Weboost Reach RV Installed

travelingjw · 01-22-2022, 08:12 PM

Installed the Weboost Reach RV today. Installed the Antenna Bracket on the ladder over the roof due to the fact we have a cover. Installing on the climbing portion of the ladder would lead to a protrusion that might tear later. My one concern is the effect it may have on the ladder screws into the roof, I will watch carefully. Installed cable in cable channel as I don't like the idea of a loose trip hazard on the roof. Booster installed right below the TV with the required 18" between indoor antenna and booster.

Decided to run the cable over the roof and down the refrigerator vent as running down the sewer vent and then trying to weave my way through the interior spaces was just too much trouble. I have Coroplast covering the bottom of the trailer and after looking at what I would have to open and then repair, the roof was a better solution.

We purchased the Reach RV as we will only use it when stopped. The main consideration is we enjoy the coast and will often have very weak cell signals. In addition, our go to RV park near Eugene has very limited Verizion signal.

Riverman · 01-23-2022, 03:56 AM

Looks great.... my weBoost Drive Reach has saved me several times way out in the sticks when I got almost no signal on a phone or data. If I get three bars on my phone it doesn't help, but if I only get one bar it will really kick in and make the phone or hotspot come alive. I won't travel without it.

What really helps me is to set up my directional yagi/mimo antenna on a 25' pole.

GHen · 01-23-2022, 11:31 AM

We keep ours on an extension pole and attach to the ladder as needed. It can be extended about 8’ above the roof. Inside and outside antenna work better if they are 10-15’ away from each other. We have been in areas where we got 0 bars at the top of the ladder and 2 bars 8’ above. If I understand the electronics correctly, the two antennas interfere with each other and the system reduces power to reduce interference if they are too close.

We also ran our inside antenna to the area next to our seats, the best reception is when the phone is a few inches from the inside antenna.

But our system is 3 years old, yours may have improved.

kirkelli · 01-24-2022, 12:58 PM

I actually thought about Weboost Reach RV and decided to spend the money for Starlink Satellite for my internet needs.. I was somewhat nervous on the performance but after using it for a few months I am 100% satisfied. Never been in a location where i could not get internet service. I recommend anyone that needs internet with good speed (250M) to look at that system..

travelingjw · 01-24-2022, 01:47 PM

If one needs Internet full time, Starlink might be an option worth considering. But the Weboost is a one time purchase cost and I stay as far away from possible for any subscription costs connected with my TT.

kirkelli · 01-24-2022, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelingjw

If one needs Internet full time, Starlink might be an option worth considering. But the Weboost is a one time purchase cost and I stay as far away from possible for any subscription costs connected with my TT.

Gotcha on that.. We have our DVD Library on a Plex server and like to stream movies on the go.. i used my cell phone to do that with limited success, most of time it didn't work because we were remote to far away from cell towers. Now that we have Starlink, it goes with us, we ditched Media Com at home. . When we are at home we just undock the antenna (very easy) and use it at home. Media Comm was charging me $130/month for internet, Starlink is $99, so actually saving a few dollars..

bluztoo · 01-24-2022, 02:47 PM

My understanding is that Starlink was supposed to be still area code specific - in that you can only use it near the address you subscribed with. I'm in a line waiting for deployment to my area. So you're able to use it wherever you go? I don't know how they would restrict it. But again, they have not released it where I'm living to get it in the first place.

Riverman · 01-24-2022, 03:04 PM

I've waited way over a year on Starlink and still nothing but sad promises.... pitiful

Yooper906 · 01-24-2022, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkelli

I actually thought about Weboost Reach RV and decided to spend the money for Starlink Satellite for my internet needs.. I was somewhat nervous on the performance but after using it for a few months I am 100% satisfied. Never been in a location where i could not get internet service. I recommend anyone that needs internet with good speed (250M) to look at that system..

On our trip last summer to Colorado and Utah Iowa, etc. we had nothing but problems with Starlink. This was late June.

I'm going to list 3 or 4 areas where connection was impossible for various reasons.

Kearney Iowa-- "Starlink not deployed".

Zion National Park-- "Starlink is not at registered service". Tried to change the service, but when back home got the same message. Trying to change your registered service at every stop sucks, then having to try and change it again when back home?

20 miles west of Denver-- "At Capacity".

Four more campgrounds where we couldn't connect if anyone is interested, Ill tell you the state and campgrounds.

So we said screw this, and plugged into park cable when they had it. To be fair, some of these campgrounds didn't have cell coverage also.
Maybe they have changed things by now, I don't know.

I like Starlink at home, once we got our service address changed back to home. That took 3 days.
I think when Starlink is in "Beta", I believe them. They have a ways to go. Service personnel on the phone must have been on break or lunch most days, but when I did talk to someone they were helpful. Sort of. LOL

kirkelli · 01-24-2022, 08:07 PM

i've traveled in Nevada, AZ, all over Northern Calif and Oregon, never once had a problem. Changing locations is a breeze,. I usually have connection within 15-30 mins. Most of time, i'll change locations before i leave to next destination and its ready when i log in. I have friends that have traveled into Idaho, Utah Wyoming. One had the capacity problem near Salt Lake but that cleared up within a few hours. I dont think they will have the eastern state ready until end of this year.. So far i've been really happy with it.. Never have experienced any down time..

Yooper906 · 01-25-2022, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkelli

i've traveled in Nevada, AZ, all over Northern Calif and Oregon, never once had a problem. Changing locations is a breeze,. I usually have connection within 15-30 mins. Most of time, i'll change locations before i leave to next destination and its ready when i log in. I have friends that have traveled into Idaho, Utah Wyoming. One had the capacity problem near Salt Lake but that cleared up within a few hours. I dont think they will have the eastern state ready until end of this year.. So far i've been really happy with it.. Never have experienced any down time..

Good for you. Three other of our RV units in our camping group that had Starlink have these problems that I posted.
Like I posted, it's a good system at home, but for our camping group we travel with, not so much. I don't know if they need more satellites or whatever, but if you think there is no problem in the mid-northwest states in areas with not much population, you are mistaken.

Just our experience with Starlink on the road.

kirkelli · 01-25-2022, 04:55 PM

[QUOTE=
Just our experience with Starlink on the road.[/QUOTE]

Curious - how are you selecting your location when you move to new area. Are you keying in a general address or are you actually selecting your exact geographical spot on the map by dragging to your location.. I had a little bit of a problem when i was using address in the beginning but never had with the drag and drop method.

Yooper906 · 01-25-2022, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkelli

Curious - how are you selecting your location when you move to new area. Are you keying in a general address or are you actually selecting your exact geographical spot on the map by dragging to your location.. I had a little bit of a problem when i was using address in the beginning but never had with the drag and drop method.

We started with campground addresses with not much luck, we changed to dragging our GPS coordinates on the phones and not much better. 12 campsites in IA, ID, CO, UT, Wyoming. We connected with 4. If you would like a log of our trips, I can post it.
Like I posted, some "no capacity" , some "out of area" and some "not deployed". A few more responses if you want me to post a log from my phone. when we tried to change coverage addresses.. When we did get on Starlinks website to change addresses, it took around 2 days to get a response and and the change, which was by then useless because we have already moved down the road to our next site.
Like I posted, great at home, not so much in some western states. Starlink on the road, I am not impressed. But I'm sure it's improving since last June.

Bill Johnson · 01-25-2022, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkelli

i've traveled in Nevada, AZ, all over Northern Calif and Oregon, never once had a problem. Changing locations is a breeze,. I usually have connection within 15-30 mins. Most of time, i'll change locations before i leave to next destination and its ready when i log in. I have friends that have traveled into Idaho, Utah Wyoming. One had the capacity problem near Salt Lake but that cleared up within a few hours. I dont think they will have the eastern state ready until end of this year.. So far i've been really happy with it.. Never have experienced any down time..

I put in a bunch of address in around me and starlink say's it won't work near me

Yooper906 · 01-25-2022, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

I put in a bunch of address in around me and starlink say's it won't work near me

Hi Bill, the Starlink map says it works in areas it doesn't, this is from experience. It also says it doesn't work in my area and it does.
I'm thinking Starlink has a lot of work to do.

I'm just going to give it a little time, if it doesn't pan out as far as traveling, it still works at home. If I would have spent the $500 for Starlink just for traveling and have internet, I wouldn't have bought it, because where we travel it's worthless.

Bill Johnson · 01-25-2022, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yooper906

Hi Bill, the Starlink map says it works in areas it doesn't, this is from experience. It also says it doesn't work in my area and it does.
I'm thinking Starlink has a lot of work to do.

I'm just going to give it a little time, if it doesn't pan out as far as traveling, it still works at home. If I would have spent the $500 for Starlink just for traveling and have internet, I wouldn't have bought it, because where we travel it's worthless.

I'm going to get it, soon they will 100s more satellites up there

travelingjw · 01-25-2022, 07:34 PM

Sounds to me like a lot of interest in Starlink. Maybe you should ask the Moderator to move that part of the thread to a Starlink thread. It would be easier for others to find in the future.

kirkelli · 01-25-2022, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelingjw

Sounds to me like a lot of interest in Starlink. Maybe you should ask the Moderator to move that part of the thread to a Starlink thread. It would be easier for others to find in the future.

I agree.. Starlink is adding new satellites every month so i'm sure this will be a topic to keep tabs on. If the mods are willing to to that, i would volunteer to create a coverage map based on the user inputs here.

Yooper906 · 01-26-2022, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirkelli

I agree.. Starlink is adding new satellites every month so i'm sure this will be a topic to keep tabs on. If the mods are willing to to that, i would volunteer to create a coverage map based on the user inputs here.

Sounds like a good idea! Starlinks coverage maps are not accurate.

Iadave · 01-30-2022, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yooper906

On our trip last summer to Colorado and Utah Iowa, etc. we had nothing but problems with Starlink. This was late June.

I'm going to list 3 or 4 areas where connection was impossible for various reasons.

Kearney Iowa-- "Starlink not deployed".

Zion National Park-- "Starlink is not at registered service". Tried to change the service, but when back home got the same message. Trying to change your registered service at every stop sucks, then having to try and change it again when back home?

20 miles west of Denver-- "At Capacity".

Four more campgrounds where we couldn't connect if anyone is interested, Ill tell you the state and campgrounds.

So we said screw this, and plugged into park cable when they had it. To be fair, some of these campgrounds didn't have cell coverage also.
Maybe they have changed things by now, I don't know.

I like Starlink at home, once we got our service address changed back to home. That took 3 days.
I think when Starlink is in "Beta", I believe them. They have a ways to go. Service personnel on the phone must have been on break or lunch most days, but when I did talk to someone they were helpful. Sort of. LOL

There is a vast difference between Kearney, which is in western Nebraska, and most places in Iowa. Starlink coverage in Iowa is very good across the state. BTW: Starlink is not yet approved or intended to be used for mobile service. It's just blind luck that those having smooth sailing while moving from spot to spot changing locations on a daily basis. It will take considerably more satellites deployed to get the kind of on-demand service we all want.

You may also like: