LAPTOP ???

Some places have free wifi, but not many. There is a thread on this site with a list of free wifi places someplace. Most truckstops have a subscription you can get for a few hours up to a year at their locations. I charge my iphone with the usb cord connected to a cigarette lighter usb plug adapter. Most large cell phone carriers have the cards or other devices including even the cell phone to get connected to the internet. Just get a good bag for the laptop, mine has allot of cushion and is over 13 years old and I haven't had a problem yet.

 

I use an aircard and am happy with it's perforance, but the dowside is it has a monthly 5 gig limit.
Another option would be to pay for WiFi airtime at the truck stop, I have done this when I am nearing my 5 gig limit but will not buy more that 2 hours worth because I do need to get some sleep for my next leg of the journey.

 

You can just jailbreak your iPhone and just tether for free if you have unlimited data plan with your carrier. Internet at most truck stops is very very slow and definitely not worth the money.

 

Sprint has an aircard with unlimited time for $59.95/month. If you sign a contract with them you can get the aircard for free.

I have an inverter that I use to charge and run most everything in the truck. That way, I can use a regular AC connection to charge and run everything. You can get a 400 watt inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter for about $40. I have had the best luck from Cobra inverters. I tried another brand and it didn't even last a year. I think it was DeWall? I prefer an aircard to Wifi due to being able to get on line anywhere that there is a cell signal. You can tether your cell phone to your laptop and get on the internet. I don't know how well it works.

 

It's either hit or miss with the truck stop wi-fi connections. Some truck stops offer free service while others may charge. I don't really use it that much unless my phone is in a bad data service area.

Who do you have the iphone with? The CFO at Verizon (Fran Shammo) has publicly announced that the company will do away with the $30 unlimited data plan, and replace it with tiered data plans similar to AT&T by mid-summer. I'm still with T-mobile on an unlimited data plan, but hopefully AT&T will not screw this up once the two companies have merged. Consumer options are becoming more limited with these mergers I think.

For charging the laptop, I use a small 175 watt inverter that goes in the 12v receptacle in the truck. The phone is charged by it's own 12v power cord, or I can use the regular home charger in the inverter. When I owned a Compaq, I used to have a charger made by "iGo". http://www.igo.com/

I don't know much about those air-cards, but they don't seem too bad to have.

 

JJ uses an aircard Verizon and I use My Droid, we pay around $230.00 a month for two phones and the aircard!

Droid is 3g and I get reasonably fast internet and they better not take away my unlimited!

 

Have only found one or two independant truckstops with free wifi.
Most charge $5 a day....or $20 or so a month (per brand of truckstop).

 

I am very happy with a 400 watt Cobra inverter and a Verizon aircard. I rarely get close to the 5 gig limit.

 

If you only use the internet while at a truck stop you could subscribe to one of the truck stop Wifi services. But, if you want internet access anywhere, then you will need to either get an aircard or connect using your cell phone. Some only use their cell phone without using a laptop. I prefer using my laptop.