Chickery's Travels

Chickery's Travels logo. A blue-green Earth globe with continents surrounded by dots with an arrow denoting movement or travel and "Chickery's Travels" as part of the dotted circle. Next to this is a photo of their blue and white Arctic Fox 5th Wheel with the awning out.
  • Home
  • Campground Reviews
    • Alternatives To National Park Campgrounds
    • Best Luxury RV Resorts For All RV Types
    • Best Waterfront Campgrounds For Every Budget
    • Alabama
      • Gunter Hill Campground (Montgomery, Alabama)
    • Arizona
      • Best Campgrounds in Arizona
      • Aspen Campground (Payson, Arizona)
      • LazyDays KOA (Tucson, Arizona)
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, AZ)
    • Arkansas
      • Catherine’s Landing (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
      • Downtown Riverside RV Park (Little Rock, Arkansas)
    • California
      • Best Campgrounds in California
      • Crescent City Redwoods KOA (Crescent City, California)
      • Sea Breeze RV Park (Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station)
    • Delaware
      • Cape Henlopen State Park (Lewes, Delaware)
    • Florida
      • Best Campgrounds in Florida
      • Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area (Pensacola, FL)
      • Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Southeast FL)
      • LazyDays RV Resort (Tampa, FL)
      • MacDill AFB FamCamp (Tampa, FL)
      • Military Camping in Key West
      • Patrick AFB FamCamp (Cocoa Beach, FL)
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, FL)
      • Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness (Orlando, FL)
        • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
    • Maryland
      • Cherry Hill Park (College Park, Maryland)
    • Michigan
      • Port Huron KOA (Kimball, Michigan)
    • Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
      • Boondocking Near Las Vegas
    • New Hampshire
      • Lincoln / Woodstock KOA (New Hampshire)
    • New York
      • Round Pond Recreation Area (West Point, NY)
    • North Carolina
      • Outer Banks West / Currituck Sound KOA (Coinjock, North Carolina)
    • Oklahoma
      • Oklahoma City East KOA (Choctaw, Oklahoma)
    • Texas
      • Best Campgrounds in Texas
      • Alsatian RV Resort (Castroville, Texas)
      • Maverick Ranch (Lajitas, Texas)
      • Texas Wine Country Jellystone (Fredericksburg, Texas)
    • Tennessee
      • Camp Margaritaville (Pigeon Forge, TN)
      • Crossville I-40 KOA (Crossville, TN)
      • Midway RV Park (Memphis, TN)
    • Virginia
      • Complete Guide to Camping at Shenandoah National Park
      • Fort Belvoir Travel Camp (Alexandria, VA)
      • Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley KOA (Broadway, Virginia)
      • Luray KOA (Luray, Virginia)
      • Lynchburg / Blue Ridge Parkway KOA (Monroe, Virginia)
      • Shenandoah River State Park (Bentonville, Virginia)
    • Washington
      • Crescent Bar RV Resort (Quincy, Washington)
    • West Virginia
      • Harper’s Ferry KOA (Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia)
  • USA
    • Arizona
      • Apache Trail: A Crazy, Scary, Beautiful Drive
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, Arizona)
      • Phoenix Faves
    • District of Columbia
      • Budget Friendly Fun in Washington D.C.
      • Favorite Hikes near Washington DC
      • Indoor Skydiving and TopGolf: Just Another Day of Family Fun!
    • Florida
      • Best Walt Disney World Festivals For Adults
      • Blowing Rocks Preserve – Jupiter Island, Florida
      • Bok Tower Gardens
      • Daytona Beach – The World’s Most Famous Beach
      • Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
      • Gasparilla – Tampa’s Pirate Invasion
      • 3 Days on the Nature Coast 
      • Florida Freshwater Springs on the Nature Coast
      • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
      • Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral
      • Island Hopping at Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island State Parks
      • Must See Sights in St. Augustine, FL – America’s Oldest City
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, Florida)
      • Sunny Sarasota
      • Tampa
        • Get Back to Nature in Tampa Bay
        • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Spring Training in Tampa, FL
        • The 5 Best Beaches in the Tampa Bay Area
        • Why We Love Tampa
      • Tarpon Springs – The Gulf Coast Town with Greek Flavor
      • Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast
      • What Not to Do When Kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River
      • Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
    • Georgia
      • Visiting Atlanta? Don’t Miss These Civil Rights Museums
    • Illinois
      • One Day In The Windy City – Chicago Itinerary
    • Maine
      • Coastal Maine Vacation
      • Monhegan Island Maine
      • Two Days in Acadia National Park
    • Nevada
      • Planning an RV Trip to Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
    • Tennessee
      • Burgess Falls: 3 For 1 Waterfall Special
      • National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, TN
      • Window Cliffs, TN – I’m Not Afraid of Heights, But I am Afraid of Falling!
      • WWII History in Tennessee
    • Texas
      • Best Eats in Fredericksburg
      • Enjoy a Bird’s Eye View of Texas Hill Country
  • RV Resources
    • 3 Simple Steps to Find the Best RV Campgrounds
    • 5 Years Full-Time RV: Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret
    • Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience
    • Tips for Boondocking Success
    • Essential RV Gear
      • Essential RV Gear Guide
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • RV Must Have: Tire Pressure Monitoring System
      • RV SnapPads Product Review
      • RVLOCK Keyless Entry Door Handle Installation and Review
      • Shop “RV Local” With TechnoRV
      • Top RV Gadgets & Accessories
      • WeBoost Cellular Booster Review
    • Living in an RV
      • 9 Lessons From 2 1/2 Years on the Road
      • Biggest Regret Full-Time RV Living
      • Dealing with my Biggest Full-Time Travel Struggle, Missing Family While Traveling
      • Downsizing: 3 Areas That Make The Biggest Impact
      • Full-Time RV: 2019 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV: 2018 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV Travel – 2017 Year In Review
      • How Full-Time RVers Celebrate the Holidays
      • How to Prepare for Full-Time RV Travel
      • Internet Solutions for RV Travelers
      • Learn How to RV Full-Time
      • Living in a Tiny, Traveling Home
      • Making Friends (and reconnecting with old friends) While Traveling Full-Time
      • Pros & Cons of Full-Time RV Travel
      • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
      • Short-Term RV Storage: Leaving The RV Behind
      • Top 3 Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret: 3 Years Full-Time RV Living
      • What We Wish We Knew Before Full-Time RVing
      • What You Need To Know Before Selling Everything And Moving To An RV
      • Why We Are Traveling Full-Time In Our RV
    • Maintenance Tips
      • DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • Easy DIY Project to Protect Your RV Water System
      • An Easy Way to Protect Your RV Water Heater
      • How to Reduce the Likelihood of Tire Blowouts on your RV
      • Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips
      • RV Condensation: What It Is, What It Does, and How To Stop It
      • RV Roofs – What You Need to Know
    • Must Read Books Before Becoming A Full-time RVer
    • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
    • RV Remodel
      • Planning an RV Remodel
      • RV Kitchen Cooking Videos
      • Painting Your RV Interior
      • Update the RV Kitchen – Backsplashes & More
      • Updating Your RV Window Treatments
      • RV Bedroom Makeover
      • RV Remodel Costs with Before & After Photos
      • Vintage Camper Renovation
    • RV Holiday Tour – Decorating Our Small Space
    • RV Hurricane Evacuation
    • RV Misery Can Be Overcome By The Generosity Of Others
    • RV Travelers: How to Read Books While Saving Space and Weight in Your RV
    • Slow Travel
    • Small Kitchen Cooking
      • Cooking Videos
      • Eating Healthy on Travel Days
    • Staying Healthy
      • Traveling with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, and Other Chronic Pain Conditions
    • Trip Planning
    • Traveling with Pets
      • RVing with Your Cat
      • Traveling with Restricted Breed Dogs
    • Why I Prefer RV Travel Over Flying
    • Your Guide To Planning The Best Family Vacation This Summer
  • Travel Finance
    • 5 Tips to Save on RV Travel
    • 5 Ways to Fund Full-Time Travel
    • Full-Time RV Expenses
      • Annual Full-Time RV Expenses – The Big Three
    • Five Credit Card Strategies To Improve Travel
    • How Much Do Campgrounds Cost?
    • How Much Does it Cost to RV Full-Time?
    • How to Camp for Free
    • How to Start a Profitable Blog
    • How to Save Money on RV Fuel Costs
    • How to Save on Food While Camping
    • How We Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time (And How You Can Too)
    • How We Paid $139,000 of Debt in 2 Years While Full-Time RVing
    • Learn How to Finance Your Dreams
    • The Top 7 Ways to Save Money While Traveling Full-Time
    • Roadmap to Financial Freedom
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report April 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report May 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report June 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report July 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report August 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report September/October 2018
    • RV Purchasing
      • RV Purchasing: Understanding RV Types
      • Benefits of Renting an RV
      • Should I Buy A New or Used RV?
      • The Costs of RV Ownership
      • The True Cost of Financing an RV
      • Why You Should Attend An RV Show
    • Save Money Using the Public Library (On More Than Just Books)
  • Military Travel
    • Guide To Using Military Campgrounds
    • Health Care for Retired Military Full-Time RVers
    • Why Military Retirees Should Fly Space-A
  • Videos
  • About Us
    • RV Shows We’re Attending
    • Contact Us
    • Follow Us
    • Why We Are Full-Time RVers

July 2, 2021 by Julie Chickery Leave a Comment

Internet Solutions for RV Travelers

5 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

One thing RV travelers learn quickly is the challenge of getting reliable internet access on the road. If you only need to check the occasional email, you may be able to get by with campground WiFi or a local Starbucks. But if you need regular, reliable internet access, you’ll need a more robust solution. In this article, I’ll share what we have learned after 6 years of full-time RV travel and the equipment we use.

  • Campground WiFi
  • Cellular Data
  • WiFi and Cellular Signal Boosters
  • Related posts:

Campground WiFi

Many campgrounds advertise free WiFi, which sounds great! The problem is that it is rarely reliable. Our personal experience is that you cannot rely on it. Most times it is spotty at best. We’ve even been at campgrounds that have posted in their campground rules that you can’t use their WiFi to stream video services like Netflix because it takes up too much bandwidth.

We consider campground WiFi (when we have it) to be a bonus, but not something we plan on. Instead, we use cellular data plans for internet access.

Cellular Data

In addition to being able to make phone calls from cellular signals, you are probably aware that you can use it to access the internet as well. The great thing about this method is that there are more and more cellular towers all across the U.S. We use Verizon as our primary and ATT as our back up. When you are working from the road full-time and need reliable service, having more than one carrier can really make a difference. You can use an app like Coverage (created by full-time RVers) to compare the coverage maps for different carriers across the country.

However, there are drawbacks to using cellular data as well:

  1. It is not cheap. If you are working full-time from the road like we were, you will need a lot of data. This means using not only your cell phones plan, but likely also a backup hotspot (see #2 below for an explanation of why you need this). Verizon calls it a Jetpack. Unlike the built-in mobile hotspot feature in your smartphones and tablets, a hotspot or Jetpack is a separate device that lets you wirelessly share your Verizon network connection with other devices.
  2. It isn’t really unlimited. No matter what people tell you, we’ve learned there is no such thing as UNLIMITED data. Let me clarify that statement. Your cell plan may say you have “unlimited” data. Technically, that is true because all it means is that they will not charge you for how much data you use. However, there is a catch. At a specific point specified by your plan, they may throttle or slow down your access. For me, if I’m having a video call this often meant I could not longer do my job. Big problem! Some cellular providers use other names for this…instead of throttling, they’ll call it ‘network management.’ That isn’t any better in my opinion. Network management also means they slow down your access, but it is based on usage of other users in the area. So if you are near a city, you might get ‘managed’ a lot.
  3. There are places where signal is very low. Low signal means trouble accessing the internet. And forget about using graphics programs or video teleconferencing. To overcome that we use a booster.

Click here to download a FREE Cellular Information Guide from our friends at TechnoRV. They are full-time RVers with a background in training and have guides and videos for all their products.

WiFi and Cellular Signal Boosters

If you need reliable internet on the road, you are going to want to get a booster. There are all different types on the market. Some only boost WiFi and some only boost cellular signals. We choose to go with one that can do both.

We bought the Pepwave Max BR1 MK2 Cat 6 LTE Advanced Modem three years ago and it has been fabulous! As you’ll see if you click the link, it is not inexpensive. To us, however, it is essential and we consider it a cost of working from the road. And to us, that is a price we are willing to pay for location freedom.

We did not get the optional roof-mounted antenna and it has worked perfectly without it. We especially love being able to prioritize which source we want to use first (cell phones, sim cards, or campground wifi).

Here’s a list of the major features:

  • Dual Simcard Slots – Although the Max BR1 MK2 has one cellular modem, it allows you to use 2 SIM cards (cellular plans) in the one modem and switch between the two plans as needed.  This allows for the redundancy often needed to stay connected while on the road.  You can also set limits and rules for when you want to use one cell plan over the other which is a great feature when you are trying to conserve one plan and only use it as a backup.
  • WiFi – The Max BR1 MK2 has WiFi as WAN capabilities which means you can use it to access campground WiFi using 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
  • Supports Carrier Aggregation – Cat 6 routers like the Max BR1 MK2 support Carrier Aggregation (CA) which means they have the ability to connect to 2 cellular bands (from the same plan) at the same time.  By combining more than one cellular band together, it is possible to increase the bandwidth available. Traditional hotspots and phones are usually only able to connect to one cellular band and the tower selects which band you are using. With the Max BR1 MK2 you can choose which primary band you want to use (the tower selects the second) which allows you to avoid the crowded primary band used by phones and hotspots.
  • Works with the Major Cell Carriers in US and Canada

Note: This is our second booster. We previously used the WeBoost, which worked for a year, then broke. The Pepwave has been going strong for 3 years. Read our WeBoost review here.

Sharing is caring! Please feel free to share this article on social media and the image below on Pinterest. 

Getting reliable internet access while traveling is tricky. This article provides reliable internet solutions for RV travelers.

Related posts:

Downsizing: 3 Areas That Make The Biggest Impact
Top 3 Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret: 3 Years Full-Time RV Living

Filed Under: RV Resources Tagged With: campground wifi, cell boosters, cellular data, internet for RV, mobile data, mobile internet solution, pepwave booster, pepwave router

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Full-time RV Finance is a program designed to help you find the means to the live the life of your dreams.
Learn how to start a blog for free. This simple course will walk you through the steps you need to make money anywhere.
Learn how to camp for free at over 2500 locations worldwide.

Signup to receive weekly updates and exclusive free content only available to subscribers!

Privacy Policy

Travel Schedule

Recently
Cape Henlopen State Park, DE

Currently
Front Royal, VA

Next Stops
See our RV show schedule

Notice

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

top rv blogs
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Email

Free RV camping guide with over 30 pages of tips and worksheets

Download Now

Never see this message again.

5 shares