Community Forums

Darmknight05 · 05-15-2013, 03:49 PM

My wife is a professional photographer that requires a large desktop computer with a stable Internet connection. Does anyone have experience that they could share with what service or provider is the most economical and stable. We are trying to compute the cost of monthly RV costs before we buy and travel for the next 10 years! Thanks

gajd33 · 05-15-2013, 04:09 PM

In my opinion the reliability and stability of any option when it comes to internet on the road is a function of your location. If your in a area where wireless carrier service is strong then a Verizon or Millenicom may suit your needs. If you happen to stay at RV parks that have a solid WIFI connection (rare) then that may serve you well too. Some even spend the money on a satellite broadband connection but still will find the speeds many times lackluster or find it difficult to get a good signal.

If it is very important that you have a solid internet connection all the time, then the best remedy is choosing your travel plans carefully to stay in areas where WIFI and wireless service is strong. Go with a Verizon or Millenicom 4G package and be sure to watch your usage if your wife will be doing alot of picture uploading and downloading.

Determine your usage needs with Verizon Data Calculator

Read more about the differnt RV internet options available

Search IRV2 forums for other RV internet conversations

TechWriter · 05-15-2013, 04:14 PM

I use both a UML290 USB data card from Verizon and a MiFi from Millenicom (which uses the Verizon data network).

The 290 is part of a 14GB Verizon Share Everything plan. The MiFi is 20GB per month for $69.99.

I'm pretty sure the 20GB/month MiFi would be just fine.

The MiFi creates its own WiFi hotspot but has very limited range -- our 40-foot RV can be too long for it at times . . . which is why I like the UML290 because I have it plugged into a Cradlepoint MBR95 which creates a better hotspot than the MiFi.

Keep in mind that you won't always get 4G speeds (I'm 3G now), but Verizon seems to be the carrier most preferred by full timers.

And for those times when cell is not available at all, I bought a very used HughesNet sat dish. I'd rather not use it at all, but some of the places we plan on traveling to will probably not have cell service.

BTW, why do you think anyone would give you a dishonest answer?

Darmknight05 · 05-15-2013, 05:02 PM

Thanks guys. Well dishonesty from dealers have been in our search for a used pusher. So I have not been happy with them. But I really appreciate all of you in here as a disabled Vet that is really looking forward to this adventure with my wife. We are looking at a 36' that will take us through the first couple of years till we really know what we need and don't need.

TechWriter · 05-15-2013, 05:57 PM

Lots of honest full timers here: Escapees Discussion Forum

Darmknight05 · 05-15-2013, 06:20 PM

Can someone give me an average monthly cost of living on the road? We plan on boondocking 4-5 days a week. My wife is concerned with the generator costs and such. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

vraines · 05-16-2013, 07:17 AM

I also do some photo work while traveling. I use Verizon card and it is excellent with speed and service coverage. I also have AT&T on two iPhones but they are a real pain to use. If you are boon docking, then coverage may be a problem.

I have to watch my data use age, as big images use up a lot of gigs real fast.

My diesel generator uses nearly a gallon an hour. Do the math. Long term costs on it can be great. Guess you only have to run it to charge the house batteries, but do your home work on inverters, and that computer. A big desktop with a couple of hard drives is a pretty heavy draw.

I rely on a good laptop and do the sleeves up photo work when I am home. Much less drama.

Good luck

John Hilley · 05-16-2013, 07:52 AM

You will need 400 to 600 watts of solar and a good pure sinewave inverter to allay costs of running the generator. A small Honda EU2000i inverter generator or equivalent will save a lot on fuel costs. We currently have 405 watts of solar and will probably add another 200 watts. We supplement it for battery charging when necessary with the Honda generator.

Muddypaws · 05-16-2013, 08:28 AM

I do all of my shooting in raw format and even using 'only' an 18 megapixel camera creates files that are over 20MB each. I've seen some of them get closer to 24.

Even after editing and conversion these files are too big for a cellular connection, even at 4G speeds it takes several minutes for each image. I'll bet your wife shoots hundreds of images when working on a project.

4G coverage is not what the cellular companies would have you believe. Nor it it always as fast as the say. It's shared bandwidth: if the total bandwidth in an area is capable of carrying 10 Mbps and there are 100 people using it it will be very slow. As more & more folks get 4G capable devices it's not going to get better.

Darmknight05 · 05-16-2013, 09:01 AM

Very true and thank you. She uses a D3X and is certainly cerebral in her approach, so the image quantity is smaller but the quality is so much better. You judge for yourself. Her website is

Kristenwestlake.com.

She has been photographing for almost her entire life and our number one concern is a reliable connection and the power to keep her connected no matter where we are. We will be using solar panels and the Honda inverter but what scares me is the incredible patience she has while photographing will be lost the minute she can process her images or loses an image because her computer shuts down. So that is my major concern with any unit that we will purchase.

John Hilley · 05-16-2013, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muddypaws

I do all of my shooting in raw format and even using 'only' an 18 megapixel camera creates files that are over 20MB each. I've seen some of them get closer to 24.

Even after editing and conversion these files are too big for a cellular connection, even at 4G speeds it takes several minutes for each image. I'll bet your wife shoots hundreds of images when working on a project.

4G coverage is not what the cellular companies would have you believe. Nor it it always as fast as the say. It's shared bandwidth: if the total bandwidth in an area is capable of carrying 10 Mbps and there are 100 people using it it will be very slow. As more & more folks get 4G capable devices it's not going to get better.

This is not entirely true. The number of users on a cell tower does impact the bandwidth available, but more important is the distance from the tower and the power of the device. Adding an antenna to a cellular modem or Hotspot will increase the bandwidth. Verizon is feeding the towers with fiber links of 100Mbs to 10Gbs and engineering for capacity based on users. I consistently get 5 to 10Gbs just about everywhere we go.

Darmknight05 · 05-16-2013, 09:28 AM

True and thank you

CorLynn · 05-16-2013, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Hilley

You will need 400 to 600 watts of solar and a good pure sinewave inverter to allay costs of running the generator. A small Honda EU2000i inverter generator or equivalent will save a lot on fuel costs. We currently have 405 watts of solar and will probably add another 200 watts. We supplement it for battery charging when necessary with the Honda generator.

This ^^! Is the perfect boondocking set up. I will get to this someday. Right now I have about 200 watts of solar and a 2000 watt portable genny.

Muddypaws · 05-16-2013, 10:10 AM

I honestly think that paints a too rosy picture.

RV users tend to be pretty much in the same area and thus on the same tower/antennas. I can see the difference in speeds based upon the time of the day and day of the week, I.e. the number of users.

After 5 when the work campers get home it slows down. On the weekends when the RV park fills up it slows down even more. Get a couple of people watching movies on their connected devices and it comes to a screeching halt.

I used to occasionally teach rooms full of sales reps how to connect to the corporate database via 4G and if we tried to connect more than a handful of them at a time it would fail because the connection speed became too slow. The last one I did was in downtown Boston in a building with great cell service. Most RV parks and remote locations do not have the same level of coverage. I do not send images anywhere but at home where I have a 50mbps connection.

Not sure how cell companies calculate loads, but I'll be it is based upon averages rather than peaks. After all, they're in it to make money and every new tower costs them a bundle.

I'm in an area right now that only has 3G. Next week we'll be in a 'marginal' area that doesn't even have that. I think generally the areas worth photographing are the ones with the worst cellular service. And that's the way it should be!