Most people don’t even want to turn their smartphones on during their first RV adventures. This is an outdoor experience where you want to separate yourself from the busy office life or social media. However, if you use your RV often, you will realize that having access to good internet is essential, especially if you have an online business that requires your attention.
Whether you use your smartphone to create a Wi-Fi hotspot or have set up a router in your RV, the Wi-Fi signal is usually not powerful enough to ensure all your guests have access to the internet. On the bright side, improving your camper van’s Wi-Fi signal is not complicated. There are tips and tricks (that we will share today) and devices that can boost the Wi-Fi signal so that everyone at the campground has access.
There’s nothing more annoying than trying to access your email account while using slow Wi-Fi. Luckily, you don’t have to be tech-savvy or invest too much money in order to boost the Wi-Fi signal and coverage in camper vans.
In layman’s terms, a signal booster will amplify a weak Wi-Fi signal. The signal can come from both outside or inside the RV). Signal boosters are great for RV enthusiasts who love camping in the wild outdoors, where most of the time, there isn’t excellent cell tower coverage.
What’s great about signal boosters is the fact that they don’t only make your camper van Wi-Fi better. They also improve your smartphone’s connection with the cell tower. Thanks to this, you can make calls to your friends and family even when camping in remote places like the mountains. If you own a premium RV like the Grech Strada, you will have more than enough room to install the booster.
In general, a signal booster will improve the strength of your Wi-Fi by up to 32x. However, it’s important to highlight that signal boosters don’t create signals on their own. Therefore, you will need to have a Wi-Fi hotspot from your smartphone or a dedicated router.
Wi-Fi signals are higher on the radio frequency spectrum than AM, FM, and Cell bands. As a result of this, the Wi-Fi signal will be impacted if there are any barriers between the user and the source. Objects that can obstruct the line of sight are trees, buildings, and even other RVs that are parked between you and your camper van.
We should also mention that getting closer to the source will improve the signal power. If you are planning to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot provided by a camping ground, try and park as close as possible to the transmitter. If you are using a mobile hotspot or Wi-Fi router, it’s best to place your smartphone or laptop close to the RV.
Whether you are a fan of Elon Musk or not, it’s undeniable that he is behind some of the world’s most innovative technologies. Starlink is the perfect example of that. Starlink for Class B RVs is a new satellite internet service developed by SpaceX (Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company). The company has been building a network of satellites in the earth’s orbit, and they provide Starlink users with unlimited access to the internet wherever they might be.
Using Starlink is as simple as setting up the kit on the roof of your camper van. However, there are two downsides you need to consider. The service costs $135 per month. This is quite expensive, especially when you can get access to mobile internet for much less than that. In addition, Starlink is yet to be available all over the world. While you can get Starlink for RV in the US, it’s not available in Scandinavian countries, the Balkans, Turkey, or the Scottish Highlands.
Whether you need access to Wi-Fi to check business emails, post on your personal blog, or simply share pictures of your offroad adventures on social media, it’s essential for the Wi-Fi to provide a strong signal. You can use a signal booster to amplify the signal and coverage of the Wi-Fi. You can opt for SpaceX’s Starlink for RVs to have nonstop access to Wi-Fi, but if this is too expensive, you can clear the line of sight to ensure that you have fast internet.