Internet
We purchased the undeveloped heavily wooded 35 acre lot for Harmony Ridge RV park in Oct 2021. We launched a YouTube Channel "The RV Park Builder" to memorialize our RV Park construction and build activities. This webpage is intended to help other individuals who want to build their own RV park.
This web page contains affiliate links. If you click on one of them, #comettroy may receive a commission.
2 Gbps Fiber Backbone
This managed switch has more than enough Ethernet ports and a smaller switch could have done the job if all we cared about was Ethernet ports. We like this switch because it has 4 SFP ports for fiber links and 410W of PoE Power for enough juice for all the RV Site switches and PoE cameras.
We have also included a TP-Link version, but have not personally tested this switch. It has comparable specs to the Tenda. However, it has less PoE Power (250W) then then Tenda above (410W). We have listed this alternate because the Tenda TEG5328P isn't always available on Amazon.
We opted for a 10-pack of Fiber SFP Transceivers, but will only be using 4 (2 in each switch). We purchased extra for future expansion in later phases. Two of these modules are inserted into 2 of the SFP slots in the lower right corner of the switches above. They show up as ports 25-28 in the Tenda switch. We have configured 2 of the fiber links together as a redundant pair.
We are running redundant/aggregated Fiber Optic 100m (330') between our RV Park Utility sheds. This means we have 2 Gb for our RV Park backbone and redundancy if one of the fiber links fails for whatever reason. This Amazon product link allows lengths 15m(50ft) to 300m(1000ft). We like this OM3 Fiber because it is Armored to resist rodents and comes with a Pulling Eye at one end.
20 Gbps Fiber Backbone
The TP_link and the Aruba 24 port switch is comparable to the Tenda 24 port switch above, but has faster fiber (10Gbps). You will need SPF+ 10gbps fiber modules instead of the SPF modules. This setup uses the same OM3 fiber as the 2 Gbps option above. We have not personally tested a 20 Gbps setup yet, but would be a great future upgrade when our 2 Gbps implementation begins to reach capacity.
This switch is very similar to the TP-Link 1Gbps Fiber switch listed above, except is has SPF+ (10Gbps) module sockets instead of the SPF (1.25Gbps)
This switch is very similar to the TP-Link 1Gbps Fiber switch listed above, except is has SPF+ (10Gbps) module sockets instead of the SPF (1.25Gbps)
Two of these modules are inserted into 2 of the SFP+ slots in the lower right corner of the switches above.
We are running redundant/aggregated Fiber Optic 100m (330') between our RV Park Utility sheds. This means we have 2 Gb for our RV Park backbone and redundancy if one of the fiber links fails for whatever reason. This Amazon product link allows lengths 15m(50ft) to 300m(1000ft). We like this OM3 Fiber because it is Armored to resist rodents and comes with a Pulling Eye at one end.
RV Park WiFi
We are using TP-Link's AC1200 (EAP225-Outdoor) Access Point for our general RV Park RV. We have a hotspot at each RV site, but need a general park wifi deployment to support RV park operations such as the Emporia Smart Energy Monitor.
This is a PoE (Power over Ethernet) outdoor device that does not need it's own power. We installed one on each of our RV Park utility sheds, then plugged it into our Tenda smart switch. When we purchase networking routing equipment, we make sure it's compatible with OpenWrt so we can customize the networking hardware with opensource software if desired. The routers below support OpenWrt.
Note: The routers (access points) do not come with an Ethernet cable, so you'll have to provide your own.
Note2: The EAP225 would not power up when plugged into our PoE switch unless the PoE injector was inline. HOWEVER, the PoE injector does not need to be plugged into a wall outlet. It appears to get power from the switch, then passes it onto the EA225.
We mounted one of these on the back side of our utility sheds near the roof peak. Then mounted a TP-Link EA225 on it to get it above the metal roof.
RV Sites with own WiFi Router
A Wifi Outdoor Router w/(multiple modes, dual gigabit ethernet ports and PoE) was very difficult to find. The Amazon links we had for two different batches of routers are no longer valid. However, the WiFi Router menu was in Chinese. We decided to load OpenWRT to replace the Chinese version in both brands of routers. They are both based on Model CF-EW72 V2. They may also be available on Alibaba. There are plenty of options with a single gigabit Ethernet port if you don't care about option to hardwire into the guest's onboard RV equipment.
Note: Select one Ethernet Cable and one Outdoor router for each RV Site
We like this cat6 link (Cable Matters) because we could order different lengths (1" to 150') and color code them for easy identification.
Use this cat6 link (Adoreen) for lengths greater than 150ft but black is the only color choice. They offer lengths from 25' to 300'.
RV Park Security
We are beginning to test PoE 4K UHD Security cameras that will plug in to the Tenda switches. All of these cameras can be connected into the PoE switch above without the need to provide additional power. The PoE versions are listed below, but there are also WiFi, Solar and Cellular versions available to fit just about any deployment need. All of the cameras below have Car, Person and Pet motion detection. If you don't want Fido to trigger a motion alarm, the pet detection can be disabled independently.
Note: The Reolink camera line does not come with a memory card. The Ethernet cable is basic and short. We added a 256GB card for continous recording and an appropriate length Ethernet cable from the above list for each camera.
We have deployed one of these near the front entrance to our RV Park. When vehicles visit and depart, the camera will automatically rotate and track the vehicle.
We really like this camera and have deployed one on each of our Utility sheds. The one on our utility shed near the road gives us a complete side to side view of our RV park nearest the road. The second camera on the other utility shed gives us a complete view of the driveway from the road all the way to the big rig RV turnaround area. Between these two cameras, we can monitor all traffic in our RV park.
We haven't deployed any of these yet, but wanted to include them as a budget offering where multiple units could be deployed to cover more area.
At Harmony Ridge RV Park, we have deployed powered Reolink cameras that use our onsite fiber Internet. If you want to deploy a reolink into a remote area away from wifi and power, this is the option that our Neighbor Karen recommends. We haven't deployed any of these yet, but want to include them as a good forest/trail camera.
This is a PTZ camera, which means you can "Pan, Tilt and Zoom" it remotely to look around in your forest!
This is a "Cellular" camera, which means you need to purchase a cellular service plan from a provider who offers cellular service in your area. See the product desciption for more details.
The solar panel will need to be placed in an area that gets adequate sun to recharged the batteries.
Note: This camera includes a 32GB micro SD card, but supports a max of 128GB. The 2K technology is a little older and doesn't support the 256GB card listed below.
This is a newer, higher resolution and higher cost version of the above 2K camera. We haven't deployed any of these yet, but want to include them as a good forest/trail camera.
This is a PTZ camera, which means you can "Pan, Tilt and Zoom" it remotely to look around in your forest!
This is a "Cellular" camera, which means you need to purchase a cellular service plan from a provider who offers cellular service in your area. See the product description for more details.
The solar panel will need to be placed in an area that gets adequate sun to recharged the batteries.
Note: This camera does not includes a micro SD card that we can see. So you'll need to pick one up such as the below.
This is our favorite for Cellular cameras. It features 2 lenses, one lens for a wide angle view. The other lens is for close up shots to get that extra detail. It is also a 4K camera We haven't deployed any of these yet, but want to include them as a good forest/trail camera.
This is a PTZ camera, which means you can "Pan, Tilt and Zoom" it remotely to look around in your forest!
This is a "Cellular" camera, which means you need to purchase a cellular service plan from a provider who offers cellular service in your area. See the product description for more details.
The solar panel will need to be placed in an area that gets adequate sun to recharged the batteries.
Note: This camera does not includes a micro SD card that we can see. So you'll need to pick one up such as the below.
The ReoLink 4K Poe Cameras do not come with a memory card. We have purchased one of these for each ReoLink Camera we have deployed.
More Information
This web page contains affiliate links. If you click on one of them, #comettroy may receive a commission.