Wi-Fi prices at camp sites seem to vary from expensive to ridiculous. In an age where 4G data is £1 per GByte at an average of 50Mbytes per second (up to 100), paying £5 per day for a trickle of data which isn’t sufficient to stream Netflix is a bit of a joke. Admittedly, some of the camp sites in question have poor 4G signals if they have 4G at all, but there must be a better and more affordable solution.
After some research there seems to be 2 main solutions to motorhome wi-fi:
- Is the product based solution which involves having an antenna installed on the roof of the motorhome with a Wi-Fi router and data contract as a part of the package. From a customer point of view it’s simple, but it’s expensive and is generic.
- Is a bespoke solution designed and built to your own particular specification. In a basic configuration it’s less than one fifth of the price of the product based solution, but you can spend a great deal more depending on your requirements.
I decided to go with option 2 in the basic configuration of a 4G antenna, Huawei router and a Smarty pay as you go SIM. Total cost <£100 including the first months 4GBtyes of data.
Here are the key components
I started with the antenna. The one I selected is one normally used to supply 4G based wi-fi to a house where the property has no cabled broadband. It has 12 Dbi gain and is CAT4 so will operate at up to 150mbps. It is very light and comes with an aluminium bracket for fixing it to a wall or post. As I am a prime member I used Amazon to supply next day – you could probably find it cheaper. 4G LTE Antenna.
Rather than mounting on a post or tree, my idea was to use a suction mount. The ones used to hold small action cams to car panels are incredibly strong and not expensive. This one also came with a handy threaded mount that fitted the antenna bracket perfectly. Action Camera Suction Cup Mount.
Then the router. The main feature I needed was the ability to connect an external antenna. That limits the selection of affordable routers down to a handful. This one is totally unlocked so can be used an any network and allows connection of up to 32 devices. This is the main reason I went with this option. The product based solutions only allow 10 devices and are locked to a single network. HUAWEI B311, CAT 4, 2020-4G/ LTE 150 Mbps Mobile Wi-Fi Router.
Here’s how it went together
My motorhome has a rear lounge and this is where the majority of web surfing, music streaming and Tv streaming is done. Under the seating on the drivers side is the hot water boiler but there is more than enough space to install this router alongside it. There is also a 12v feed to a USB charging point in the same cavity.
The 12v USB charging point was connected using automotive spade connectors. It was a simple job to add a butterfly connector to each and wire in a 12v VCE power connector for the router. This meant that I no longer needed the 240v 3-pin mains adaptor and the added bonus that the router will run off battery power so can be used without a mains hook-up.
The router came with a Smarty SIM which I find just perfect for this type of use. It’s a no contract pay as you go SIM. You simply buy one month’s use with as much data as you think you need. If you run out you can top up online. The cheapest plan is £6 which gets you unlimited txt and calls for a month along with 4GBytes of data. At the end of the month – it stops – that simple. The next time you want to use it you simply buy another month. Perfect for our type motorhome use.
Installation is a matter of attaching the suction mount to the antenna, sticking the antenna to the outside of the motorhome somewhere, running the cable through an open window and connecting the antenna cable to the router. Not a tidy as a product based solution, but it doesn’t need to stop there. My Motorhome has an external aerial point, so with the aid of a SMA extension lead, the antenna can be connected to the external aerial point (just like an external satelite dish) and the extension cable runs from the inner side of the aerial point to the router. All under the rear seats and out of sight.
