weBoost Drive 4G-X RV Cell Booster Install and Review

In this video, I install, demo and review the newly released weBoost Drive 4G-X RV cellular booster kit. The kit is designed specifically for boosting cell signals in RVs.

I also compare performance between various weBoost internal and external antennas. These include on the outside the OTR trucker, the new RV one, and the little mag mount. One the inside I compare the new 4G-X RV kit antenna, the large square white wall antenna, and the small square vehicle antenna.

Finally, after using the cell booster in numerous locations and signal strengths, I give my personal findings and likes and dislikes. For testing, I use a Huawei P9 smartphone on T-Mobile, a Verizon Jetpack MiFi Hotspot and a cheapie Tracfone.

Links to older reviews:

"The Drive 4G-X RV is our powerful in-vehicle cell phone signal booster kit certified for use anywhere in the US and Canada. The Drive 4G-X RV boosts voice and data with max FCC-allowed 50 dB system gain, enhancing 4G LTE, as well as 3G network signals, up to 32x. RVers get fewer lost connections and dead zones, better call quality as well as faster data uploads and downloads whether parked or in motion in their RV. Works in all classes of RV; Class A, Class C and all towables. read less"
All weBoost boosters come with a 2-year warranty.
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Connect with Love Your RV!

[darrellwampler]

I love the smell of melting solder in the morning!😎

[tmoney-xruh]

Free advice from an RF engineer:) Your signal capture from the tower is probably the most important aspect the chain. And a highly directional antenna such as a Yagi gives the best chance to improve your signal to noise ratio(SINR or CINR) from your donor tower and SINR is what you need to improve your modulation scheme. (how many bits per hertz your phone can receive). Interference can be viewed as a mesh sum of RF energy coming from all directions and a Yagi is like a telescope only looking at a specific direction while magnifying that direction and rejecting other directions. The higher the gain of the Yagi, the more directional your antenna becomes, the better the SINR and thus better throughput. Also understand not every tower has all carriers so you will need to know which tower your carrier is on and point your Yagi towards it.

Isolation is the probably 2nd thing you want to optimize between your Yagi and coverage antenna. Ideally your coverage antenna should be directional panel antenna and pointing away from donor antenna to maximize isolation. Don't point your Yagi over the RV for this will kill your isolation. Also you don't need to blast your amplifier to cover your RV. Understand that -105dBm RSRP(not RSSI) is plenty of signal provided that your SINR is good. SINR is as only good as you source SINR coming from the Yagi. The amplifier does not improve SINR no matter how much gain you set. Understand you will not get any benefit from a -60dbm vs -100dbm RSRP in your RV if your SINR is the same. So if you are concerned about MPE(maximum permissible exposure), don't set you gain to max if you don't need to.

Minimize the use of coverage omni's unless you know you can maintain the isolation needed to cover your area. But a smart amplifier may turn its gain down to create the needed isolation so you may not get the coverage benefit you're seeking.

Personally I think the moving vehicle boosters are joke for the money. If you are getting 0 or less SINR at the roof antenna, no amplifier can improve that. If your carrier signal is noise limited and not interference limited you may have some boost benefit but all networks are interference limited unless if specific scenarios. That scenario would be extremely rural area where there is only 1 tower serving for miles.

[SerendipitySue]

Thanks for review. I took a 2 month trip from NY to Texas to Florida and back at the beginning of the year. I tested the Weboost 4G-X-RV with Verizon, ATT, and T-mobile at all the places I boondocked/camped. I tested both an omni and yagi external antenna. The results were interesting. I learned a couple of things:

1st, DB isn't a very useful metric. I used the Speedtest app to check upload/download speeds. You can have great DB, but a crowded/lousy cell tower. After all, how fast you can download or upload a video is what makes the booster useful.

2nd, there was no best network. All three major networks were better at some places. A good portion of the time, the unboosted signal had a better download speed than boosted. Upload speeds were always better with the booster.

3rd, The yagi takes time to set up (and can't be used while driving). In really remote areas with no signal, the opensignal app didn't always give a direction. So you had to hunt for the tower. At one place on the Texas coast, I could only get a connection with the yagi antenna. Most of the time, the extra effort to put up the yagi wasn't worth the effort. The omni antenna provided similiar upload/download speeds.

I have a small 14.5' trailer and I had to use the small candy bar antenna instead of the one provided with the RV kit. Since I couldn't get the required separation (getting green leds during boot-up).

Weboost was definitely worth having. But having multiple carriers is also important!

[raybbj]

WOW! at 38 mins, this is like a 1 hour TV show. Who needs cable TV when you have LOVE YOUR RV starring everyone's favourite RV celebrity, Ray Burr and his sidekick Angie !! Much more entertaining and informative than anything on cable.

[scottydawg]

Companies must be lining up to get such thorough field testing and reviews. Great channel Ray. Always look forward to your new videos and the monthly newsletter update.

[tyrelli]

Worked for me. Bought the $450 one 3 years ago and it worked okay with the tiny little black indoor antenna and flat outdoor antenna. Amplifier died last month. Usually went 1 bar to 2-3 bars on my cell. Just bought the $950 one this month and just installed (4G-X, not RV). Now it went from 1 bar to all bars 4-5 bars. Sweet.


Have to register to get replacement amplifier the next time. Antennas are cheap. The cost is the amplifiers.


Great product.

[asabetti]

i am plus 30 minutes in to this video review of rv antennas
i am riveted
i am a 33 year old woman who has never been rving
ever
youtube you have got me again
great video

[skelly]

Awesome review. Only thing I wish was added was if you used a directional antenna outside. I know it is not part of the kit, but would be interesting. Thank you for a very clear and honest review.

[RGColbert]

Great review Ray. I really like that you took the time to cover a number of locations and testing the interior antenna range. Thanks.

[nancysavidge]

Ray, thanks for getting back to me on the solar connector. Which of your videos show the specifics of how you run wires down from the roof of the RV to the interior, that is the scariest part for me!

[dtjamslive]

Excellent review Ray! I have the 4G-S cradle model and it works great with our Verizon MiFi in our 27ft motor home. We do not go to many remote locations, mostly the California coast but did got to Yosemite national park and without the Boost the Verizon signal struggled. Keep up the great videos!

[richardowens]

Thanks, for the great review! It helps me to set my expectations when evaluating the various systems available.

Of course, the big reason these cellular boost systems have such limited range is because they have to perform a delicate balancing act. They need the antenna that detects the remote cellular signal to be very sensitive to ensure maximum range, but the signal into the coach can't be so high that the antenna on the roof detects it - otherwise, you get oscillation, like the feedback you get from putting a microphone near a speaker, except at radio frequencies. Therefore, none of the systems that feature omni-directional antennas are going to provide much coverage inside the vehicle.

An alternative approach that would allow for a stronger signal inside the coach would be to use a highly directional antenna with good side and rear rejection that could be placed on a mast mounted in a portable tripod and turned in the proper direction of the nearest tower. Then, locate another high gain directional antenna on the same mast below the first pointing back at the coach. Both ends of the system would need to be remotely located and powered. This means that you would need some kind of weatherproof enclosure and a way of supplying power to it. Obviously, this is much more complex and expensive - but, would likely achieve far superior results. Another advantage of this approach is that it would give you a lot more flexibility to find the best spot to set the antenna tripod without having to move your RV. The disadvantage is that it is something you would have to set up every time you needed it, rather than just switching it on.

[gladuwf]

Just installed our Weboost Drive 4G-X RV. We added extra washers to the u-bolts on the antenna ladder mount and then everything tightened up great, otherwise the u-bolts run out of threads before the nuts get tight. This might be an option for people who don't want to drill holes in their RV ladder.

[bradwartman]

Wonderful review, Ray. I already, like you, have a 4G-X booster using a trucker antenna outside and the "chocolate bar" antenna inside. I'm going to keep the outside antenna and found that for $30 I can get the new (& improved?) inside antenna directly from WeBoost. For boondockers like us this kit is really a must-have

FYI, I did the outside antenna mount a little differently. Instead of mounting the external antenna to the ladder rack I use a set of military surplus tent poles (1.25" dia. in 4' sections) bought on eBay. The mast sections are held in place with bungees to the rear ladder of my 5er. The cables are then run through the slider seal to the wi-fi router/WeBoost. Setup is pretty simple and quick with the advantage that no holes have to be drilled for the antenna wires and more sections can be added to increase the antenna height if needed.

Keep up the good work, really enjoy the videos!

[haroldbevins]

Ray, I may be wrong, but I think the clamp is on backwards, the Part you have outside next to the  U-bolt should be turned around and put next to the bracket holding the antenna letting the U-bold snug up to the ladder pole.. That could all depend on how many threads you have to work with because everything will need to be threaded farther up on the U-bolt and then you can cut off the excess threads.... I hope I made all this as clear as mud at least.. haha   love watching your videos..

[MikeSalsgiver]

SUPERB video Ray!!! Sorry about the Oregon coast weather though...Safe travels, my friend!

[timburton]

Stick the big trucker antenna on a painters roller extension pole with some zip-ties and use a couple of 3M Command Broom Gripper holders and stick them to the side of your RV and insert the painters pole with antenna attached extended as high as possible and you'll get the best reception you can get.

[TechSarge]

I am glad you put this video out. It help me to make up my mind about the trucker or RV booster. Thanks.

[johnsparkman]

Thanks for your review. I've used the cradle sleek for years. Was unlocking t-mobile phones and ordering a at&t SIM card from Straighttalk - walmart online. Much better signal generally. Unlimited data for cheap. Now have switched to a Straighttalk LG Stylo 3 129 and nolonger need a boost at all with the pre SIM Verizon service. The RV kit maybe of interest.

[clovenbeast]

Oh my God in that one scene it look like you were on a poster. Beautiful mountain range and boulders.