Working From the Van

[Ktea]

Hi there - I am thinking more and more that I could equally be working from my van somwhere in the wilds of Wales as from my dining room table.

The challenge is though internet connection. Most of my work consists of small group work held over Zoom. This means I need a reasonable strong signal. This has been difficult to sought out.

Does anyone here have advice on how I might be able to obtain a reasonably strong 4g signal from my van?

Many thanks

Ktea

 

[RubyOptics]

Your best bet would be to get in contact with motorhome Wifi...if you become a member you can see all their reviews from members here

 

[SandraL]

Fitting a Permanent Broadband Antenna on the Roof

For the last couple of years I've used a Huawei E5577C Mifi with a Netgear Aircard antenna. This worked well but it wasn't very convenient to use - too many cables to get tangled up. The answer was to fit a permanent antenna on the roof of the van. After looking at what was available I chose a...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

This might help

 

[Potty]

If you have a smart phone you could use that as a hot-spot. Works for us.

 

[Badknee]

If you have a smart phone you could use that as a hot-spot. Works for us.

Yes us too, watch telly fine through it here in Spain.

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[mitzimad]

working from your van will probably mean you need to insure the van for trtade use

 

[Ktea]

This has been my first ever post (probably on anything - not a facebook user!) Thank you - so many useful suggestions....
I am not much of an internet buff (when it comes to connections and the amount of bandwidth required..) I regularly use my phone as a hotspot and this does work really well but it just doesn't see to be able to provide enough... something?.... to conduct four Zoom connections at the same time. Will use the links you have kindly sent me to explore more.

Great forum!!

 

[Ikonix853]

If using the mobile as a hotspot you may want to check your operators Ts & Cs on data usage. Some throttle the connection when used as a hotspot. It is also a good idea to check your operators coverage for where you are going to save any surprises on arrival

 

[Nanniemate]

I was without signal most of the time I was in Pembrokeshire last week. But talking to another guy who works from the van he was using Vodaphone but I did not try the company phone but have had no issues in the past with reception in that area.

I am on cheapy smarty but have not had a problem anywhere else managed to use the phone as a hotspot, just means that you need to make sure that you have a good signal before the meeting is due to start allowing ample time to move if its not .

I have been working 'mobile'* for years the van has become part of my 'home office' I do not use the van to go to clients so the equipment is insured under business and home contents away from home.

The van is not used for trade as suggested by mitzmad but it would depend on what you do and how you use it. which would need looking into. There are thousands of people working from their vans and yes I agree with you far better than the home office or kitchen table. Some of my colleagues think that I have the most amazing 'water features' sea views.

 

[Trevor Wbm]

At the risk of sounding like I'm taking the mickey, it's just about parking near a cell site to ensure a good signal.

The finer detail includes ... In rural areas lower frequencies are used to get greater coverage but at the expense of lower bandwidth. If you're one of a few users attached to a mast, you won't notice but if there's a lot of you, you will. If you want guaranteed bandwidth for an important call , find yourself a spot in a biggish town to take advantage of higher frequencies with less coverage but higher cell density and better bandwidth.

You'll need your Service providers MNC code (eg 234 15 is Vodafone) but this site is useful. Look for the LTE sites for 4G.
https://opencellid.org/#zoom=16&lat=37.77889&lon=-122.41942

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[ambulancekidd]

If you have a smart phone you could use that as a hot-spot. Works for us.

Thats what I do, I have unlimited 5g wi-fi on 3network (when available) & my Samsung phone works really well as a hot-spot.
I've been truly astonished with the 4g service, even in the middle of the Galloway forest the signal is strong & consistent!

Its not really expensive either.

 

[tonka]

Depending if cost is an issue but recently seen some videos on YouTube ref "starlink".
Think it's a satellite based system run by the Tesla man, Elon Musk. To expensive for job blogs but as a business expense ??

 

[Ikonix853]

starlink only allows you to use it in one cell so is not moveable from the home address just now....was looking at this last week

 

[Itsmcb]

What you need is one of these..Huawei 4G Plus MiFi or similar along with a Puk type receiver on your roof. Lots of info on here if you search for MiFi

 

[Itsmcb]

MiFi device vs mobile broadband router: what’s the difference? - Uswitch

Wondering what is MiFi? Thinking of getting for 5G home broadband? Find out the difference, and which type of mobile broadband is right for you.

www.uswitch.com

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[Itsmcb]

Fitting a Permanent Broadband Antenna on the Roof

For the last couple of years I've used a Huawei E5577C Mifi with a Netgear Aircard antenna. This worked well but it wasn't very convenient to use - too many cables to get tangled up. The answer was to fit a permanent antenna on the roof of the van. After looking at what was available I chose a...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

This might help

Sorry didn't see your post but yes that would be my suggestion too

 

[Itsmcb]

Smarty currently have an unlimited data sim for £20 a month, no contract, might be useful.

 

[Wissel]

Redundancy, good roof antenna and good router.

I've been working from our van online for the last few years.

We have one 4G contract (unlimited) for the router, 2 phones on different networks (hotspots) and a couple of PAYG cards for when all else fails. If still no signal - day off

Welcome to Fun.

PS. It's a slippery slope. Started with working on WiFi at the beach the odd day. Now we're fulltime in van (and love it)

 

[autorouter]

Mobile phones, routers and masts have hard limits on the output power of their radio signal. A bigger and better designed aerial will receive/transmit better, over a longer distance or with better bandwidth.

If the tiny aerial in your phone works for you, then you're in luck, but if not there are various sizes of roof aerial.

To go with the aerial you can get a mifi device, ie a router that connects to the phone mast and provides a local wifi connection in the MH. These range from small pocket-sized mifi with internal battery, to a larger router like the Teltonika RUT950 or RUTX11, which are used on for example intercity coaches. The best ones have dual SIM, with automatic 'failover', ie it selects the one that's working automatically.

MotorhomeWifi will provide working tested kit and install it if you want, and good after-sales support. Solwise provide the bits if you want to make up your own solution.

 

[Minxy]

Gromett ... what do you use?

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[rnb100]

I've got a MiFi box (TPLink - about £30 from Amazon) and a data only sim on Three and it streams Netflix fine. I've also had the laptop running along with Netflix, but the only caveat is being somewhere with a signal. You can check coverage online and make sure you're somewhere for your Zoom meetings.

I also have a mobile that's on a different network (O2), so if Three isn't working, then I've got the option to 'Hotspot' on there if required.

 

[Gromett]

Gromett ... what do you use?

I have a ubiquiti nano M5 and a MikroTik Routerboard router with PoE built in.
I also have a range of PAYG sims for those times when my main provider doesn't have service in the area.

For most places I use Three, but occassionally have to fall back on EE. Only on one occassion have I had to fall back further onto Vodafone but that was a long time ago.

Wifi antenna/router directional.

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Antenna mount with suction cup.
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Internal router with PoE.

Mikrotik HAP ac lite 500Mbit/s Power over Ethernet (PoE) White - WLAN access points (30-70 °C, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, White) : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

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For 4G, I use an old HuaWei B593u-12 which runs on 12v, has 4 ethernet ports and external antenna ports.