Gardyn hydroponic system, an iPad, and 2 phones. Also, a Lippert One Control setup that I've got on the LAN, but it won't communicate to the internet (this is a system that can control the RV temp, awnings, levelling system, lights, etc.).
We also have a NordVPN subscription I just picked up - when the PC's are running on AT&T I have the VPN going on the PC's and it helps to deter the AT&T proxy lockups 90% effectively - instead of resetting daily, it's now weekly.
We switch between VZW and AT&T as our primary connections based on where we are and the service in that location. Whichever gets the better connectivity, generally, is plugged into the GoAC. I will sometimes run my PC direct to the VZW hotspot if I am gaming, since the AT&T network isn't great for UPNP/NAT setup on multiplayer games.
COVID means much more throughput and congestion on towers, generally, as we've seen the difference in speeds while we've been stationary for the last 8 months in Orlando instead of moving ever 2-3 months all across the US as per out usual. So - I'm looking to determine what the best play here is for us to upgrade. We generally use a total of anywhere from 300-600 gigs of data a month.
I would love to bond connections, though I know that might not work well for gaming. I'm also looking at the possibility that the grandfathered VZW gUDP may not be eligible for 5G as it's being rolled out more realistically now. I am hoping that in another 6-12 months, Starlink may be an option, or we'll be able to run 5G at reasonable cost.
So - hit me. We can spend the money needed to make our situation better since it is literally our livelihood and quality of life. That doesn't mean we can drop $10,000 on hardware, and keeping the monthly costs on plans as low as possible is also preferable, but we're not shy about spending money for quality. I have been waiting to see how the T-Mobile/Sprint merger and 5g rollout goes, but expect we'll also end up wanting to grab a plan there, if only for even more redundancy just in case.
I've looked at Speedify/Connectify Raspberry pi set ups, building my own router with LTe cards, and getting a VPS to use MPTCProuter is also interesting. I am by no means a 'network specialist' or guru, but I absolutely know my way around hardware and software and am not afraid to fiddle and get my hands dirty with more techy solutions.
Thanks for the long read, and I look forward to hearing the pros and cons of any potential setups we could move to - or hearing that maybe what we have is the best bet in the current market until we see more 5G options and if Starlink will fly.
About us: We're a married couple who work from home in a 40ft fifth wheel toyhauler. She is a PHD who needs connectivity without failures for Zoom conferencing and Ignyte document databasing. I an an IT support veteran who also does some graphic design, and is also a gamer (PC primarily, also some PS4). We use a lot of data. As RV nomads, our cellular connectivity is our internet for business.
What we currently have:
- Novatel 8800L running a Verizon gUDP - old school actual unlimited.
- MR1100 Nighthawk with an unlimited AT&T plan through OTR mobile. (Currently seeing the AT&T proxy disconnects, running VPN on the PC's to offset this with 95% success.)
- 2 iPhones on a normal VZW plan that we do not use as internet connectivity for the house.
- A Galaxy S8 with a Visible plan I picked up to test - slow pings generally make me think I will end up dropping the service.
- WifiRanger GoAC router - the external Wifi antennae router isn't on the roof, as using RV park wifi has generally proved useless. Connected to the GoAC on our internal network are:
2 PCs (hers for work, mine for work and gaming), a PS4, 4 Alexa units, 2 Roku TVs, a Gardyn hydroponic system, an iPad, and 2 phones. Also, a Lippert One Control setup that I've got on the LAN, but it won't communicate to the internet (this is a system that can control the RV temp, awnings, levelling system, lights, etc.).
We also have a NordVPN subscription I just picked up - when the PC's are running on AT&T I have the VPN going on the PC's and it helps to deter the AT&T proxy lockups 90% effectively - instead of resetting daily, it's now weekly.
We switch between VZW and AT&T as our primary connections based on where we are and the service in that location. Whichever gets the better connectivity, generally, is plugged into the GoAC. I will sometimes run my PC direct to the VZW hotspot if I am gaming, since the AT&T network isn't great for UPNP/NAT setup on multiplayer games.
COVID means much more throughput and congestion on towers, generally, as we've seen the difference in speeds while we've been stationary for the last 8 months in Orlando instead of moving ever 2-3 months all across the US as per out usual. So - I'm looking to determine what the best play here is for us to upgrade. We generally use a total of anywhere from 300-600 gigs of data a month.
I would love to bond connections, though I know that might not work well for gaming. I'm also looking at the possibility that the grandfathered VZW gUDP may not be eligible for 5G as it's being rolled out more realistically now. I am hoping that in another 6-12 months, Starlink may be an option, or we'll be able to run 5G at reasonable cost.
So - hit me. We can spend the money needed to make our situation better since it is literally our livelihood and quality of life. That doesn't mean we can drop $10,000 on hardware, and keeping the monthly costs on plans as low as possible is also preferable, but we're not shy about spending money for quality. I have been waiting to see how the T-Mobile/Sprint merger and 5g rollout goes, but expect we'll also end up wanting to grab a plan there, if only for even more redundancy just in case.
I've looked at Speedify/Connectify Raspberry pi set ups, building my own router with LTe cards, and getting a VPS to use MPTCProuter is also interesting. I am by no means a 'network specialist' or guru, but I absolutely know my way around hardware and software and am not afraid to fiddle and get my hands dirty with more techy solutions.
Thanks for the long read, and I look forward to hearing the pros and cons of any potential setups we could move to - or hearing that maybe what we have is the best bet in the current market until we see more 5G options and if Starlink will fly.
Slow improvements.... by the time I have it perfected, I'm sure Starlink will be available and crush all my work. 