I am going to interupt getting caught up to tell you all about the last mobile hotspot service I picked up. AT&T through their Connected Car service offers unlimited data for $20 a month via a Mobley. You get a Mobley from the AT&T site, it is free with a two year contract and a $45 activation fee. It is intended to plug into the OBD II port on vehicles 1996 and newer however a adapter can be bought from ebay or Amazon that will allow you to run it outside of the car.
This is the site to buy from
AT&T ZTE Mobley
these are adapters for using it outside of the car.
Amazon page of Mobley adapters
Now I have Cricket with calling, texting and 12 gigs of data that can be accessed via a hotspot for $65 a month. It is throttled to 8 Mbps, does not roam and is low on the priority list when things get congested. I am dropping it to bare minimum in favor of the Mobley which is unthrottled, roams and is only prioritized IF I go over 22 Gigs and then only IF I am on a congested tower. It was a hassle to get but certainly worth it. I now have unlimited data on Verizon. AT&T and Sprint, as well as unlimited streaming on T-Mobile, it all cost me $56 a month.
So if you are hitting the road and want unlimited data over a major carrier, get a AT&T Mobley.
Our trailer
Monday, July 24, 2017
Wow Half a year has flown by
I have been out on the road for nearly 7 months now. I keep meaning to update this and something always comes up. This will be a brief overview with post following with more detail.
First let me say that there is a big difference between boondocking out in the wild for a week or two and doing it full-time. When we use to go for short periods we would load up, fill the water and take off. On the way home the trash went into our trash can at home. The waste tanks were dumped into the RV dump in the storage lot. The dirty laundry went into our washing machine and the next trip was just a trip to the grocery store away which was just down the street. We could decide to go and be on the road in a hour and within the same time frame you would not have known we had been gone once we were home.
Now even though I have added capacity to some area of the rig, it is still the same one we used in the Rockies for 6 years. The difference is it is just me and I have rarely been in my beloved Rockies. Every new place I go I have to find out where to get food, water, propane, mail. Where to dump the tanks and do laundry. Even where to get my puppy taken care of. I will move in two weeks and start the whole process over again. It will get easier as I return to some of the areas next year following a path of good weather, I know this. Right now it is part of not only the learning process but comfort level adjustment as well. Dealing with mail was a biggy and still is.
I spent New years eve not as planned, all packed up and resting with one last nice dinner with the other half. Instead I was running around the house sorting, packing and looking things up when the back said no more. I think I would have been doing the same if I had stayed another month, it just never ended. I pushed back the grocery until the morning of the New years and focused on getting everything into the trailer sitting out front. A few last minute things the next morning, a run to the grocery ad I finally hit the road at 1 pm. I knew I needed to make Raton pass on the Colorado/New Mexico boarder by nightfall as there was a winter storm moving in. I was a beautiful sunny day except the wind was lane changing at times. As a head wind it slowed me to 50 Mph and cut my gas millage to the point that I nearly ran out on the way to Trinidad. The one station I tried to stop at was closed, luckily I had the 2 gallon gas can filled for the generator and added that to the tank at the rest stop before Trinidad. Since then the policy is to start looking as soon as the tank hits half full. This has benefited me over and over in my travels as there is not always a gas station where you would think there is one.
I made the rest stop after Raton pass around sunset. It is on the high plain with some historic markers among the usual bathrooms and such. It was pretty cold so I fired up the furnace, then had a hamburger patty and ravioli for my first dinner on the road. I checked all of the hotspots to find T-Mobile was wicked fast, Verizon had a weak signal, AT&T was good and Sprint showed no signal at all. I was pretty happy getting a signal I could stream on without the booster and directional antenna. I went to sleep my first night by the hum of a big truck motor. I woke the next morning alone ready to hit the road again.
From there my next stop was Albuquerque, N.M. for a quick stop to pick up a 435w solar panel to mount on the truc and then on to San Antonio, N.M that same day. It didn't work out very quick as the building the panels were stored in was locked for the holiday and I spent the night in its locked store yard. I had a key to get out if I wanted but instead I made dinner, tested the hotspots and played on the internet or streamed the rest of the night. I had all of the services being in a big city, Sprint was wicked fast so I used it. The next morning I cleaned up, ate, bought the panel and headed out. I kind of wish I had bought more of those panels because I have never seen them for sale again. Next stop is San Antonio, N.M.
First let me say that there is a big difference between boondocking out in the wild for a week or two and doing it full-time. When we use to go for short periods we would load up, fill the water and take off. On the way home the trash went into our trash can at home. The waste tanks were dumped into the RV dump in the storage lot. The dirty laundry went into our washing machine and the next trip was just a trip to the grocery store away which was just down the street. We could decide to go and be on the road in a hour and within the same time frame you would not have known we had been gone once we were home.
Now even though I have added capacity to some area of the rig, it is still the same one we used in the Rockies for 6 years. The difference is it is just me and I have rarely been in my beloved Rockies. Every new place I go I have to find out where to get food, water, propane, mail. Where to dump the tanks and do laundry. Even where to get my puppy taken care of. I will move in two weeks and start the whole process over again. It will get easier as I return to some of the areas next year following a path of good weather, I know this. Right now it is part of not only the learning process but comfort level adjustment as well. Dealing with mail was a biggy and still is.
I spent New years eve not as planned, all packed up and resting with one last nice dinner with the other half. Instead I was running around the house sorting, packing and looking things up when the back said no more. I think I would have been doing the same if I had stayed another month, it just never ended. I pushed back the grocery until the morning of the New years and focused on getting everything into the trailer sitting out front. A few last minute things the next morning, a run to the grocery ad I finally hit the road at 1 pm. I knew I needed to make Raton pass on the Colorado/New Mexico boarder by nightfall as there was a winter storm moving in. I was a beautiful sunny day except the wind was lane changing at times. As a head wind it slowed me to 50 Mph and cut my gas millage to the point that I nearly ran out on the way to Trinidad. The one station I tried to stop at was closed, luckily I had the 2 gallon gas can filled for the generator and added that to the tank at the rest stop before Trinidad. Since then the policy is to start looking as soon as the tank hits half full. This has benefited me over and over in my travels as there is not always a gas station where you would think there is one.
I made the rest stop after Raton pass around sunset. It is on the high plain with some historic markers among the usual bathrooms and such. It was pretty cold so I fired up the furnace, then had a hamburger patty and ravioli for my first dinner on the road. I checked all of the hotspots to find T-Mobile was wicked fast, Verizon had a weak signal, AT&T was good and Sprint showed no signal at all. I was pretty happy getting a signal I could stream on without the booster and directional antenna. I went to sleep my first night by the hum of a big truck motor. I woke the next morning alone ready to hit the road again.
From there my next stop was Albuquerque, N.M. for a quick stop to pick up a 435w solar panel to mount on the truc and then on to San Antonio, N.M that same day. It didn't work out very quick as the building the panels were stored in was locked for the holiday and I spent the night in its locked store yard. I had a key to get out if I wanted but instead I made dinner, tested the hotspots and played on the internet or streamed the rest of the night. I had all of the services being in a big city, Sprint was wicked fast so I used it. The next morning I cleaned up, ate, bought the panel and headed out. I kind of wish I had bought more of those panels because I have never seen them for sale again. Next stop is San Antonio, N.M.
Friday, December 23, 2016
It's been a while since I've been here as we were not able to go boondocking due to health, work and family issues. Other changes include we became me and I retired. Starting 1/1/17 the trip will not be a week or two, it is for good. I point the nose south and will attend two rallies in Quartzsite then who knows.
That's right, this is not a drill. Time for the the rig to prove itself worthy of its design. I bet it can.
I had help getting the three 250w panels on the roof after I mounted the feet. It took a deep breath to start putting holes in the roof, once started I ended up putting 49 holes in it all together.
Currently they are ran in series through a modified PVC conduit fitting that will accommodate the 1/0 welding wire when I go parallel. That was a 1/2 inch hole to drill and required several deep breaths.
The three 157 pound, 225 Ah Lifeline AGM batteries are in a custom box where one of the dinette seats use to be. This placed the batteries over a axle where it doesn't affect the tongue weight. They are wired in parallel with 1/0 cables using a 16 on crimper to put the terminal ends on.
The controller is on the wall behind the batteries making for a very short run between them. The Tripp-lite 1250fc inverter is in the storage bay below the controller.
You can see the Blue sea switches for the controller and inverter, there are two more for the trailer supply line and solar feed from the panels. The fusing is Blue sea terminal fuse blocks. A 60a for each the controller and house supply. 200 amp for the inverter. (inverter is not connected in this photo.)
Also I had the air conditioner removed from the roof and the axles flipped. This gave me more room up top for the panels, more clearance below for rougher roads. The A/C was traded straight up for a fantastic fan and it is indeed fantastic.
I also had a new awning fabric and a power jack installed. The nice thing about pulling the battery off the tongue is now I can try to mount a 800w inverter generator up there in case of emergencies. It was on sale at Home Depot for $158 and I couldn't pass it up.
Getting rid of the dinette seats means a loss of seating and storage. A cushion fits on the battery box if needed and the open floor space will allow me to use more comfortable seating as in my anti-grav chair or a rolling office chair. It also gives me a large area to put things while I travel instead of filling the walk way. The bare area of floor shows how much area the dinette took up.
There is still more to be done but it will have to be done on the road as I am out of time. I had to start packing and making the changes in banking, address, insurances, etc. I hope to have the packing up of my stuff done this weekend and then it's on to packing up the trailer.
I got a Amazon Prime membership for the free two day shipping, it has been a godsend getting things here in time. Certainly worth it seeing that two fuses was going to cost a extra $50 to get here on time.
I did get a storage unit for things that I am not ready to get rid of yet. My RC airplane collection did not sell and I am glad. I had a birth defect corrected in my left eye and I will be able to see them again. The unit became even more important when I noticed tools growing feet. In one day they were packed up and safe. My first order of business on the road will be to sort them out and reduce.
Looking forward to departure I have been watching the forecast for a few reasons. First of course is safe driving. Second is if it will be too cold to operate the propane refrigerator. They don't like temperatures under 20 F. I may end up dewinterizing the lines and buying my food once I get to where it is warm enough for both.
8 days and counting.
That's right, this is not a drill. Time for the the rig to prove itself worthy of its design. I bet it can.
I had help getting the three 250w panels on the roof after I mounted the feet. It took a deep breath to start putting holes in the roof, once started I ended up putting 49 holes in it all together.
The three 157 pound, 225 Ah Lifeline AGM batteries are in a custom box where one of the dinette seats use to be. This placed the batteries over a axle where it doesn't affect the tongue weight. They are wired in parallel with 1/0 cables using a 16 on crimper to put the terminal ends on.
You can see the Blue sea switches for the controller and inverter, there are two more for the trailer supply line and solar feed from the panels. The fusing is Blue sea terminal fuse blocks. A 60a for each the controller and house supply. 200 amp for the inverter. (inverter is not connected in this photo.)
Also I had the air conditioner removed from the roof and the axles flipped. This gave me more room up top for the panels, more clearance below for rougher roads. The A/C was traded straight up for a fantastic fan and it is indeed fantastic.
Getting rid of the dinette seats means a loss of seating and storage. A cushion fits on the battery box if needed and the open floor space will allow me to use more comfortable seating as in my anti-grav chair or a rolling office chair. It also gives me a large area to put things while I travel instead of filling the walk way. The bare area of floor shows how much area the dinette took up.
There is still more to be done but it will have to be done on the road as I am out of time. I had to start packing and making the changes in banking, address, insurances, etc. I hope to have the packing up of my stuff done this weekend and then it's on to packing up the trailer.
I got a Amazon Prime membership for the free two day shipping, it has been a godsend getting things here in time. Certainly worth it seeing that two fuses was going to cost a extra $50 to get here on time.
I did get a storage unit for things that I am not ready to get rid of yet. My RC airplane collection did not sell and I am glad. I had a birth defect corrected in my left eye and I will be able to see them again. The unit became even more important when I noticed tools growing feet. In one day they were packed up and safe. My first order of business on the road will be to sort them out and reduce.
Looking forward to departure I have been watching the forecast for a few reasons. First of course is safe driving. Second is if it will be too cold to operate the propane refrigerator. They don't like temperatures under 20 F. I may end up dewinterizing the lines and buying my food once I get to where it is warm enough for both.
8 days and counting.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Wilson Sleek signal booster
Now that I have all four carriers it is time to optimize the signal I get. I know that up in the mountains will be a challenge but even here at home it can be a pain getting a decent signal. The towers are either distant or shielded by buildings and high power lines. There is also a lot of congestion due to a large neighborhood and three expressways near us. On their own the devices function but can be slow at times, occasionally getting knocked off completely even though it shows a signal.
Enter the Wilson Sleek cradle booster that was $109 including shipping on ebay. It is a refurbished, discontinued model that covers the same bands as the newer more expensive WeBoost units.
It showed up right before rush hour so I was able to test it in the worst of times. The improvements were not huge but it did improve things.
On TMO it gave full bars, lowered the dBm and kept the device online through rush hour. Switch it to 4G and it will even stream.
The Verizon 3G got a full signal, a lower dBm and it's speed double from pitiful to not so pitiful.
On Sprint it says it doesn't cover the high speed band 41 but I have seen the dBm change as I pulled the device from the cradle. It is either boosting it or the mere connect to the antenna is. It does boost the other two LTE bands as well as 3G and while the signal doesn't look like much, it is usable with just one bar.
On Cricket it lowered my dBm, raised the signal but being capped, the speed never goes above 8 Mbps.
So for $109 it really does improve your signal. it wont take a pitiful signal and turn it into full speed, nor will it create a signal where there is none. It is just being able to use a weak signal that matters, especially up in the mountains.
The improvement during off peak hours was wonderful. Streaming became easy on all of the devices.
Next is to find a directional antenna to improve things even more.
Enter the Wilson Sleek cradle booster that was $109 including shipping on ebay. It is a refurbished, discontinued model that covers the same bands as the newer more expensive WeBoost units.
It showed up right before rush hour so I was able to test it in the worst of times. The improvements were not huge but it did improve things.
On TMO it gave full bars, lowered the dBm and kept the device online through rush hour. Switch it to 4G and it will even stream.
The Verizon 3G got a full signal, a lower dBm and it's speed double from pitiful to not so pitiful.
On Sprint it says it doesn't cover the high speed band 41 but I have seen the dBm change as I pulled the device from the cradle. It is either boosting it or the mere connect to the antenna is. It does boost the other two LTE bands as well as 3G and while the signal doesn't look like much, it is usable with just one bar.
On Cricket it lowered my dBm, raised the signal but being capped, the speed never goes above 8 Mbps.
So for $109 it really does improve your signal. it wont take a pitiful signal and turn it into full speed, nor will it create a signal where there is none. It is just being able to use a weak signal that matters, especially up in the mountains.
The improvement during off peak hours was wonderful. Streaming became easy on all of the devices.
Next is to find a directional antenna to improve things even more.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Unlimited Verizon 3G hotspot for $5 a month.
The last feather in my multi carrier cap was Verizon, the carrier with the best coverage and highest rates. I was drooling over unlimited grandfather unlimited Verizon plans on ebay when I happened along several sellers on flashed hotspots that cost $5 a month for unlimited Verizon but 3G only. For me 3G is fine as it is what Verizon has in the mountains where were camp.
The unit I picked up was a Verizon MiFi 4510 for $84.99 and then also a MiFi 4620 for my mother in law.. They both work well and pick up signal where my Sprint, T-mobile and Cricket devices will not. Verison 3G is faster than Sprint and TMO 3G and in speed test show between 1 and 2 Mbps, easily enough for low res streaming and most other applications.
with each hotspot I received two pages with the info and how to pay for it.
You can find the flashed hotspots by simply searching Verizon unlimited 3G on ebay. The seller I used seems to be having some issues so I have no one seller to suggest.
I did have to re up the sevice this month and it was pretty simple. I had the option of using a $5 prepaid card or paying the $5 on a credit card that I did for convenience. $10 won't get you two months, it's one month at a time.
The unit I picked up was a Verizon MiFi 4510 for $84.99 and then also a MiFi 4620 for my mother in law.. They both work well and pick up signal where my Sprint, T-mobile and Cricket devices will not. Verison 3G is faster than Sprint and TMO 3G and in speed test show between 1 and 2 Mbps, easily enough for low res streaming and most other applications.
with each hotspot I received two pages with the info and how to pay for it.
You can find the flashed hotspots by simply searching Verizon unlimited 3G on ebay. The seller I used seems to be having some issues so I have no one seller to suggest.
I did have to re up the sevice this month and it was pretty simple. I had the option of using a $5 prepaid card or paying the $5 on a credit card that I did for convenience. $10 won't get you two months, it's one month at a time.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Internet on the road
So you my be wondering why I have been posting about all of these cell services. While it would be easiest to find a unlimited AT&T or Verizon plan and be done with it, those plans are expensive and have their own limitations. My plan is to have a little something on each carrier so that if there is a connection to be had, one of the devices will get it. Be the device that gets the signal or be the fastest at any given location and you will be lavished in extra data while we are there. Otherwise you will sit in the drawer until needed.
Now having something on each carrier can be expensive. That's why the services I use are not the all mighty unlimited plans. I call it affordable versatility.
On AT&T I have my Cricket Phone with 10 gigs of high speed and then unlimited 2G afterwards. It's my main phone as AT&T has good service here. Up in the mountains it is 2G in the mornings and TnT all of the time. This plan cost me $65 a month on auto pay with the use of the hotspot.
FreedomPop and Ringplus are my free Sprint solutions. After buying the devices there is no monthly cost. I get a gig of data on each the Freedompop hotspot and RingPlus phone. Sprint is the weakest of the big four but if their signal is best, you can get some blazing speeds out of them.
4gas is my T-Mobile solution and while not free, at $19.71 a month for 5 gigs is a affordable solution for T-Mobile. ( $17 a month for service, the rest in fees)It also includes Binge on for free watching of the services listed, most are pay services though. T-mobile says they cover the southern half of our boondocking areas, I really hope to get a band 12 4G signal up there.
Up there you may get service from one carrier on one side of the ridge and another on the other side. This also happens at times from one side of a sky scrapper to the other downtown.
Honey also has a Cricket phone so before we hit the road, one of them will be switched to a Verizon account so that we have all four carriers.
So for me it's 17 gigs of data and two phones for $85 a month. At home we get service from all of the carriers so I will combine them to make it possible to kill off the xfinity internet. I thought I needed the unlimited high speed until I started paying attention to how much data I really use. In reality 17 gigs is more than enough for cruising the forums, checking emails, playing pogo games and even occasional streaming of a hockey game.
So that's Jimmys get online anywhere plan.
Now having something on each carrier can be expensive. That's why the services I use are not the all mighty unlimited plans. I call it affordable versatility.
On AT&T I have my Cricket Phone with 10 gigs of high speed and then unlimited 2G afterwards. It's my main phone as AT&T has good service here. Up in the mountains it is 2G in the mornings and TnT all of the time. This plan cost me $65 a month on auto pay with the use of the hotspot.
FreedomPop and Ringplus are my free Sprint solutions. After buying the devices there is no monthly cost. I get a gig of data on each the Freedompop hotspot and RingPlus phone. Sprint is the weakest of the big four but if their signal is best, you can get some blazing speeds out of them.
4gas is my T-Mobile solution and while not free, at $19.71 a month for 5 gigs is a affordable solution for T-Mobile. ( $17 a month for service, the rest in fees)It also includes Binge on for free watching of the services listed, most are pay services though. T-mobile says they cover the southern half of our boondocking areas, I really hope to get a band 12 4G signal up there.
Up there you may get service from one carrier on one side of the ridge and another on the other side. This also happens at times from one side of a sky scrapper to the other downtown.
Honey also has a Cricket phone so before we hit the road, one of them will be switched to a Verizon account so that we have all four carriers.
So for me it's 17 gigs of data and two phones for $85 a month. At home we get service from all of the carriers so I will combine them to make it possible to kill off the xfinity internet. I thought I needed the unlimited high speed until I started paying attention to how much data I really use. In reality 17 gigs is more than enough for cruising the forums, checking emails, playing pogo games and even occasional streaming of a hockey game.
So that's Jimmys get online anywhere plan.
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