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Old 01-11-2021, 12:15 AM   #1
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2021 27' Globetrotter
Malibu , California
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 400
Thumbs up Our Pepwave / Poynting Set-Up using AS Pre-Wired connection

I wanted to share our experience in terms of setting up an internet connection for our 2021 27F Globetrotter, as I spent over a month researching and finally got everything installed today:

New Airstreams come with a MIMO antenna cable and power connection pre-installed. MIMO is the technology to use high-speed data over LTE/5G; paired with the latest Pepwave modem you can have multiple SIM cards / data plans running at the same time. Add a 5- or 7-way Poynting antenna, and you will have 2 LTE data plans and 2 wifi connections running in parallel. Airstream sells you the Connected package that confines you to AT&T and a limited data package for $300/month. But you can buy the hardware components yourself and then choose multiple data providers you want.

WHAT/WHERE TO BUY:
Mobile Must Have are fantastic, they sell bundles that come with everything you need to get you going. We bought the Ultimate Road Warrior bundle, which comes with the modem that allows you to run up to 4 SIM cards at the same time. The antenna is a 7-way, which is a little overkill as the pre-installed cable on the Airstream is made for 5-way antennas:
https://www.mobilemusthave.com/Mobil...dles_c_44.html
Andy at Mobile Must Have has been incredibly supportive and available daily during the set-up of the modem, which can be a little daunting. His videos however make the process very easy.

In terms of data plans you want to choose two networks that together will give you the maximum coverage. We went with an unlimited plan from AT&T from EZ-COM (https://store.ezcom.us/cart.php) at $150/month and a Visible/Verizon plan at $40/month as a backup. Josh at EZ-COM is very knowledgeable and was of great help.

INSTALLATION (SEE PHOTOS BELOW):
We set-up the modem and antenna in our house first, and played with the SIM cards, different set-ups and then started the install in the Airstream. The latest models have everything pre-wired in the front of the trailer. You will see a little white button sitting on top of the roof. The antenna cable then reaches into the AS and you can find it alongside a 12V power connection in the left upper cabinet. In our case this is above our bed.
It's pretty much a plug & play from then on, the antenna attached via a big 3M sticker and we sealed it up.

So far I am impressed with the connection. I have zero bars for AT&T on my phone; in the Airstream I was working with 4 bars and full speed. I added my home wifi to the mix, which sits over 500 yards away and it was like sitting at home.

I can only recommend this set-up, it is pricey but for those working remotely it is a game-changer.
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Old 01-11-2021, 07:38 AM   #2
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2021 27' Globetrotter
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Very nice. The antenna appears to come with cabling attached. Is it easily removed to attach the pre-wire cabling? Was the hole for the cable exit to the overhead cabinet already there or did you cut it out with a hole saw?
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Old 01-11-2021, 08:31 AM   #3
Grace the Airstream
 
2020 27' Globetrotter
Powhatan , Virginia
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Posts: 177
+1 on this setup. I use a very similar setup for mine and it is rock solid.
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Old 01-11-2021, 01:55 PM   #4
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2019 26' Flying Cloud
Poulsbo , Washington
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We've been looking at this option, as I am now working from home full time.

What year did Airstream start prewiring for this? I'm pretty sure we don't have this on our 2019 Flying Cloud 26RB.... sure would be nice, if they had done this for us. I'm considering coming down the fridge vent and mounting the modem above the fridge.
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Old 01-11-2021, 02:17 PM   #5
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2021 27' Globetrotter
Malibu , California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SVTOTEM View Post
Very nice. The antenna appears to come with cabling attached. Is it easily removed to attach the pre-wire cabling? Was the hole for the cable exit to the overhead cabinet already there or did you cut it out with a hole saw?
Antenna: unfortunately the antenna comes with a cable attached and sealed inside, no way of removing it. Therefore we attached the 6ft antenna cable to the 6ft cable provided by Airstream. We tried to pull the existing cable through but it is run through the ribs and a lot of glue in the fuselage so we had to just tuck the cable into the roof.

Cabinet: the hole is there as it is the access to the speakers. Apparently for some trailers the lid is underneath the cabinet, but it is there.
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Old 01-11-2021, 03:01 PM   #6
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Thanks. So you found room to store the attached 6’ cables in the space between the roof and inner skins?

The hole I was speaking of is the round hole with the plastic insert that your cables exit the cabinet through.

You did a good job.
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Old 01-11-2021, 05:31 PM   #7
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I just posted on wanting to do this and this answers a lot of my questions. Sounds like I can skip Colonial doing it and just get it done myself when I arrive to pick it up.

One question I had is why did you go with the POYNTING 7 in 1 instead of the Mobile Mark? I read the MobileMark designed for a metal surface install. They also have a new antenna out that supports 5G called the LTMWG942 MobileMark 7-in-1 5G Cellular.

Second question I had was what made you choose to do ez-com ATT plan instead of the one at MobileMustHave.com's ATT data referral?

This is a pretty sweet setup. My wife and I want to work remotely while we travel in our AS we are picking up in late Feb. I wanted to get this ordered and working when we pick it up.
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Old 01-11-2021, 05:36 PM   #8
Grace the Airstream
 
2020 27' Globetrotter
Powhatan , Virginia
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I have the mobile mark antenna and it works very well. I was originally going with Poynting antenna but the reviews on the mobile mark were better so I went that direction.

It is designed to be used with a grounding plane which the Airstream is a giant grounding plane [emoji106]

I also have my data plan through mobilemusthave
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Old 01-11-2021, 06:18 PM   #9
Grace the Airstream
 
2020 27' Globetrotter
Powhatan , Virginia
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Posts: 177
They started the pre-wiring in the 2020 model year but later in the year. I bought my 2020 in September 2019 and it didn't have it (27ft Globetrotter)

I don't use the terestrial radio so I knocked out the radio antenna and installed the mobile mark antenna in place of that.

I had to enlarge the hole slightly but all in all it was pretty easy with the right hole saw.

You can see it is fairly low profile and looks like it was meant to be there. Click image for larger version

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Old 01-11-2021, 06:24 PM   #10
Grace the Airstream
 
2020 27' Globetrotter
Powhatan , Virginia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wordofbabb View Post
I just posted on wanting to do this and this answers a lot of my questions. Sounds like I can skip Colonial doing it and just get it done myself when I arrive to pick it up.

One question I had is why did you go with the POYNTING 7 in 1 instead of the Mobile Mark? I read the MobileMark designed for a metal surface install. They also have a new antenna out that supports 5G called the LTMWG942 MobileMark 7-in-1 5G Cellular.

Second question I had was what made you choose to do ez-com ATT plan instead of the one at MobileMustHave.com's ATT data referral?

This is a pretty sweet setup. My wife and I want to work remotely while we travel in our AS we are picking up in late Feb. I wanted to get this ordered and working when we pick it up.
That was exactly why we invested in the system was to work remotely when we wanted to.

Additionally I use the Airstream as my office when home but use a wifi grabber to pull in the wifi from the house to the Airstream then connect through the pepwave.

With the system we put together we have been in locations with 0 signal on the cell phone and been able to get a solid 20mbps download on the pepwave and the Weboost 65.
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Old 01-12-2021, 12:46 AM   #11
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Malibu , California
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@SVOTEM: yes there is enough space to store the remaining antenna cable. The isolating material under the roof is like soft wool.

@WORDOFBABB: When I bought the antenna I didn't know about the pre-wire, and was also not keen on drilling holes myself. The Poynting antenna has an option to have the cables coming out on the backside, and you can pretty much just use the included 3M giant sticker anywhere on the roof and have the antenna cable go down through the fridge vent. I haven't watched the review the guys at RVMobileInternet did, but I would be interested to understand in what way the Poynting is different to the MobileMark.

Data Plan: MobileMustHave charge a set-up fee, and required up to 45 days for activating the plan. EZ-COM sent me the SIM card within days. In the end it doesn't matter, you will get a SIM and pay someone roughly $150/month.
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Old 01-12-2021, 05:38 AM   #12
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Thank you. This looks like a good setup.
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Old 01-12-2021, 12:50 PM   #13
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2021 25' Flying Cloud
2015 22' FB Sport
Golden , Colorado
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Thank you for this post, as it is very timely. Our new 2021 FC 25 is due to be delivered later this week, and I have been actively working on a decision regarding what to install and whether to have the dealer to install it. This really helped in guiding me to install something similar to this myself instead of having the dealer install the quirky and somewhat limited Airstream Connect system.
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Old 01-27-2021, 10:12 AM   #14
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2021 30' Flying Cloud
Oakland , California
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Hardware reset on a pepwave

For what it's worth, if you don't feel comfortable doing the hardware install, you can have Airstream install Connected and then do a hardware reset on the Pepwave before you do anything with it. The Pepwave they install supports two SIMs, and you can configure it however you want using the Pepwave manual (familiarity with networking equipment and terms helps, but it isn't that bad). Not the most cost-efficient approach, but it gets you the same-ish results with less time invested if that's what you want.
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Old 01-27-2021, 11:42 AM   #15
Grace the Airstream
 
2020 27' Globetrotter
Powhatan , Virginia
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I am also happy to talk through an install with anyone that wants to tackle it themselves. It is fairly simple.
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Old 01-27-2021, 12:57 PM   #16
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2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
Keller , Texas
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DougFelts: I have this same system, and I installed it exactly as you described. I mounted the antenna on the roof and fished the cables down through the fridge vent. (I drilled a hole in the side of the vent’s vertical collar up under the cover vs. taking the cover off and reinstalling it. Much easier.)

I then drilled a hole through the back of the cabinet over the fridge and installed the router there. Note: Be sure to seal the hole you create since that’s a vent for the fridge’s propane exhaust. Same with reapplying caulk to the bottom of the fridge after you pull it out to make wire fishing easier. (And it’s WAY easier that way.)

For power, I ran the router’s line down to the rear of the fridge and connected it to the fridge’s power inlet, so it’s always on (via the batteries up front), vs. plugging it in to an outlet and worrying about being connected to shore or generator power.
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Old 01-27-2021, 04:56 PM   #17
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2021 20' Caravel
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At least I now know what that white cap is on the roof of my 2021 Caravel 20FB. I was measuring for a third 90W long & narrow solar panel. ��
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Old 01-28-2021, 09:28 AM   #18
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2020 27' Globetrotter
Charlotte , North Carolina
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Question

So since you purchased the Ultimate Road Warrior bundle that comes with the 7-in-1 Poynting Antenna, and you mentioned just having to tuck the other cables in the roof, does the router not perform as designed? How did you know when connections to make on the back of the router since you only have 5 cables versus the 7 that is was designed for?

You saved me a ton of trouble because I wasn't aware and Airstream never told me that our new Globetrotter was prewired.

Looking forward to your reply.
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Old 01-29-2021, 12:03 AM   #19
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2021 27' Globetrotter
Malibu , California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NCBOBWAYNE View Post
So since you purchased the Ultimate Road Warrior bundle that comes with the 7-in-1 Poynting Antenna, and you mentioned just having to tuck the other cables in the roof, does the router not perform as designed? How did you know when connections to make on the back of the router since you only have 5 cables versus the 7 that is was designed for?

You saved me a ton of trouble because I wasn't aware and Airstream never told me that our new Globetrotter was prewired.

Looking forward to your reply.
The cables are all Color coded (green for wifi, brown for cellular and blue for gps). I tested every single connection multiple times before sealing the antenna.

The modem works fine. Since there are 4 SIM card slots and I only use 2, the additional two antenna ports were redundant. I however attached the factory plastic antennas in those two ports.

So far everything is working fine!
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Old 01-29-2021, 06:19 AM   #20
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Weboost to Pepwave

PDAVEY: Can you elaborate on how you use the Weboost with the Pepwave?
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