Looking for input on Weboost use with our campers

[smlobx]

I have recently retired but my wife will still be working for a few more years. Fortunately for us, she can work wherever she has a cell signal ( I was unable to find out how to do that building homes!).

We just returned from an almost month long trip to Colorado and Utah and while we could occasionally get cell service many times we only got 1 or 2 bars. In further analyzing our needs we found that if she could work while i’m driving that would be great....but then if we could set up a better scenario if we happen to find a nice place to camp for a day or three that would be ideal.

So what I’m thinking about trying is to get the Weboost mobile set up
https://www.weboost.com/products/drive-4gx

then add a second antenna booster
Like this that I could put on an extendable pole to further raise our reception when we’re in camp.

https://www.weboost.com/products/304415

What has your experience been and what would you suggest?

 

[ckent323]

This topic has come up previously.

Try searching on "cell booster" as well as "signal booster" and "range extender"


Here are a couple of older posts on the topic I found doing a search:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/15786-the-latest-and-greatest-in-cell-phone-boosters/?hl=%2Bsignal+%2Bbooster#entry187728

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13828-any-experience-with-weboost-4g-cell-phone-boosters/?hl=%2Bsignal+%2Bbooster


I hope this is helpful.

Craig

 

[rando]

I occasionally work from the road, and have installed a weboost in our camper. Before doing that though - which cell phone provider do you use? If you are traveling in the west, Verizon (or an MVNO that uses the Verizon network) have significantly better coverage than the competitors so your first option for better service would be to switch to Verizon.

The Weboost works well in the situation you describe - where you have 1-2 bars of service it will often boost it to full bars and LTE speeds. It won't do anything if there is truly no service, which is still the case in a lot of the 'good spots'.

The antenna is a little tricky in the camper - my understanding is that the little magnetic one that comes with that kit expects to be on a ground plane (which it would be when mounted to the roof of your car magnetically). As such is may not work so well on the camper roof (which isn't well grounded) or up a pole. For that you need the trucker or 'OTR' antenna or a marine or building antenna, which are designed to work without a ground plane. I have mine mounted to some 80/20 which can be retracted for traveling and extended while camping or in the boonies.

 

[Old Crow]

I had been thinking about buying a booster for some time and finally pulled the trigger on a weBoost Drive Reach after seeing this recent Youtube video from Brian on the "RV with Tito" channel .... (I even used the 10% discount code from that video)

I've not even installed mine yet and can only say I'm impressed by how well they've done the instructions and by the hefty feel of the booster.

Edited 7/9/19 to add...

In case anyone's interested in other outside antenna options, I see the back page of the Drive Reach manual says the Kit #304415 - Trucker Antenna w/15' RG-58 (about $110) is also FCC-certified to work with it. Since the Drive Reach doesn't have an RG-58 connection I contacted weBoost via chat and asked if the cable adapter listed in the antenna kit is what's needed for the connection (if I decide to get that antenna). The agent said I'd also need a 970030 adapter. (Note-- please contact weBoost to confirm before ordering. The weBoost web site appears to be a bit behind as far as telling us what works with what.)
.

 

[Vic Harder]

I'm doing my R&D on this topic, and like what I am reading on Technomadia....except that they charge a subscription for the best info:
https://www.technomadia.com/2019/02/our-mobile-internet-setup-for-rv-and-boat-how-weve-kept-online-for-13-years-of-technomadic-travel/

I was intrigued to find out that boosters actually prevent MIMO antennas from working, and that a simple $30 netgear MIMO antenna can work as well as a $600 booster, in some circumstances.

I was curious why the range of the internal antenna is so terrible... like a few feet, such that it is recommended that you attach your cell phone to the internal antenna. What good is that? I get it now... a strong local signal from the internal antenna can cause feedback (oscillation). So, why not rebroadcast as WiFi instead of cell?

Doh, there are such devices! I'm looking hard at the Cradlepoint stuff:

https://cradlepoint.com/products/cor-ibr900-series

 

[rando]

Rebroadcasting as wifi is what mobile hotspots do - connect to the cellular network then provide a wifi access point. These devices are cheap and available for almost all carriers. This is a great option, particularly with an external antenna, but requires another device with a data plan and doesn't provide phone or SMS service as you are connecting your devices via wifi not cellular.

I would recommend looking for a booster on ebay and the like, I purchased a demo model of the 4g and a trucker antenna for around $250. I have yet to find a situation where the booster decreased data speeds to any noticeable degree, and if it did decrease speeds the simple solution would be to turn it off.

The weeboost trucker antenna, with the correct SMA connector for the amplifier is available fairly cheaply from a number of sellers on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/WEBOOST-304415-RV-Trucker-Spring-Mount-Antenna-Free-ship/133016663250?epid=9023966381&hash=item1ef86934d2:g:0h0AAOSwgaNcq0BP

 

[smlobx]

Wow!
Thanks rando, Vic and Old Crow.

Lots of good information.

I’m now wondering if I could make some sort of quick attachment set up that I could mount on the side of the camper near the bed that I could attach the truckers antenna to when we are in camp for a few days. I could run the cable into the cab through the rear sliding window...or for that matter through the sliding window of the camper. Either scenario would be protected from the weather.

 

[Old Crow]

Brian of RV with Tito is at it again... the video below was just published yesterday. It's a review of the new WeBoost "Drive X RV" cell phone booster kit.

The booster itself is a re-labelled 4 GX but it's now paired with the latest OTR (over the road) trucker antenna.

As I just recently bought the Drive Reach Brian reviewed in May (see post 4), I wondered what this means. If you watch the video above at YouTube (rather than here), you can see comments below it. And in those comments user peterdement asks "How does it compare to the Drive Reach?" Brian says the Reach tested slightly better and he believes the Reach is WeBoost's next generation booster but they won't have an RV package including it yet this year.

Also- As I mentioned at the bottom of post 4, that latest OTR antenna is also certified for the Drive Reach.
.

 

[karsonb]

I have a weboost at my home. I love on the ragged edge of reception. The weboost made some times no bars to maybe 1 bar into a solid 4 bar situation. I have a small rebroadcast antenna and it works well within about an 8-10 foot proximity. The system allowed me to confidently ditch the land line for phone service. I still have to have internet via land line. Haven’t figured out yet how to ditch that.

 

[Vic Harder]

installed a DriveX and OTR for our trip to Utah, which starts this Friday!

 

[CougarCouple]

Have a nice trip Vic. The weather has been great around here.
Russ