want to buy Bigfoot Researcher Looking for an Oliver!

[ScubaRx]

This will help you get a better idea of what I did. This install was done on our previous 2017 Silverado 2500HD with a Lear topper. A couple of weeks ago we took delivery of a 2022 Silverado 3500HD. The old topper will not fit so this will all be moved to a new one when it comes in. The yellow box is a programmable timer to cut power to the router after a selected time period. I found that it would run down both batteries with its 'constantly on' state if the truck is not cranked every 3-4 days. I set it to 4 hours and that has worked well for us. When camping, if we are going to stream movies at night I just crank the truck and let it run for a minute to let everything boot up. If we need it longer than that time, I just crank the truck remotely and start over.

Inside the Topper...

 

On the roof of the Topper...

[mossemi]

Zodd, You’re all good, just wanted you to know why there was a communication gap.

Mossey

[mossemi]

Steve,

That’s a messed up picture with 3 roofs and a ceiling.😁

Mossey

[Zodd]

4 minutes ago, mossemi said:

That’s a messed up picture with 3 roofs and a ceiling

Ha. I had the same thought. Took my eyes a couple of minutes to process that picture. 

[ScubaRx]

3 minutes ago, mossemi said:

Steve,

That’s a messed up picture with 3 roofs and a ceiling.😁

Mossey

I know, there was supposed to be a space between them.  Kinda makes you cross-eyed. I'll see if I can fix it. You need to be in bed it's past your bedtime.

[ScubaRx]

Fixed.

[Mike and Carol]

Hey Zodd, what you say is true.  I guess I should be more clear when I state why we didn’t get the wifi booster.  When we ordered our trailer 6+ years ago, the Cradlepoint was not an option.  The wifi booster was just a simple wifi booster, nothing more.  I’ve looked at the Cradlepoint in recent years.  For our data needs, our iPhones provide a good hotspot connection for our iPads and our MacBook.

Mike

[Connie W]

On 9/19/2021 at 7:51 PM, Zodd said:

 

Can I jump in here and ask for a point of clarification? When this topic comes up it seems everyone talks about cell booster and wifi booster and I think the wifi booster gets only one aspect of it covered. The aspect everyone talks about is the ability to "boost" an existing wifi signal (aka the campgrounds wifi). However, my understanding is that the "wifi booster" is actually the Cradlepoint Wireless WAN which is much more then just connecting to the campgrounds wifi. True, it can connect to the campground wifi boosting it and then using the connected router to seamlessly provide an internet connection to all your devices. However, for me the real power comes in the ability to use the same cradle point WAN endpoint to pull connections from wireless networks (AT&T, Verizon, etc). It is unclear in the Ollies add-on package what type of Cradlepoint router comes with the install. I think this is where most people's comments of "using our phones as a hot spot" comes in. True, they play the same role assuming your phone can get a strong connection inside your Ollie. If it cannot people have mentioned this is where they just connect a MiMo antenna attached to the window to something like their Jetpack. Our Technomadia friends have a great run down on all this. This works as well.

However, my understanding of where the Cradlepoint Wireless WAN can be really powerful is 1) The omni-directional antenna mounted on the outside of the Ollie allowing for strong cell reception (less interference and stronger antenna then your cell phone alone). 2) The ability to have dual sims with cradlepoint so it can stream your connection through whatever provider has the strongest connection and doing all this without requiring you to change the Wifi endpoint your device(s) are connected to. 

Am I over stating what that add-on provides? Like I said their specs are not clear on what the actual hardware is that comes with that add-on so not clear if it is the version that allows dual SIMs. Even with a single SIM though the idea of an externally mounted strong omni-directional antenna for a cell single connection is a win over just using your cell phone. Good thread here. I think there are fair arguments about the cost versus waiting for something like Starlink to be viable or the complexity of this for the avg. person or the subscription cost. All fair topics. But I think talking about the "wifi booster" as just a way to "boost" the campground wifi is really understating what it is. 

Was looking for a good answer on this one..  Unless, I am not reading this correctly, there is not one. Bummer.  Live Stream is VERY important to me.

[John E Davies]

2 hours ago, Connie W said:

Was looking for a good answer on this one..  Unless, I am not reading this correctly, there is not one. Bummer.  Live Stream is VERY important to me.

You need Starlink, no other system will reliably give you high speed connectivity in the wild. We just finished a four week trip into BC and Yukon, there were often four or more days before we were able to find an LTE connection that would give us even basic email and texts. Free wifi is practically nonexistant, and the few commercial CGs (that were open - MANY were shut down due to Covid) required paying, and the speed was very low anyway, with dropped connections. This may be an extreme example, but as you must be aware, there are VAST areas in the  USA with zero cell coverage.

My wife needs high speed connectivity, we will be an early adopter if Starlink mobile becomes available. The sooner the better!

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/starlink-update-first-shell-nearing-completion-next-gen-hardware-coming-still-not-mobile-friendly/

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[Connie W]

On 9/21/2021 at 8:30 AM, John E Davies said:

You need Starlink, no other system will reliably give you high speed connectivity in the wild. We just finished a four week trip into BC and Yukon, there were often four or more days before we were able to find an LTE connection that would give us even basic email and texts. Free wifi is practically nonexistant, and the few commercial CGs (that were open - MANY were shut down due to Covid) required paying, and the speed was very low anyway, with dropped connections. This may be an extreme example, but as you must be aware, there are VAST areas in the  USA with zero cell coverage.

My wife needs high speed connectivity, we will be an early adopter if Starlink mobile becomes available. The sooner the better!

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/starlink-update-first-shell-nearing-completion-next-gen-hardware-coming-still-not-mobile-friendly/

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

I'm looking forward to it too! 🙂

[SeaDawg]

Eventually..