Off-grid Internet & WiFi in a Campervan (Easy 4G Setup!) | Transit Van Conversion E45

[@SelfBuiltStories]

*Usage Update:* We've been using this setup for around 8 months now and have been really happy with it, and we've been able to pick up a decent signal pretty much anywhere in the UK other than a few really remote places in the Highlands. We also have it set up with full GPS tracking now and are using the VPN so we can control our heater remotely when we're out and about too, and come back to a nice warm van! 🔥 The kit we used is linked in the description if you want a similar setup. There are multiple versions of the Teltonika routers that have different speeds/features/costs as well. *SIM:* At the moment we're using a Smarty SIM which runs on Three (the same one we used in the video) which we went for as it was unlimited data for only £18 p/m for us (£20 p/m if it's your first Smarty SIM). We've found that Three's signal is generally pretty good, not as good as Vodafone in some areas we've found, but for the cost it was the best value unlimited SIM we could find. And the mimo antenna has meant even if our phones can't pick it up, the van usually can. It also has 12GB of free roaming in the EU and you can pause it when you're not using it (no contract). If you want to try it, we have a referal that gives a £10 Amazon voucher to you and us: i.smarty.co.uk/JVEEuVx 😎👍 We'll probably add another SIM with more EU data as well, but this setup has worked great so far! 🚐

[@kristinakelley4683]

Help I’m grandmother 54 yrs young lol. I have a 2019 ford transit 250 HIGH ROOF AND EXTENDED Van. I have done a nice easy build quite homey. But, nowww time which internet. I’m in the US n not UK. Will this work here too? And I am little confused maybe like how to wire it up lol I have to watch and pause n try to hook up.. need router and wow those wires how to get them into the roof n van? I currently have a Maaxair deluxe exhaust reversible Fan I have to learn how to use a jigsaw n get way up on the van at 5’1. Plus, again never dealt with tools etc or wiring. Help ty Kristina :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@kristinakelley4683 I'm not clued up on US cellular networks but would imagine the frequency bands used would be similar so the same setup would likely work, and it looks like both the antenna and router are sold in the US as well. The tricky part of the install is physically routing the cables from the roof into the van, but after that the actual setup is fairly simple. The cables on the antenna are all labeled and correspond to the same ports on the router, and they just screw on. For a simpler setup though you can also just use the antennas that come with the router instead of a roof one, or even a simple battery powered/usb plug in mifi and do away with a router all together. Signal might not be as good, but a lot of people use them in their vans and it could still be plenty good enough. HTH 👍

[@veronicaspivey3479]

Also do u need an antenna (when u use the mifi)? Thk u 🙏

[@veronicaspivey3479]

Sorry…2nd take.. when I talk of “a simple battery powered USB plug in mifi and do away with the router”, please can u do an Amazon link so I can order the right thing and not mess it up pretty please 🙏 and the second part of the question is do u still need an antenna when u go with the mifi story? I’m sorry I have a stroke..sorry and thk u!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@veronicaspivey3479 Some mifi devices let you plug in an external antenna, others just have them built into the device 👍

[@itismeyaknow]

Thumbs up for being one of the only to mention the different cat spec of different models - not all 4g modems are created equal, and you know exactly what you got!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yep it makes a big difference! Very happy with the X11, it's a nice sweet spot of cost vs performance 😎👍

[@sccobyste]

Couple of things 1 your Internet explanation is amazing and your young lady is so skilled she is a keeper with that infectious smile. Hats off guys

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much on both counts! 😁

[@WagnerGimenes]

I've watched dozens of "Van Life Comms" videos, but yours is by far the most thorough regarding your antenna choice. Thanks again.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, and thanks! 🙂

[@WagnerGimenes]

@@SelfBuiltStories ☕☕☕ 😉

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@WagnerGimenes wow, thank you very much!! That's very kind of you 😊

[@tonym2540]

This video was a great introduction for me since I knew nothing about SIM routers. After watching it, I was able to handle some more technical videos and ultimately chose to get a GL X3000 Spitz AX. On another note, I've watched probably 100 different Vanlife-related videos and the ones by you and your dear wife are so enjoyable to watch, as well as being really smart. So encouraging to see that there are normal couples out there!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! And for considering us a normal couple too 😄 There's definitely a lot of different options out there for internet so quite a lot to consider, very happy it helped you and hope it works out well! 👍

[@storminnorman2537]

Hi Tim and Abi. My wife and I have just finished watching all of your campervan videos to date. We watched the first and were soon hooked! Binge watched all 40 something during the past couple of weeks. Perfect for us. In my mind, your videos have been the most informative, comprehensive, suitable and also enjoyable that I've seen, thankyou. Although our aspirations for part time campervan conversion in the future won't include some of the content of your videos, we found ourselves watching each of them equally. This was predominantly down to your in depth descriptions, tutorials....honesty with your wins and fails....and the beautiful surroundings and wildlife too! Don't know what your next video will include but we are certainly looking forward to it. Thankyou both. Mark and Donna (wannabe converterers s s s)😁

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey Mark and Donna, wow thank you very much for the lovely comment! That's quite a marathon of videos and we're glad you enjoyed them all 😊 We like to show all the detail in our videos and the whole process as it's a big project, but still in a style that we like to watch back ourselves. Hope that your future conversion goes well!

[@storminnorman2537]

@SelfBuiltStories HI. Thanks for your reply. I hope you're both enjoying your home on wheels. Have you had any teething problems with your camper whilst on your travels? Our plans for a camper conversion are still ... just plans right now but I really do hope, with the help of your videos, that the plans may become reality in the future. Happy camping!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@storminnorman2537 We're very much enjoying it! And everything has been working out really well so far, we just finished a big trip around the Highlands which was a good test. There's a few things that we want to improve, one being to swap the grey water tank for a slightly larger one as we find it's the biggest limiting factor in how long we can be off-grid. And a few things we need to do for extreme winterisation like something to keep our batteries warm, as a couple of times in Scotland where it dropped to -7C they were not happy and didn't want to charge 🥶 But generally it's been great and we're really happy with how it's turned out. Cool, hope that you get to put those plans into practice one day 😊

[@bartc174]

You are the greatest inspiration for me and my wife. We're going to buy a van soon. Big thank for an ideas. Good luck

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much, glad to be able to help contribute to your adventures 😊 All the best with the van

[@Converter1959]

I’ve watched all of your build video’s on this van and I think they are the most informative I have seen and I’ve watched plenty because I’m just starting mine and obviously, like many people, I’ve been collecting ideas etc before I begin. I’m also in the uk and up north near Manchester and our weather is usually pants and even more pants when outdoor work is needed to be done so I fully empathised with the frustrations you had trying to complete that work. On your antenna installation though you need to check that no water is coming in through the cable tidy insulation that encases the cables. I say this because the covering looks like it is stretchy and has holes in (you can see the van roof paint through it) so water will come inside no matter how much sealant is applied to the entry point. It will then travel down inside and drop out at the lowest point unless it is wicking away against the van insulation before being seen which isn’t good. If you haven’t done so already, it may be an idea to install some plastic cable trunking upside down without the lid on and thoroughly seal it over the cable to prevent water entering your van and spoiling it. Hope you don’t mind me pointing out my observations to you and enjoy your adventures wherever they take you. Take care and we’ll done!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Yeah doing it outside in UK weather definitely adds another element that's for sure. Lost count of the number of times we were slowed down by it! And no problem at all, thanks for the concern. We don't think it's an issue though as the grommet the bundle of wires is passing through is so ridiculously tight there's little chance of any water getting in, and we've added sealant as well just for belt and braces. The only tricky part of this whole install was just figuring out how to route the wires through the ceiling as most wire glands are way too small, and having 5 wires for the antenna makes it a bit awkward! But we've had it like this for a year of driving around with some crazy bad weather at times and have never had any problems with it. Maybe we'll wrap it in some self-amalgamating tape next time we go up on the roof as well. We've also taken down the wall panelling recently for another project and everything behind was fine, exactly like when we installed it 🙂👍

[@Polyhive]

We are using the same antenna and though we have only tried it in a couple of our known black spots it has so far made a massive difference. However it is also fair to say there are, ARE some true blackspots in Scotland and not just the Highlands but also Dumfries and Galloway. Happy travels.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah it's great isn't it, there's quite a few places we've had zero signal on ours phones but have still been able to pick up something on the van. And yeah it's funny, all around mainland Europe we had no issues at all but we've also found a few black spots in the UK. There's a couple we've found in Cornwall recently, although it's quite network dependent. Vodafone often seems better than 3 round here. One thing we've found works sometimes though is to force the router to be 3G only, that works maybe 50% of the time to give some service where there was nothing on 4G. Cheers, you too! 👍🙂

[@jbaileypro]

I've deployed a good 30 or more Teltonikas so far. Only had one with an issue. They're great bits of kit and we've got a baby RUT360 in ours with the smaller Puck antenna. EE are usually the fastest and most reliable in the UK (they've seemed to invest in their 4G network the most) although 5G is a lot closer for the rest of the networks. O2/Voda have probably the best 800MHz coverage but it's usually fairly unusable for anything other than sending messages etc. I've used the RUTX50 and got nearly a gigabit download on a few occasions on Three and EE!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Ah cool, yeah it's been rock solid reliable so far! We mostly went with Smarty/Three as we wanted an unlimited sim and it was only £18 p/m, but yeah we've found vodafone to be generally better off-grid. But with the mimo 3 we've still been able to pick up a pretty usable signal pretty much anywhere we've been so far other than a few really remote places in the Highlands. That's a nice speed! And yeah the X50 looks nice! Couldn't quite justify that one as we don't spend much time around cities so 5G doesn't really help us, but we made sure to get a 5G antenna so it could be an upgrade sometime down the line 😛

[@Bilbo56]

Also remember to change your Sim pin. Most people don’t do this but if you do it it means that anybody who steals your phone isn’t able to unlock your phone or Sim card should I say it’s just a couple of things to help you you may know them already, but there things a lot of people forget and I wish mobile providers people have to do this because it makes more sense. So for example EE used to be double one double one or 0000 and I changed mine obviously I’m not gonna say what to, but that’s how you need to do it go to your Sim so phone and Sim Sim pin and change it and then you can lock itup phone Sim pin code

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers yeah it's a good idea, doesn't take long to enter when you restart your phone and adds a bit of extra security which is never a bad thing 👍

[@jamiet19]

Thanks for the lesson and simplifying this as it's given me a headache trying to work out the best one for me!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, good luck with it! 👍

[@Mstred]

This is one of the very best videos I have seen. Thank you for making it so simple to understand. I hope it works in the US. This is exactly what I need for our RV/Campervan 🙂

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad you think so! I would imagine the setup should work very similar in the US, it looks like you can buy the same kit on Amazon.com. Just different phone networks of course, good luck! 🙂👍

[@theoutdoorlife4870]

Thanks for putting out this video as I’ve been researching internet solutions for my van for the last couple of weeks. And thank god you’re a geek because I would never have known the difference between the bands. Now I know what I need. Thanks guys 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha no problem, glad it was useful 🙂👍

[@andrew65b01]

This is THE BEST video on LTE/Wifi antenna and routers on the net i.e. based on some intelligent analysis and understanding rather than just trying options in uncontrolled environments and making incorrect deductions - Thanks. Have you configured the external wifi rebroadcast function and, if so, how well does it work? I am keen to get a hybrid of both improving the LTE signal when it is poor, which we obviously find to be a common problem in remote locations, and a means of picking up and boosting external wifi signals, as you mention in the video, particularly to avoid roaming costs. We spent 3 weeks in a campsite (very rare for us) in the Alps when skiing, with Wifi included, but couldn't pick it up in the van, so had to use a roaming signal.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! Yeah there's a lot of variables for what makes a good lte/wifi setup but a lot of it is just down to the physics of how well the signal can be picked up in the environment you want it. We've been using this for a year now both in the UK and driving up through Europe (currently in Norway) and it works great. The WiFi rebroadcast is pretty easy to configure, you just log into the router and scan for networks just like you would on your phone. Then you can be connected to the van wifi which is connected to the external wifi. They have a video on the basic setup too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3-qfIqEptONkJI . We don't use it too often as we're usually off-grid, but it is quite nice in that situation where you're at a campsite and they provide wifi. Often the wifi is only reachable in one spot on the campsite or one building but with the antennas on the roof we can pick it up much further away. We've been able to use a pub wifi while in their car park and stuff like that too. I would say as long as the hotspot you want to connect to is a decent one that's setup for you to use it works really well, but obviously still limited to the quality of that network and its speed. We often find that our 4G connection is a lot faster, but if we can grab free wifi we will to save our data, as the only slight annoyance we have roaming is just staying within the allowances. HTH 👍

[@freakent]

I have the same router with the Puck antenna on our sailing boat. We use a UK SIM with unlimited data and when we were in France and Channel Islands we picked up local PAYG SIMs. In areas with good signal we usually get around 80 to 100mbps. It has worked so well I’ve switched to an LTE router and a bigger Pointing antenna at home.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Awesome, yeah it's a nice setup and good to hear it's working out well for you too. We have Smarty unlimited in the UK and were using an IQ Go SIM in Europe which was great which really great speed everywhere but the data has just been slashed from 100 to 25GB unfortunately, so time to find something else!

[@freakent]

@@SelfBuiltStories When you’re in France just walk into a Tabac and ask for a local SIM card. They have a screen and show you all the options (completely unlike buying a sim in a UK supermarket). We picked up a 250gb PAYG sim from Lebara that lasted a month for a very good rate.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@freakent cheers, will keep it in mind 👍

[@THE-THATCH]

You're both so informative & clever. Another fantastic video 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you, glad you think so! 😊

[@soreeyesuk]

I have the same set up for four years and never had a problem getting a signal even when very rural off grid . Might upgrade to a 5 g modem one day but at the moment cover is not good so 4g is ample .

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Awesome, yeah we've found we can get a signal pretty much everywhere so far, it's a good bit of kit!

[@fuzzjunky]

i bought a teltonika RUT360 yesterday and it's amazing. so far so good.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Awesome, yeah they're cool bits of kit, have fun with it 😀

[@kjeldpedersen7967]

Very informativ video, Thanks. I will install excactly the same setup in our new camper when it arrives, I think this is best setup apart from Starlink, which is quite expensive in use. I’ve noticed that you placed the antenna a distance away from the hole in the roof, and the heat shrink tube didn’t reach into the cable gland. The woven cable cover isn’t water tight and you may have water ingress into the car. As you can’t put on extra heat shrink tube now, I suggests that you install some self amalgamating tape to prevent water ingress.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem! Yeah we think it's a great setup, and actually gives us a lot more features than Starlink too like the GPS tracking and remote monitoring, so even if Starlink drops in price a lot we'd still keep this setup and just use it as an extra if we need it in really remote places. And yeah that's right the woven mesh over the cables isn't water tight, but we picked a grommet that they barely fit through so all the wires packed in there are super snug (it was quite a mission to get them through actually!) and then we added some sealant all around them too. We've had it on the roof for almost a year now through some terrible weather and storms and haven't had any leaks. All the best for your build! 😊

[@WJSpies]

Nice connectivity, cool.. I've recently cut the cable to the I/net and went to a 5G cellphone instead for all my I/net. The download speed is much better than I had through cable, and I get blazingly fast upload speed in most cases. I also can't believe these speeds I get, twice and three times faster than cable ever gave me. It craps out a bit now and then because at peak network usage times it's given a lower priority than normal cellphone traffic. But this is only certain peak traffic times (5-7 pm) and that happens very sporadically maybe once a week or so. Plus here in the US monthly cost runs about 20% less in fees, over my cable company. The cellphone connect to I/net is the future. Anyhow I just want to say you're making a great choice for mobile connectivity. Nice..

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah it's nice to not need to be tethered to anything and mobile speeds are more than fast enough now for a decent connection in most places. And yeah cost wise we can get unlimited data for £18 p/m with no contract so can pause it whenever we need. 5G isn't much help to us right now as we're off-grid a lot of the time, but being able to pick up a 4G signal in really remote places is very cool! 😀

[@IvicaCagalj-o6i]

You're both 5 star👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 😊🙏

[@SamuelStevens-ff7wn]

So glad I found this channel!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad to hear it 😀

[@tonysummers2334]

Look forward to your video on using the VPN function and controlling the Afterburner.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah it's working really nice, we can monitor the temperature in the van and control everything with the heater when we're out and about. So towards the end of a hike we'll turn it on and have it nice and warm by the time we get back to it 😄 Yeah maybe we should do a video on it at some point if it would be interesting 🙂

[@tonysummers2334]

@SelfBuiltStories it would be of interest to me. I have a RUT955 and the Afterburner. Setting up Surfshark with the RUT hasn't been that straight forward or reliable so would love to see your approach to the set-up.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cool, yeah might do that at some point then 👍 Surfshark/Nord etc are encrypting all the outgoing traffic but what you need for this is a separate VPN that allows you to connect from outside back to the van, so two VPNs for different purposes. It was a little confusing to setup but networking stuff often is 😛 You can actually achieve the remote heater control without a VPN, but we prefer it this way

[@Bilbo56]

Please also remember to lock each Sim not just the phone then if they steal your phone they can’t make any phone calls which is what most people steal the phones for and also remember to use a VPN wherever you are so that your data can’t be stolen

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah we're going to configure a VPN in the router so all traffic in the van goes through it, and we use them on our phones too 👍

[@davercs]

A good video personally i wouldn't trust that sticking tape to hold the antenna in place i would of used ct1's adhesive & sealent around the edge like you have done with the sealent that you used

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah you could add a bit of sealant under it for extra peace of mind if you wanted. We've had no issues with it on the roof like this for 8 months now though, with plenty of driving and storms in the mix 🙂👍

[@jakejohnson_]

Just a word of caution we had nothing but trouble with our RUT 241 and 901 (tried both) when travelling in Europe. Neither would switch band even if you did it manually was a nightmare when roaming. Had similar issues with connecting in the UK then one of the antenna broke internally. Teltonika were not interested in the slightest. Hopefully you have better luck with them!! We switched to just a TP-Link MR600 about 12 months ago and it’s not missed a beat. In most cases about twice as fast of the RUT and worked perfect in Europe.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah hopefully we won't have any issues like that 🤞 We've found ours to be rock solid in the UK so far and have been able to get decent coverage in most places, and we're using it for full gps tracking now too which is working really nice. The only thing we've noticed is that sometimes the band choice it auto-selects isn't always the fastest and if we manually override it we can do better. Of if there is literally no 4G around if we force it manually to 3G we can still pick up something in super rural places occasionally. Not sure what the algorithm it's using to decide which bands to use is. The TP-Link routers are nice too, it makes sense that the MR600 is about twice as fast as the 241 as it has a cat 6 modem vs the cat 4 in the 241. What sim do you use for roaming in Europe?

[@mymbrain]

do you use the external antenna with MR600 or just the built-in oens?

[@jakejohnson_]

@@SelfBuiltStories that was the issue in France and Spain would not connect if you switched bands manually to get the better signal on 4G or 3G then wouldn’t connect back to the weak signal. We just used EE with Roam Abroad activated. And we still have a pre-Brexit phone contract which still has roaming enabled. Got really good speeds all over even in rural France which was cool

[@jakejohnson_]

@@mymbrain yes twin Poynting antennas either side of the roof. Then a Poynting X-Pol when at home (we don’t have broadband anymore)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cool, that's handy you have the EE deal! We're not able to get that one but are probably also going for an EE based SIM for roaming. Looking forward to taking our van to Europe soon! 😃

[@abeaumont42]

Great video, so much so that i Bought the same kit. But i can not get the GPS to work by sending a SMS. Could you do a video on how to set it up please

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) We have quite a few videos in the pipeline already so won't be something we'd do anytime soon. But assuming you have the same kit (Rut X11 and Mimo 3) then you should just be able to go to Services -> GPS and make sure it's enabled. Then you can set up SMS commands in Services -> Mobile Utilities -> SMS Utilities. You can choose what text you want for the command and what action to take, so we've added 'whereareyou' with an action of 'GPS coordinates'. In order to work you need to have an active sim card in the router and one that can send/receive SMS as well (not a data only sim as they usually don't include any SMS messages), then you just text the command to the number of the SIM and it should reply with the coordinates. You can get more advanced that that as well, we now have it setup with full GPS tracking and history. Good luck 👍

[@basoline]

Briliant as always! Should've known this before we started our journey...It's junlge of options out there and everyone seems to know the best option but this is so refreshing and clear. Thanks! Greets: DeGroteVakantie! Happy travels!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! Yeah there are definitely a lot of options to consider, and what works for one setup might not for another. We spent quite a bit of time deciding on ours, very happy with it so far! Happy travels to you too! 😊

[@markhoughton5294]

Very useful explanation of the antenna statistics. Thanks

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, glad it was helpful 👍

[@geraldgooding7430]

Another very well sorted video well done you both, you certainly don't have much luck with the weather but you get through it,

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And haha yeah couldn't believe it in this one, literally went from clear sky to raining as soon as we took the plug off the roof! 🙄

[@rachelfrossard]

You both are amazing. I've been using your videos to build my van by myself. It would be much harder without you. ❤ I was wondering if you already installed the gas system. I will install the stove on the same spot, but I'd like to store the gas in the garage, but wondering how I could do the connection. Any kind of gas videos coming up? Thank you very much

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! Glad the videos are helpful 🙂 Yep we have it installed and have been using it for almost a year now! We went with an underslung tank for ours, but a lot of the principle is the same with a bottle you just have to take more care to make sure it's in a properly sealed locker. We have filmed the gas video but haven't got round to editing it yet, it will be probably be one of the next couple released though! 😎

[@errolmagill1611]

You are quite the influencers, and I am sure you are not getting any freebees like others do. I have already bought my reversing camera and lithium battery due to your videos and will likely buy this wifi setup too. I bet that you have brought lots of sales to certain companies and have got no reward; most unfair. I really liked the sight and sound of warmer days on this video, something to look forward to. 🙂

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks Errol! 🙂 Awesome, hope they're working out for you! We've bought everything we've used in the van ourselves so far but we do have affiliate links to most of the bits in our videos which people have used, and some kind folk have donated cups of tea too! Yeah we miss those warmer days at the moment, although shouldn't be saying that as our next trip is going to be even colder in Norway most likely 🤣🥶

[@Vlaid65]

You two would be very handy to have around. Happy geeking :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, thank you! So far we have it set up with full gps tracking and a VPN for controlling the heater, has been nice to come back to a toasty warm van after a chilly hike in Scotland 😛🔥

[@TonyandTeddysWorld]

I am impressed with that, I'm getting a van soon and I was looking for wifi solutions this looks ideal, thanks for sharing 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, thanks and hope it works out well for you 🙂👍

[@TonyandTeddysWorld]

@@SelfBuiltStories thanks mate

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@TonyandTeddysWorld 👍🙂

[@Showuk]

This was really informative - thanks! I think I've found a decent deal on an RUTX14 & Mimo 3 antenna for £484. Just need to research how to route cable on my "new" caravan!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, and cool, good luck with it! 🙂👍

[@sharonb.9128]

There is another smart vanlifer in the UK whose channel is gadget John. He is a techie who tried them all and released a video about 3 months ago on what he learned.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah saw the video. Don't think he tried the particular kit we're using but there's a huge range of options with routers and antennas and what's best very much depends on each use case and what features you need. The antenna we've gone for is great for rural off-grid locations and pairs really nice with the teltonika routers. It's a pretty high-end setup that works great for us and gives other features like gps tracking etc, but there are other good options too for people that have different requirements 👍

[@sharonb.9128]

@@SelfBuiltStories you guys are even more thorough than Gadget John!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@sharonb.9128 haha cheers 🙂👍

[@hickscorp]

I'm thinking that the stranded mesh around the wire is a perfect wick. Doesn't matter its orientation, it will suck water via capillarity / surface tension. I would have stripped it where the wire exits the habitat to the outdoor, so that the sealant really waterproofs the whole thing.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah it's not a bad idea and we'd probably do that if we installed it again, but we haven't had any issues with it at all as it is after a year on the road and thousands of miles driven now all the way around the UK and up to Norway and back. The wires are so ridiculously tight going through the gland that there's not really any space for water, and we've also wrapped the exposed section in self-amalgamating tape since this video too. It would be nice if they made a gland specifically for it as most of the ones you can buy are too small for the hefty set of cables so we had to improvise a bit!

[@hickscorp]

​@SelfBuiltStories thanks for answering and the precisions! I love your content, I'm a big fan. It'd be nice if when you have time you'd make an overall video without a particular topic, but just show how everything goes together, open the bed all the way to the shower, show the inside of the cabinetry as it is now, electric cupboard separation etc. Anyway! Thanks again for the great content!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@hickscorp No problem at all 🙂Glad you're enjoying it and yep, we'll make a full van tour video at some point for sure!

[@deanrowles3665]

Try a speed test with 3g, also connect a vpn and you will get better signals, as far as smarty go unlimited and you should get some EU roaming included.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah we've used it quite extensively on both 3G and 4G now all around the UK and it's working really well. The Smarty SIM is pretty good, not the best coverage in some places but with the antenna it works well, and probably the best value for unlimited data at £18p/m we're paying and yep with 12GB in the EU too 👍

[@timcorso6337]

It never fails to amaze me that the mobile phone network coverage is so poor in this country. Of course when you go abroad (Europe) in my experience you are rarely out of range of a good phone signal. One of the benefits of roaming I suppose.. It's ridiculous that we can't roam at home IMO... Nice video

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cool, yeah we've not taken the van to Europe yet so nothing to compare it to so far, but it works okay in most places in the UK we've found, so it sounds like we're in for some luxury speeds when we head over 😛

[@gamingSlasher]

Well done. Keeper wife.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha cheers 😎👍

[@alanharness1960]

You two are absolute legends! Love your channel. Please, if youve not done one, could we have a Geeks Guide to what you can do with the router? How to set up text commands etc. I love all that techie stuff but dont know how to do it myself.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha cheers, glad you're enjoying it 😎 It's not something we're planning to do right now but off the top of my head some of the things we can do: - Full GPS tracking and history (hooking it up to a third party service) - Text alerts when the van moves - Text commands to query things like current location (as we did in the video) - Failover from one SIM to another, and also quotas on each SIM. We have a SIM for when we're abroad with a 100GB data limit and we've set it up to limit the usage per day so we don't run out unexpectedly mid-month - Setting up an MQTT broker, which basically lets us control our diesel heater remotely using the third party Afterburner controller (so we can turn on the heater while we're coming down from hiking a mountain and have it nice and toasty when we get back :P) - VPN to the van. So from anywhere in the world we can connect to the van as if we were on the local WiFI - Setup an external VPN like NordVPN etc at the router so that all devices that connect through it are automatically going through the VPN tunnel - Connect to public WiFi hotspots from campsites, Starbucks etc and rebroadcast them as the van's WiFi to save SIM data - Remote access to the router settings, automated backup etc - Setup guest WiFi networks for when friends want to use the network - Broadcast WiFi on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands - If we had starlink, we could hook it up to the WAN port and seamlessly combine it with our existing setup They're cool bits of kit! Loads more features and little things you can do, and in a nice unit that can easily run off 12V. There's lots of different models of their routers too, and new ones coming out all the time with different features/price points. They're not for everyone as there's a bit more setting up that just grabbing a MiFi, but for us it's been great so far 👍

[@SamBennett-uu2rs]

Fantastic video! Very well explained. You're one of the best on here

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! 🙂

[@tombuckingham4500]

Great stuff as usual guys. I do wonder who you are insured with though? Just had a call from insurer after 90 day photos saying it has to be completely done by end of April (6months) or insurance will be cancelled! 🤦🏻‍♂️ Were probs going to do it but I’m working like a dog evenings and weekends on it.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) We changed ours a couple of times through the build but yeah 6 months goes quickly, especially if the weather is pants like now! Good luck! 😀

[@PtangPtangBiscuitBarrelSmith]

Good choice, Teltonika are the best. However I know I will wake up in an OCD induced sweat over the orientation of the aerodynamically shaped antenna 😂

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah it's a very cool bit of kit and has been flawless so far 😀 And haha, we filmed a bit about that but it didn't make the final edit... 😛 It didn't really work the other way around as there wasn't enough space to bend the wires around easily and also we wanted the full length of cable to work with in the van. But it's partially shielded by the unistrut and panels anyway 👍

[@PtangPtangBiscuitBarrelSmith]

@@SelfBuiltStories I use Teltonika in my business. I have a RUTX50 @ home on Smarty too. atm i get avg 50/150 u/d. had it close to a 5g mast and seen 600 so it will get better. By which time starlink will be 50p week no doubt.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Nice, yeah the X50 looks really good but we figured it would be a bit overkill for us as we'll hardly ever be in 5G areas. It will be interesting to see how quickly prices for Starlink come down, can imagine it'll get quite competitive once Kuiper is up and running. Although having had the teltonika in for a while now, we'd still want that too for all the other cool stuff you can do with it 😀

[@gonefilming2020]

Perfect, you two - the Rolls Royce setup, so to speak and as pricey. I currently use a Netgear Nighthawk M1100, as I can just stuff it into my pocket, when we go anywhere. In the van it has been o.k. @ home even in the Lake District last year. Your tip with the SmartySIM is welcome, as I will be travelling to the UK starting April / May for a longer stay! 😊 But I've also picked one of the Teltonika routers, but a different antenna. Since the solar is mounted, I only have antennae and roof light wiring left - then the top end is done. Why have you mounted the antenna widthwise? I would estimate a larger sutface for the wind to catch onto it? Great video as always - stay safe! 🚐☁🍀

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Not as pricey as starlink 😛 Cheers, yeah it's been working out great so far. And we tried it the other way but went for it this way around so the wire run into the van was more streamlined and we had more reach of the cable inside, not sure we would have got it down to where we did in the garage if it needed to bend around on the roof as well. But it's half shielded by the unistrut/solar panels anyway so has been fine. Cool, which router did you go for? It'll be nice to get those bits ticked off! How is the rest of the build going?

[@gonefilming2020]

@@SelfBuiltStories Yeah, Elon-net is still quite a different animal. We've decided on the 3-17 antenna, as the price difference isn't that great. We can mount it next to the 50 x 70 roof light on the right, the left is occupied by the 6 wire solar feedthrough box already. After watching your video and doing a bit of research, we'll go for the RUTX13. The antenna is first though (this week), then we just have the wiring for the roof lights and CB radio left to feed through, before we can finish all the wiring inside. The factory VW radio / bluetooth radio has also gone to digital heaven last weekend, so we ordered one of those far east can-do-it-all twin-DIN radios - should be here tomorrow. So, small steps for these old people. 😂

[@SelfBuiltStories]

I've not heard of the X13, do you mean the X12 or X14? I'm guessing they skipped 13 because of superstitions 😛 Yeah the 3-17 is nice with the 2 extra LTE antennas, you should get some nice speeds out of that 😎

[@gonefilming2020]

@@SelfBuiltStories Dohhhh! 🤦‍♂ Of course. Typo. X14 it is. I am also adding a CB antenna - for analog communication, when all else fails... 😉

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@gonefilming2020 Nice, considered the X14 but decided to save a few quid. Enjoy! 🙂

[@kevinbeckwith7740]

Thanks for sharing. I am looking at Starlink here in Australia as there is no 4G/5G where we tend to travel.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem! 🙂 How much does Starlink set you back in Australia?

[@kevinbeckwith7740]

@@SelfBuiltStories for the Roaming package around $750 for hardware and $179 per month. No bargain but you can suspend the monthly fee.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@kevinbeckwith7740 Yeah about £92 in UK monies then. At the moment we're paying £18 a month for a Smarty Unlimited SIM and then will probably add another for Europe roaming. So if/when Starlink drops down nearer the £50 p/m range we'd look at it again, maybe when Kuiper starts to come online and give some competition 😛

[@breaktheresistance]

Very nice!! We're looking at doing the same set up but had Mikrotik devices in mind since I've worked with them but not their robust version designed for fleets like this. Hadn't put in any research of other brands so will def look at what you installed. It doesn't look like it needs much configuring? Hotspotting is pretty painful alright and SIM cards with data are si cheap.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah we've been really happy with the setup so far :) And it's pretty simple to get going, literally just plug it in with the antennas and a SIM card and it will work. But then there's a huge amount of features and configuring you can do if you want to as well! We've got it set up as a full GPS tracker now and also set up a VPN to let us control the heater remotely too 😎

[@MMM-np2rg]

Superb explanations. Thank you!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome! 🙂

[@ralphhardie7492]

Really great video Best of the lot for all levels of information Thanks 🙏🙏🙏

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome! 🙂👍

[@PeteandSue-q2m]

Really great videos you guys. I think out of all the thousands of vids and series I've watched yours is definitely up there as one of the best. Are you going to release any more (you haven't finished your panelling LOL), I've looked in to the RUTX11 that you use for your internet and although the spec say's it doesn't support 5G (apparently the significantly more expensive RUTX50 does) There have been people on the internet saying that it doesn't support it with a firmware upgrade, is this correct?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad you're enjoying them! Yep there are more to come, don't worry the van is all finished we just haven't had the time to edit the videos yet 😀 The RUTX11 only has a 4G modem inside so it wouldn't be possible to add 5G to it via a firmware update as the hardware doesn't support it. If you want 5G then the only router they have at the moment that supports it is the X50 as you say (which is a very nice bit of kit, just a bit too pricey for us at the moment!). We went with the approach of having a 5G antenna on the roof so that if/when we ever decide we want to upgrade we can just swap out the router, but as coverage is only really limited to cities at the moment where we don't plan to be we didn't think it was worth it for us at the moment. Possibly some references to 5G on the X11 might be talking about 5GHz wifi support, which it does have. HTH! 👍

[@claytonsguns]

First of all thanks for your videos, very well put together, I love the level of research and attention to detail. Secondly, what will the channel become when the van is done? Will you do follow up videos about how the setup is holding up and if you wish you'd done things differently. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, glad you enjoy them! And yep after we've released all the build videos we're going to have a mix of travel videos in the van, how things are working out and any upgrades we make along the way... plenty more to come! 😊

[@richarddraper6994]

So helpful like all your videos thank you. Was perfect too as I already have the same antenna but was unsure about what option to connect it to inside so I will have to copy you 😊 I’m way behind your build though but your views are very similar to mine. You’re so helpful thank you and one step closer to being on the road 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome! And that's cool, good luck with the router setup and the rest of the build 😊

[@richarddraper6994]

Ooh I’ve just had my RUTX11 delivered how exciting! I take it just Earth it to chassis and that GPS feature is effectively a tracker should the van be taken?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Very nice! Yeah you can ground it to the chassis, and if you have the mimo 3 (or another antenna that provides GPS) hooked up to the X11 then you can get rudimentary GPS support out the box. What we showed in the video being able to text the van and have it reply with its location is built in and really easy to setup. If you want something more akin to actual full tracking though with history and alerts if it is moved and things like that then you can hook it up to a third party tracking provider. The X11 then just periodically transmits the gps location data to that provider that then handles all the tracking. We have it setup and it works really well, so we have an app we can use to see the location and download all the history and events. There are various providers you can use, some listed here: community.teltonika-networks.com/16210/what-i-need-for-gps-tracking-with-rut955. Says for the 955 but works the same for the X11 👍

[@wayne1243]

Great bit of kit 👊👊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yep, it's been working great! 👍

[@Levi-Tubman]

Thats a great setup! although slight bit of jealousy my Poynting is white and the van roof is black!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Haha, we debated getting the white one to blend in with the roof but decided we like the black better 😛

[@alexpott1893]

Hey guys, another great video. Im curious as I'm also looking at this exact van now, how have you gone at the weigh-bridge with your build? A few other channels have noted running into problems sticking to the 3500kg limit and needing to uplate so super curious how your build is stacking up.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) It's a good van! We've actually uprated our van so don't have the same limit, ours is rated for 4T 👍

[@allewis1979]

Hi so like your videos. Can you tell me how many watts the unit uses in standby mode

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers 👍 You can see all the specs here, the max power consumption is 16W: teltonika-networks.com/products/routers/rutx11

[@Ballynoes]

Well done guys... loved this video. 🙂

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

[@seanthomas4716]

Router power... Loving the series, we're part way through a Mk8 Transit XLWB minibus conversion. Can I ask you about router power? Teltonika's PSU is 50v at 16w max (according to their website). You've connected to your DC system with a 3a fuse, with P = I x V that suggests 3a x 12v for 36w but if it needs 50v to run, then 150w 🤷🏼‍♂️ Have I missed something? Is it running optimally on 12v? Thanks very much 👌

[@SelfBuiltStories]

The 50V is the max it can take, it's a pretty versatile bit of kit and can be powered from anything between 9-50V, which is one of the reasons it's so great in an off-grid installation as it can withstand fluctuations in voltage with no issue. Regardless of the input voltage it only ever draws a max of ~16A so it's a pretty low powered device and there's no issues running it straight off a 12V system. The power adapter that it comes with is a 3-pin plug to connect to the 230V mains, but all it's doing is stepping the voltage back down again anyway. So we just cut the plug off and wired it direct to our fuse box, where 16W at 12V is only ~1.3A, so a 3A fuse is fine. We've been running it like this 24/7 now since we installed it and it's been rock solid, great bit of kit. Glad you're enjoying the series and good luck with the rest of the conversion! 🙂👍

[@gnarlybadger690]

Great informative video guys loving the diagram explanations and choices

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 🙂👍

[@spitNsawdust]

So well explained. Thank you. Great news on the GPS 😊 is it easy to set up the text command? ✌️

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And yep pretty easy after you've played around with the UI for a little bit. You can add any custom command with what text you want to send and then there's just a dropdown with what action you want it to do, which can range from sending the current GPS co-ordinates, turning on/off wifi, switching SIM etc or just running any script, so pretty much anything you can think of. We have it one step further now and have full GPS tracking with it 👍

[@Pyromad86]

Thank you for a very informative video, living in rural Devon I’m looking for something similar at home. Also if you are ever in Tesco Exeter say hi to the security guards I’m 1 of them 🫣

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, yeah our Internet in the van was better than in the house a lot of the time! And haha cheers, will do! 😀

[@tonywalker2372]

Excellent video, thankyou. Now subscribed.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, cheers! 👍

[@SimonWad]

Always fabulous to learn from your content - you present so clearly 🙏🏻. I've been using a Netgear Nighthawk M2 fairly reliably for a few years, with an external antenna, but static, not on a vehicle. Sorry, dumb question and you may have coverered it and I didn't understand: can these devices boost phone signal too? (edit: in hindsight I realise that the M2 might have been higher side of cost:value but hadn't watched many awesome YT videos at that point...)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 🙂 And not a dumb question! They don't help with the raw phone signal as they don't broadcast any 4G signal, so you wouldn't get any additional bars on your phone from being close to one. Though if your phone and network support WiFi calling then in practice they sort of give you the same benefit, being able to call and text but just going over the Internet instead. There are devices that do act as actual signal boosters though called femto cells that sort of go the other way around and plug into your broadband and then broadcast a 4G signal. But they're a bit uncommon these days, Vodafone used to sell one called the Sure Signal which we had at one point. HTH!

[@SimonWad]

Oh that's super-helpful, thank you! It is going to save me a whole load of time and frustration seeking something that is rare/hard to find/hardly exists@@SelfBuiltStories

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@SimonWad No problem! 👍

[@matthieudiener7166]

Thank you so much this video has been so informative !! Just bought the same kit, but will mostly use it in EU. Did you end up finding a good SIM solution for outside the UK ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem! And yeah we used an IQ Go data sim (helloiq.co.uk/collections/iq-go ) all the way through Europe up to Norway and back. It was £20 one off for the sim card, then £20 for 100GB of data that you could order again when it ran out. It worked great and we had much better network speeds than back in the UK, but unfortunately a few weeks ago they had to revise it as the underlying supplier has now imposed a roaming cap of 25GB per month is really annoying and not enough for us. It seems like it's affected a few different companies as another one which has great customer feedback is Popit and they had to impose the same restrictions around the same time. IQ Go is working on getting a new setup with a different supplier that has more generous data, so at the moment we're holding out to see what they come up with as their customer service has been really good and we'd like to stay with them if possible 👍

[@rabadabadoo491]

Great vid, thanks for the detailed explanation. Cheers

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, thanks for watching! 🙂

[@rabadabadoo491]

@SelfBuiltStories just wondering have you looked at any of the "boosters" either for data or even just phone signal?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@rabadabadoo491 What sort of booster do you mean? Something like a femtocell?

[@rabadabadoo491]

@SelfBuiltStories I'm not sure to be honest. I was watching an American outdoors YT channel and he had a signal booster fitted in his truck. I've found them here just searching for "mobile signal booster" and found them easily enough. They have models designed for vehicles. Basically an external ariel linked to a dual band repeater (800/900 MHz) Just wondering if they're of use in remote areas?? Cheers 🍻

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@rabadabadoo491 Hmm you can get signal boosters/repeaters in the UK though they're quite heavily regulated by offcom so you have to get one that's compliant (www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/using-a-repeater-to-improve-indoor-mobile-phone-signal ). I'm not 100% but I think it's legal to sell them but you have to be careful as only a few are legal to actually use. But my understanding of those is they're generally used to boost the signal in a large building like an office and to work effectively there needs to still be a decent signal outside still. The other type of device is a femtocell broadcasts a 4G signal and routes all the traffic back over your internet. Networks like Vodafone used to give them out if you had poor signal in your area. For us though the mimo antenna is essentially doing a similar job as because of it's characteristics and size it has a very good chance of picking up a signal in remote places. The practical difference is that instead of giving us enhanced 4G frequencies that our phones can pick up, we get it as WiFi instead. And as we can do WiFi calling if we have WiFi then we also have phone/sms so in a lot of the places we've been even though our phones don't pick up a phone signal directly, they can still do everything as if they did, if that makes sense!

[@thomaslittle9284]

Hey both, your videos have been invaluable to me during my conversion! This set up looks great. My one question is about remote working. Not sure if either of you do remote laptop work, but if you do... do you find the 4G signal strong enough? Thinking zoom calls, downloading videos/images, etc. Thank you!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey 👋 Cool, glad they've been useful! That depends really on where you are and how good the signal is where you want to use it, and what network you're using. The kit that we've got lets us pick up it up if it's there to be had and we often find we have great signal through the antenna on the roof even when our phones have nothing, even on the same network. We've travelled across a lot of the UK, all around the Highlands, and are currently in Norway and the only places we haven't had a signal at all have been a few really remote places in the Highlands where there just isn't any infrastructure. In most places it's really fast, often faster than the broadband we had in Devon. Just did a speedtest now and we're getting >50Mbps where we're parked up here in Norway. We find it more than enough for streaming netflix, having video chats etc. We also use it to upload YT videos, which can easily be 2gb or more. So I would say unless you're somewhere really out in the sticks or using a really lousy network, it is likely more than enough to work from. You can get faster units as well, like the X12/X14 or if you're somewhere that has 5G can even go for the X50. But we find the X11 and Mimo3 combo perfectly suitable for us and can rely on it. The trickier part we find is not about having a signal it's about not running out of data! In the UK we have an unlimited Smarty SIM, in the EU we're using a 100GB one that runs on EE, and we have to be careful to not waste it 😛

[@thomaslittle9284]

@@SelfBuiltStories Amazing, sounds like it's just what I need then. Appreciate the detailed response. Enjoy Norway!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@thomaslittle9284 no problem, and cheers!

[@rettesvanlife]

Overall how long did it take you to do your van? Also are you going to do a cost breakdown, certainly giving me some inspiration as I am at the beginning

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, hard to say exactly as we did it across a couple of years with some big breaks in between, and then some upgrades in-between big trips. What we can say is that filming it makes it take 5x a long so if you're not doing that you'll save a lot of time! 😀 Also a huge factor for us was the weather and doing it outside in Winter, if you can build it inside or outside later in the year when it's warmer and there's more daylight you'll save a lot of time too. We probably will do a cost breakdown at some point but it won't be for a while, we've got a bit of a backlog of other videos to edit first 😛

[@Dutch779]

What about a Mork and Mindy antenna hat 😊 ha,ha, just kidding, good job and a upgrade from a mini Loo.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Couldn't find the spec sheet for that one to compare! 😆 Haha, cheers 👍

[@fionachips8078]

Hi, have been watching your video and have learnt a lot, I was wondeing if your setup is able to connect to 5G!

[@TreeWorksUK]

You will need the Teltonika RUTX50 or the new RUTC50 to connect to 5g.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, yeah the X11 only has a 4G modem inside so it's not possible with our current setup, but since 5G only really exists around bigger towns and cities it's not something we've missed as we spend most of our time in rural, off-grid locations. The Mimo3-15 antenna we have supports 5G bands though, so if we wanted to in the future we could swap out the X11 for the X50 or C50 and benefit from 5G. Although those ones also support even more LTE antennas (4 instead of 2) so to take full advantage of the specs you'd probably want to pair it with an antenna that has the additional LTE connections, something like the Mimo3-17 instead. But that's also more antenna wires to physically route through the roof 😛

[@OurWedding2012]

Great vlog, Leary a lot

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad it was helpful!

[@93ct]

Saw this video today whilst researching Teltonika 4g modem/routers. It is nice to see the entire process of you setting this up! Can I ask why you choice the X11? There are so many models to pick from and I am confused for choice. Did you consider the X09 or the X12/14 as well as the RUT9xx ones or the RUT200? Thanks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Sure, and yeah there are quite a few models! We discounted the RUT9xx series pretty early on as they're the older generation, so won't be supported as long but also lack a few features, for example they don't support 5GHz WiFi. The X12 is nice as it's the only one that has dual modems, so can load balance across two different networks at the same time. That's cool but not something that we'd likely use, and we don't pay for two high data SIM cards. To make use of it fully you'd also want an antenna that has an additional 2 LTE connections, as the X12 is 4x4. The X14 would be nice as it's a faster CAT12 modem compared to the X11 which is CAT6, but we don't really need extra speed, and again would need additional LTE antennas to take full advantage of it. The X50 is the only 5G modem, but we are almost always in rural off-grid locations where 5G isn't around so that would be pointless for us. The X09 doesn't have WiFi so not one of the ones we considered. And the RUT200 is only a CAT4 modem so a more basic, slower unit. Essentially it comes down to how much you want to pay, and what features you actually need. And the other thing is you need to pair it with an antenna that has all the connections that it needs. The X11 has dual LTE, dual WiFi and GPS, needing 5 separate antennas plug in to make full use of it. And the MIMO3-15 that we have provides all of those. To make use of some of the faster units we'd need an antenna that provided 4 LTE antennas like the MIMO3-17, which is more expensive (and would also mean squeezing two more cables through the roof!). The X11 fell right in the sweet spot for us. It does everything we want and in active use has been great for us. We could have saved money and got a more basic/slower/older one but we're quite active users (having to upload YT videos on the road etc!). Or we could have spent more and got even faster speed, but we don't need that as it's more than fast enough for us already (parked up at the moment in rural Norway and getting >50Mpbs download on an EE SIM). The problem we have on the road is not the speed of the connection but making sure we don't burn through all our data allowance too quickly 😛 HTH!

[@93ct]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thanks for your reply. Appreciate it!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@93ct No problem 🙂

[@timothydavis3703]

Yea...just YEA❤

[@SelfBuiltStories]

😎🙏

[@Dougdy]

Following you for a while, you do an awesome job ! Just be carefull, I don't think the wires on the roof will be waterproof ! I don't know how to say (I speak french), the wires protection is like a grill, it is not waterproof. So the water is going to pass into you roof from what I can see. It will follow all the wires so this cause a lot of damage. Thank you for this product, I was actually watching what I can buy ;)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! And yep the bundle of wires has a mesh sheathing around it for a bit of extra protection. The most difficult part of the whole install was just getting the cables through the roof nicely as because the bundle is so large with the 5-in-1 they don't fit in a normal wire gland. You could put each wire through something individually but it would get a bit messy, and you would have to cut the sheathing back to free each one which we didn't want to do. So instead we made the hole in the entry gland barely big enough to fit the wires through (it was quite a struggle actually!) so they're very tightly packed in there against each other and the rubber washer, and then we put sealant around the whole lot. And then the point where the wires go through the gland is raised up off the roof. Happy to say that we haven't had any issues with water getting in doing it this way and we've had it on the roof for many months now, through a lot of storms! Maybe at some point we'll also wrap a bit of self amalgamating tape around the exposed bundle on the roof too, can't hurt for even more peace of mind! Cheers 👍

[@Dougdy]

Ok, happy to read that ! I was afraid for you ahah Cheers :D @@SelfBuiltStories

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@Dougdy Haha no worries, cheers :)

[@rogerwatkinson6633]

I wish I had seen that before I set up my van wifi :D

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha sorry, we were a bit slow releasing this one! 😛

[@MultiOutdoorman]

Excellent

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks!

[@davidknights866]

Hi great informative video, I have purchases the Rutx11 following your video. Just a few questions if yiu could help. 1. How did you screw the mount brackets to the back of the router as there are no holes? 2. Did you earth the route seen the earth point on the router? 3. Do you know how to register the router as I cannot find anything about this in my documents or on the Teltonika Web page? Thanks David

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hi David, cheers :) We bought the optional mounting kit and the little feet slotted into the channel on the back, so we just carefully and slowly drove a screw into it to bite and thread into the metal groove. We were a little surprised there was no threaded hole already as well, but it's held perfectly fine for us. You can run a wire to the earth point on the side, we haven't done that yet but probably will at some point. Not sure about registering as it's not something we've done, although we have signed up to the RMS cloud service (paid subscription) so the details of ours are logged through that. HTH 👍

[@davidknights866]

@SelfBuiltStories Hi thanks for info 👍🏼

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@davidknights866 No problem 👍

[@michaeldavies2947]

Hi both and thanks for having a great channel, I do have a question please if you can help. I have the rutx14 in the hope of using as a GPS locater as you have set up. is it possible to do a short video on how you did this or even sent me a description. I would put my number on here but don't want all and sundry calling me lol. Thanks again both for helping me through my build

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, to do the SMS query we did in the video you just need to plug a GPS antenna in the back of it and make sure it has a SIM card inside that has both data and text messages. Then you just log into the router and go to Services -> Mobile Utilities -> SMS Utilities and add a rule. We made one with a trigger of 'whereareyou' and action of 'GPS coordinates'. There's more advanced setup you can do with full GPS tracking and history as well but that's the basics to get something working. And you can see more GPS options and check it's working on the map at Services -> GPS too. HTH 👍

[@michaeldavies2947]

@@SelfBuiltStories Iam not a techy but I will give it a go. Thank you so much for the reply, Hope to see you on the road one day. Take care both.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@michaeldavies2947 no problem, good luck 🙂👍

[@thebast_world3202the2]

Hi just started following you . Brilliant what’s the paper call you used for a template while doing your shower . And where can you by it. Thanks

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) and it's just this cheap lining paper, worked great: www.toolstation.com/double-roll-lining-paper/p98856 👍

[@londontyres3405]

@selfbuiltstories Where have you been ? Thought you sold the van

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Most recently travelling around the Highlands! 😄 We're a lot more up-to-date with our travels over on Instagram, definitely still have the van! 🙂👍

[@GedandMichele]

Hi.Are you doing an update to this with thoughts and favourite settings?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, possibly an idea for a future video but it wouldn't be for a while :) We posted an update in the pinned comment though and happy to answer any questions in the meantime 👍

[@czeester]

Did you find bluetooth feature of RUTX11 somehow useful? I just bought RUTM11 which seems pretty much the same, slightly faster cpu but no bluetooth available.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, nope we haven't used it at all so far actually, we have the antenna plugged in for completeness but it just sits there doing nothing 😛

[@KevinColt]

can buy magnetic strips with adhesive or even use velcro

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You can get a magnet mount set for it which fits perfectly in the round cutouts on the bottom, but our roof is a bit curvy so it wouldn't work as well for us. We used the adhesive mount and extra sealant for belt and braces so there's no chance of it coming off when we're driving down the motorway 👍

[@WaterSourcer]

I teach online. Can I run a cable from a roof antenna to my tablet ( I have a generous package for mobile data) to avoid EMF radiation? ...And / or straight into my laptop for freely available WIFI or add a dongle? Thank you. Much appreciated.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, the antennas are designed to connect directly to a router or MiFi that has the required ports. You can get small travel sized and battery powered ones, and some that have an ethernet port so you put a SIM card in the device and the antenna connects to that, then you hook up your laptop or tablet to the device. Usually that's via WiFi but some also have an ethernet port so you can connect direct with a wire as well. Whether they can make use of free wifi hotspots like campsites/Starbucks etc depends on the kit, lots of the teltonika routers can but most of the more basic units won't be able to do that, they just take a 4G connection and create a Wifi hotspot themselves that uses it. HTH 👍

[@qualityswisswatches1]

the most confusing part for me is the powering to the fuse box as i bought the van as is with a fuse box so i wouldnt know how to exactly wire that up.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

It can be confusing, fortunately for the router it's just a single positive and negative wire that you can run back to a free spot in the 12v fuse box. We wired it in at 21:47 It also comes with a standard 3-pin plug so you can always just plug it into a socket if you have those 👍

[@LynetteShawMcKone]

Erm, curtains: you could have glued small magnets to the window frame, jus' sayin' 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yep we could have, we decided we didn't want to do that though. The curtains were a bit more work but very happy with them! Nice and homely and saves having to store covers somewhere when they're not on during the day 🙂👍

[@ak47marx16]

Hey did you guys ever installed the inverter? I copied your electric system but still have the Victron MultiPlus Slim in the box waiting for installation instructions :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, yep it's been installed for a while and will be the next video actually. But sorry to disappoint, we went with the phoenix not the multiplus 😄

[@daviddring8692]

Not many people know. But 3 network do a business system for WiFi at£16 mth unlimited data. They also give away free dongle which is £500 to buy Ive had one about 3 mths now. Had some failure with signal. But that's because I haven't an antenna. Which I'm intending to get asap

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cool, thanks for sharing 👍 Always good to have more options! We use Smarty in the UK which runs on 3 and gives us unlimited data for £18 which isn't too bad, and no contract which is what we prefer

[@Michael-m4y]

Hi , you say you are going to be living full time in the van , I was just wondering what you do for your jobs , to be able to live and travel in the van

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We're a software engineer and a nurse, so one of us is able to work remotely at least! 😛 But at the moment we've both taken some time off to travel for a bit 👍

[@davidw3932]

Just watching your upload now. As always, great vid 😊 I was just researching the WiFi for my van as just bought a 2012 Sprinter Luton and I am trying to line everything up to see if it goes over my budget. One question, How loud is the rain, even with insulation?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Cool, good luck, there's quite a few options out there! And it's fine with normal rain, we actually quite like the sound of that hitting the roof. If it's completely torrential though it can get a bit loud! Had that a couple of times during storms but just part of being on the road I suppose 😛

[@davidw3932]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thank you 😊. I'm looking now.. head hurting 😆 Thanks for the heads up re the rain. I'm looking at some rubber roofing. Looking forward to your next upload 👍😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@davidw3932 Haha, no worries! 👍😊

[@imranr4374]

Hiya, I was wondering if at some point you are going to do cost of the total built. I would appreciate this very much and hope that it's not an inconvenience. Thank you so much.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, yeah we've thought about doing a video like that at some point, it wouldn't be for a quite a while though as we have a lot of other videos in the pipeline 😛

[@imranr4374]

Thank you so much my friend, good job with your projects @@SelfBuiltStories

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@imranr4374 Cheers!

[@johnmckirdy9121]

i have a router , but never used it , we are with EE got add on , then i my wifes phone we get a reglo sim card from french supermarket we go away for 8 months a year , and just hotspot and use fire stick , 5 g every where in europe no problems

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yep hotspot works great for some setups, we did that for a while. But now we've switched to a dedicated router as we have quite a few permanent devices connected to the wifi in the van like the afterburner. And we use the gps for tracking which is fantastic

[@harrydegroote6492]

Hi! Thanks for your video. I am searching since a few weeks for a good setup and you video helped me a lot. While searching for the RUTX11, I found out that there's also a RUTX12 available. Is it an interesting upgrade? Is this RUTX12 compatible with the Poynting MIMO 3 5-in-1 Antenna? Or is there also an upgrade of this antenna available? This technology is changing so fast, it would be crazy to not buy the newest types (i guess?). Thanks for your reaction. Harry - Belgium

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey Harry, no problem 👍 The X12 isn't a direct upgrade to replace the X11 (I think they were released around the same time actually) but it is a 'better' unit as it comes with dual modems, so can load balance across two different networks at the same time. So if you had two SIM cards on different networks it can use both at the same time for increased bandwidth. That's cool but not something that we'd likely use as we don't want to pay for two high data SIM cards 😛 It would work with the 5-in-1 but you wouldn't be making full use of it as you'd have two less LTE antennas, so it would essentially turn it back into the X11. If you want a potentially faster device, but still only with one SIM card, then you could look at the X14. That's basically the X11 but with a faster CAT12 instead of CAT6, and again you would need additional LTE antennas to take full advantage of it. There's also the X50 which is the most expensive and the only one that has a 5G modem. We are almost always in rural off-grid locations where 5G isn't around so that wasn't interesting for us at the moment. Essentially it comes down to how much you want to pay, and what features you actually need. And you need to pair it with an antenna that has all the required connections. The X11 has dual LTE, dual WiFi and GPS, needing 5 separate antennas plug in to make full use of it. The MIMO3-15 that we have provides all of those. To make use of some of the faster units we'd need an antenna that provided 4 LTE antennas like the MIMO3-17, which is more expensive (and would also mean squeezing two more cables through the roof!). A good way to figure out what antenna you need is to look at an image of the back of the router and count the connections, minus the bluetooth one. For best results you want an antenna that provides a connection for each one of those ports. The X11 fell right in the sweet spot for us. It does everything we want and in active use has been great for us. We could have saved money and got a more basic/slower/older one but we're quite active users (uploading YT videos on the road etc). Or we could have spent more and got even faster speed, but we don't need that as it's more than fast enough for us already. The problem we have on the road is not the speed of the connection but making sure we don't burn through all our data allowance too quickly 😛 HTH!

[@scotchegg6422]

Don’t forget to add the WiFi antennas, these broadcast the WiFi to your van.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, they're already connected in the video, there's dual wifi antennas in the mimo 3 🙂👍

[@scotchegg6422]

@@SelfBuiltStories ah….must have missed you connecting these.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

no worries :) the setup is working very well for us!

[@SleepToTheSounds]

Hi guys, how much does the sim cost per month ? And is that unlimited data is it ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, we're currently using a Smarty SIM which is unlimited data for £20 p/m (or reduced to £18 p/m if you have another Smarty SIM already like we did). It runs on Three and we've found it pretty good so far, and we like that there's no contract or anything so it's easy to change up/down the bundle or just pause the account if you don't need it for a while. We have a referral link that gives a £10 Amazon voucher each in the description if interested 👍

[@sccobyste]

Hi guys tell me how you got your heater rigged up to work remotely please or do a video ❤

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, we might do a video on it at some point but it wouldn't be for a long while. You need a controller for your diesel heater that allows it to work remotely. We have the Afterburner: www.mrjones.id.au/afterburner/. It's a swap in replacement for the original controller that lets us communicate with the heater via both WiFi and Bluetooth. Then for remote monitoring you can set it up using the MQTT protocol, and there are pages in the manual which describe how to do it 👍

[@sccobyste]

@@SelfBuiltStories ok great news, I have a Truma heater that’s Bluetooth only at the moment but will see if I can sort it thanks again

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Ah hmm, unfortunately I think the afterburner only works with Chinese diesel heaters. You would need a controller that works for the Truma instead and gives you the same remote ability

[@JGnLAU8OAWF6]

Wouldn't water get in through the mesh sleeve?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Good observation on the mesh! We made the hole in the entry gland barely big enough to fit the wires through (it was quite a struggle actually!) so they're very tightly packed in there against each other and the rubber washer, and then we put sealant around that. And then the point where the wires go through the gland is raised up off the roof. Figuring out how to actually route the wires down through the roof was the trickiest part of this whole install as they're quite chunky! This way is working well for us though and we haven't had any problems with water getting in and we've had it on the roof for many months now, through a lot of storms! 👍

[@turkeyphant]

That sheath is just going to wick water down

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Nah the wires are so tight in the grommet and there's sealant around it as well, it's never been an issue 👍

[@DroneHDTV]

i love it when people over think the simple. I simply plug in the iphone (usb) use hotspot and wifi all day for 30 quid a month in the van.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

It really depends what your use case is, we used hotspots on our phones for the first year and it's fine if that's all you need. But now with the antenna and router hooked up we have internet in really remote places we didn't before, full GPS tracking with history and events, remote monitoring and control of the van and can connect all of our WiFi devices permanently, all for less than £20 p/m with unlimited data if we're in the UK. Definitely overkill for lots of people but 100% worth it for us 👍🏻

[@WilliamPobjoy]

👍👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

🙂👍