What's the Best In truck laptop/tv/internet set up

I recommend getting a 4G smart phone from Verizon with their double data (note that double data promotion should be ending soon). And get the hotspot feature. You can use Google Maps which is a life saver. And with hotspot you can connect to your phone with your laptop.

As far as laptop goes, I'm using an Asus K52J. It works great. Macs are expensive and don't offer a real benefit over Windows PC that I know of. You can get a laptop with a BluRay drive installed.

I don't have a TV or game console. All my gaming is done on my laptop. Sole reason being is the price of games. Steam let's me get great games on PC for cheap.

I do have a USB TV tuner. Ive tried using it but I've had no luck. You usually have to be with 20-30 miles of the signal source to get reception (in a city generally). Large screen TVs sound good, but I don't think they will go too well in the truck. Especially a company truck. If you get fired or quit, you have nowhere to put it, and you can't just "put it on the shelf and leave it". Your going to probably put it on the floor while you sleep and lay it on the bed while you drive. The bigger the screen, the more likely you are to damage the screen from laying it down.

I'm considering getting a satellite TV. One that lets you record your favorite shows. That way I can watch them when I shut down for the night, or at the shipper/receiver.

 

Right now I'm using a MiFi2200 device for Internet. I also use an iPod, flip phone, Bluetooth GPS receiver for the iPod.

I ordered a 4G smartphone yesterday. It will act as an all-in-one. I can talk on it, use GPS, and Apps. Best of all, I can connect all my WiFi devices to it.

Yes, I can connect my laptop to it the same way you connect to any other WiFi. Im on the $50 5GB/month plan right now. Once I receive the smartphone I will be getting 10GB for $50.

Keep in mind that the Verizon's double data does end soon, and only goes to 4G devices.

 

Currently 4G is only in major cities. So you'll be getting 3G speed most of the time. But if you get the double data, you'll end up saving some money. I get 5GB per month on my plan, and I've been using 7-8GB. I've been paying $20-30 in overages a month. If you go on YouTube or watch music videos on VEVO, you'll use a lot of data. I think the double data is something you should strive to get if you plan on driving for a while.

 

You could always get the $80GB plan which is 10GB, 20 if you have double data. I don't really want to spend that much though. Satellite TV is pretty expensive. But you want have to worry about data or being in range of a tower. I'm not sure how satellite reception works. I see some people that put the dish on the ground next to their truck, some have them mounted onto their truck. I'd like to have it record shows while I'm driving, not sure how that would work as far as reception while the truck is moving.

 

The reception is line-of-site. So if you have an in-motion unit and a DVR then it will record while you are moving. But if you are city surrounded by tall buildings or going through a tunnel, or in wooded areas with trees over-hanging the road (etc) then the picture will freeze until the line of site is reestablished.

 

Does the dish have to be pointing at the satellite for it to receive data? If the truck is moving and I go around a turn, it will lose focus right?

Is it possible to copy movies and shows from the DVR onto a thumb drive or SD card? My dad has the satellite TV and records shows, maybe I can put a few shows on SD card and watch on my laptop?