The Remodel — Part 3
For Part 1 or Part 2 follow those links.
For the most part we’ve covered the interior work we had completed in parts 1 and 2, from upgrading our seating, to a desk, to getting power while Boondocking; but, we still had a major problem to solve which we’ll cover here.
The only way this trip is possible is if we’re getting our work done, end of day, period. Work comes first and we both have amazing careers that we won’t jeopardize (this is to you bosses reading this).
Endless Wifi
Back in the summer of 2022, a full 10-months prior to us heading out. Kevin became a member of the Mobile Internet Resource Center. Cherie and Chris over there are absolutely fantastic and have reviewed about every piece of equipment imaginable. If anyone is reading this and wondering how to stay connected for any trip, check out their site as they have solutions for everyone.
It took about 4-months to review everything and all the options before a solution became obvious. For us, internet isn’t a nice to have, it’s a necessity. If a cell tower is bogged down because a motor cycle rally is the same time we’re near Sturgis (second time this will happen in Kevin’s lifetime), then we need a backup option. If for some reason that backup option fails, then we need a plan C. If plan C fails, believe it or not, we have a plan D.
If you’re thinking what I was thinking at this point then you’re not alone. This sounds like so much work that it’s just simply not worth it; and this is where Cherie and Chris came in and reviewed a game-changing line of products.
Our Pepwave 42G replaced the old TV antenna on the roof. It’s the size of a softball and sits behind our skylight and in front of the AC.
We removed the TV antenna and replaced it with a Pepwave 42G with 4x Cellular, 2x Wi-Fi, 1x GPS, antennas. Having a great cellular connection is only part of the equation, we also needed a way to speak to the antennas and broadcast the signal.
We have a Pepwave Max Transit Duo Router broadcasting 4 different bonded connections at once.
What does all this mean? As we’re writing this, we’re connected to the BattPack wifi, which is rebroadcasting our amazing campground wifi with speeds in the 50-80mbps range. This is currently our fastest connection so we’ve prioritized it.
What this setup allows is for us to use multiple connections to get online, and we have the following connections anywhere we go:
Verizon / AT&T
We have sim-cards for plans with Verizon and AT&T that work anywhere we have cell service. These are data-only plans that our Pepwave setup connects to while we only need to connect to our wifi. For times where we have great campground wifi (rare), we can connect to it through one of the wifi antenna’s giving us a 3rd connection on our setup. All of these require us to do some homework though and choose campgrounds that are in range of decent cell coverage. Honestly, these days there’re quite a few places and sites like Campendium and The Dyrt make it easy to do the research; however, as we mentioned in Part 2 we’d really like to get even further off-grid.
Starlink
We’ll be receiving our Starlink when we’re in Provincetown, RI and plan to test it out prior to heading out west. On the East Coast and Mid-West we can pretty much rely on our cellular connections to keep us online, but when we’re out west we’ll likely be further from towers and want to get to more rural places, which will require Starlink. Most people are getting consistently fast, and reliable speeds and we’re excited to add it to our arsenal.
Plan D
Sometimes it’s just nice to work from a coffee shop, brewery, or restaurant and mooch their wifi. If we’re ever having issues with the plethora of options mentioned above, then we can always post of with a good cup of coffee and get our work done.
