This post may contain affiliate links which means I may make a commission from purchases made through links. I will only recommend products I have personally used!
I have a job that’s a delightful cocktail of marketing and sales support, shaken, not stirred.
I work for a fabulous Fortune 500 company that’s so global, even my emails have jet lag. For the past five years, I’ve been a full-time remote worker, which means my office attire is a stylish blend of pajama chic and “business on top, party on the bottom.” Thanks to my salary and responsibilities, I am able to live full-time in an RV.
Who needs a corner office when you can have a corner of
Smith Lake, Alabama as your backdrop?
Even though I’m a veteran in the full-time work-from-home game, transitioning to having an office in an RV required serious trial and error. From inconsistent, sluggish internet to finding a comfy work setup that didn’t involve a yoga pose, it was a journey of trial, error, apologies, excuses, phone calls, and a few choice words.
Let’s not forget the investment—both in time and money—that went into making my mobile office dreams a reality. But hey, who could complain when the alternative was the gray-carpeted walls of a corporate cubicle slowly closing in on me (cue the theme song from The Twilight Zone)!
Let’s start with the basics: internet.
Internet
Without a strong, stable connection, I don’t have a job. Without a job, I don’t have a paycheck. Without a paycheck, I don’t have an RV. And without an RV… well, you get the picture. It’s a slippery slope from remote work to remote-less living!
My company is all-in on Microsoft 365, including Teams and OneDrive, which are notorious for their insatiable appetite for data and bandwidth. It’s like trying to feed a sumo wrestler with a single (vegan, of course!) sushi roll. Needless to say, I needed to ensure I had a reliable internet connection in the RV, and you had better believe I was willing to make a few sacrifices to the Wi-Fi gods to get it! (The Twilight Zone theme song, anyone?)
Unfortunately, my Winnebago did not come with a pre-installed system like a Winegard. For those not in the know, a Winegard is a high-performance router specifically designed for RVs. It acts as a central hub, connecting all your devices (phones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs) to the internet through WiFi or cellular networks. I can’t tell you much more than that.
A friend of mine lives full-time in a Thor and has a Winegard. She, too, runs the wheel of the corporate rat race. One morning, while I was pulling my hair because I was operating at speeds of 1kb/hour, I inquired about her Winegard. She merely shrugged and said, “It works.” I took that to mean, “It’s amazing and works so seamlessly I often forget that I am working in an RV and not in some newly constructed high-rise outfitted with the latest and greatest of all things Smart.”
Anyway, back to my story. Did I consider a Winegard? Yes. Did I get sticker shock? Absolutely (not so much because the Winegard is unreasonable, but the labor to have it installed professionally is mucho dinero). So, I put that option on the back burner. One, because I am no MacGyver. I was not about to start drilling holes into the roof of my RV. (I know little, but I do know that water is an RV’s nemesis, and I was not about to tempt that particular god.) And two, I wasn’t so uncomfortable (or threatened with losing my job) yet to fork out a few thousand dollars.
Holy smokes, is campground Wi-Fi unreliable!
Even with towers scattered around like confetti at a parade, the signal was about as stable as a Jenga tower in an earthquake. And the kicker? They often charge you for this shaky service! I quickly decided that paying for campground Wi-Fi was like throwing money into a black hole.
Next, I considered paying for a monthly internet service. The problem? I move around once a month. Starting and stopping service at every new destination felt as fun as trying to navigate the Winnie through a nightmare where all eighteen wheels of a semi-truck have suddenly come loose and are bouncing down the highway straight at me. So, I turned to a third option: the trusty mobile hotspot.
Problem número uno? My carrier only offered 30 GB of mobile hotspot data per month—barely enough to last a week. So, I looked into having a dedicated mobile hotspot device and paying for a second line and discovered I didn’t need to!
Lucky for me, Verizon had just launched a new add-on: 100 GB per month, in addition to the 30 GB offered in their Unlimited Plus plan. What does this look like? It means a single, $90/month (with my discounts) bill for both cell services and internet.
So, I bid ‘sayonara’ to my old carrier, AT&T,
and switched to Verizon.
With 130 GB of mobile hotspot data, I was ready to busy-bee my way up the corporate ladder—or so I thought. RVs are notorious for blocking cell signals, and I was parked in a campground surrounded by megalithic signal stoppers. This wasn’t going to work. Believe it or not, I ended up driving to the nearest safe parking lot to work from my car! Looking back, I can’t believe I did that. But desperate times, right? I had to work!
After a couple of months of this (and I’m embarrassed to admit it went on that long), I was burned out and needing any other solution (Winegard, here I come?).
After googling things like ‘boost mobile hotspot without turning my RV roof into Swiss cheese,’ I stumbled upon nifty gadgets designed specifically for RV living. These signal-boosting wonders claim to keep you connected, even when you’ve parked in a place where Wi-Fi feels like an urban legend.
After doing a ton of research and chatting with other campers on their experiences, I ended up investing in the weBoost Destination RV which I purchased off Amazon. Why?
1. Reviews claimed it works: Tons of people are very happy with their purchase. And, according to the company, their signal booster provides the highest boost level available for RVs.
2. The 24-foot telescoping tower: I was confident the signal was out there—I just needed to capture it in all its full-strength glory. When I learned the Destination kit included a 24-foot telescoping tower, I was certain it would be able to reach an unblocked cell tower, ensuring a strong, reliable broadcast inside the RV.
3. Easy (no-drilling!) installation: The 24-foot exterior directional antenna can be set up or taken down in just two minutes (seriously). The coax cables connect the exterior antenna to the interior booster by running through the slide. From there, the cable runs neatly along the top of the slide, threading through the bedroom walls, across the bathroom, and into the main room of the RV—seamless and perfect!
Note: The first installation took me about 45 minutes as I figured out the logistics. Now, the only thing I need to disassemble is the 24-foot tower. I simply telescope it down to its 4-foot stowaway size and tuck it into a compartment under the bus. Everything else stays put!
4. Price & Compatibility: The kit cost me just under $600. To be honest, I was a little hesitant to pay that much money. I thought I was gambling on something that might not actually deliver. I was wrong, and only wish I’d bought it on day one! It really does work and its compatible with all U.S. carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, so even guests who use other carriers find they have fabulous cell and internet service when inside my RV.
Now, before I bought my Destination kit on Amazon, I had a little misadventure with the weBoost Drive. What had happened was, I needed a booster ASAP and thought I was buying the weBoost Destination RV from Best Buy. In my rush, I didn’t realize I had picked up the wrong one until I was unpacking the box. It was a classic case of “right brand, wrong product.”
Here’s why the weBoost Drive didn’t cut it for my RV needs:
1. Power Supply: The weBoost Drive is designed for vehicles and uses a cigarette lighter for power. Constantly plugging and unplugging from the Winnie’s cigarette lighter was not a sustainable solution for a full-time RV setup.
2. Short Cables: The weBoost Drive comes with shorter cables, which are fine for a car but problematic for an RV. The limited length made it impossible to position the booster and antennas optimally within the larger space of an RV.
3. Tiny Outside Antenna: The weBoost Drive’s small, omnidirectional outside antenna is designed to magnetically attach to a vehicle’s roof. It didn’t reach above the ‘dead zone’ created by the RV’s structure. It was a no-go, especially with the short cables.
The RV Destination device works wonders. It not only increased the number of bars on my cell signal, but it also often allows me to connect to 5G and 5G Ultra Wideband where only 4G LTE would be trickling through the walls.
Installation was as easy as pie. I found it most practical to set up the tower in the rear driver’s side of the RV and run the external coax cable through the slide wall at that point.
From there, I ran the coax cable along the top of the slide. Since the entire driver’s side of my RV is one giant slide, it worked out perfectly to hide it away above the bed, through the bathroom, and down behind cabinets in the kitchen to where the inside antenna is mounted on the wall.
Thank you, hat.
of the wall slide.
The combination of changing cell carriers to have 130 GB of mobile hotspot data per month and the RV Destination Cell Signal booster solidified my ability to reliably work from my RV. No more driving to parking lots or struggling with weak signals—just reliable internet wherever I go.
Work Space
Thought you’d reached the end of the story, didn’t you? Here’s a fun fact:
RVs are not designed to accommodate someone
working on a laptop for 8-10 hours a day.
I tried everything. The booth dinette? My legs went numb in 20 minutes. The futon couch? More like a medieval torture device. The co-pilot’s chair with the built-in table? The table shook like I was riding through an earthquake every time I typed a sentence. And the driver’s seat with the removable side table? Let’s just say it was like trying to work at a child’s tea party. At this point, I’m convinced the RV is just laughing at me, whispering, “This is an adventure, right?”
I tried everything.
At this point, I’m convinced the RV is just laughing at me, whispering, “This is an adventure, right?”
I already had an inexpensive adjustable stand for my laptop, a portable adjustable aluminum laptop stand. I do love that thing and use it to this day to spend time working outside on the campground picnic tables.
Ultimately, though, I invested in a more official standing desk. Off Amazon, I bought the VIVO 26 inch Desk Converter. My only complaint is that I wish I could have bought a wider version. However, my booth dinette table where I have the standing desk is only 30″ wide, so I was limited to the 26″ size.
This desk converter has been a game-changer. It allows me to switch between sitting and standing, making those long workdays much more manageable. Now, I have a dedicated workspace that is both ergonomic and flexible, ensuring I stay comfortable and productive no matter where my RV adventures take me.
Looking Forward
I’m officially a full year into living full-time in my RV, and I’m still learning (obviously). The greatest frustration has been the lack of coverage nationwide by Verizon. Despite their marketing campaigns, the reality is they have areas of great coverage and areas of not-so-great coverage.
Talking to locals, it’s been my experience that where Verizon is crap, AT&T works great. This has held true for such areas as Plymouth, WI and Smith Lake, Alabama, where I had almost no cell service at all. In my travels, I haven’t heard much about T-Mobile but since I tend to stay in campgrounds in rural areas, that could be why; AT&T is known for having stronger rural coverage while T-Mobile is known for suburban and urban coverage.
As a result, I’ve been looking into a supplemental plan option, mostly for use during my bi-yearly trips to and from Florida and Wisconsin to ensure I have enough coverage to avoid slow internet frustrations. This way, I can switch between carriers depending on where I am, ensuring I stay connected and productive no matter where my travels take me, while still sticking to my ever-important budget.
After doing some research, what might end up working best for me with my Samsung Galaxy S22+ with dual SIM capabilities will be to either use a third-party app like Airalo ($42/20GB, Verizon/T-Mobile), Nomad ($53/20GB, AT&T/T-Mobile), Saily ($36.99/20GB, T-Mobile) or JetPac ($60/30GB, AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon), or an AT&T Prepaid plan ($45/30GB).
As spring approaches and I gear up for the next cross-country trip, I’ll review prices and make a final decision (and update this post when I do!).
Until then, here’s to staying connected on the road!