Two Guys RVing Full-time

[Blake]

My friend and I decided that, at this point in our life, we wanted to spend some years travelling around. We are going to be buying an RV and making money at Art Festivals and Craft Shows. (Along with photography, etc.) My question is:

Does any Full-timers have regular internet access , other than dial-up, that is reliable and cost-effective?

 

[hertig]

Two Guys RVing Full-time

Depends on where you are staying. Some campgrounds have WIFI available free or at reasonable cost. Some have it but charge way too much. Some will rent you a phone line (the dial-up you mentioned). Many don't have any access, or highly limited (just enough to check email).

The alternative is a satallite based system. Reliable, I think, but probably not 'cost effective'. Initial cost will probably be in the $2000 to $5000 range, and monthly charges in the $75 to $150 range.

 

[Kirk]

Two Guys RVing Full-time

quoteoes any Full-timers have regular internet access , other than dial-up, that is reliable and cost-effective?
The answer to that question is, yes we do.

There are several ways to have reliable internet access. Wireless is getting better in terms of availability, but it is very far from everywhere. And it usually costs a significant amount. You can find hot spots at many truck stops, some RV parks, a few states are putting them in rest areas, and such. But you won't have that if you go to the state parks and such. A better approach is to get one of the "air cards" from one of the cell phone companies. The air card is a device that plugs into the computer much like a wireless card but that accesses the internet directly from the card and does not use your cell phone. This is a fairly new service and costs are variable so check with several cell carriers.

The best, and most reliable way to have internet access is to get a dish for it. You can get one of the automation dish systems for either Direc Way (the DataStorm) or for Starband. The catch is that they cost about $4500 plus about $1000 for install and the monthly service is $100 per month. Another way that is less convenient but also less costly is to get a dish that is tripod mounted and that you move and set up. These cost from about $800 to about $2000, depending upon the system and who you get it from. Direc Way does not support these self moved dishes, but there are dealers who sell them such that the company does not recognize that they are being moved and to date that seems to be working. Another alternative is to get a dish from the Starband program for such use, called the Manual Flyer program. This system takes a little more effort as they train you as an installer and it costs a bit more for equipment because of the installer required meter, but it is supported by Starband and I find that it does work well. From DirecWay these dishes cost $60 or $80 per month and from Starband $55 & $75/month. It takes about 20 to 30 min. to set up one of these dishes and get on line, but they work very well and most users are very happy with them.