TRAVLFI for Rv camping that is budget friendly
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- In this video, I will be reviewing the install and testing of the TravlFi mobile WIFI system that is a triple cellular based router.
We are not full-time campers, so we were looking for a portable internet system that is not going to bust the bank. It looks like TravlFi system has an answer for our needs. Maybe you are looking for the same thing. If you are looking for a mobile system that is budget friendly, subscribe so you don't miss my reviews of this routers performance as we travel this summer.
The initial cost of the router on sale was just over $200 and I have been using the third data plan from the bottom spending on average $70/month. We are "power internet" users so buying a satellite internet system for $600 and spending $150 month and not being able to use it in the national forest campgrounds made zero sense to me... Satellite needs clear view of northern skyline while TRAVLFI does not care. All you need is cell coverage and this works well. This router also works as a wireless-access point so you can boost the campgrounds signal and save data, very handy! The router uses Verizon, ATT, US Cellular, and T-mobile somehow through the virtual sim card....
If you would like to save 10%, copy and paste this link into a browser for 10% off! travlfi.sjv.io/6ejDb3 be sure to use my code ThreeDayRV10 to get 10% off!
We'd appreciate your support if you could hit that like button and subscribe if you're interested in our continued testing of this product. It will help support this channel grow and get the message out to others that are shopping for the same things! Thank You, Keith
We installed this in our 2022 Coachman Freedom Express 259FKDS. #rvlife #rvhacks #travlfi #internet #freedomexpress #mobilehotspot #camping #badlands #camping #vanlife #campingworld #paceinternational #remoteliving #camping #rvlifestyle #rvtravel #rvinternet #wifi #mobilehotspot #camping #workremote #stayconnected
4-5-2024 UPDATE. We left Michigan on 3/23 and went south. Over two weeks we would drive for a few hours and camp somewhere. Travlfi went with us and worked everywhere went. From Michigan , Indiana , Kentucky, Georgia , Alabama, and 4 state parks on south west Florida's coast. I'm happy to say the some places the service was slower but was still good enough to stream TV. Other places we saw speeds of 82M down and 25 up.
TravlFi WORKS !
@everyone , stay tuned, we're editing the test of the new TravlRi XTR pro router.
It's fast!
Got rid of T-Mobile. Got Travlfi. This was the best investment I made for my semi
10/1/2023 Test Conclusion. So this summer we managed to travel over 5,000 miles and we took this along with us. In short there were only 1 place that this did not work well as a stand along router but it did work as a wifi repeater on the campgrounds system and that was at Whiskey Creek campground near Custer MI. Cell service in this area was extremely poor. Grand Traverse Bay area, Battle Creek, Coloma, Grand Rapids, all over Michigan it worked fantastic. So 3 weeks ago, We went out west... Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Custer SD, Jackson Hole WY, Scotts Bluff and more I've forgotten about by now and this thing was quick and never failed. It was odd when we would stop, it took a few for it to lock into the strongest signal. My honest and non sponsored review of this is this. It is cheap and you can pick your plan. We had streaming movies, Ipads, the RV energy management system and smartphones connected and it never bogged down. I did bump the plan up to the $89/month data plan because I am a sports and YT streaming nut-case. Is this as fast as the Starlink? Heck no, but it is a fraction of the cost and doesn't need a clear sky. Again, non-sponsored review.... Thanks for watching and reading... -Keith
Great job with the video, that's a great idea, thumbs up 👍. I am a new Subscriber. Cheers Joe 😊
Thanks for the sub!
Your welcome, I'm happy to support you. Cheers Joe 😊
Updated 7/202023. On several camping trip this summer this router has performed better than we expected it to do. We did find that leaving the router in the "auto" mode to determine for itself which of the three carriers had the best signal was no good at all. After manually changing carriers this was fantastic. We were in norther lower Michigan south of Traverse city. I ran several speed tests and in that area the quickest service was T-Mobile, ATT and then Verizon. We had enough speed to use the Roku TV at night, and I was working for a couple of hours on the VPN for my job. I did notice that we had enough speed and we were in the Manistee forest under fairly medium tree cover. Our neighbor had satellite system ( I'm leaving nameless on purpose) and they were not getting any signal from the trees. For us, we selected the 50G plan and it was was more than we needed for this month so we are lowering that for now. The price is reasonable, the service works so far everywhere we've been in Michigan... The big test is going to be out west this fall. Looking forward to that under the bigsky country.
I forgot to update this post... I got the rooftop antenna from TravlFi and installed it. We got a really decent boost from the antenna! Check out the video here: ruclips.net/video/0_Kw50k4M0k/видео.htmlsi=ZhQXp1NoDyXQBd6w
UPDATE: 8/27/2023 so far every place in Michigan this router has worked well, except for Custer MI.
We visited Whiskey Creek campground that is adjacent to the Manistee national forest ... a beautiful campground, which is set up with 10 beautiful miles of ATV trails. These trails also butt up to the state ATV trail system.. Back to the update. While at Whiskey Creek, campground nobody and I mean nobody had cell service. They are about 5 miles off of the main road and there were no towers around and absolutely very little cell service unless you were up on a really high hill.. our camper was parked near the Camp clubhouse down by the pond and there was zero cell service of any kind. We were hoping that our router would pull in something, but there was just a dead spot here, and no service whatsoever. Anyway, as promised, I was going to give you the good and the bad with this router.
Next on my list is to try an external antenna located on the roof to see if that makes any difference at all.
Check out Whiskey Creek campground if you are in Michigan and you like ATV riding… A beautiful campground, the owners, Norman and MICHELLE are very good hosts! Check them out #WhiskeyCreekCampground, #TravlFi
42Mbps down and 3.7 Mbps upload.... pretty good considering where we were in the state park.
Speed test from Benton Harbor 12/3/2023 122Mbps down, 26Mbps up, it appears to be T-Mobile tower for this from test my speed dot net.
Can you stream movies on this and work remotely with laptop or tablet?
How reliable is it actually?
Is this a sponsored review???
Yes, very and no.
I was on vacation in the Yellowstone national park and had to remote into our server for an event for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile wife was finishing a Netflix movie; no issues, very solid service.
It's worked totally fine everywhere we've went except a spot in Custer MI (zero cell)
No, as written in the description I bought and continue to pay for our service with TravlFi. 100% free to speak the truth about this product and service. By the way, tech support answers the phone!
Thanks Keith, I'm considering this system. Surprised that the auto function doesn't do its job. What app is included to make adjustments to the unit and would you still buy this router again based on your limited use so far?
I believe they were having trouble with the cellular system switching automatically. There's a patch coming very very soon for that so in the meantime we switched cellular service manually as needed when we arrive using the Travfi portal; it takes 2 minutes.
Overall, this works pretty good for us but please keep in mind we are not power users of the Internet , we like to enjoy camping and when we can we like to unplug.
@@ThreeDayRV Thanks for your reply. We normally download content to our cellphones and attach to our TV for viewing when we are more remote locations. It would be nice to be able to stream(with a strong enough signal) vs doing this. It seems there aren't any great solutions to stay connected without buying multiple devices for various situations. I like to unplug too but it's hard when you are use to getting everything over the internet.
@@markkepley4131 so far travel far allows us to stream our fire stick TV perfectly without any issues, I also use my tablet on the Internet to scroll through social media, and read the morning news. In addition, I have my renogy solar system hub connected through this as a gateway and it all works flawlessly together and for the $50 a month that I spend I could not ask for a better mobile Internet.. I am not affiliated with TravlFi, and I'm happy to say it works pretty good for our needs! Good luck and be sure to let me know how it's working for you!
So officially 7months of use. A month ago I added the rooftop antenna and it really made a difference... To answer would I do it again, I sure would. I LOVE the fact that I can quickly change this into a WIFI repeater so we do not use any data at all when we are at a park or resort that has provided WIFI. I added the antenna and it has been a great add on. I can use it with download speeds of 130Mbps and about 20 to 28Mbps up. I also love the fact that we can add to or decrease the data plan anytime we want and "hibernate" the system when the RV is parked like it is now in Michigan. Would I buy it again, 100% yes.
Here is the antenna install, setup and speed test: ruclips.net/video/0_Kw50k4M0k/видео.htmlsi=ZhQXp1NoDyXQBd6w
After you drilled the hole for the electrical, what was the other wire? How did you program your router?
Great questions. The other wire was a basic patch cable so I could directly go from the routers switch directly to the smart tv. It's quicker or faster this way and saves wireless bandwidth for our solar system, tablets and phones.
To program the router you open your phones Wi-Fi and sign into the router. Once connected to the router you can update your routers name, it's IP address, user name and password. After all of this is set the "menu tabs" allow you to custom configure your router. I used its auto settings, with a few minor changes. It is not much different that a standard router used in your home, fairly easy.
Thanks for the questions!
does this work in remote areas in the forrest?
It works on cell service coverage. It does pull in cell reception better than my mobile phone, but indeed needs cellular service from 1 of 3 networks, ATT, Verizon, or T-Mobile. We've used in in a very remote location we're our phones we're terrible, the router worked but was very weak.
@@ThreeDayRV Thank you
@@SgtWill they have a trail, give them a try and if it doesn't work you can get your full money back! I'm not affiliated with them in anyway. I just share the info, I can't afford the Elon Musk option. Let me know what you use , thanks !!!
So theres no app for travelfi? There's a travelwifi. But this is a different company. Asking cause looks like your on a web page.
No independent person here. Travlfi is the router we bought and use. They told me a month ago that there's an App being developed. I just shared our install and setup of there unit. Non sponsored video so your getting real data, real experience with it. I currently use the $50/month plan with it. It works pretty good for our needs. We mostly have 3 and 4 day weekend getaways. @bigcountry8800 what are you currently using and how much are you paying if you don't mind sharing ?
Thanks
Keith
@@ThreeDayRV i just bought the travalfi a couple days ago. we are going ft soon. just wish they had the app. probally going the unlimited plan as we will be streaming tv alot. think its 129.00
any idea what are some good antenna options? I believe that an external antenna would be much better than an indoor one. @@ThreeDayRV
@@verifiedsafe
UPDATE11/7/23 I just picked up a “Travfi antenna! Hooking it up tomorrow!
This is what Travlfi just sent me. Thank you for your interest in our XTR device. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide you with the specifications of the external antennas that we do not sell. However, we can share with you the requirements that an external antenna must meet to be compatible with the XTR:
• It must have "SMA Male" type coaxial connectors (All 6 ports)
• It must be an omnidirectional antenna
• It must support MIMO 4G LTE and MIMO 2.4GHz, 5GHz WiFi (Multi In Multi Out)
• It must have 50 Ohms impedance (Wiring resistance spec)
• It must have -2 to -3dBi gain average or better antenna performance for WiFi and 4G/LTE
• It must have linear polarization
We hope this information helps you find a suitable external antenna for your XTR device. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us again.
@@ThreeDayRV
Here is a link that can save you 10% towards your next purchase, I hope this helps! Use my code ThreeDayRV10 to get 10% off on this link ----> travlfi.sjv.io/6ejDb3