Traveling the country in a van, which mobile wifi should I get?

[Jai Desir]

Hello beautiful people!

I'm completely new to the forum so hi, I'm Jai

I am about to embark on a new chapter of my life in a couple months where I will be traveling in a converted vansion (basically a camper) and I need advice! I have seen a few threads on here related to this but they were already closed so I resorted to starting a new one, hopefully I'm following the etiquette.

My main question is: Do any of you have experience with camming while traveling? I will have privacy, good lighting, and a solar power system, but the main thing I'm worried about is internet, specifically upload speed and data usage. I've done my research and mobile wifi hotspots that you plug into your laptop seem to be the way to go. But these plans usually cap at 20Gb. I've read that camming uses about 1 gig for approximately 3 hours of streaming HD, so I'm worried if that will be enough data since I also use my laptop for other things. I am planning on doing public shows on CB twice a week, and private shows once a week for various clients.

If you do have experience with camming on the road using a mobile hotspot, what carrier and plan did you choose, how much data was enough for you, and was your upload speed enough for a smooth live stream?

Thanks for any help, it is greatly appreciated

Jai

 

[ElaySmith]

Im planning to do something similar very soon. I plan to use Verizon as my provider but will also be purchasing a wifi extender and a weboost 4gRV. While traveling I plan to do a lot more clip/phone work vs streaming. I know @JoleneBrody is currently traveling and streaming, as she is who recommended the weboost to me so maybe she can pop in with a little more insight.

 

[JoleneBrody]

Howdy!
I live in an RV full time and cam. I have the verizon unlimited plan with a phone and a tablet, which you can then add a mifi jetpack to for only $20 each. (the device itself is about $50) they each have a limit of 15 Gigs per month of high speed so I actually have 3 jetpacks. So I essentially pay $60 a month for internet to cam from. To save data i use my iphone and my tablet for pretty much all other internet needs, like uploading videos and watching netflix/hulu. I have a weboost 4G RV and it has made it possible for me to cam from many places that would not have been fast enough connection otherwise. I'm traveling constantly and the only time I've struggled has been while roaming in canada.

 

[Jai Desir]

Howdy!
I live in an RV full time and cam. I have the verizon unlimited plan with a phone and a tablet, which you can then add a mifi jetpack to for only $20 each. (the device itself is about $50) they each have a limit of 15 Gigs per month of high speed so I actually have 3 jetpacks. So I essentially pay $60 a month for internet to cam from. To save data i use my iphone and my tablet for pretty much all other internet needs, like uploading videos and watching netflix/hulu. I have a weboost 4G RV and it has made it possible for me to cam from many places that would not have been fast enough connection otherwise. I'm traveling constantly and the only time I've struggled has been while roaming in canada.

You're living my dream life! (and soon to be reality)
Thanks for the prompt reply. What made you decide on verizon? I have sprint right now but would be willing to switch. And the weboost I saw on Amazon is 500$ is that how much you paid? If I'm staying in places with 3g or LTE coverage, will the weboost still be necessary?

 

[Jai Desir]

Im planning to do something similar very soon. I plan to use Verizon as my provider but will also be purchasing a wifi extender and a weboost 4gRV. While traveling I plan to do a lot more clip/phone work vs streaming. I know @JoleneBrody is currently traveling and streaming, as she is who recommended the weboost to me so maybe she can pop in with a little more insight.

Thanks for the insight and the recommendation you say a weboost and a wifi extender, are they different things?

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

Howdy!
I live in an RV full time and cam. I have the verizon unlimited plan with a phone and a tablet, which you can then add a mifi jetpack to for only $20 each. (the device itself is about $50) they each have a limit of 15 Gigs per month of high speed so I actually have 3 jetpacks. So I essentially pay $60 a month for internet to cam from. To save data i use my iphone and my tablet for pretty much all other internet needs, like uploading videos and watching netflix/hulu. I have a weboost 4G RV and it has made it possible for me to cam from many places that would not have been fast enough connection otherwise. I'm traveling constantly and the only time I've struggled has been while roaming in canada.

The way you live sounds very romantic going from place to place surfing the internet. If I ever went on the road that is the way I would want to live, but I am a huge nerd.

 

[JoleneBrody]

You're living my dream life! (and soon to be reality)
Thanks for the prompt reply. What made you decide on verizon? I have sprint right now but would be willing to switch. And the weboost I saw on Amazon is 500$ is that how much you paid? If I'm staying in places with 3g or LTE coverage, will the weboost still be necessary?

Oh man yeah if you have sprint you NEED to switch. I had sprint for like 15 years and switching to Verizon was like taking the first sip of hot coffee on a cold morning. seriously though, sprint coverage is so bad but verizon is tops! I did pay $500 for my weboost but it's some of the best money I've ever spent. I can't even count how many times i was able to cam only because of the weboost but i mostly boondock. 3g will rarely ever be good enough for you to cam from but often times, with a weboost you'll be able to get LTE even though you're only in a 3g or worse area. if you plan to explore the wilderness more than the city, absolutely get one! if your just planning on urban driveway/parkinglot stuff then it may not be nessiccary.
Switching from sprint to verizon though is totally going to be needed! I had both for a while and did a lot of side by side comparisons while traveling, because i knew sprint coverage sucked but boy howdy i didn't realize how much!

 

[JoleneBrody]

Thanks for the insight and the recommendation you say a weboost and a wifi extender, are they different things?

A Weboost amplifies cellular signal to give you better connection in remote areas, a wifi ranger amplifies wifi signals near you (rv park wifi/mcdonalds/starbucks).
I personally have yet to find, even on a super strong connection, a wifi I could reliably cam from but may some day get a wifi ranger just so I can possibly get a better connection for other internet work without using my jet pack data on my laptop

 

[AudriTwo]

all jokes aside hope you have a great adventure!

 

[Marley Magdalene]

Thanks so much, my partner and I fantasize about van living ourselves as a way to figure out where we want to settle down, and get a bunch of wanderlust out of our systems. Thanks for the great info!!

 

[amababa]

maybe that is something, but don't know about the upload speed: https://www.skyroam.com

 

[Emberblaze]

I got wet at the thought of traveling in a camper van. Clearly I need some new life goals. (Like buying a camper van)

 

[Jai Desir]

maybe that is something, but don't know about the upload speed: https://www.skyroam.com

I dug into the reviews online and it seems like, at least internationally, it simply doesn't have high enough upload speeds for a live cam session, but thank you for your help!

 

[Jai Desir]

I got wet at the thought of traveling in a camper van. Clearly I need some new life goals. (Like buying a camper van)

It's quite the honorable life goal to have. Catch ya on the road!

 

[Jai Desir]

all jokes aside hope you have a great adventure!

Oh plentyyyy of bad things will be happening in my van, that's for sure thanks for the well wishes

 

[Jai Desir]

Oh man yeah if you have sprint you NEED to switch. I had sprint for like 15 years and switching to Verizon was like taking the first sip of hot coffee on a cold morning. seriously though, sprint coverage is so bad but verizon is tops! I did pay $500 for my weboost but it's some of the best money I've ever spent. I can't even count how many times i was able to cam only because of the weboost but i mostly boondock. 3g will rarely ever be good enough for you to cam from but often times, with a weboost you'll be able to get LTE even though you're only in a 3g or worse area. if you plan to explore the wilderness more than the city, absolutely get one! if your just planning on urban driveway/parkinglot stuff then it may not be nessiccary.
Switching from sprint to verizon though is totally going to be needed! I had both for a while and did a lot of side by side comparisons while traveling, because i knew sprint coverage sucked but boy howdy i didn't realize how much!

You have been a life saver Jolene!!! Last question I promise ^__^ I can't switch my phone carrier to verizon until it's paid off, which is gonna be awhile.. can I do the verizon jetpack / weboost combo for my laptop only as a separate thing from my phone carrier, or does it have to be tied to a phone / tablet?

 

[JoleneBrody]

You have been a life saver Jolene!!! Last question I promise ^__^ I can't switch my phone carrier to verizon until it's paid off, which is gonna be awhile.. can I do the verizon jetpack / weboost combo for my laptop only as a separate thing from my phone carrier, or does it have to be tied to a phone / tablet?

Yes you can! I started the same way, with only a tablet and jetpack through Verizon until my sprint contract ended. That was before all the new unlimited plans though so I have no idea the pricing/plans as a stand-alone without phones. I know it’s possible though