Free or cheap - No Internet Access travel Plex server and client setup Go Box

 

Road trips suck, and so does staying in a location that has poor internet bandwidth for streaming. There are a few options for consuming content while traveling with no internet connection like preloading media to a device. 

Scenario:
You are road tripping to the inlaws house 12 hours away in the family mini van.  You have two kids and two guest kids and all are in need of entertainment for at least some of the trip.  The inlaws live in the sticks and they have terrible internet service through a local mom and pop shop.  You need something flexible and easy for anyone to use - and that can work in the vehicle as well as the inlaws house.  All while consuming no internet bandwidth.

Solution:
Bring your own Plex server and streaming clients for use while on the road and also while you are at your destination. Emphasis on cheap, power efficient and small. This solution could also be free if you have all of the parts on hand already, cheap if you just need a couple of items.

 

Pictured above is my setup: Khadas Vim2 SBC, 1TB SSD, and a GL.iNet GL-AR750S-Ext Travel Router, and Monoprice travel box.

 

1.  Server:
Use a Pi single board computer as your server. You can use a Pi that has Wifi builtin and set it up as a Wifi hotspot for one stop shopping, or save some hassle and purchase a travel router to handle your wifi connection.  I suggest going with the wifi router.  It is what I did and is fairly cheap and will be much easier to get set up initially.

How to set a Raspberry Pi up as a wifi hotspot:
https://thepi.io/how-to-use-your-raspberry-pi-as-a-wireless-access-point/

In my setup, I had a Khadas Vim2 on hand and decided to use this for my Plex server.  Any recent Pi device should do it for you, but I suggest getting one with a gigabit NIC if you are using the wifi router below.  The server will not need to transcode media since your clients will be direct playing.

 

2. Wifi Access Point:
There are a few solid and affordable travel routers.  I suggest getting one with firmware that can be upgraded.  I chose one with OpenWRT firmware and Gigabit network switch:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GBXMBQF

 

3. Power:
Both the Pi and the router are powered via USB, so this makes them totally flexible.  In the car, power from a 12 volt outlet with a USB adapter or from a power bank.  Otherwise they can be powered via cell phone charger while indoors.

4. Media Storage:
I suggest a portable USB drive for this with as much capacity as you think you need to store media for your trip.  A Portable USB SSD drive would be best for low power draw, no noise and quick access speeds.  Hopefully you have one of these on hand, as they can be pricey.  Be sure to plug it in to the fastest USB port available on your Pi device.
I also suggest attaching this drive to the Pi server with a rubber band or something similar to keep things together and tidy.

5. Plex clients:
Any phone or tablet that you have on hand will work.  I suggest storing in your go box a media streaming stick to connect to the TV when you get where you are going.
If you need a cheap small tablet for use in the car:
Walmart has an Onn brand tablet available for $28 that runs Plex fine (also with a headphone jack or Bluetooth for audio) and does quite a bit of normal tablet work if you are a bit patient with it.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-7-Tablet/930669857
(Bummer, the price for these is now 50 bucks, but expect it to go back down for the holidays.)

 

Once you get this setup up and running, you will want to set your Plex Server to run offline:
https://www.howtogeek.com/303282/how-to-use-plex-media-server-without-internet-access/

 

6. Weather resistant travel Box to keep everything tidy while in use as well as store it when not in use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013Z74LNQ

 

Summary:
I like this solution because it is an interesting project to construct and it is 'set it and forget it.'  Load your media ahead of time and then you are all set.  Nothing to revisit.  While packing for a trip, just grab your go box and you know you have your media needs taken care of.

Also: Be sure to do a test run with your clients while offline to avoid issues and complaining once you set off on your trip. :)

 

Here are a few more pictures of my setup:

Side view.  I am going to try a less bulky USB to SATA adapter soon as well.

2.5 inch drive for scale.  This is a small setup.

 

 

An alternative solution for this problem could also be a WD Passport Pro Wireless that can run a Plex server. 
I did some looking around at how well this is working for others, and the result is that it is working really bad.  WD puts out updates for the Plex server software, so they are not on time and probably won't do this for long, if at all.  Probably a good idea to avoid this option altogether.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/221104248-western-digital-my-passport-wireless-pro/