Internet & Cell Service on the Road
Finding the right internet and cell service is important to all RVers. When we started off on our RV adventure we were mainly going out on short weekends for fun, so our cell phones were all we needed. If we had weak signal strength, it just forced us to unplug for a couple of days. As we extended some of our trips and were able to work remotely, we needed to find a seamless and reliable solution that our mobile phones alone could not provide.
Our advice to anyone trying to figure out what you need, start by identifying what you will be doing and how often you need to use the service. We are weekend warriors who are able to work remote sometimes. This means that when we work remotely, we need a strong enough signal to use VPNS and send and receive large files. It also means that we will only be using the service when we work remote which is typically around 5 days a month. It is just my husband and I using the service, so we do not need to worry about additional family usage. When we are not working, our cell phones are plenty for our other needs. We mainly travel in the southeast and usually have some level of cell phone service where we travel. When we are working, the service must be reliable.
After an extensive amount of research, this is what is working best for us:
Dedicated Hot Spot – Since we already had Verizon cell phone service and it works well for us, we chose the Verizon Jetpack for our dedicated hotspot. I was surprised how much better a dedicated hot spot works than the hot spot on our phones (my husband was not at all surprised by this fact). As long as we have cell service, we have been able to fully work using the jetpack, including uploading and downloading through VPNs, virtual meetings on Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and working in large, shared files. I often work while while my husband drives and have had seamless service as we drive through the southeast. We have unlimited data, but after 15g it is throttled. This has not been an issue for us because we have this limit on each individual device and we can switch it up when needed.
Cell Service Extender – The problem with a dedicated hot spot or mobile phones is that you must have cell service to use them. We purchased a Uunitona 5G Cell Phone Signal Booster from Amazon to help boost our signal. After a lot of research, we chose this “off” brand instead of the more popular WeBoost because we felt like we were getting more for our money. It did take us a bit of configuring to get everything set up to maximize signal in the camper, but we have found this to be extremely helpful when signal strength is low.
Campground Internet – Enough said. All problems are resolved when the campground offers strong internet.
Mobile Phone Hot Spots – Of course, we have our mobile phones which also have hot spots. Although as we said above, this was not enough for remote work, they do make perfect backups and use for light work. Our mobile phones have unlimited data, of which each unit has 15g unthrottled.
For us, being prepared and knowing what to expect has been key to us planning our trips. We always check Campendium to check signal reviews. We also ask other campers we see on social media. It helps us to know what to expect and plan if we need to work while we are out in the RV. If we travelled more the next option we would consider is a second hotspot on a different carrier to expand coverage when one was weaker than the other. Of course, the true dream is not to have to worry about signal strength for anything but fun…. But until we reach retirement, we will happily enjoy remote working that allows us to get out in the RV more frequently.
