Boosting Cellular Signal — Install The WeBoost Drive 4G-X Cellular Booster & 4G-OTR Antenna

47 comments

1. VHB Update- How’s the VHB holding up and would you do it that way again? I’m looking to do a similar install and have watched your video a couple times. Thanks for the great video and links to all the supplies.

   Reply

   1. Just put my glasses on and saw your reply to a similar question just a couple months ago. No need to respond. Thanks again for all you do.

      Reply

      1. LOL! No worries, Bob! If it matters… the VHB is still holding up great! Bakes in the sun, freezes in the cold, and still holding strong. Our antenna is still exactly where we put it! ? Hope your install goes well… let us know how you make out!

         Reply

2. Thank you very much for your excellent, detailed video. I am curious, now that some time has passed, what your current impression and feedback is for the VHB tape. How has it held up? To what degree has it been exposed to prolonged high temperatures. I am asking because we are about to replicate your design for the metal roof of our Sprinter Class B RV. I looked at 3M’s website and understand what they say they can do; and, we still have some reservations to sitting out in the sun at lower latitude and traveling at times up to 70 mph. How is it working for you? If you would do it again, would you make any modifications?

   Thank you very much for your time in answering my question. Also, thank you very much for your generosity of everything you have created and shared on your website.

   Reply

   1. Hi I. L. We haven’t exposed our antenna mount to EXTREME heat (i.e. no Death Valley in August), but it’s been in plenty of hot places (90+ degrees, blazing sun, and humid) and cold ones (below freezing, windy, and wet) and it’s still holding up great. We wouldn’t change a thing about the setup we used. It’s been rock solid. The VHB is amazing stuff… we’ve heard of people using it to mount solar panels to their roof without having to drill holes, so our little antenna mount isn’t much of a challenge for it. We’ve got no qualms about how it has held up, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

      Reply

3. Gentlemen:

   Excellent video (as always) and I just ordered my WeBoost OTR kit. I’m planning on utilizing your method on the roof and I’m wondering: should I stick with the VHB tape (pun intended) or puddle some dicore under each of the 4 blocks and trust to that? FWIW: we’re in FL, but going full-time in the spring.

   Thanks.

   Reply

   1. Thanks so much. First off, congrats on your plans to go full-time! Second, we would definitely stick with the pun (VHB) as Dicor is a sealant, not an adhesive, and we would not trust it for this purpose. Dicor stays pliable, and we’re pretty sure it wouldn’t take long for you to find your antenna lying on the roof, held up there only by the cable, after some 60 MPH winds worked it loose while driving. ;-)

      Reply

4. Hi Guys! Thanks for the video, planning to install the 19″ spring based OTR antenna with the Drive 4G-X booster. I have a question about the antenna mount, as we may use your custom mount or possibly use our ladder to mount. I’m wondering this, we were a bit concerned about the antenna height when underway and thought it might be good to have a way to bend the antenna over and secure it while driving. based on the antenna spring design do you think that is feasible or would you have any concerns about doing this? Thanks in advance!

   Reply

   1. Hi Kerri! It’s always a good idea to be cognizant of any additions to the height of your RV… installing the OTR antenna raised our total height by 9″. And while it is a spring-mounted base… that spring is QUITE stiff. We’d have concerns about planning to bend it over and secure it flatter to the roof while driving. It exerts a LOT of force. And while it would give and bend if it encountered a stiff branch (at slow speed), we’d think you’d have a hard time bending it over and holding it there.

      If you’re concerned about the height, you may want to consider using a pivotable marine-style mount (like this one on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DNVwo1 ) that you could release and lower to the roof before driving. But keep in mind that doing that will reduce (or completely eliminate) the boosting capability of the antenna while underway. If you’re planning to want the booster while driving… you may want to instead consider the Drive 4G-X RV model. It doesn’t necessarily have any better of a mount (primarily, they intend for it to be mounted to a ladder… so if you’re not going to do that, you need to cobble together some other mounting mechanism to put it on the roof), but it’s much shorter and won’t extend above the roof the way the OTR antenna will.

      Hope this helps!

      Reply

5. Hi guys,
   Thank you so much for doing these information videos. My husband and I are new to RVing and recently found your videos which have so helpful to first timers. We have reviewed your 2016 video in installing the wifi ranger and your January 2017 video regarding the we boost and we are a little confused as to whether we need both the we boost and a wifi ranger.
   Thank you so much for your help.

   Reply

   1. Hi John & Regina! Thanks so much for your note, and question. There is indeed common confusion regarding the WiFi Ranger and the WeBoost. The difference is that they use two different ways of accessing the internet. One uses WiFi (the WiFi Ranger, of course), and the other uses cellular data (the WeBoost).

      The two technologies are distinct and separate from each other. Cellular data is broadcast from powerful towers over long distances, and picked up only by cellular-enabled devices, such as cell phones, Mi-Fi devices, and cellular-enabled tablets.

      WiFi is broadcast in more contained areas by coffee shops, RV parks, offices, restaurants, within people’s homes, etc, and can be picked up by virtually any device, including laptop and desk top computers.

      The WiFi Ranger will strengthen your connection to someone else’s Wi-Fi network, as long as you have any required password, often allowing free access. But the source has to be within a reasonable distance, often within a half-mile or even less, depending on conditions.

      The WeBoost is great for being autonomous if you have a good cellular data plan. It will help you stay connected in many more remote areas, even when no WiFi signal is anywhere nearby.

      Hope this helps a bit. Safe travels!

      Reply

6. Hello Guys,

   Now that June is here, any update on how your VHB tape is holding up? I am planning to mount ours shortly using your design and (unfortunately) we don’t travel as much as you do (yet) so the RV will sit more in the Arizona heat!

   Keep up the good work on the “how to” videos.

   Reply

   1. Hi Paul! We’ve got 4,500 miles behind us since we installed the WeBoost, lots of it at highway speeds through cold, rain and wind, and that antenna mount hasn’t budged! We haven’t tested it in the blazing summer Arizona heat, but we have had some pretty hot conditions so far, and no change. This was our first experience with VHB, and everything we’d read about it staying put no matter what is apparently true. :)

      Reply

7. Hi there, we just purchased the Weboost RV 4G-X. We’ve watched this video on installing the Weboost and also the wifiranger install and we have a question; why did you use the eternabond tape on the wifiranger cable and cable clips on the Weboost cable? We’re concerned that the clips will crack and come loose being exposed to the weather.

   Reply

   1. Hi Mike & Joanie! Here’s the scoop on this one. We did the Eternabond because we’re anal retentive! LOL But we thought better of it the second time around. Not that there’s anything WRONG with using Eternabond, but it will NEVER come off. We used it to protect the cable from the possibility of being snagged on a tree branch in some forested campground, but in truth that’s less likely to be a problem than us wanting to remove, or move, or replace the cable someday. Now that will be a real chore. So we decided to be a little less compulsive with the WeBoost. Those cable clips have been holding up just fine up there, and even if one did break, the others will hold it in place fine until we discover and replace it during a routine roof inspection. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with using Eternabond, and it does have the benefit of being pretty damn impervious to anything (the fact that the cable we used it on runs diagonally, making it more likely to get caught on a passing tree limb, was indeed a factor in our decision, where the WeBoost cable runs straight back from front to rear, making it very unlikely to get snagged). But that trait (imperviousness) could lead to a downside, as any attempt to remove the cable would likely involve slicing the tape and leaving it up there, since there’s pretty much no way to remove it. Not that leaving it up there without a cable in it would be the end of the world… but that gets back to that anal-retentive thing. LOL Dicor puddles every couple of feet are a common way that pros hold cables in place, and we’d be just fine with that, too. Secure, but easily removable, too. Next time we do a cable on the roof, we’ll probably go that route, just to show it as an option if nothing else. Hope this helps you make a decision about this. Hard to go too wrong either way.

      Reply

8. Great video on the WeBoost cellular booster. Made me go out and buy the Drive 4G-X RV unit. Watched many videos on installation of the outside antenna from your site to others. All had very good ideas. I remember watching your wi-fi ranger video and mounting it on the winegard batwing antenna. I have owned my 2001 Dutch Star for almost 9 years and have never used that antenna. In fact, I removed the front CRT to keep banging my head on the cabinet and disconnected the cables but left the batwing antenna alone. I removed the rear facing 1″ square tube and then mounted the new omni directional antenna on the end. Used the same entry hole for the batwing cable and pulled the new cable into the side cabinet near the front which was about 3′ from the batwing base. Finished hooking up the remaining items. It appears to work great and will find out when we travel in a couple of weeks. I can now crank up the boost antenna to use and back down for travel. Thanks for your ideas and videos.

   Reply

   1. Hey Rod! Sounds like you did a nice install! Hope it works great for you!

      Reply

9. Hey guys! Thanks for the video and the ideas. Now that the RV version has been released, I am going to order one and install in my Ventana with three slides. That is the gotcha. I am going to permanently mount the outdoor antenna and run the wire into the mid-bath cabinet where the electrical is so that I can run off of 12V. My conundrum is how to get the indoor antenna to some surface that is within 20ft of cable length and not complicated by being on a slide.

   Any ideas?

   Reply

   1. Hi Kelly! We’d suggest that placing the internal antenna in a slide is problematic no matter where you mount the booster itself, or the external antenna. Our dining room table is in a slide, and it doubles as our work space, so we’re very often there working online all day, making it a potentially good spot for the internal antenna.

      However, we did not mount the antenna there for two reasons. First, because we want boosting while underway (up by the front seats), and second, because running the antenna wire into a slide-out is a challenge we have never undertaken, as both the routing, and resulting cable length, would be problematic.

      So what we do is keep our MiFi device up on the dashboard by the internal antenna, even while parked, and that broadcasts throughout the RV no problem. The rare times we need to make phone calls while parked in a remote spot (we’re lucky that phone calls are not a frequent part of running our business), we simply sit up front while on the phone or use a Bluetooth headset.

      We’d suggest that since 12-volt power is easy enough to locate in so many places around the RV, that you not limit yourself to mounting the booster in the mid-bath if that location isn’t optimal for other reasons. We worked backwards, with internal antenna placement being our first consideration (again, front dashboard for us), then figuring out if there was somewhere nearby to mount the booster with power available (front tech cabinet in our case, just up the A-pillar from the dashboard), followed by external antenna placement, which can go anywhere on the roof if flat-mounted as in our video.

      Of course there are two that that might change the order of those considerations for you: 1) The location of available access to the roof, such as our conduit, and 2) Positioning of the roof antenna to be far enough away from the internal antenna to prevent oscillation. These positioning requirements could necessitate the addition of extension cable(s) on the internal and/or external antenna(s). Our run down the A-pillar to the dashboard did indeed require an extension to reach, but they’re available from WeBoost.

      Hope this helps a bit. Please let us know how you make out.

      Reply

      1. Hadn’t thought about a couple of your points. Thanks for sharing.

         Reply

10. Hi RV Geeks. I love this video and have referred back to it several times as we plan for our new Ventana. We have the ability to also request conduits around the rig. I plan on getting one from the roof to the A/V (Tech) cabinet. But I was also thinking of a conduit from the bathroom circuit cabinet to the basement cabinet where the Solar prep wire is (we are ordering a solar prep). This is because some folks say there are so many controls on the main control panel, that a user-added solar display main not fit – so I would possibly put it in the mid bathroom. And maybe another from the AV cabinet to the basement…

    Anyway, the main question I have – if you did it again, where would you put more conduits?

    Let me know.
    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Rich! Conduits from the bathroom cabinet to the roof and basement is a great idea, since that’s a prime place to install equipment. When we custom-ordered our rig, we specified that the included solar pre-wiring have two changes made to it: 1) 6-gauge wire, and 2) Drop a loop of it into the bathroom cabinet to allow us to mount our solar controller there. But a conduit would be better, since it would allow additional wiring if needed in the future. And having one come from the roof into the bathroom and then another from the bathroom to the basement would allow a run of wire to come from the roof down to the basement, which could be useful, too. One thing… the small diameter of our conduit makes it hard to run wires, as does the ribbed tubing they used for it. We’d suggest asking if Newmar if they can make the diameter as large as possible, and use smooth tubing instead of ribbed. Would have made our lives a lot easier, especially when running that 4th or 5th wire! One other thing that would have been very helpful is the placement of the opening on the roof. Our roof access plate is located about 4 feet behind the other end of it in the tech cabinet. There seems to be absolutely no reason for this other than making wires harder to pull. Not sure why they didn’t bring it out as far forward on the roof as possible. Right behind the front cap would have been great. Congrats on your new Ventana, and hope this helps a bit!

       Reply

       1. Thanks guys! I will take your advice on the locations. And I asked our rep and it turns out that they no longer use the ribbed conduit- so that should help.

          Thanks again for your quick and helpful response.

          Reply

11. So …. UPS just delivered the Weboost and the WiFi ranger ….. before I climb up on the roof; are there any restrictions on mounting them near each other???? I got the elite roof mount for the ranger; and the trucker attenena for the weboost and most likely will be using your aluminum block method.

    Reply

    1. Hey Steven! The antennas operate on different frequencies, so we wouldn’t expect them to interfere (nor have we heard of anyone reporting that they do). We’ve read that cellular antennas should be mounted with some separation (12 – 18″)… so if you were concerned about a potential problem, you could mount them apart by that much. Hope this helps!

       Reply
12. Pingback: 2017 Quartzsite RV Show Meet & Greet Wrap-Up — The RVgeeks

13. Yes! So glad you guys did this video :D. I just picked up my WeBoost this week and excited to install it… but thankfully I’ve got some help from the experts.

    Hope you guys are well!

    Heath

    Reply

    1. Excellent! Hope you like it as much as we do. And your timing is uncanny…. we’re in St. George, UT today to visit WeBoost’s main office about an hour from now. LOL Hope you two are having a great winter.

       Reply

14. Can you mount the Weboost the your TV antenna?

    Reply

    1. Theoretically you could, but we’d advise against it, as that would preclude using the system when you’re driving down the road.

       Reply

15. For the stubby antenna you mention using the Dicor and also the putty tape. Do you need to use both and if so, how?

    Reply

    1. Hi Jerry,

       Sorry if we weren’t clear on that one. We recommend using putty tape only if you are attaching the trucker antenna to a rubber roof, as a way to waterproof underneath the aluminum blocks where the required screws enter the roof. When utilizing the stubby magnet mount antenna, you should not need any putty tape at all, as no holes are required in the roof. Simply adhere the 1 ft-square galvanized plate to the roof using Dicor, regardless of whether you have a fiberglass or rubber roof. No putty tape is needed because no holes need to be made in the roof, and the only purpose of putty tape is waterproofing, not adhesion. Hope this is clear.

       Reply

16. Will be very interested in how well the VHB tape works. Lots of people complain it let’s go after a week or so and does not stick well to plastic.

    Reply

    1. We bought it because the overwhelming majority of reviews we’ve read are very good, but we’ll keep you posted if it fails. From what we’ve heard, it’s VERY good at bonding to smooth, hard, clean surfaces, but again, we’ll report on any failure.

       Reply

17. Damn, you guys are expensive. Been looking at this solution since last spring. Just didn’t want to put out the money. Also, each time I started thinking about the configuration and all that I needed, I got lazy…

    And then you had to make a video… And provide a complete parts list. Yeah, just click on the Amazon links and watch the items jump into the little shopping cart. Only it wasn’t so little.

    Should I say thanks for nothing…Or for making this easy, except for my new mortgage.

    Great reflector/mounting plate idea without the need to drill holes into my roof. Saw another mounting plate with bends and welds that screwed into the roof. Your solution is very simple. Great thinking.

    As always, enjoy your videos and tips.

    re, mike angles

    Reply

    1. So sorry Mike! We have a friend whose better half has forbidden him to talk to us about RV stuff, let alone watch our videos. We’re supposedly a “bad influence” and “bad for retirement planning.” LOL Last time we were together, we started talking about our drone, and boy you should have seen the dirty looks we got! ;-)

       Reply

       1. Guess I am lucky, as the wife wants a drone. And guess who I have to thank for that – You guys and your friends that are now off sailing in distant ports.

          cheers, mike

          Reply

18. As always you guys did an awesome job with your show n tell. We have the same outside antenna with the RV 4G booster and desktop antenna. We mounted our trucker antenna on the rear ladder (18′) from our refrigerator vent. Top is below our AC so might use your mounting idea and relocate. Any tips on desktop placement antenna vs your dash indoor antenna? Is is more directional….and if so, do I still need to keep it 8′ from the outdoor antenna? Also, wonder if shielding the indoor antenna with aluminum foil would eliminate oscillating? Thanks and safe travels.

    Reply

    1. Aw, thanks! Glad you liked the video! We don’t have any experience with the desktop antenna… but checking out the installation manual for it (https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/content/pdfs/WA301208-WA301209-INSTALLATION-GUIDE.pdf), it shows that you need a minimum of 20′ of horizontal separation or 15′ of vertical separation to ensure there’s not any oscillation. Our only concern is that the desktop antenna is primarily intended for use with WeBoost’s home equipment… and those usually use a directional outdoor antenna, not an omnidirectional one like the 4G-OTR antennas. So that combination may be more prone to oscillation (and thus reduced/non-existent boosting).

       Reply

19. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

    So I’m sitting in my coach stored in a warehouse, staring at all the components, getting ready to install the 4G-X on our rig, and I decide to look at your page (which I do every so often).

    Lo and behold there’s a detailed, in depth video explaining to me exactly what I need to do – the only difference being that I installed the marine mount antenna instead of the trucker antenna.

    Without your video, I would not have known about the oscillation that occurs when the two antennas are placed close together.

    Thank you for all your videos and for doing what you do. It makes it much easier for those of us embarking on our journies.

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know that our video was helpful. That’s what it’s all about for us, and so great to hear. :)

       Reply

20. I was wanting to know or is there a way to tell if the trucker style antenna is pulling in better.I do boondock in Colorado in summer.Combination the trees mountains and so forth.I have the 12″ magnet antenna.Curiosity killed the cat kinda thing?

    Reply

    1. We don’t have a means of performing a direct comparison, but from the specs, the 4G-OTR antenna should be stronger than the 4″ stubby magnet-mount “standard” antenna. Can’t say for sure how it would compare against the 12″ magnet antenna… but we do know that one of the “gotchas” can be that not all antennas work with all frequencies. For example, the 12″ antenna may work fine for 3G signal, but could actually be hurting you for 4G and LTE. So you want to be sure that the antenna you’re using is properly optimized for the frequencies that your devices use… and that are available in your area.

       Reply

21. I like the device, but I’m really wondering about the VHB tape. I’ve tried several 3M tapes in Florida and they just don’t hold up to the heat. I’m also wondering about the cable running across the roof. Seems like it will be flapping against the roof, both driving you crazy with the noise and putting constant motion on the clips and making them come away from the roof.

    Reply

    1. Hi Doug! This is our first experience with VHB, so we can’t speak from experience yet (it’s only been on our roof for a short time now). But we’ve read such good reviews that we’re hoping we like it long-term as much as we do so far. We’ve heard about it being used for screw-free installations of solar panel mounting brackets/feet, despite the small surface area, and also saw the impressive demonstration videos where the tape stops two tractor-trailers from driving away from each other!

       Regarding the cable on the roof, we have no trouble with flapping at all, and the clips are all staying in place so far. Part of that may be due to the fact that we ran the cable straight back, so that the wind from driving just runs directly along, vs across, it. If you check out our WiFi Ranger installation video, you can see that we went to the opposite extreme for that cable (using Eternabond tape, which is probably overkill). We did that for the exact reason you mentioned, as it runs somewhat diagonally. Besides the potential for catching more wind, that would present greater risk for being yanked by a low-hanging tree limb, where, again, running the WeBoost cable straight back reduces that likelihood.

       Reply

22. The Amazon link description says “COMPATIBLE WITH ALL US NETWORKS – Works on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Straight Talk and more.”.

    It looked like you did the install in Canada (Chilliwack perhaps) and if so can you confirm that it works well for Canadian cell carriers?

    Perhaps Weboost will be at Quartzsite as this is one of the items on my ‘to-get’ list. Hope to see you there.

    Reply

    1. Hi John,

       We did, indeed, perform the installation in BC… good eye! ;)

       As far as carriers go, WeBoost lists that the Drive 4G-X “boosts signal for all U.S. & Canadian cell carriers”, so it should work for any of the major cellular providers.

       Not sure if WeBoost themselves will be present at the Quartzsite show… but there may be a re-seller/installer there (just watch pricing).

       Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.