I have a Max Transit Duo that I am using in a 5th Wheel trailer. I have the router mounted near the ceiling in a cabinet in the center of the trailer. In the front of the trailer I have very poor wifi signal visibility. What is the best way to improve access to the network? Is an access point what I need? Is it something that would need to be wired for best performance, or is wireless an option? I would think that since it is poor signal strength I am trying to address, that it would have to be a wired device. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
weird, you should be able to get decent signal within the trailer
what power level is it set at?
is it doing wifi wan as well or only wifi ap/lan?
have you tried other client device to confirm it also gets bad signal?
are you sure antennas are fully conencted?
weird, you should be able to get decent signal within the trailer
what power level is it set at?
is it doing wifi wan as well or only wifi ap/lan?
have you tried other client device to confirm it also gets bad signal?
are you sure antennas are fully connected?
It has not seemed to matter if I am trying to use WiFi as WAN from the park or not. Currently, I am too far from the park router to use their WiFi as an access point, so I have it moved down the priority list. I have a couple computers, a couple phones, and Roku streaming I am trying to connect. I have my access split in a 2.4 and 5 gig WiFi in the trailer. The 5G just isn’t visible in the front of the trailer, but works in the living/kitchen area. The 2.4 is about half signal in the front of the trailer. Both options are set on max power, but boost is not checked.
With my current location, I am only using Starlink for connection to the internet, but I have clear view of the sky. Does the internet connection have an impact on the WiFi signal strength to the router?
I would suggest you try this.
Something like that should allow you to get the wifi antennas inside the van into a more favorable position.
Mattsand,
I’ll throw my 2 cents worth into the conversation.
I have a 40’ diesel pusher with all most of my computer equipment installed in a slide out on the driver’s side rear.
I can distribute a WiFi signal to devices inside the slide out without any issues. If I try to connect wirelessly to any device diagonally outside the slide, like towards the passenger front for even a short distance, the WiFi connection is terrible. It did not matter if the signal to the CAT-18 came from cellular, park WiFI or whatever. Something, somewhere was disrupting the signal distribution.
If running Ethernet up to the front would have been a practical option, I would have done it.
I ended up with a hard wired Peplink AP installed under the cabinet over the bed on the passenger side rear. It resolved the issue. Would imagine there are less expensive solutions available.
IMHO… there is a lot of stuff in RV’s that can interfere with the signal distribution that you may not realize is even there. The 5th wheels I’ve seen appear to be pretty elaborate. I can certainly envision a lot of things which could impact the WiFi signal distribution. Let us know what solution you came up with.
Safe travels!
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I have not fully closed everything up from the initial install. It is tacked together, but not fully closed up. So, it might not be too bad to open up the stack and try to snake an ethernet cable up to the front of the trailer to hard wire in an AP. Any chance sticking one up in the nose might let me use my wireless from the tow vehicle on travel days if I get it in the right position? That might be worth the cost of the hardware by itself.
Mattsand,
I wish I could provide a definitive answer to your question. If getting the Ethernet cable up front is not to difficult, I would certainly do it.
With that said, I assume your tow vehicle has a metal shell, so that’s something to take into consideration. Rather an AP will be able to function reliably as you describe in the tow vehicle; maybe & maybe not. Of course with additional ‘stuff’ (equates to expense) you can make it work.
If you are inclined to invest a few dollars to make it work as you described, I would get in touch with the Peplink partner where you purchased your equipment and solicit their assistance. If they won’t help, find another source.
My son has a travel trailer with a Peplink CAT-18 installed. While we have similar issues with internet connectivity, we also have differences, like power (I run off 120 VAC pure sine wave inverter on the road) & all my WiFi distribution in in one vehicle. When he travels, he has a PC with a cellular modem installed to use in the tow vehicle.
Point I’m trying to make… there are all sorts of solution to achieve what you want.
I have decided that I need to do something, and still think adding an AP in the front of the trailer is the best option. I am looking at an AP One AC Mini, but it apparently does not come with a power supply. I had thought that my MAX Transit Pro E router would work as a PoE output device such that I could power my AP over the ethernet cable, but am being told that is not the case. I see some inexpensive PoE injectors are available, but am concerned it is a ‘get what you pay for’ situation. The Peplink injectors are 4x the cost of the cheapest I have seen online. What is important when looking for one of these units? Not keen on having to run extra wires up to the AP, and getting the right connector to even put DC power supply to it is looking to add some cost. I have an AC outlet available at my router where I could easily put the injector and keep the mess in one spot, but the cost is giving me pause. I also have a fuse box in the front storage compartment I could easily add a 12V supply if I had the end, which apparently does not come with the unit. Any suggestions to get to a workable solution are much appreciated!
I use DC poe injectors from tycon.
I use one that is 12v 1Gb PoE+ for my access point. And I have another passive poe injector which I am feeding with a 12v to 48v buckboost - this I use with modded cables to power starlink dish.
I would say that as long as the injector is spec’d per the standard you can use any brand/model. POE is a standard. Nothing proprietary
Got an AP One Mini delivered today. Just did a quick setup and set it about 3 feet from the router to test with it. Was getting low teens for download speeds without it. Consistently seeing 50+ Mbps speeds since it came online using speedtest.net to check. I was definitely suffering from the roof antenna location. Just need to get a PoE injector (on order) and locate it somewhere that doesn’t have cables hanging out of cabinet doors. Whether I can see it in the truck or not, I think I am going to be glad to have this up and running.
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