hello

[rb56]

new kid on the block and a good one too...i don't even have an rv. so...i'm here to ask a lot of questions. i will be selling my home and leaving it in about a month. my income limits me to purchasing a used rv. i've pulled my dad's with his pickup and suburban and he had two. a 24' nomad and later a 27' terry travel trailer. both trailered fine with both vehicles. it seems to be a larger selection of 5th wheels available at places than travel. i own a 99 ford f150 xtended cab 1/2 ton 4x4 equipped with tow package. i know both have pros and cons and not a big issue.
now for the small stuff...internet, i have a desktop i'll use, my tv is with dish and have spoke to them taking care of that but they don't offer net for rv's. so who is the best to go with? my name is ronny and i thank you for having me...if i have place this wrongfully just direct me please.

[CincyGus]

Ronny,

You might want to see if you can get a laptop for traveling. Would be a lot easier as far as use, not having to setup. Maybe you can trade your desktop to someone with a laptop or sell and purchase one either new or used. The reason I suggest this is there are many places you can get internet access and portability to get to them is a key. You have the restaurants, Libraries, coffee shops, malls, Downtown public area's, and some campgrounds. Many campgrounds have access but depending on the size of the campground, you may be a significant distance from the antenna and get a poor sgnal. Having a laptop many times allows you to walk down to the store, check in office or pool and hang out where the signinal is very strong and use it with much less frustration.

Another option is to get a directional external antenna that you can mount on your TT,get high into the air, improving line of sight and you can plug into your laptop. Pointing this towards the signal often increases the signal strength from 0-2 bars to something much more usable.

Good luck in your travels and adventure. Sounds fun!

[doxiemom11]

Check out Millenicom for internet. We have had it for 2 years and have had service every place we have been including remote areas. (So far)

[rb56]

hello everyone and thanks for the info from all of you. yes, i have the tv covered with dish, i'll use my home receiver i have now and buy a tripod dish. they have dish.net now just not for rv's yet. i felt like the TT was best for me since my truck is older. still in good shape but the miles are stacking up with harder miles to come. i plan to stay in arkansas, some here on the texas state line where i live and some seasonal trips to central arkansas. i drove a truck before but not cross country. it was mostly trips of 350 miles or less. i've pulled a jon boat behind me since i was about 14 and as i mentioned my dad had two TT's and i know some about towing. one thing is what could've gone wrong, the chances now double and slow and safe is a must. plus there's always the idiot factor when you get on a highway and find out his family is traveling too. i can see the simplicity and low cost of a plan with cell carrier, i'd basically buy a plan to run devices on i believe? it has a limit on usage and plans differ. i guess combining it with wifi at parks or places with it at no charge may keep from busting the amount of usage. i'm online a lot and this has been a worry as i don't know how well a desktop would run on a cell network. thanks again for the help and i will be in and out as i know i'll have more to pick brains with.

[Eycom]

Ronny... you'll have several internet options on the road. Satellite will provide you with a connection anywhere, provided you have a clear line of site to the bird in the sky. Setup costs can vary from around $1,500 on up, plus a monthly usage fee and due to the distance the signal has to travel, it isn't the quickest.

An "air card" from one of the major carriers, ie. ATT, Verizon, and Sprint have become very popular with RVers due to the low initial costs and increased proliferation of cell towers. There has been very few places where I couldn't get a signal in the east. A "MiFi" card can be used to connect multiple devices to the net at the same time. Cost is around $50/mo for 5G of data with a two year commitment. I'm amazed at how quickly Verizon is upgrading their towers to 4G capability providing broadband speed. You can also purchase a plan from Millenicom, a reseller, that offers 20G of 3G/4G service for $70/mo.

Finally, you can find many commercial RV parks that offer WiFi to their customers. Some figure the service into their nightly rate and some charge extra. I've found their services to be marginal at best. You won't find many public parks that offer it.

As far as a 99 F-150 4x4 for a tow vehicle, think travel trailer. You can tow more than you can haul. The carrying capacity of your truck limits you to the smallest of 5ers, like a Scamp. The pin weight on a 5er runs about 20% of it's GVWR when loaded, ready to camp. Good luck and travel safe.

[robsouth]

prier5 wrote:
Not sure who you spoke to but we have a portable dish and Dish that we activate when on trips. There program allows you to activate and stop anytime and only charge you when use it. direct has a similar plan. You may also want to check into a booster for your computer connections, we use a version booster.

I believe he said that Dish had him covered for TV. He was inquiring about internet (net) service, which as far as I know Dish does not offer. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tachdriver]

post edited

[prier5]

Not sure who you spoke to but we have a portable dish and Dish that we activate when on trips. There program allows you to activate and stop anytime and only charge you when use it. direct has a similar plan. You may also want to check into a booster for your computer connections, we use a version booster.

[Tachdriver]

Welcome to the forums, you will find a lot of good information and people here.