Community Forums

primaldiva · 05-03-2018, 07:35 PM

Back in the day when I was traveling in my 2016 PrimeTime Tracer 28' travel trailer, we figured out that somehow it blocked ALL wireless signals; that is even if you did a speedtest just outside, once you took the laptop inside the signal went to zero. It was frustrating and did not happen in my neighbors' rigs but when I stayed in one park for 7 months on a job I actually had to purchase cable to be able to work. Once I had that fast wired connection for my IMac I could also use wireless inside my own trailer (with a laptop) but I could never get outside signals from the park if that makes sense.

So for the time being it is solely being used as a vacation rental on my acre property. It doesn't move. I have Fiber on my property with 110mbps DL speed on my wired in my house on the property which drops to about 80 when you use the wireless which is pretty standard. Elsewhere on my property the farther you get from the router it drops further to 15 or 20, still enough to check email or stream Pandora.

But I need the trailer to have some wireless inside for guests and they need to be able to use the Roku for TV. So.....

If I get a wireless extender for my property it would strengthen the signal just outside the trailer but it still would not help the blocking of the signal. I know there are options you can get installed outside your rig but these are often marketed to solve the problem of a weak signal on the road or in the RV park. I need to get a not-so-weak signal INSIDE the aluminum box of the RV. Do I need to buy a wifi range extender for my property and then some sort of device to get that signal inside the trailer?

Would love to hear your input. And by the way, I tested this multiple times, the Tracer Ultralite blocks wifi signal, or at least mine does, that part I know!

THANKS in advance for your suggestions.

Spk64 · 05-03-2018, 07:44 PM

I had same problem with metal building we stored RV in.
Used this
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Nano.../dp/B00HXT8FFI
On the outside with a small router inside.
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-airG.../dp/B00HXT84UO

BTW
Use similar setup at RV parks to pull in the WiFi better.

redcolorado · 05-04-2018, 07:48 AM

The Alpha Camp Pro wifi extender has a external antenna that connects to a wifi router inside the RV. I have it in my RV and it works very well. Costs about $150.

primaldiva · 05-04-2018, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spk64

I had same problem with metal building we stored RV in.
Used this
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Nano.../dp/B00HXT8FFI
On the outside with a small router inside.
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-airG.../dp/B00HXT84UO

BTW
Use similar setup at RV parks to pull in the WiFi better.

So I assume you set up a WAP on the outside of the building and then you used other device to pull it into the RV? I am still not clear if this will work in my situation due to the weird way my Tracer drops signals from 16 to .8 even with the door open. It's crazy. thank you

primaldiva · 05-04-2018, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redcolorado

The Alpha Camp Pro wifi extender has a external antenna that connects to a wifi router inside the RV. I have it in my RV and it works very well. Costs about $150.

I saw this and was wondering how you installed it: did you use Suction Mount or did you permanently install it? Did you have to drill any holes? I feel like I need to get a cable (wired) from the outside to the inside to have any signal, and I would have to figure out how to get it through a wall somehow, which is why when I bought one of the earlier versions of these in 2016 I never installed it; didn't want to drill through my RV. I think I would not have less of an issue with that now, with copious amounts of silicone used.

Any sneaky places in the rig where it is easy to get from outside inside? It would have to be someplace high for signal purposes I assume. Thanks

nothermark · 05-04-2018, 08:46 AM

Sneaky place may be the windows. What you probably have is metal either on the trailer or on the insulation in the walls that is blocking the signal. Translate that to put a wire to an antenna inside or find a window pointed in the right direction to set the antenna of the range booster at.

redcolorado · 05-04-2018, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by primaldiva

I saw this and was wondering how you installed it: did you use Suction Mount or did you permanently install it? Did you have to drill any holes? I feel like I need to get a cable (wired) from the outside to the inside to have any signal, and I would have to figure out how to get it through a wall somehow, which is why when I bought one of the earlier versions of these in 2016 I never installed it; didn't want to drill through my RV. I think I would not have less of an issue with that now, with copious amounts of silicone used.

Any sneaky places in the rig where it is easy to get from outside inside? It would have to be someplace high for signal purposes I assume. Thanks

My antenna is mounted to the crank up batwing TV antenna. It does require running a cable into the RV. I ran mine in the same place the TV antenna cable runs and resealed it with dicor, do not use silicone if you have a rubber roof. The wifi antenna is mounted to the right of the Winegard Rayzor TV antenna.

Spk64 · 05-04-2018, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by primaldiva

So I assume you set up a WAP on the outside of the building and then you used other device to pull it into the RV? I am still not clear if this will work in my situation due to the weird way my Tracer drops signals from 16 to .8 even with the door open. It's crazy. thank you

Yes, I have a WAP that is at the house. We have a good enough signal to stream TV inside the building and my same setup in the RV connects to the internal WAP.
I have the Ubiquiti mounted outside with a CAT5 cable running to the WAP inside building. The same CAT5 cable also powers the outside device via POE.

rgvtexan · 05-04-2018, 09:18 PM

Search Google for "outside our bubble" David Bott. He has a DIY system for ~$100 that works great.

vsheetz · 05-04-2018, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redcolorado

The Alpha Camp Pro wifi extender has a external antenna that connects to a wifi router inside the RV. I have it in my RV and it works very well. Costs about $150.

Agree. A good setup. Easy to configure since it uses usb tween the interior and exterior radios.