Factory Installed WiFo or Cell Boosters - Where/what are your hull penetration points?

[Steve Morris]

Other than the terrestrial TV antenna, we did not order any wifi, satellite, or cellular boosters. All of this technology is changing so rapidly, that we figured anything we order now will be obsolete in a couple of years. And, the Oliver options seem pretty expensive. So, we plan to do our own.

Figuring out the antenna, cellular router, data plan, etc. is discussed ad nauseam across YouTube, so I don't need any help there.

What I do need to find, is where Oliver routes the cables that penetrate the hull. Is there a "tube" bonded between the inner and outer hull with a waterproof connector?  Or a single hole with a typical RV waterproof connector epoxied to the hull in an area where the inner hull is cut away?

I know that there are AC and DC available in the cabinet above the TV. Is there anything in the front closet for either AC or DC power?

 

Thanks for any input,
Steve

[Steve Morris]

Still looking for info from anyone with factory installed antenna or receiver. Lots of deals out there, but before I commit I’d like to know how the cables/wires get through the hulls. 

Thanks

[topgun2]

I would think that your best bet would be to give Oliver Service a call tomorrow morning ask ask these questions.  They should be able to help you with particular specifics about your specific hull number.

Good luck!

Bill

[Rivernerd]

On 11/22/2022 at 10:29 AM, Steve and Deb said:

Is there anything in the front closet for either AC or DC power?

 

No.

We didn't want the communications add-ons you reference, but we did want the backup camera. 

For what it's worth, we paid Oliver's premium to install the backup camera because I feared the same issue you are now facing with regard to wifi, satellite and cell boosters:  where do the wires go between the hulls, and where does the power come from?

With a March, 2023 delivery date, it probably is not too late to update your order to pay the premium for those communications add-ons.  Yes, its spendy.  But then you will have the cabling and power supply infrastructure in place to replace any component that becomes outdated.

[Ollie-Haus]

8 hours ago, Steve and Deb said:

Still looking for info from anyone with factory installed antenna or receiver. Lots of deals out there, but before I commit I’d like to know how the cables/wires get through the hulls. 

Thanks

I'm in the same camp as @Rivernerdin that I'm more interested in having the "support components" installed by Oliver than worried about the equipment being outdated or premium priced. If we keep the camper for more then 3 years any tech equipment could become outdated but we won't have to reinvent the installation, just upgrade a component here or there. 

We arrived in Hohenwald this evening to finalize our order with Josh tomorrow and many of my decision for certain add-ons will be made based on the difficulty of adding those items later as opposed to taking the easy route, albeit more expensive, but still much less difficult than after the fact. 

[Steve Morris]

I’m looking at this setup, which is currently $1080 and is a LOT better than the $1950 Oliver option, with 5G/4G/LTE, WiFi and GPS antennas vs just LTE. And works with any carrier. 
 

I’ll call Oliver tomorrow. 

[rich.dev]

16 minutes ago, Steve and Deb said:

I’m looking at this setup

What setup are you looking at?

[Patriot]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:30 PM, Ollie-Haus said:

I'm in the same camp as @Rivernerdin that I'm more interested in having the "support components" installed by Oliver than worried about the equipment being outdated or premium priced. If we keep the camper for more then 3 years any tech equipment could become outdated but we won't have to reinvent the installation, just upgrade a component here or there. 

We arrived in Hohenwald this evening to finalize our order with Josh tomorrow and many of my decision for certain add-ons will be made based on the difficulty of adding those items later as opposed to taking the easy route, albeit more expensive, but still much less difficult than after the fact. 

Ollie-Haus
We opted to have Oliver run the wiring and install the their components and swap out and upgrade later. As I did have a rear camera water intrusion issue which was replaced under warranty by the original manufacturer not Oliver. 
Looking back, a very wise choice IMHO.
 

If you and you wife enjoy really authentic Mexican food I highly recommend Casa Grande located in a strip mall next to Walmart 5 min from the Oliver Sales office. It’s the best Mexican food we have had since we lived in San Antonio, Tx years ago.  Josh will know exactly where it is. Hope you enjoy your day finalizing your Ollie build. 😊
Enjoy that Tremor! 

Cheers,

Patriot 🇺🇸

 

[Steve Morris]

Oops, forgot the link…

https://mobilemusthave.com/pages/speed-demon-5g-mobile-internet-bundle

[Ollie-Haus]

59 minutes ago, Patriot said:

Ollie-Haus
We opted to have Oliver run the wiring and install the their components and swap out and upgrade later. As I did have a rear camera water intrusion issue which was replaced under warranty by the original manufacturer.
Looking back, a very wise choice IMHO.
 

If you and you wife enjoy really authentic Mexican food I highly recommend Casa Grande located in a strip mall next to Walmart 5 min from the Oliver Sales office. It’s the best Mexican food we have had since we lived in San Antonio, Tx years ago.  Josh will know exactly where it is. Hope you enjoy your day finalizing your Ollie build. 😊
Enjoy that Tremor! 

Cheers,

Patriot 🇺🇸

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I saw the restaurant you mentioned last evening when scoping out the area. Will give it a shot after our visit at Oliver. 

[rich.dev]

3 hours ago, Steve and Deb said:

Oops, forgot the link…

https://mobilemusthave.com/pages/speed-demon-5g-mobile-internet-bundle

Let us know what Oliver said, I'm in the same boat, finalizing options this week and was thinking of passing on the Oliver Omni-directional TV antenna, 4G cell booster and Cradlepoint Wireless WAN with LTE (won't work for me because I'm in Canada and it requires a month-to-month data plan), instead I'm thinking of installing a pepwave with poynting antenna or Speed Demon 5G Mobile Internet Bundle from your link. I had an Airstream and figured out how to run the wires but not sure with the Oliver, does it come prewired without their options, if not like you I have no idea if it will be possible to do the aftermarket components wiring? 

[Rivernerd]

59 minutes ago, Rich.Dev said:

not sure with the Oliver, does it come prewired without their options, if not like you I have no idea if it will be possible to do the aftermarket components wiring? 

One consideration:  Do the antennas, cell booster or WAN packages come with switches on the main panel by the entry to the trailer?  The backup camera does, and that was a significant factor in our decision to pay the premium for Oliver to do the install.  This gave us not only the switch, but the connecting wires already in place between the hulls.

You might consider submitting an inquiry to your sales rep.

For what it's worth, we opted not to include either the cell booster or the wireless WAN.  Instead, we upgraded our Verizon cell package to included unlimited data, then used our cell phones as mobile hot spots.  That system gave us internet access wherever we had Verizon cell coverage.  But, of course, we did not have the bandwidth to stream data-intensive programming, like on the TV.

[BBL]

15 hours ago, Steve and Deb said:

I’m looking at this setup, which is currently $1080 and is a LOT better than the $1950 Oliver option, with 5G/4G/LTE, WiFi and GPS antennas vs just LTE. And works with any carrier. 

Steve,

I went through the same thing you are going through and have experimented with this for the last 4 years with our previous trailer. I decided on the exact same system you are looking at BUT, in a move not widely accepted in the RV towing community, I am installing mine in my Tow Vehicle.  I have a camper shell (ARE) on my truck and will be installing the Pepwave antenna on top of it (does not need a ground plane, the one Oliver sells DOES but they don't install one). I will install the router inside the shell on the top. I had it re-enforced when I ordered it so it has a 1/2" plywood fiberglassed into the top for support.

This approach will allow us to have access to our own internet when we are on day trips away from the trailer and on trips where we don't take the trailer. I have used Pepwave routers for a very long time and am confident we will have internet inside the trailer when the truck is parked outside. 

As I mentioned, it's an unconventional approach but one that I think will work for us. Also, upgrades will not involve any Ollie work.

All thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Brian

[Steve Morris]

On 11/28/2022 at 1:14 PM, Brian and Brandelyne said:

BUT, in a move not widely accepted in the RV towing community, I am installing mine in my Tow Vehicle.

What a great idea! If we had a truck with a cap, that sounds like a good plan. But I don’t think I’ll be doing that on the Land Cruiser. I’d need the magnetic mount which sticks up pretty high, and some way to get all those cables inside. 
 

I plan to add an Ethernet switch and hard wire the router to an Apple TV, Echo Dot, and laptop. 

[Steve Morris]

On 11/28/2022 at 11:33 AM, Rich.Dev said:

Let us know what Oliver said,

I talked to Mike Sharp today. Apparently there’s a removable wall in the attic area. Behind there, you only need to drill though the outer hull to get wires through from the antenna. I’ll have to add a waterproof bulkhead fitting to bring the wire bundle through, and figure where to mount the antenna. 
 

One important note that I found out on the price in the link I listed before. That 25% off $1080 price is the 5% off sale plus 10% off for Black Friday. PLUS 10% off for belonging to their highest tier members. The non-member sale price is $1224.66

I’m likely going to do their lower membership option at $99 which drops the price $72 from the non-member price, and has what looks like good information and discounts behind their pay wall. Plus access to the Mobile Internet Resource Center’s member only library. 

I won’t get a data plan until March when I get our trailer.

I hope that helps!

[SeaDawg]

Do you folks work from home/actually  "need" data plans beyond cell phones?

I personally think the cradlepoint, and many other add-ons, are far beyond needs of many owners.

I have no idea of your needs. I just know it's far beyond ours.

I do love the tutorial sessions included with the system you are looking at. Big plus, inclusion in mobile internet resource center, with our old friends  Chris and Cherie/Technomadia. Their "technical" Oliver, Orion, was an amazing camper in 2009. They're very smart, very in tune to every new development, and unbiased testing reports.  

My personal opinion is that many people buy more tech than they need or can handle.  Kudos to you for eliminating electronics you don't need .

[rich.dev]

4 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

I personally think the cradlepoint, and many other add-ons, are far beyond needs of many owners.

 

I agree, finalizing our options tomorrow, we will only go with the cell booster, lithium platinum package, upgrade to the 2-5/16 buldog coupler and Anderson weight distribution hitch, Truma aquago on demand water heater and truma aventa AC with electric antifreeze it **hope it comes with the truma furnace**+! , no graphics, front/rear propane quick connects, porcelain toilet (I’ll install the Airhead composting toilet), twin beds, hypervent, frosted doors 

[Rivernerd]

2 hours ago, Rich.Dev said:

*hope it comes with the truma furnace**

All 2023 Olivers come with the Truma Varioheat furnace.  One of the 2023 demo models on the Oliver showroom floor has Truma AC, water heater and Varioheat furnace.  The other 2023 demo has the Dometic AC, Suburban water heater, but the Truma Varioheat furnace.

[rich.dev]

5 hours ago, Rivernerd said:

All 2023 Olivers come with the Truma Varioheat furnace. 

Great, thanks!