Caravan sites are becoming much more modern than those of old, with many now providing Wi-Fi access. But depending on where you are, you may continue to have trouble picking up a decent enough signal – a nightmare if you’ve got kids!
Using a caravan Wi-Fi booster or extension is the easiest way to ensure a good connection in your caravan. So if you arrive at the campsite and find the signal is poor, having one of these sure to handy gadgets to hand will avoid any headaches and/or arguments!!
Many of us now live in a world where we rely on a decent internet connection when we are away, so today we are looking at the best wi-fi boosters available right now.
These are five of the best Wi-Fi booster kits for caravan sites, we have found to be a great alternative for those occasions when your site’s internet isn’t enough.
Here, we’ll go through the best caravan Wi-Fi gear so you can successfully extend your signal in your vehicle.
Let’s start with our two favourite Kuma alternatives
1. KUMA Wifi Hotspot Booster Kit – Wi-Fi Signal Extender with Router Antenna
Kuma offers a complete WIFI KIT, dubbed the Internet Hotspot Package, at the top of the price range.
This is an excellent set-up for caravan/motorhome connections to assist you in getting a good signal, you can even share the connection with all your Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets at your caravan site.
There are a few small antenna adjustments that will need to be made. Even yet, once set up, the system will remember your settings, allowing you to connect to other devices without having to do any further setup.
The Wi-Fi system is powered by a 12v cigarette lighter converter by default, but it can alternatively be powered by a 240v mains adaptor.
The Kuma WIFIKIT, which claims to be compatible with any Wi-Fi-enabled device, allows you to connect many devices at once, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
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2. Kuma High Power 4g USB WiFi Antenna and Booster
The Kuma high-powered USB Wi-Fi booster is a simple ‘out-of-the-box’ option for boosting your caravan’s existing Wi-Fi signal. It may also be used on boats and other vehicles, and it eliminates the annoyance of being unable to acquire a good signal while camping.
The signal booster features a long-range antenna that can detect and increase signals from up to 1.5 kilometres away, and it connects to your laptop via a 5-meter USB cord that comes with it.
The Kuma Wi-Fi USB Antenna runs on the following operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. In just seven steps, Kuma has made this product simple to set up.
The antenna is a 16 dBi gain antenna with a 150M transmission speed and is IEEE802.11b/g/n compliant.
3. NETGEAR Nighthawk Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Range Extender EAX80
New to the market is the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream Mesh Extender (EAX80). It supports the latest generation WiFi 6 (802.11ax) standard.
This powerful Nighthawk mesh extender is built for the future of WiFi delivering maximum capacity, maximum speed, and more coverage.
With this fantastic little gadget, you will enjoy a better-connected home-from-home internet experience and extended faster WiFi to reach you in even the farthest corners of your base with blazing fast speeds up to 6Gbps.
With 8-streams WiFi, more spatial streams provide more available bandwidth and less congestion for all the devices in the WiFi network.
4. Solwise Outdoor USB With Antenna for Caravan / Motorhome
Another great option from the Solwise range is the Solwise Outdoor USB with Antenna.
Their Outdoor USB with Antenna is a simple solution for pulling up to a site and easily attaching your Wi-Fi connection to the top or side of your van at a lower price than our previous pick.
This model gives a quick and convenient scan facility that searches through all the available networks for you to get the best connection, saving the preferred ones in the process.
This high-powered antenna comes with a 5m USB connection cable, WPS software and auto-installation, as well as diagnostic utilities.
Customers who buy this antenna will find that it does a decent job of picking up a good enough signal from nearby wireless sources and that it is one of the easiest to set up and use right out of the box.
5. Maxview Roam Mobile 3G/4G Wi-Fi System For ‘On The Go’ Internet In Caravans
If you’re looking for motorhome WiFi or caravan WiFi, the Maxview Roam kit provides the internet and WiFi to vehicles because a good internet connection when you are travelling is needed more and more.
Checking the weather and researching places to stay, visit and eat is part of any time away.
Many of us also like to keep up to date with family and friends through social media and emails.
Not forgetting to keep the kids entertained, the internet and WiFi has fast become a necessity in our daily lives.
The Roam provides a secure and reliable internet hotspot with a 3G and 4G router, perfect for providing motorhome WiFi or caravan WiFi. Because having caravan internet and motorhome internet is a good start to keeping everyone happy!
What Is A Mobile Wi-Fi Booster?
A Wi-Fi booster is a small, portable gadget that can be used to expand or increase your existing Wi-Fi signal in areas where the signal is weak.
It works by capturing the strongest Wi-Fi signal it can detect then amplifying and rebroadcasting it to provide a stronger connection for your wireless devices.
These units will not have the range of a wired connection and will not boost the network’s overall speed. However, if you’re having trouble getting any coverage or signal in your caravan, this is the simplest solution.
Mi-Fi internet does need you to insert a Simcard into the device so you might want to do some research and find out which network has the best coverage and gives you the most data usage whilst you are away.
Smart Phone Wi-Fi
This is something we like to have as a backup plan. It’s fine for checking Twitter and Facebook, but we wouldn’t really use it for streaming videos as it will more than likely lag, and you could end up racking up a large mobile bill if you haven’t set a spending limit by the time you get home!
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What’s the Difference Between a Wi-Fi Booster, Extender or Repeater?
Wi-Fi extenders, repeaters, and boosters are all essentially the same thing. What they’re called varies by manufacturer, with some naming them different things. They all function in the same way, though, by boosting current Wi-Fi signals and allowing you to connect to a stronger network.
What’s the Difference Between a Caravan Wi-Fi Booster and a Regular Wi-Fi Booster?
The key distinction between the two are that each one has its own application. For example, A caravan Wi-Fi booster is intended primarily for outside use, so it’s more likely to be more durable, especially if it’ll be put on the roof of your caravan.
It will also have a signal that will cover a bigger area, and some users will be able to locate Wi-Fi connections from miles away. A standard Wi-Fi booster, on the other hand, may not have this capability.
This is something to consider when purchasing caravan Wi-Fi equipment. The most effective Wi-Fi methods will cost considerably more than the kits that just ‘enhance’ a signal from the house to the garden.
Choosing the Best Caravan Wi-Fi Booster
Brand:
There are a number of brands that create and sell Wi-Fi boosters, and the product’s quality is inextricably related to the brand. Spend some time considering this because higher-quality products will last longer and be more reliable, and won’t require regular replacement.
We’ve seen and used a slew of low-cost ‘knock-off’ firms produce Wi-Fi systems with speeds dating back to the 1990s!
Price:
The price of the Wi-Fi booster is closely tied to the brand.
The price of a booster will vary according to how many features it has, therefore it’s important to decide whether you need those fancy features if you’re not going to use them.
In general, the more expensive a booster is, the greater it’s quality and the longer its lifespan.
A good caravan Wi-Fi booster kit will set you back around £150+
Guarantee:
There’s always the possibility that it will develop a defect and stop working, just like any other electrical product. As a result, it’s important to find out if the product comes with any warranties to ensure that you’re covered in the event that something goes wrong.
Ease of Set Up:
You can buy the most complex electrical gadget in the world, but if it takes two days to set up, not only is it a waste of time, but it’s also extremely annoying!
It’s critical to purchase a device with a quick setup time, clear instructions along with excellent customer care so that you can get help if you run into problems.
The best Wi-Fi booster devices will have an easy-to-follow user manual that will guide you through setting up the gadget in the least time possible.
Construction and Design:
Wi-Fi boosters are available in a variety of sizes and styles. Because room is at a premium inside your caravan, you’ll want to make sure you get a booster with a compact design.
Some boosters include LCDs that make them easier to operate by displaying the signal strength, whereas others have a more traditional appearance that can make them more difficult to set up.
Compatibility:
Because some extenders can only be used with specific devices, it’s critical to double-check the compatibility of your chosen Wi-Fi booster. In addition, the booster must be compatible with the Wi-Fi connection that you have at your campsite, so it’s worth checking this before you go.
Add-on Features:
Added features are what give you actual value for your money and turn a good purchase into a terrific one! An additional Ethernet port integrated inside the box could be beneficial if you have devices that don’t operate with Wi-Fi networks and require a direct connection.
Connection Speed:
The MBPS of your caravan Wi-Fi repeater is very important because you need to buy one that will work with the most campsite internet connections.
Safety and Security:
Internet security is becoming increasingly important everywhere in the world, and you should keep this in mind while selecting a Wi-Fi booster. Although the primary purpose is to rebroadcast a signal, you must do so in a safe manner.
The best Wi-Fi extenders will meet high-security standards, providing ‘encryption’, which improves internet security by preventing unauthorised users from connecting to your network without a password.