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Old 08-15-2022, 11:22 AM   #1
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Wifi as WAN router?

With all the wired/wireless devices i have in my RV it has its own wifi network and everything. Is there any products on the market that make it easy to connect to CG wifi so i can use wifi as WAN onto a router? Ideally one with a touchscreen so I can pull up to a CG, scan and type in the password on the device itself then everything will autoconnect. Even better if it could pull up a webpage so we can get past the captive portal some public wifi has.

Plan is 1 wifi AP in the RV, an outdoor wifi AP on the roof for all the devices on LAN. Then a wifi antenna on the roof connected to this router for WAN along with a hotspot boosted by a weboost for auto secondary WAN if no wifi (like on road).
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Old 08-15-2022, 11:28 AM   #2
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Check out Pepwave and CradlePoint. I know their routers offer this.
https://5gstore.com/
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Old 08-15-2022, 11:39 AM   #3
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Check out Pepwave and CradlePoint. I know their routers offer this.
https://5gstore.com/
Yes cradlepoint can do it but requires me to login to the router and setup the wifi each time. Also I don't believe any captive portal solution.
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Old 08-15-2022, 11:41 AM   #4
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Plan is 1 wifi AP in the RV, an outdoor wifi AP on the roof for all the devices on LAN. Then a wifi antenna on the roof connected to this router for WAN along with a hotspot boosted by a weboost for auto secondary WAN if no wifi (like on road).
I had a "system" composed of two parts, a Pepwave Surf SOHO router (link here) and a Verizon JetPack. It worked great in all circumstances I encountered, except one: On rare occasion, I could not work around the splash screen issue.

My recommendation: Start simply. Add parts later, if you must.
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Old 08-15-2022, 12:10 PM   #5
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I had a "system" composed of two parts, a Pepwave Surf SOHO router (link here) and a Verizon JetPack. It worked great in all circumstances I encountered, except one: On rare occasion, I could not work around the splash screen issue.

My recommendation: Start simply. Add parts later, if you must.
I have most of the equipment already. Just ordered an Amped TAP-EX2 which looks like it solves the wifi touchscreen issue. I'm debating just hotspotting from a phone instead of a jetpack since we have weboost it should be the same.

Another option would be to use a LTE tablet that has some wifi external antenna since android will hotspot over wifi and if not connected will use LTE. I think some can use ethernet USB too so might be best option come to think about it and will fix captive portal issues.
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Old 08-15-2022, 06:40 PM   #6
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No touchscreen but this works well for me https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNet-GL-AR...07GBXMBQF?th=1

I can setup my phone as a Hotspot which the Gli Slate broadcasts as a Wi-Fi signal. Cell carrier sees this as one device and therefore does not bill extra. Also able to repeat Wi-Fi from campground, Starbucks, etc
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Old 08-15-2022, 06:54 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain8 View Post
With all the wired/wireless devices i have in my RV it has its own wifi network and everything. Is there any products on the market that make it easy to connect to CG wifi so i can use wifi as WAN onto a router? Ideally one with a touchscreen so I can pull up to a CG, scan and type in the password on the device itself then everything will autoconnect. Even better if it could pull up a webpage so we can get past the captive portal some public wifi has.

Plan is 1 wifi AP in the RV, an outdoor wifi AP on the roof for all the devices on LAN. Then a wifi antenna on the roof connected to this router for WAN along with a hotspot boosted by a weboost for auto secondary WAN if no wifi (like on road).
I think if I read your post correctly you are looking for a router to connect with the campgrounds wifi service. Only a few times in my many year of rving have I had campground service that could do the basic stuff. They are all overloaded, or do not have good transmission. Many times they don't even work.

You need to find a diffrent solution. From starlink or one of the cell service data plans. Cell data plans don't work everywhere, starlink does not work under trees, etc...
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Old 08-15-2022, 07:06 PM   #8
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Better off spending the money on boosting your cell signal. Like weboost.
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Old 08-16-2022, 07:38 AM   #9
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Better off spending the money on boosting your cell signal. Like weboost.
Already have this as part of the solution with the antenna connected to one of the old satellite poles so can sit about 10ft above the RV roof. Most of the time the RV will be parked at my home with wifi but still want the RV to have its own LAN so all TVs and other equipment like the Victron's can always be online.
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Old 08-16-2022, 07:43 AM   #10
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I think if I read your post correctly you are looking for a router to connect with the campgrounds wifi service. Only a few times in my many year of rving have I had campground service that could do the basic stuff. They are all overloaded, or do not have good transmission. Many times they don't even work.

You need to find a diffrent solution. From starlink or one of the cell service data plans. Cell data plans don't work everywhere, starlink does not work under trees, etc...
Granted I haven't been to a CG yet but I was assuming this would be an issue which is why I want to make sure we have a strong wifi roof antenna to solve the transmission issue they have. If overloaded or poor quality I wanted a screen so we can easily disconnect the CG wifi as needed.
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Old 08-16-2022, 08:23 AM   #11
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I'm with ArtJoyce on campground WifI useage. While you can find campgrounds that are the exception, the general consensus is campground WiFi is substandard, especially if you want to accomplish any amount of video streaming. The campgrounds need to find a provider to get the signal to them (I would say a minimum of GB service for a medium size campground) & then they need to install the supporting infrastructure to distribute the WiFi signal. It can become expensive.
There are all sorts of devices that can improve a weak signal, but if the bandwidth at the source is inadequate, you are still faced with an issue.

I have a Peplink BR1 MAX PRO LTEA with a CAT 20 modem (4G) AT&T & Verizon data only SIMs Poynting 7-1 antenna & Starlink on tripod

Peplink manages all internet connections. Fairly easy to set up.
Again this works for me, your mileage may vary.
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Old 08-16-2022, 08:42 AM   #12
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Very few campgrounds will have Wi-Fi suitable for much more than some light web surfing and checking email. You will be better off using a cell phone-based hotspot and a cell phone booster.

We have a Wi-Fi booster and all it will do is boost the signal. It does nothing to increase the bandwidth of the service server. We also carry a WeBoost cell phone booster with both a directional and an omnidirectional antenna.

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Old 08-16-2022, 07:46 PM   #13
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The Winegard router in my coach does this. I can easily point it to my jetpack, my home network, or any campground wifi.

The problem is as stated. 98% of campground wifi networks are terrible for capacity, speed, and coverage.

They are generally to slow to work from or stream from.

I normally use cellular. And I have no action to take each time I change campgrounds. I have had rare occasions where campground wifi was usable though.
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Old 08-16-2022, 10:48 PM   #14
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If you are seriously relying on the campground to provide good (not great) wifi, you are in for a serious disappointment. Better to go in with zero expectation. Then, if you end up with park wifi, it's a big bonus. Hard to believe in 2022 ALL parks cannot provide wifi of some sort.
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