RV

Wireless Networking for RV

Living full time in an RV brings many challenges.  The toughest is how to connect to the internet.  Options exist and I am not going to go into those in much details as there are several links to describe this such as the excellent Mobile Internet Options article on Technomads. The obvious solutions like phones, air cards, and hot spots provide a method to get the information highway.  However, bandwidth and cost go together so they do not necessarily work, or should be reserved for times where there are no other options.

Wi-Fi is the holy grail of bandwidth and freedom – if you don’t have to pay for it.  So, I went seeking solutions and came

across this series of articles on Dick Eastman’s RV site:

How to Build a Long-Range Wi-Fi System – Part #1

How to Build a Long-Range Wi-Fi System – Part #2

How to Build a Long-Range Wi-Fi System – Part #3

Follow-up: How to Build a Long-Range Wi-Fi System: Configuring the Outdoor Access Point

This can be done! However, it takes a little know how, research, and simplification.

Mounting my access point was easy.  I bought the access point from Amazon as described in the column and mounted it on my RV using a 10 foot piece of conduit with tie straps.  Not the best for moving around, but it did accomplish the immediate need.

the way to think through how this will work is as follows:

 

[RV Park Internet] -> [TP Link on a mast (primary router)] -> [Your wireless acccess point (slave)]

You must know the network SSID for the open network you are connecting to.  I use my phone or computer to find this

Next – for first time configuration of the TP Link, plug in a cable as described in the prior articles.  The things you MUST KNOW:

• Make sure you set the TP Link to “AP Client Mode”
• Change the IP address of the TP Link to 192.168.1.1 from 192.168.1.254
  • this setting is under “LAN”, not “WAN”
• Under “WAN” I made no changes
• Doing a survey will find the best connection
  • You don’t have to enter the SSID name because a survey will find it
  • You can move the antenna to the 12, 3, 6, 9 O’Clock positions and survey again to find better signals
• Each time you use the TP Link you will need to correctly enter the SSID of the wireless network to which you are connecting
• IMPORTANT!!
  • Enable DHCP
  • Set the address range to start at 192.168.1.3
    • This will be one above the range for the slave router

Now we must setup the slave. Disconnect the TP Link after making all changes, rebooting, and verifying you can connect to the internet with your laptop connected.  After disconnecting, connect your wireless access point secondary (slave) router with a cable to your

computer. I will assume you have correctly configured wireless access and passwords.  Type the IP address and log in.  Make sure to make the following changes:

• Under internet setup you want automatic DHCP — this is because the TP Link will ASSIGN the IP addresses
• Under network setup where you can set an IP address for the router change the value to 192.168.1.2
• Under DHCP Server Setting, select “DISABLED” this is because the TP Link will be our Router
• Save the settings

The last step is where I went awry for a while, so here we go:

1. Unplug power to everything (clean start)
2. Unplug the ethernet cables from the computer
3. Take the LAN cable from the TP Link primary and plug it into a LAN port on the slave
   1. DO NOT plug it into the WAN port
   2. I recommend position 1 but it does not matter
4. Plug an ethernet cable into position 2 of the LAN of the Slave
5. Plug the ethernet cable from the slave into your computer
6. Plug in the TP Link power cable
7. Wait 30 seconds (let it connect)
8. Plug in power to your Slave router
9. Reboot your computer

When the computer comes back on everything should work.

I recommend this site for more troubleshooting help

It was another great day in the RV today. Everything went better than expected and the weather was perfect.  I have felt time slow down, allowing me to be more productive.  As a family we are far more engaged with each other, especially with no television.  Sharing

180 square feet pushes our relationships closer, or sometimes to the brink of bickering.  However, we have all gotten along with no issues.

I think most people wonder is, “what’s daily life like versus in an RV versus a full size home?”  There are changes: no yard, no garage, no closets, no dishwasher, minimal hot water, and small space.  On the other hand, everything has a place and efficiency, combined with conservationism, rules the day.  I also find myself outside much more due to the weather and, more importantly, a need for some space.  RVs come in all sizes: from 10 foot scamps, pop-ups, to Class C’s and Fifth-wheels.  Each vehicle has its own mission.  Regardless, RV life is about a lifestyle.

What’s different and the same versus a house?  We have heat and air conditioning.  We have running water, a toilet, and a shower – probably no worse than found in a cheap European motel.  However, I limit my use.  For instance I use the bathroom in the morning to brush my teeth because it’s better to use the public restrooms.  The shower pressure is higher and there is an unlimited supply of hot water.  If it’s raining, I’ll shower in the RV, otherwise a walk in the cool, crisp morning is rewarded with a better shower experience.   The bathroom is somewhat similar; the onboard lav is best for
small, liquid jobs whereas a walk to the public facilities for “the big jobs” is much more rewarding.

RV parks supply water, cable, and internet.  On the downside there can be difficulty picking up wireless internet.  I have solved the problem via a hotspot on my phone.  These are bills eliminated from daily life.  Many RVers have satellite dishes.  However, to us television is a time waster and has no value other than entertainment to watch a family movie or documentary. Thus, we are best served by Hulu+ and Netflix.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the RV lifestyle is being outdoors.  We take walks and James rides his bike.  It is fun to walk the RV Park observing how others live.  What you do see here is a lot of friendly people.  Almost everyone has some lights hung outside, lawn chairs, canopies, and grills.

Yesterday I met our neighbors when asked if we were from Texas (we have Texas tags on our car).  I explained we were relocating.  She then asked how long we planned to stay.  The honest answer was, “I don’t know.”  I did explain we are moving to New Smyrna Beach’s Sugar Mill Ruins on Sunday.  She then shared they sold everything when they retired and went full-time. From Columbus, Ohio they come to Florida for the winters. Several years later they have bought a small house as a home base, but she prefers the RV life.

As I have answered questions from friends this week I have heard both laughter and curiosity. The common question is, “why live in our RV rather than move to a hotel or apartment?” My short answer, “Because we can.”  LeeAnn and I over the last four years have had numerous adventures: selling everything, moving to our cabin in Georgia, living in an apartment in Dallas, and now trying the RV life.  Each adventure is one most people talk about – we are executing.

We are here!  Today is day 4 of life in the RV.  A week ago today we were moving, the crew carried all of our furniture down three flights of stairs and loaded the Penske truck.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent making the 1179 mile drive from Dallas to Port Orange, FL.  The only issue was the lack of a key for the truck when I picked it up Thursday morning.  Of course, a short Dallas hail storm and severe rain came through while loading too.

Saturday afternoon we unloaded the truck with help from my kids: Haley, Marcella, and Jack.  We are happy to be united again as a family.  It is amazing it has been four years since we were together.  Finally, we are reunited and can spend time as a family.  Saturday and Sunday night we had to stay in Orlando due to lack of space availability in the Daytona Beach area (the Daytona 500 was underway).

Monday morning was a scramble – breakfast, pack, get to the storage unit to get clothes for my travels, and finally get to the RV.  We moved the RV from Sugar Mill Campground in New Smyrna Beach to the Clark Family Campground in Orange City, FL.  Since another event in Daytona is underway there remains no space…  We quickly setup and I unpacked a few items.  The only concern was making sure the power was running and the water was hooked up.  Disgustingly, I discovered the sewer hose had dry rotted and used duct tape to make some fast, instant repairs.  With confidence from LeeAnn all was OK we hit the road to go get the Jeep (in NSB) and I had to get to Miami.

Now the fun started…Monday night I got a call that the power was not working. LeeAnn did her best to explain what was going on: rain, sizzling, smoke, lights flickering, alarms going off, A/C not working.  We tried to troubleshoot the problem but from 300 miles away it was impossible.  She unplugged the outside power and went to bed — of course her phone was dead and I now had no way to get a hold of her.  The next morning all was OK and the power worked magically when plugged in.  go figure.

Checking the weather I knew crazy horrible storms were headed her way and called to let her know.  Finally around 1p she texted it was raining hard — and the roof was leaking!!!  A pot on the couch took care of that problem.

Tuesday night I got back from Miami and we settled in.  We truly settled, discussing how comfortable and relaxing the RV is.  We have had the “Beast” for four years and love it.  The mattresses have all been replaced, we painted and renovated the inside with new upholstery and floors.  It is like home and having it this long truly adds to the familiarity.  James has also taken to sleeping up top on the full size bed — which is where we want him.

Our conversations turned toward how long we can stay here – a month, three months, a year?  The longer we can stay the more we can put or fiscal house in order – incentivized by the book “America’s Cheapest Family“.  LeeAnn had seen a great link on Yahoo about living on the cheap.  I continue to believe the Great Recession is upon us and the more we can do to remain frugal the better our future.

Yesterday was amazing.  The windows were open, the breeze blowing, and the weather a perfect 74 degrees.  I managed to sit on our bed in the rear and work.  Peacefully, work. LeeAnn and I stored the rest of our belongings and finalized settling in.  The awning is out, lights hung, chairs on the porch.

Sunday is moving day again and we will make our trek back to New Smyrna.  We will be there for a month and can truly start to find a routine.

This morning we turned on the heat and the percolator brewed a perfect cup of coffee.  The boys are up and the sun is shining through the windows.

RV Living

Life throws us a lot of curveballs. I’m in the middle of moving from Dallas to Florida, my third move to Florida in my life.  My first move to Florida was in 1985 for college, the second 1998 to live at the beach and again now in 2013 to restart a life with my children. It is crazy to consider in 1985 I had all my possessions in the back of my Volkswagen.  In 1998 I had a full-size U-Haul moving van pulling a car and my wife driving another car.

I wanted to start documenting our next live adventure – living in a motorhome.  For this move there are too many unknowns in our life.  However, we needed to re-unite our family: a promise I made to Haley, Marcella, and Jack four years ago when I was relentlessly pursued and force to leave Florida due to craziness. Finally, nearly four years later we are able to come back to our children.  The most difficult part of this move is we have nowhere to live.  I didn’t want to rent an apartment and have to move again in a few months.  My wife is seeking work and James will start kindergarten in the fall.  Thus, we want to be selective as to where we finally plant roots.  In addition, Florida has what is probably the worst economy in the entire country driving a healthy foreclosure market.  Thus, if we decide to buy a home I believe we can be very biased in our selection.

To make this work we have made a decision to live in our motorhome the next three to six months! This will allow LeeAnn to find a job, us to find a house, and we can focus on a good school for James. The challenge will be sharing a small space.  Our motorhome is a 32 foot class C with a slide.  This means we will live in about 180 ft².  This is an experiment in lifestyle challenge showing less is more.  As Americans we live excessively.  In America we see our homes as an extension of our personality, like a badge of honor upon our sleeve allowing us to brag to our friends about our success. The irony: we go to work, come home, close the garage door and never walk out on the street.  Typically we don’t know our next-door neighbor.

The RV lifestyle on the other hand is quite different as we all typically share common areas, community bathrooms, and the community laundry room.  Is it glamorous?  No, but it will be an adventure.

I may be writing in a few weeks about how difficult this journey.  Full-time living is far different than the adventures we have taken in the past.  Our RV has traveled to Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, and New York.  We have taken the kids to Washington DC in it.  Two summers ago I took them to Alabama for a week.  I have used it with friends to attend the Petit LeMans.  I have previously brought it to Florida and to be with Haley, Marcella, and Jack.   This past summer we drove to Texas expecting to vacation in it.  Since buying it four years ago we have had many vacations.  Now it’s not just a tool for vacation, but it’s a place to call home.