New 2021 View 24D first impressions

[Dave-Oh]

I would note that the cab radio issue that sounds like it only has a center speaker can be remedied somewhat by disconnecting the center speaker.

The speaker has 2 plugs: one is to the emergency system and the other is the stereo (it's the plug nearest the windshield with the purple wire). You can just unplug that one and you'll have the door speakers only, which you can get a better sound (I think) and use the balance control.

[Elkman]

It took awhile to realize that a 2019 coach has a 2018 chassis, transmission, and engine. We wanted the added safety features with the 2019 Mercedes Sprinter and so knew we needed to get a 2020 or later model year RV. Getting a MH with a 2000W inverter standard was better than spending over$2,000 to upgrade a 1200W inverter.

I am glad that we got ours with the standard AGM batteries as I found some lot temperature lithium batteries to replace them.

[Elkman]

The wired in surge protector may work to suppress surges but it will not protect against low voltage at a campground which is just as bad. A Hughes autoformer or similar device is in effect a RV line conditioner that also provides superior surge supression. The external surge suppressors will also show if there is a polarity problem at the outlet or a live ground before you plug in your RV's electrical system.

The low temp lithium batteries are from Relion (R100-LT and although more expensive than Battle Born and other 100 Ah batteries they can be charged at ambient temperatures as low as -4 degrees as compared to 32 degrees for standard lithium batteries.

[Moseyinn]

We just bought the Navion 24D. 2021. I can’t figure out how to work the TV. You said you have Apple TV. What do you use for streaming . So far we love it but we haven’t ventured out yet.

[Dave-Oh]

I don’t have an Apple TV, but what I do have is a Roku unit that plugs into the HDMI port of the TV and has its own remote. I have a wifi setup as well (wifi ranger) that I plug a ATT hotspot into and can run all of our devices on wifi ( including a printer) and also does nicely to stream to the Roku. In a pinch, we have also just used my phone as a wifi hotspot (Verizon) when the ATT signal is too weak and/or the campground wifi limits streaming. Apple TV would be much the same, needing to stream over wifi...

[rprochnow]

If you have an unlimited data plan for your phone, it may be best to use it for streaming, connecting to the TV with HDMI.

[67Tiger]

It took me 6 months of shopping TV options before I finally settled on Roku streaming, along with Verizon jetpack wireless connection. We ditched cable at home for streaming, and we like it there so why not in the RV. In hind sight I would of purchased the Nvidia product instead of Roku, but overall we're super happy to have TV without a huge dome antenna, and with all the TV options, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube TV, Sling and the list goes on...

[Moseyinn]

Thanks - I wish I had found this forum before we purchased the winegard gateway - Now I have to figure out what to do next

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by Moseyinn

Thanks - I wish I had found this forum before we purchased the winegard gateway - Now I have to figure out what to do next

The Winegard Gateway is not the best RV Cellular router, but it's not bad for the price either.

You will need a SIM card to put in the Gateway. And their brochure says it works with ATT and Verizon.

This is where things get techy and hazy. There are thousands of pages on the internet about mobile internet data plans. And, there are few short cuts to get an easy answer.

Most non-techy folks would visit their cellular carrier's store and be sold a SIM card that is an added line to your current cellular plan and it would be only $10 or so more per month.

You put that SIM card in the Gateway and configure everything and viola... internet. But if you use it as planned to watch TV you'll use up a month's worth of high speed data in a few days - 3 to 5 days depending on how much TV you watch and that will be the end of TV watching until the next month.

T-mobile is starting to offer 50 gig and even 100 gig plans and you can get a SIM card with a data plan without switching your phones. But it might be more money than you want to spend.

In general your cellphone carrier's store will not understand the needs of an RVer and they have NEVER heard of a Winegard Gateway. So, don't expect them to help.

The goal is to get an affordable "truly unlimited" data plan with high enough speeds to stream TV. The major carriers add on data plans will provide 10 to 15 gigs of high speed and then drop to super slow speed once that's used up and you will not be able to stream at those slow speeds.

Verizon has a spin off company called Visible and they offer unlimited data plans for simple phones for $40 a month (and with some work you can get that lowered to $25 a month). Visible is a pre-paid service so you have to pay for it once a month and you have no contract.

Visible promises data speeds of"at least" 5 mbps which is fine to stream TV. And, it was supposed to only work in phones but folks have found you can take the SIM card out of a phone and put it in a router like the Gateway.

You order visible online and you'll probably need to buy a cheap phone to get the SIM card activated and set up - see, I told you it gets techy.

I assume yours is already installed. But here's an installation video and about 1/2 way through they briefly talk about inserting a SIM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYhfu3qq22g

[creativepart]

A bit more info... Winegard will sell you data for your Gateway, but the pricing isn't great. By "not great" I mean it's horrible.

10GB of data for $59/mo - with usage limited to the U.S. only
10GB for $80/mo -with usage allowed in U.S. and Canada
20GB for $150/mo - with usage allowed in U.S. and Canada

Here's a video from www.rvmobileinternet.com you'll find their website has a ton of info on this topic. Very techy but very current and helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdnTCxUyw3w

[rprochnow]

Using the Winegard as a cellular hotspot probably only makes sense if your carrier is supported by Winegard and you can use your carrier's SIM in the Winegard and add this onto your existing smartphone plan (which should be cheaper than Winegard's data rates).

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by rprochnow

Using the Winegard as a cellular hotspot probably only makes sense if your carrier is supported by Winegard and you can use your carrier's SIM in the Winegard and add this onto your existing smartphone plan (which should be cheaper than Winegard's data rates).

Winegards literature says it offers Verizon and ATT compatibility, but their installation video says it also works with T-Mobile. So, it works with all major carriers.

Adding a separate SIM to an existing account is an easy and inexpensive way to get internet access but ONLY if you are fine with the data limits these account based SIMs offer - which in virtually all situations allow only 10 to 15 gigs of high speed data per month.

That amount of data is fine for basic internet surfing, youtube videos and emails. But not streaming TV or movies. Unless you plan on going camping for no more than 3-4 days a month.

Those that stream TV and take longer trips (1-week to 1-month or longer) will need 100 to 200 gigs of data and that's what's really tough to find affordably. We use 200 to 300 gigs a month with all our internet usage for a 5-week trip.

Assuming that a Visible SIM will work in the Winegard Gateway that would be the cheapest and easiest way to get completely unlimited internet at a reasonable price. BUT I don't know if the Visible SIM (which just runs on Verizon's network) will work or not. Visible is not set up to be used this way but there are hundreds of reports of folks that have tried it and it's working for them.

PS. I don't share what I use because I lucked into old legacy account options 4 years ago that do not exist as options today. I have unlimited ATT and Verizon SIMs that are totally unlimited in all ways and cost me $22 for ATT and $39 for Verizon per month. There is no way for anyone to get these deals today.

[rprochnow]

While there is some mention of T-Mobile - it wasn't supported the last time I checked (we're on T-Mobile/Sprint) - so instead we purchased a 5G hotspot with 100GB/month - which will be faster in areas with 5G than the 4G built-in with the Winegard.

[creativepart]

That's a good plan. I think you should perhaps give that SIM a try in the Winegard if you have one. But the new 100gb plan from T-Mobile with their new 5G modem is one of the top plans available.

One would hope that it will be so successful that ATT and Verizon match that deal.

I think it's $50 a month... correct?

As I said previously, I'm all set. And my sweet deal has worked flawlessly for 4+ years. I keep up with all of this stuff just in case I somehow lose these unbelievable plans I have now. I rely on them for all TV on our RV and we travel 4 months a year.

[rprochnow]

I also have a 100GB/month plan on my 5G S21 Ultra and we have another 50GB/month for our other 4G smartphone.

Plus the smartphones have unlimited data - so they can run streaming apps, and then use screen mirroring to our 4K smart TV - without incurring any data charges...

In the future, might try to get a Sim for the Winegard - but only to use as a fallback...

[37NG]

Originally Posted by Lou D

I would love to replace the Anytime "dumb" TV with a Samsung 4K Smart TV but has anyone been able to figure out how to mount the new Samsung Smart TV to a mounting bracket securely without zip tying the TV to the old mounting bracket?

Smart TV’s are way dumber than an Apple TV. On the 21’ they wired a HDMI port from the TV to the wall in the TV cabinet - have the Apple hooked in works great. There is an Apple TV bracket on Amazon to mount under the cabinet adjacent to the TV for remote reception

[Elkman]

4G was announced in 2010 and it is still not available everywhere, and service depends on how far you are from the cell tower and the towers are placed along major highways. 5G coverage is concentrated in the southeast and the far west. Marginal if any 5G coverage at this time in Arizona, NM, NV, Idaho, MT, Wyoming, or Oregon. If you spend all your time in Western California then you will be OK.

Differrent carriers use differnt 5G frequencies so you will need a new phone or phones any time you switch carriers. This is not by accident as it makes customers more reluctant to switch to a different service.

We have our smartphones and the Wingard on the same data plan with Verizon. We paid $20 for new SIM for the Winegard and that was it. Most of the time we have our smartphones switched off and so never approach the limit for our data plan.

4G is not an option at our house as there is only one cell tower within the line of sight and it provides at best 2 bars of signal strength. Instead we pay $70 for unlimited data with Spectrum with a 105 Mbps line to the house and use that digital connection for our offic phone as well.

For a less than perfectly dark viewing space the new OLED televisions with their greater dynamic range make a great deal of difference. I have one at the house and when and if it comes time to replace the one in the Navion, it will be an LG OLED television.

Most campgrounds are located where a usable 4G is often not available and we have ended up sharing a DSL line over WiFi with everyone else.

[rprochnow]

The best choice of apps will be on smartphones - since apps are usually developed for iPhone and Android - and not all are ported to run natively on smart TVs.

There were 3 reasons why we replaced the 32" Atyme stock TV with our Samsung 4K smart TV (in descending order): audio volume/quality, picture quality and smart TV.

The top priority was audio volume, because the stock TV at 100% volume still couldn't be heard over the air conditioner (sitting directly in front of the TV). The Samsung TV has much louder audio - plus it has better sound quality.

The Atyme TV is HD but only 720p - and the picture quality wasn't very good. The Samsung is 2160p (4K) with better signal processing, producing a much higher quality picture - capable of 4K, but also better picture quality a 1080p or 720p.

The smart TV apps were our lowest priority, because we could always access those apps using wireless screen mirroring or using a USB-C to HDMI cable. But having the apps in the TV is (a little) more convenient.

Just adding a streaming device or BluRay player to the stock TV would not have improved the audio volume(*) or picture quality.

*=note that we later were able to reduce the noise from the Coleman ceiling air conditioner by removing the cover and sealing the plenum with a combination of HVAC tape and insulation, which increased air flow to the ceiling ducts while also reducing the noise level. So now we don't have to turn up the audio volume as high when running the A/C and watching the TV.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by Elkman

4G was announced in 2010 and it is still not available everywhere

We run into 3g only service on ATT and Verizon probably once a year. This used to be common - but really for the past 2+ years we almost never see less than 4G service.

Originally Posted by Elkman

Differrent carriers use differnt 5G frequencies so you will need a new phone or phones any time you switch carriers.

Different carriers do use different Bands however, for the past year or more almost all phones come equipped to cover all but the newest bands. Of course, the newest iOS and Android phones already cover ALL bands. And switching between carriers is no longer an ordeal. We gave my mother-in-law my wife's old Verizon iPhone 8 last month. She's on ATT and all we had to do was move the SIM card from her ATT iPhone 5 into my wife's old Verizon iPhone 8 and that was all we had to do.

T-Mobile has moved aggressively into Band 71 and until a few years ago only they supported it, but Band 71 is now very much a standard band and it's even used by the other carriers now.

Originally Posted by Elkman

We have our smartphones and the Wingard on the same data plan with Verizon. We paid $20 for new SIM for the Winegard and that was it. Most of the time we have our smartphones switched off and so never approach the limit for our data plan.

Even a so-called "unlimited" plan on the big networks is limited to 22gb of high speed on phone data and 10 to 15gb of high speed hotspot data PER MONTH. When streaming TV you'll use up every bit of that in less than one week. We stream exclusively in our RV and we use approximately 70 to 80gb per week.

Originally Posted by Elkman

Most campgrounds are located where a usable 4G is often not available and we have ended up sharing a DSL line over WiFi with everyone else.

We've been lucky and not found that to be true for our travels. We do find that most campgrounds have inferior Wifi and we rely on our two completely unlimited cellular Mifi devices to provide internet no matter where we roam.

We connect our Mifi/Jetpacks to a Wifi Ranger GoAC Dual-Band router and we also have a WeBoost Drive 4G-X cellular booster for those spots with less than ideal coverage.

[rprochnow]

We've been able to get a strong enough 4G or 5G signal to get usable internet everywhere we've stayed so far, including state or county parks, without nearby cell towers.

We are using a WeBoost Reach Extreme RV to boost the 4G and 5G signals, and most of the time, we're seeing bandwidth of at least 20 Mbit/sec for downloads (much more than is needed for video streaming).

Sprint's merger with T-Mobile may have helped, now that the two 4G and 5G networks have been combined - providing much better coverage than we had with only Sprint.

We have a Winegard that we now use only to connect to RV park WiFi - and have found that most RV parks have WiFi that's too slow for video streaming and many tell you they do not want you to use their WiFi for streaming.

So we rely more on our 4G/5G smartphones, our 5G hotspot and our WeBoost - and that's worked pretty well for doing HD/4K video streaming and online gaming.

In the future, Starlink may be a better option for RV internet - when they get enough satellites operational to provide North America coverage AND they have an antenna that can be mounted onto an RV.