New “Airstream Connected” LTE-WiFi Dealer Installed

[turk123]

It's not that bad and you can always ask questions.

I called customer support at Airstream the other day and somehow got on to the connect system. Imagine that! They are turning off quite a few WiFi as Wan settings now, but I got the impression that they still don't get it. It just hasn't been made a priority to understand why it interferes with the cell side of the Peplink modem.

I did get him to admit that Airstream is now looking at another modem down the road to alleviate the problem. Jason told me that also. Don't fear, it is just a Peplink modem with two radios a 2.4Ghz and 5ghz local area WiFi. Everything you can do with the original modem just by adding the second router. Their problem is how to integrate it into the new trailers without complicating the process of maintaining the whole fleet. It is simple though with the connect 2 Peplink fleet software that keeps track of the type of equipment in all the trailers.

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by turk123

It's not that bad and you can always ask questions.

Turk123, thanks for sharing your experience with Airstream Connected! I'm curious about your take on the Togo Roadlink C2 (part of Thor). At $399 it seems they're targeting the SOB trailers vs. Airstream but have the same AT&T plans.

They're throwing in a $79 Harvest Host membership too. https://rv.runswithtogo.com/product/togo-roadlink-c2/

For those of us looking for a more affordable option to the Connected product, I wonder how the Togo Roadlink product compares.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Jeff

[turk123]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

Turk123, thanks for sharing your experience with Airstream Connected! I'm curious about your take on the Togo Roadlink C2 (part of Thor). At $399 it seems they're targeting the SOB trailers vs. Airstream but have the same AT&T plans.

They're throwing in a $79 Harvest Host membership too. https://rv.runswithtogo.com/product/togo-roadlink-c2/

For those of us looking for a more affordable option to the Connected product, I wonder how the Togo Roadlink product compares.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Jeff

The Roadlink is aggressively priced and does use the same plans that Airstream offers (they are connected companies thru Thor). It is a Cat 4 LTE device. The Airstream connect kit is a Cat 6 LTE device. 150mb and 300mb speeds respectively.

ToGo uses Bands 2/4/5/13/17

Airstream Peplink uses bands 1-5/7/8/12/17/13/20/25/26/29/30/41

Togo is a Winegard product and is exclusively ATT. You cannot use other companies Simms.

The Togo is 16" in diameter and 8" tall

Togo is a 2.4 ghz modem. They say you cannot plug another modem into it as we do with the Peplink, but you can! If you open up the Togo you will see a modem circuit board with one ethernet port available. You would have to drill a hole in the case and run the wire into the airstream, or add the router to the Togo (if it will fit) and use the 12v power that gets feed to the roof.

The Togo has WiFi as Wan turned on. It appears as if you can log into the router and turn it off yourself. It does share the same radio (wifi & Cell) so with WiFi as wan turned on, expect the horrible slowdowns we get with the Peplink with that feature turned on.

Good news is that you can see the router interface and you can control it.

So what do I think?

I am guessing the lack of bands will cause some spotty coverage locations with slow or even no service. That can be a big problem out west. In a large city with good coverage, the rooftop antenna will perform well.

For what you pay, it looks like a very good solution and better than a WeBoost solution at the same price.

[johnparris]

turk123, do/did you also experience frequent dead connections? Mine will be humming along nicely and suddenly I have no internet. I’m still connected to WiFi, but no internet. Can’t ping anything and the iOS app reports no internet on the mobile connection status.

If I wait around for a random amount of time it’ll come back up. I usually don’t wait around and flip over to Verizon and continue on with my business.

[turk123]

Originally Posted by johnparris

turk123, do/did you also experience frequent dead connections? Mine will be humming along nicely and suddenly I have no internet. I’m still connected to WiFi, but no internet. Can’t ping anything and the iOS app reports no internet on the mobile connection status.

If I wait around for a random amount of time it’ll come back up. I usually don’t wait around and flip over to Verizon and continue on with my business.

Yes! That is the problem that we saw at Alumapolosa when Jason and I where testing Ernies hotspot. We would get the network to drop out completely on one of the three laptops we were using. Peplink said their client list was not operating properly dropping clients whenever it felt like it. It would reinstate the client only to drop it soon after.

You do have WiFi as WAN turned off correct?

[johnparris]

Originally Posted by turk123

You do have WiFi as WAN turned off correct?

Not yet, but I’m going to call them about it on Friday if I can. Any tips to get to the right person quickly?

[turk123]

Originally Posted by johnparris

Not yet, but I’m going to call them about it on Friday if I can. Any tips to get to the right person quickly?

Just ask for customer support, not service. I believe Matt is the guy that took over John's place. If you have any problems PM me.

Are you in a large campground with lots of RV's?

[johnparris]

Just ask for customer support, not service. I believe Matt is the guy that took over John's place. If you have any problems PM me.

Are you in a large campground with lots of RV's?

Thanks for the info. I’ll give them a call after the holiday.

The cellular going down has happened everywhere I’ve been. TX, LA, AL, SC, VA, PA, and NY. Sometimes the campgrounds have been busy, sometimes not. I always stay connected to the WiFi router, it’s just the AT&T link that goes down. Signal strength has varied at each place, but often it has 2-4 bars in the Monitor section of the app.

[turk123]

Originally Posted by johnparris

Thanks for the info. I’ll give them a call after the holiday.

The cellular going down has happened everywhere I’ve been. TX, LA, AL, SC, VA, PA, and NY. Sometimes the campgrounds have been busy, sometimes not. I always stay connected to the WiFi router, it’s just the AT&T link that goes down. Signal strength has varied at each place, but often it has 2-4 bars in the Monitor section of the app.

Yep, the WiFi as WAN will bring the cellular to its knees when it is turned on. The more "wifi" signals from other campers the more the Peplink tries to monitor them. Since it is doing this every 2 seconds, it brings down the cell side. It is effectively "sharing" the one 2.4ghz radio in the Peplink. It starts out supplying internet from the cell tower to your local area network, then goes out and looks for Campground WiFi every two seconds to see if that is stronger. If it sees other 2.4ghz WiFi signals (personal hotspots, etc) it checks them. The more signals out there, the longer it pauses the cell signal. Pretty soon it can bring your internet, legitimately coming from the cell tower, down by 10 fold.

That is why we are saying, if you don't need a "campground" WiFi, turn WiFi as WAN off. If you are traveling and going from campground to campground, you will find that the Airstream connect WiFi through cell towers (ATT) is far far superior to any campground hodge-podge WiFi.

[johnparris]

Originally Posted by turk123

Yep, the WiFi as WAN will bring the cellular to its knees when it is turned on. The more "wifi" signals from other campers the more the Peplink tries to monitor them. Since it is doing this every 2 seconds, it brings down the cell side. It is effectively "sharing" the one 2.4ghz radio in the Peplink.

Thanks for the explanation! That makes sense. Sharing a radio was a bad idea.

That is why we are saying, if you don't need a "campground" WiFi, turn WiFi as WAN off. If you are traveling and going from campground to campground, you will find that the Airstream connect WiFi through cell towers (ATT) is far far superior to any campground hodge-podge WiFi.

I never use campground WiFi. Aside from it being super slow, it's usually not secure and I don't like having to constantly make sure my VPN connection hasn't disconnected leaving me exposed.

I have other beefs with the technology in this Airstream. The refresh rate of the lights is horrible. To see that, hold a cable in your hand and twirl it around. I'm considering replacing all the lights with HomeKit enabled stuff so I can get good quality lights and control them with my phone and voice.

The CZone system is annoying. The touch responsiveness feels like a 1990 device.

More importantly though, the inconsistencies between what's in the panel vs what the physical buttons on the walls will do. For example, certain lights are dimmable with the button but not the panel. Instead of the buttons that let you long press to engage the dim interface, it'll be just a On/Off buttons. But the same lights are dimmable via the physical buttons on the wall.

The Galley lights are only controllable via the panel, there's no physical button. That's a big oversight in my opinion.

The legibility, or lack thereof, of the printed labels on the plate above each button is also annoying. I'm convinced no one used this trailer in the dark during development and Q&A.

In cases where a particular light is controllable on multiple panels on the walls, the position of the buttons isn't the same, which means you have to learn the layouts and positioning of multiple different panels.

When one propane tank is low, the non-stop warning popups will drive you nuts. Never mind I have another tank at 100% that's hooked into the auto-switching system.

The iOS app is another let down. It's useful for a couple of things, when it works. Sometimes engaging a control doesn't do the thing you request. For example, turning on/off the vent fan or controlling the AC. And sorely missing is the water pump. The lack of individual lights controls is another sore spot. It's all or none, which is rarely what I want.

The app usually works for getting status data, even if toggling a thing isn't working. This has happened on numerous occasions. Often when I'm remote (not on the local WiFi), it tells me my trailer is offline. Could be related to the WAN thing... hopefully.

I started a spreadsheet of inconsistencies between the CZone panel, the physical buttons, and the iOS app.

Don't get me wrong, I love this trailer, but I've been in technology for over 25 years. I've been a software engineer for 10 or so. I have a lot of experience with user interfaces, user experiences, and systems architecture. This is why the tech in this thing drives me batty. I know that's quibbling over an otherwise nice thing, but it's so integral to the experience of the trailer you can't help but constantly feel the friction from it as you're living in it day to day.

[turk123]

In most cases, I agree. But Airstream moves in little steps. This is their first attempt at a smart trailer and I think they did pretty well. It is not perfect by any means, but the connect portion works quite well for their first attempt.

Remember, their fear is an awning opening while traveling down the road. 2019 has this locked out. I know of 2017's that have had this problem, but Airstream has prevented this in 2019. I also know that they are working on adding to this system to include more features. The problem is it is not a priority. Programming the controller and testing it will cost them money. They take a conservative approach and do very little.

The Czone system is very versatile. Airstream could literally make an app that would allow us to program features we want like new mood settings. We could have timers on the lights or even sensors that turn on lights as you walk to the back of the trailer. Alas, they talk about it and do nothing.

As for button text, remember the Czone was designed for marine use. Out in the bright sunlight on the ocean, you can read the panels. In the bathroom late at night in my trailer, I just hit the tank heaters to see where the toilet paper is.

[SmallStream]

After a rocky start I’ve had a great few months with Airstream Connected....until the last few days. Suddenly I’m receiving no AT&T coverage. When I open the app it asks me to pair the device and when I do it says its already paired. If I unpair and pair again it says “local” only. Anyone else having issues with their systems? It worked great here in the exact same spot just last week. Averaged 20-30 Mbps. I’ve cycled the power twice, checked all cables, logged in an out of my account. The cellular light never comes on. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[ghaynes755]

Just saw this evening that there was an update to the two apps on iOS. Support for cellular router Firmware version 8. No other information.

[turk123]

I will be at the factory today. We are taking our Classic in for its first warranty work. I will check on the update. Sounds like peplink fixed version 8 and airstream is rolling it out. You may not have the update to the router yet. Maybe some mismatch. I will be at my trailer in an hour and will test.

[turk123]

My Airstream connect is working from home. I can control the trailer. That probably means I have WiFi at the trailer.

My app also had an update. I will be at the trailer soon!

[kittmaster]

We will be in JC on Monday and asking for our router to be updated and I'm interested in seeing where version 8 goes.

[turk123]

My trailer has Wifi and it was working fine. Left her at the mother ship for warranty repairs.

[SmallStream]

Thanks! After a few days of no service and a few emails to Jason and support it suddenly started working yesterday afternoon. I believe it had something to do with the new firmware they pushed out. But no official explanation yet. Heres hoping for another few months of issue free Airstream Connected service. Cheers!

[danieljhale]

Originally Posted by turk123

I will be at the factory today. We are taking our Classic in for its first warranty work. I will check on the update. Sounds like peplink fixed version 8 and airstream is rolling it out. You may not have the update to the router yet. Maybe some mismatch. I will be at my trailer in an hour and will test.

Airstream DFW installed the Connect hardware in my new 2019 Sport 22FB yesterday; I'm taking delivery of it this morning. I'll ask the dealership if they've updated to version 8. Would they also be able to turn off WiFi as WAN? What else would you recommend that I have them do before I tow it home? Huge thanks!

[turk123]

Originally Posted by danieljhale

Airstream DFW installed the Connect hardware in my new 2019 Sport 22FB yesterday; I'm taking delivery of it this morning. I'll ask the dealership if they've updated to version 8. Would they also be able to turn off WiFi as WAN? What else would you recommend that I have them do before I tow it home? Huge thanks!

The dealer knows very little about updating the software and in fact, would have to call Airstream to have it done. Customer service at Jackson Center is who you have to call.