Category: RV Tips

Full Time RV Living – Our 5 Best RVing Lessons Learned

In this article I’m going to be talking about our five best full time RV living lessons that we can share with you.

These come from our first full year of full time RVing on the road. And you know, a lot of them we learned the hard way.

So they really come from real world experience. And hopefully what we share with you will help make your RV travels a little easier.

So maybe you’ve been considering part-time RVing or full-time RVing or just taking a long extended trip in an RV.

And if so, this article is definitely for you. We’re going to share with you the the best wisdom that we have learned over the last year of travel.

(Watch my video on this subject by clicking on the image above)

Disclosure: Please note this post may contain affiliate links. This means โ€“ at no additional cost to you โ€“ I earn a commission if you make a purchase using our affiliate links. I only link to products and companies I use and feel comfortable recommending. The income goes toward supporting the free content on this website

Table of Contents

Full Time RV Living Lesson #1

Now let’s go ahead and get started with lesson number one. And that is slow down and enjoy where you are.

It seems that everybody agrees that when they get on the road it seems like they get itchy feet syndrome.

You know, you feel like you have to be traveling, going here or there all the time. This can happen even though you know that it’s not a good thing to do.

And yes, we certainly fell into that trap ourselves. What happens is you get a little weary after a while, but you don’t notice it right away.

But over the course of time you get progressively more tired and that takes away from your enjoyment of RV travel.

And then your anxiety level increases and it’s just not good for enjoying your time out on the road.

So there is a need to kind of regulate what you’re doing and watch it carefully.

Ultimately, the point we want to make to all of you is that the fun of RVing is really not in the travel.

Of course, it can be enjoyable too, but that’s not where the real fun and enjoyment is.

Instead, the really enjoyable experiences are what you do and where you go and the things you see because of your RV travel.

So don’t get the cart before the horse and think that traveling is what you need to always be doing.

No, travel is just a means to an end. And the end is enjoying where you are at right now.

Our Plan To Enjoy RVing More

So going forward we plan that when we know we’re going to an area, we’re going to just get on the road and get there.

And then, when we get there we’re going to plan to be there for at least a couple of weeks, maybe longer.

And that’s because we want to get to know the area well before we move on. We want to see it and take it in and really enjoy it while we are there.

So you can use your passenger vehicle and do day trips at that point. Just get out there and see the sights, and experience the joy of that area.

That way you’re not just rushing around all the time and it will really will lower the anxiety and stress level of RVing.

So once again, lesson number one is slow down and enjoy where you are. Don’t always be thinking about where you’re going next.

Full Time RV Living Lesson #2

Now, lesson number two is about managing camping costs. This is because you’ve always got to have some place to park your rig.

And since camping costs are the number one expense for most RVers, how can you control that?

Well, what we found is that you can easily control your camping costs through campground memberships.

And the number one camping membership that has really worked for us this past year is Thousand Trails.

Now I know that some are going to roll their eyes at that statement. Because maybe they’ve heard bad things about Thousand Trails or whatever.

But our experience has been very positive. In fact, we have had good experiences all across the country in Thousand Trails parks. So we can highly recommend it.

Full time RV living lesson #2 - Thousand Trails map
Learn more about a Thousand Trails membership by clicking the image above

But not only did we enjoy staying in Thousand Trails campgrounds, but the savings were also fantastic.

We have already saved thousands of dollars over the last year, and going forward it’s going to get even better.

Thousand Trails Videos To Watch

Now, I’ve made two videos on Thousand Trails memberships already and I’m going to put the links to those videos in this article now.

Click here to view Thousand Trails Video #1

Follow this link to view Thousand Trails video #2

And in the videos I will give you the facts and the figures of what it actually cost us and what we’re saving with our Thousand Trails membership.

(For more information on new Thousand Trails camping memberships contact Jim and Brandy Reneau by email at [email protected] Or call them at (770) 622-4188 or (717) 585-6137 . Be sure to tell them that Duane at RV Inspection And Care referred you to get the best deal and the lowest prices on Thousand Trails memberships. OR Contact Kimberly at https://www.campgroundmembershipoutlet.com/ for information on resale Thousand Trails memberships.)

Another RV Camping Membership To Consider

Now the second RV camping membership that’s worked really well for us this year is Passport America.

You know, when you’re out on the road, there may not be a Thousand Trails campground anywhere near you. So you’ve got to choose other campgrounds to stay in.

Well, in many cases they will accept Passport America and give you 50% off from the normal camping costs for the night. And that’s really a great savings!

It’s worked well for us where we have camped all across the country. But we’ve even found that it often works when we’re staying for a week or so at a time.

So Passport America is a really good membership to have.

Click here to learn more about a Passport America membership

The Third RV Camping Membership That Has Worked Well For Us

Now, the third membership that has saved us money this year was Boondockers Welcome.

Boondockers Welcome

And this was a surprise to us because we aren’t really boondockers. We like staying overnight mostly in campgrounds.

But it was recommended to us by a friend we met in our RV travels. So we decided to give it a try.

And now we really enjoy that program because we can stay overnight on the road for zero dollars a night.

Boy do I love that figure of zero dollar a night camping. And we have stayed at some very nice facilities across the US through our Boondocker’s Welcome membership.

Once again, I made a video about Boondockers Welcome and I’ll put the link here in the article. And that way you can learn more about their program if you like.

Click here to watch my video about using Boondockers Welcome

So lesson number two is that if you want to save a lot of money, consider campground memberships.

Of course, maybe you’ve got plenty of money and you’re not budgeting anything because you don’t have to.

In that case, campground memberships are really not all that important. But if you do have to budget while traveling, the campground memberships I’ve mentioned can be a big help.

Full Time RV Living Lesson #3

Now it’s time for lesson number three. And that is about staying connected on the internet while you’re traveling.

You know, maintaining internet connectivity while traveling around the country can be a challenge at times.

And over the course of this last year it’s gotten even more challenging, mainly because of Covid restrictions.

This is because many people have been staying home and using their devices to access the internet. Through their phones, their tablets and laptops.

Well, cellular bandwidth for the carriers has really been eaten up as a result of this. So this has caused a lot of upheaval in the cellular internet industry.

And many folks that are RVing often use cell carriers for their access to the internet.

So once again, I made a video that gives you some very practical advice on how to maintain internet connections on the road.

Of course, we learned these things the hard way. We went through some real trial and error and some expense too.

But in the video I explain what carriers you need to focus on and the data plans that are are good for RVing.

I also cover the equipment that you need and the strategies necessary to keep connected while traveling.

So be sure to access that mobile internet connectivity video at the link that I provide here below:

Click here to watch my video on mobile internet access

RV Living Lesson #4

That now leads us to lesson number four. And that is that planning ahead is really a good idea when you’re out on the road full time.

Now, when you’re just going RVing for weekends or short trips, planning ahead is not nearly as important.

But when you’re out on the road and are a long way away from any home base, you need to plan ahead a little bit more.

One reason for this is that there’s been a huge influx of people into RVing over the course of the last year.

So there’s a lot more RVers out there now, just like you. And they’re making campsite reservations and filling up campgrounds too.

So if you don’t have a reservation you can find yourself in a difficult and tight situation at times.

So we recommend that you plan your trips in advance. Let me tell you, it worked so much better for us when we planned things in advance.

Of course, I know that doesn’t appeal to everybody. But we found that the more you travel and the bigger your rig, the more important to plan ahead.

That way you won’t have near as much stress and anxiety about where you are going to travel and stay.

And again, I made a video on how we use RV Trip Wizard to lay out our trips in advance.

It’s been a real help to us, so follow the link below and there’ll be a lot more information on how to use RV Trip Wizard.

Click here to learn more about RV Trip Wizard

Plan Ahead For Your RV Maintenance Too

But one other point i want to make about planning ahead is about the maintenance that needs to be done on RVs.

You know, if you don’t keep up your RV maintenance, you’re going to regret it. Most likely, it’s going to come back and bite you somehow in the end.

And it’s probably going to cost you a lot more than if you would just keep up the maintenance as you go.

So when you’re traveling for a while, try to plan to be in an area where your maintenance can be done.

For instance, where you know that there’s an RV tech or an RV service center that can be trusted and reliable.

Then plan ahead to be there for a little while and let them catch you up on your RV maintenance.

As a result, you’ll have a lot better and more safe trips. And you won’t have as much going wrong with your RV while you’re out there on the road.

So once again, it’s a good idea to plan ahead for those things.

Full Time RV Living Lesson #5

Now lesson number five is that if you’re going to be out there traveling a lot, get a fuel discount card or program and use it.

This is the second best way that we have found to save money on full time RV living costs.

In fact, being part of a fuel program really worked well for us. Recently, we added it all up and we saved over seven hundred dollars last year in just fuel costs alone.

Now, that’s some real savings. So we encourage you to look into fuel discount programs if you’re going to be out traveling for a while.

It’s definitely going to save you money that you can use for other things that is going to be more enjoyable.

And I did also make a video about this too and you can find the link for that video here below:

Click here to watch my video about the fuel discount program that we use

Conclusion

Well, those are the five best lessons that we learned about full time RV living that we wanted to share with you.

And lots of full time RVers that we know have learned these lessons already. So we are sure that these tips will benefit you in your RV travels as well.

And by the way, if you have suggestions about other ideas that’s really worked well for you, please leave them in the comments below.

That way we all benefit from each other’s RVing experiences.

Have safe and happy travels my friends!

RV Buying Tips – Where, When And How To Buy RVs

In this article on RV buying tips, I’m going to be going to be talking about the when, where and how of buying RVs.

And this is a really good time to be talking about that because RV sales are going through the roof. They are really selling like hotcakes!

So now is a very good time to talk about when you should be buying RVs. About where you should get it, and how you should buy an RV.

Watch my video about RV Buying Tips

Table of Contents

RV Buying Tips About When To Buy An RV

You know a lot of folks out there really have the idea in mind that there is a kind of magical time of year to buy an RV.

And to a large degree there is a good point to be made with that kind of logic.

This is because in the late fall and winter months, it’s the offseason for recreational RV travelers.

Of course, full-timer RVers are still out there all year, but for recreational weekenders this is the offseason.

So you don’t have quite as many people out there vying for the same number of RVs at that time of year. And as a result, the prices can be lower during then.

You’re kind of swimming with the tide, so to speak, when you’re buying in those months. And that is an advantage!

The Worst Time To Buy An RV

But continuing with our theme of RV buying tips, when is the worst time to buy an RV? Well, the worst time to buy is the time when everybody else seems to want to buy.

And that is usually during the spring and summer. That’s often the time when the demand is high and therefore prices are up.

So there’s a lot of folks that think that you really should only buy an RV during the offseason.

But I don’t necessarily subscribe to that entirely. I think that it’s true that you’re swimming with the tide when you do that.

But personally I’ve noticed that you can get great deals on RVs almost any time of year. You just have to maybe look a little bit harder in the spring and summer months.

RV Buying Tips – Why Anytime Can Be The Right Time

Now let’s talk a little bit about that. About why it’s true that you can get a good price any time of year.

Well, when we are talking about private owners, they have circumstances that can change pretty much any time. And then they need to get rid of their RV.

It could be because the RV is kind of a drag on them financially, or possibly for other reasons.

But whatever the reason is, they feel that they need to sell their RV and maybe even quickly.

And that can happen any time of year. As a result, you can benefit from that situation, if you’re alert and you’re looking for those opportunities.

When To Buy From RV Dealers

Now if you’re shopping dealers instead, they have to move inventory. That’s just the way the business works for RV dealers.

They have to move those RVs off their lot. So if they have to move a certain number of RVs in a certain time period, well then you can benefit by getting lower prices.

Also, keep in mind that dealers often make sales projections every month for their sales staff. They project that they are going to sell so many units by the end of the month.

And suppose it’s getting close to the end of the month and they haven’t quite gotten in the groove yet. So they aren’t close to their projected sales numbers.

What typically happens? Well, they’re going to make some deals to get those units out the door quickly.

At any rate, shopping an RV dealer at the end of the month is often your best chance to get a good deal.

And that can happen any month of the year. So in my opinion, yes, there are certain times of year that maybe it’s a little bit easier to buy RVs.

But honestly, if you are diligent about it, you can find a pretty good deal almost any time of year. Especially if you just are willing to do a little work to find those kind of deals.

RV Buying Tips – Where Should You Buy An RV?

So the next question is where you should you buy an RV? And again, we get back to the question – should it be at a dealer or should it be from a private owner?

Well first of all, if you are a newer RVer, you should probably go through as many RVs as you possibly can. In fact, I think that there’s no substitute for this!

So in my opinion, that means that you should go to RV dealers to look at RVs. But also go to RV shows too. And go check out private owner RVs as well.

Just do everything in your power to see as many RVs as you possibly can, for one major purpose. And that is gathering as much information about RVs as you can.

Now, when I say go “see” all these RVs, I don’t mean that you just walk in and look around and then leave.

No. Instead you go into every RV with a mission. And that mission is to find out whether this RV is livable for you, or not.

Your Mission When Shopping For RVs

Here are a few more RV buying tips to keep in mind when shopping for RVs:

First up, when you go into each RV, sit in the chairs. Not just one chair either. Sit in all of them!

Then, if there’s a dinette in the RV, sit in it as well. How comfortable will you be eating at that table?

Go back to the bedroom and lay on the bed. See how comfortable that is for you too.

Then go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet. You know, that may sound funny.

But there’s a lot of folks that buy RVs and never looked closely at the size of the bathroom. In fact, they never spent much time in the RV bathroom before the purchase at all.

So don’t make that mistake! Before you buy an RV, go stand in the shower and see if you can move around. Can you fit into that small space relatively comfortably?

If you do things like this as you view prospective RVs, you can find out which ones fit you best. Or which RVs are liveable for you.

And as you do, you’re going to start to figure out what you’re really looking for in an RV.

So I highly recommend that you see as many RVs as possible! And that means dealers, private owners, etc.

Should You Buy From An RV Dealer?

But what are the advantages of buying an RV from a dealer or from a private owner?

Well, there’s a couple of things that dealers can offer you that you probably won’t get other places.

For instance, they’re usually going to provide some kind of warranty on the RVs they sell.

And secondly, they often will have an easy way to finance that RV too. By doing this, they want to be a one-stop-shop and make RV buying very convenient for you.

But bear in mind, that they’re not always offering you the best deal possible for these add-ons. You may need to do a little bit of research on your own to get the best deal on either a warranty or on financing.

But having to do this extra research on your part often takes away from the main benefit of buying from a dealer – the convenience.

Should You Buy From A Private Seller?

On the other hand, private owners usually have one big advantage over dealers. And that is that you’re often going to get lower prices when you buy from a private owner.

Yes, it’s true that you may pay less for the cost of the RV from a private owner. But they’re not going to be able to give you a warranty on the RV in most cases. That is, unless they have a warranty they can transfer to you.

And private owners almost never provide you with any kind of RV financing.

So those are things that are going to cost you more if you want a warranty and financing on the RV you buy. And it’s less convenient to make arrangements for those add-ons when buying from a private owner.

But buying an RV from a private owner can sometimes mean that you get insight into how that RV was maintained. And that can be very good information to have, especially if it is an older RV.

So really, in my opinion, either way to buy is fine. Just understand that with dealers you have some advantages, and with private owners you can have some other advantages.

But there are also some disadvantages each way too!

RV Buying Tips – Be Watchful And Careful

When discussing my RV buying tips for dealers, let me stress an important point. And that is, read the online reviews for each dealer very carefully.

To research RV dealer reviews, I highly recommend searching Google. And that’s because usually there’s a lot of reviews to read and see what people are saying about that dealer.

Of course, you are going to read reviews from some people who are just not happy with anything. And others that are just happy with everything.

But by reading all of the reviews, you can often get a good feel for the overall customer viewpoints about that dealer.

Do they have a good reputation or no? If they have a really bad reputation, maybe you need to skip that dealer. Or at least watch everything they’re doing very carefully.

Also, understand that when you buy from a private seller, most likely it’s going to be an as-is transaction.

So that means you have to be careful and watchful in the buying process. You don’t want to be buying somebody else’s problems!

RV Buying Tips – How To Buy An RV The Right Way

So that leads me to the next point in our RV buying tips – HOW should you buy an RV? We have talked about the when and the where of RV buying. But how should you buy RVs?

Well I have some strong feelings on this and I have released an ebook guide entitled “How To Avoid Buying An RV Money Pit”.

How To Avoid Buying An RV Money Pit

And I really believe that this information is needed in the RV industry right now. In fact, as an RV inspector I see a lot of folks make serious RV buying mistakes.

And if they just knew the information in my ebook, they could have saved themselves a tremendous amount of time, trouble and money in the buying process.

This is because the ebook is going to teach you a few very important things. First of all, it’s going to teach you a step-by-step process for buying RVs.

And that will help you find the RV that’s best for you. This is because there’s a lot of different RV classes, sizes and shapes. And you need to find the RV that fits you and the way you travel best.

Also, the ebook is going to show you how to perform a personal inspection on the RVs that you’re looking at too.

It will explain the things you need to be looking at on each RV and then give you a checklist for going through those things. That way you can avoid buying a rig that has hidden issues.

How To Use My RV Buying Checklist

It will tell you what you need to be looking for as you go through the checklist too. And that way you can make notes as you progress through the checklist.

That’s super important because after you’ve seen a bunch of RVs, it’s hard to remember what was in each one. Or what was good about this one, or bad about that one.

But if you made the notes in the checklist as you went, you have something to fall back on. It will remind you of what you seen in each RV that you have inspected.

And by the way, the inspections that I teach you in the ebook can be done by almost anybody. They are not difficult, technical or hard. But they’re vital to be able to make a good buying decision!

Finally, a big advantage of getting the e-book is that you get access to me personally as well. I’m going to do my best to help you in the buying process.

So as you are going through the RV buying process, most likely you will have questions. And if you bought my ebook, we can get together and talk about your questions.

Is A Professional RV Inspection Still Necessary?

I just want to be sure to help you get an RV that fits you well and is good for your particular situation. And also is a good reliable one, worthy of having a professional inspector give the final seal of approval.

And yes, I still believe in certified RV inspectors coming in for the final approval. But the ebook allows you to avoid having repeated professional inspections on RVs that fail muster.

Instead, it teaches you what to look for to know that an RV is worthy of a final professional inspection.

Anyway, here’s the link to my ebook guide so you can go take a look at what it can offer you in the RV buying process:

Click here for my ebook guide “How To Avoid Buying An RV Money Pit”

Conclusion

So let’s recap the main RV buying tips that I have covered n this article:

  • Technically, the best time to buy RVs is in the RV off-season. And the worst time to buy RVs is when the season is going strong.
  • But good deals on buying RVs can be had anytime if you are willing to do the work.
  • Before buying anything, make sure that you know the RV fits you and is comfortable to live in. Spend some time in it using the chairs, bathroom features, bed, etc.
  • The main advantage of buying from dealers is the convenience. They often provide a warranty and financing options.
  • The main advantage of buying from a private owner is you may be able to save money on the cost of the RV. And you might also be able to get more information about how the RV was maintained.
  • Good deals can be found by either shopping dealers or private owners. So try to see as many RVs as you can before you buy.
  • Always check the reviews on RV dealers before making a purchase. Google is a good place to do that.
  • To learn about the best system I know of to buy an RV, check out my ebook guide and checklist. If you do, I will give you personal assistance in your buying process.

I hope this information will be a big help when you buy your next RV.

Have safe and happy travels everyone!

RV Internet Service – Using Mobile Internet Hotspots

In this article we’re going to be talking about RV internet service using hotspots for RVing and traveling.

You know, when you are at home and you’re connecting up to the internet, and it’s a pretty simple thing. Usually there’s just a couple of internet providers in your area.

So you call up one of them and they come out and they turn you on and hook you up. From there, you’re on the internet and you don’t have to worry about much at all.

That’s because you’re in one place, and they’re in one place, and it all just seems to go pretty smoothly.

But getting RV internet service on the road while you’re traveling, well that’s a whole different challenge.

And for most people, it usually is going to involve getting a cell service signal for getting reliable internet service.

Of course, there are other ways to do it but we’re not going to go into that too much in this article. That’s because the vast majority of RVers are using a cellular service to get access to the internet.

But to do that you’re going to need the right equipment to be able to pull in the signal from cell towers wherever you go.

Disclosure: Please note this post may contain affiliate links. This means โ€“ at no additional cost to you โ€“ I earn a commission if you make a purchase using our affiliate links. I only link to products and companies I use and feel comfortable recommending. The income goes toward supporting the free content on this website

Watch my video on RV internet service with high tech hotspots

RV Internet Service – Using A Hotspot

And to make sure that the signal is a strong one, a lot of RVers use what’s called an internet hotspot.

These hotspots come in different varieties and they really are not very big. And they are portable, so they can be taken with you wherever you go.

In fact, even if they’re not connected to 120v home current, they have batteries so that you can still take them with you.

Now these hot spots are dedicated to one thing and one thing only. And that is connecting to a cell tower and getting a data stream from the internet.

They’re really not designed for phone calls at all. It’s a data-only type of device.

So first off, it connects to the cell tower and then sets up a hotspot Wi-Fi in your RV. And then that internet service is available to all the devices in your RV within its range.

The devices can then connect up to it, and therefore to the internet as well. Even your phones can connect that through hotspot. Also tablets, laptops, desktop computers, TVs and more.

But what should you be looking for in a quality RV internet hotspot? Quite frankly, it’s kind of hard to determine because there are so many out there for sale.

And there are so many price ranges too, so what do you choose?

Well, I have had to go through all of this process about looking for hotspot modems for internet service. And I did some research that I wanted to share with you.

RV Internet Service – Understanding Hotspot Modems

One important thing that I would really recommend is try to get the highest category modem in a hotspot you can afford.

Now these RV internet hotspot modems start down around Category 3 and they go up to Category 18 and higher.

So let me give you an idea about the difference in speed as you go up in modem categories.

Category 4 hotspots will usually have about a 150 megabits per second download speed. Category 6 doubles that to 300 megabits per second.

Then Category 9 improves to 450 megabits per second, and Category 18 modems to 1000 megabits per second.

And some of the latest hotspots use Category 18 modems at 1200 megabits per second.

Now let me emphasize something here. Don’t expect these numbers in real-world use.

Instead, it means that it in a lab somewhere they connected up to a signal source that had no other traffic on it. Not like a cell tower that has a lot of people using it at one time.

But what this information does for us is it gives us a way to compare category to category capability for hotspot modems.

So clearly we have Category 4 at 150 megabits per second and we have Category 18 at 1200 megabits per second. Why that’s a pretty serious difference in performance!

Advanced Tech In Modern Hotspots

And another point to understand is that more advanced technology is built into higher category modem hotspots.

For instance, higher category modems can connect to more bands for that particular cell carrier. So what do we mean by that?

Well, cell carriers distribute their signal on more than just one frequency or band. And very often there are multiple bands they will send it out on.

So the more bands that the modem in your hotspot can choose from, the better. That way it can find the band that has the strongest signal from the carrier.

But modern hotspots also can do something called carrier aggregation, which the higher category modems will allow you to use.

This means that it uses more simultaneous connections to the cell tower for a particular carrier.

Then it takes those connections and aggregates them into one data stream. This produces a faster and more reliable cell carrier connection.

These higher category modem hotspots also will have more antennas too. For instance, many modern RV internet hotpots use MIMO technology.

And that term stands for “multiple in – multiple out”. So what does that mean?

Well, the lower category hotspots will only have about two anntennas in them. But the higher category hotspots can have 4 internal antennas instead.

And they can also allow you to have more external antennas too. And that’s a real advantage!

This is because the more ears, or listening devices, that’s pulling in these frequencies or bands the better. And so higher category hotspots give you more antennas to listen to those frequencies.

My RV Internet Service Upgrade

Now, I also have added a second cell carrier to my repertoire for RV internet service. And I did that to make an internet backup for myself, to insure that I always have a good internet connection.

So at the same time that I got this second cellular carrier, I upgraded my hotspot too. This is because I wanted to see whether there is really a difference between hotpots in the real world.

Originally I bought a category 12 Velocity 2 hotspot and that was sufficient in most areas across the country.

But this time I decided to upgrade to a category 16 hotspot modem and see what happens. So I chose the Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 for my upgrade.

Click here to learn more about the Netgear Nighthawk MR1100

So let’s compare the stats between the category 12 Velocity 2 and the category 16 Nighthawk.

Comparing RV Internet Hotspots

Well, the Velocity 2 can access 7 bands in the AT&T network and that’s good. But the Nighthawk can access 11 bands.

Also, the Velocity 2 has 2 internal antennas whereas the Nighthawk has four. And the Nighthawk also has connections to use external antennas on top of that.

The velocity 2 has a limit of about 600 megabits per second download speed. But the Night Hawk has a 1000 megabit per second download speed.

Now once again, this is not real world use. This is just under the best possible circumstances.

But the Velocity 2 can also connect up to 10 devices in the Wi-Fi area in your RV at a time. On the other hand, the Nighthawk can connect up to 20 devices simultaneously.

And finally, the Velocity 2 can maintain about three simultaneous cellular connections at once. But the Nighthawk can maintain 4 connections simultaneously.

So those are all the stats. And clearly, in every category the Nighthawk performs better than the Velocity 2 on paper.

And I’ve got to say that I was surprised and amazed by the real world performance of the Netgear Nighthawk.

In fact, I can get a stronger signal almost anywhere I want to go with the Nighthawk.

My Upgraded Hotspot Modem Performance

Now to prove that, I’m at an RV park right now that is notorious for not being able to get solid internet access from a cell carrier.

And one reason for that is that the park is way away from most large cities. It’s also down in a canyon with mountains surrounding it.

So that’s about the worst internet cell signal situation you can get. And yet, with the Nighthawk I am still able to stream movies and have solid internet signal.

Now of course, I also am using a cell booster as I’ve described in other videos during my stay here. But if I replace the Nighthawk with the Velocity 2, my internet service speed drops in half.

And when I’m using the Nighthawk, I have seamless video streaming and strong internet. With the Velocity 2 the performance is much worse, marginal at best.

So it really does make a difference to get these higher category hotspot modems if you’re planning on full-time RVing.

In fact, I would recommend that you go for the highest category modem hotspot that you can afford. The upgraded technology will be very worth the added expense!

RV Internet Service – Recommendations

Now before I leave this subject I also want to recommend one more thing. And that is that if you will be spending quite a bit of time RVing, consider having more than one cell carrier.

I found that if you work over the internet, it is almost a necessity. Especially if you have to maintain a strong internet connection no matter where you are.

Now to do that, a lot of full-timer RVers use what’s called a reseller cellular carrier plan. And that is where resellers buy cell tower space from the major cellular carriers.

Then they resell that tower usage under their own brand name. So the key there is to get a good brand of reseller that has a solid reputation for customer service.

Finally, let me arm you with one more very important piece of information. And that is how to stay current with all of the changes that continue to happen in the mobile internet field.

Fortunately, there is a website has loads of information about mobile internet for RVers. And if you get the membership to their insider information, you will never be in the dark again when the industry changes.

Just click on the link below to get information on all things related to mobile internet service. I am not affiliated with them, I just use the site for research.

Click here to find out more about the Mobile Internet Resource Center

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope you have enjoyed this information on RV internet hotspots. I have really had to research a lot of this on my own.

And I felt that it was important to share what I have learned with others as well.

This is a very important topic for RVers, but especially for those that travel full-time or part-time.

If you have any other ideas for getting great RV internet service on the road, please comment below.

In the meantime, have safe and happy travels everyone!

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