I want to put a cell phone amplifier on my camper-trailer.  The wife and I both have AT&T service.  Does anyone have experience or suggestions on a good make/model?  I have to walk to the front treeline of my BOL to get decent reception

I have been using the Wilson Electronics products for years in my TT.  I use the one with the wireless indoor antenna which will boost cell phones and aircards at the same time.  They are available in 12v power configurations as well.

Wilson has quality products, a good warranty and Tech help at their headquarters in Utah.

Win/Win

Wilson unit in my car works great





Wilson just changed there name to weboost.



 

I have this one and it works great!booster

I have had the wilson car version for 4 + years now and don't need it where I currently rent.  No it is not for sale.



As long as you show some bars so it has something to amplify it will do fine.  If you have nothing worth amplifying it will not work well if at all.  My phone would ring in the house or tell me I had a message sometimes, but I could not carry on a conversation in the house without dropping the call.  If I went outside it worked ok but not great for a phone call.  So yeah I had some signal to amplify, but not great.



Due to how the house was built and sight line to tower and how I just stuck the magnetic antenna on a metal gutter I left my amplifier in one spot wrapped in tinfoil with a small opening so the phone could get the amplified signal.



When I tethered using a blackberry the cord gave me enough room for a laptop to move a bit, but the phone stayed put.  



Once I had dsl I still used the amplifier for phone calls and for that a blue tooth earpiece works fine so I can move around and the phone stays put.



I ordered the auto version so it had both 120volt and 12 volt cords and what not.  Worked fine for what I wanted.  If I had figured out the issue with the gutter or house materials in that area of the house I would not have had to wrap it in tinfoil, but it worked and I did not care so I did that for a few years.



Play on the rv websites and be prepared to spend a couple hundred bucks.  I think mine was right at 200 bucks when I got it.



I know they redesigned some stuff and now I know they changed their name.



Where I live verizon and us cellular are all that work.  

we use Wilson in the oil field all the time and that just about all we use

How do these work?

I just call them an amplifier.



They are picking up the cell phone signal and boosting it.



You can get on their website for specifics but it is boosting it both ways I expect.



I have tried mine in enough places that if I barely get a bar I know I am going to multiply garbage and not have a decent signal.  Might be able to send and receive texts, might not.  Not going to have a conversation with anyone and usually voicemail won't work right either.  By barely a bar I mean it is on the lowest level and it sort of comes and goes if you move around and in moving around you can not gain a 2nd bar.



Get a couple bars that will hold and you might have a chance.  Some stuff does better than others.



I had a blackberry for tethering to my laptop at the time and all my internet was through that blackberry so it is what I know.  Like I said in my other post the antenna had a nice shot towards a tower, I never tried to measure for the strongest signal since my best shot was through some trees with spacing and it worked so I was happy.



Some folks take this to extremes and can measure strength of signal and I guess the newer phones have apps for it as well probably.



I basically knew I was not going to build anything myself that would work well, I did some searches and it seemed hit and miss but overall I am not going to be that detail oriented in assembling anything.  I do better at taking things apart, losing pieces, and then scrounging a replacement elsewhere.



I wanted something turn key and the rv forums backed up wilson.



A neighbor wound up with one first but the at&t signal was garbage and would not turn into a usable signal.



I got to test it out and paid them their cost in the setup because it was exactly what I would have bought.



We had researched and talked previously, we got along as neighbors, and they just pulled the trigger first.



But with their house being blocked by the trees more, they could not get a decent signal for at&t.



US cellular had a decent signal.
 

Some phones have diagnostic modes that can be used to help determine if an amp is worth it.

 

I saw one for iPhone a while back, I don't know about other models / software.  


It's worth looking into it, as it's probably free and will give you an idea of what might work.