Wifi at campgrounds in the US

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deedubaya

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Joined
Aug 22, 2013
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All,

The Mrs. and I will be making our first long trip across the US during the winter months. We plan to stay in KOA's and of the like, as I will be working during the trip. My job requires good connectivity to the internet, so that will be typically be the deciding factor of where we stay.

I know most KOA's provide Wifi, and my results may vary. I'm looking for overall feel on the topic.

How are the connections in general? Good, bad, so-so?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks for the input!
 
Well some connections are good, some bad and some so-so like you asked.  We have been in a park for 4 months and the connections are sometimes good but mostly so-so because of video downloads, GPS updates, numerious smart phones and tablets homed onto the park's wifi.  I carry a Verizon Hot Spot for most of my internet needs.  It almost always works where the park's system sometimes works.  The problem is that it costs $50 per month to be independent of the park wifi system.
 
I have found that at most camp sites I have found Wifi has not be very reliable and with the entire park trying to use one connect to the internet not very fast.  I have improved my chances of getting connected by using a separate antenna but if the connection is slow an external antenna won?t help other than be able to connect. 
http://www.rvledbulbs.com/product-p/18-ausb.htm

 
We've spent time in 14 campgrounds over the past few months.  I'd say we've had usable included WiFi from the camper only twice.  we went to an activity center that number would increase to maybe seven. 

4G or 3G has been usable (with a Wilson Sleek booster) around 90% of the time.

 
We mostly use Verizon and have a roof-mounted antenna to boost the signal.  We've pretty much given up on campground wifi because most are pretty finicky unless you're maybe right next to the antenna.  Verizon covers most of the places we go but there are occasional places where there's a minimal signal or zero cell service from any provider in which case we revert to the campground wifi.  Because you're concerned about doing business you might look into satellite internet which some of the others here still use when a dependable connection is required.  In any case, I doubt you'll use just one.  Be prepared to switch from one to another when required.  We do and we're not doing business.  Also, make sure you have good charging.  We've been in quite a few places where the cell signals are so weak the batteries run down overnight searching for a signal.  In places like that we leave them charging when we go to bed.

ArdraF
 
Welcome to the forum!!!

One thing I do not think was mentioned is that some campground systems limit the speed of the individual connection to prevent video and other large downloads. They may do this in a number of ways: a constant speed for all users; so many megabits a speed x, the so many megabits at a slower speed y, etc.; or they may terminate a user after so many megabits in a certain period of time.

We have stayed in over 300 campgrounds since 2004 and have found most campground Wifi adequate for email, bill paying and such. If you need or expect more, you may be disappointed.

Public libraries and business with wifi for their customers will generally provide faster connections because they do not have so many people using the connection at the same time.

Cell towers can get overloaded too. Areas with high seasonal populations like Quartzsite, AZ can have slow service at times of peak visitation.

You also need to consider, that creating a hotspot whether using a repeated wifi signal or a cellular signal will generally slow the speed of the connection over what connecting directly to the wifi access point or having the cellular device tethered to the computer will produce. In the case of a signal radio wifi repeater/hotspot, the speed reduction may be as much as 50% because the repeater/hotspot can not receive and transmit at the same time.



Again, Welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks for the great input everyone! As I expected, I'll always need a backup plan for the campground wifi.
 
You should never use campground or other WiFi services for bill paying, etc. because mostly they are not secure. That means others can grab sensitive data. You can pick up a 3 or 4 gig secured Verizon air card on eBay for very little money and buy secure Internet time as needed. It beats having to pay monthly hotspot services.
 
thomasamski said:
You should never use campground or other WiFi services for bill paying, etc. because mostly they are not secure. That means others can grab sensitive data. You can pick up a 3 or 4 gig secured Verizon air card on eBay for very little money and buy secure Internet time as needed. It beats having to pay monthly hotspot services.
Click to expand...

This is a commonly repeated misconception.  If the site you are communicating with uses HTTPS protocol (which pretty much is every banking and credit card site in the US as well as Google and many others), then the security is handled by the connection to the site and the encryption of the local wifi is irrelevant.  Your casual websurfing could be intercepted as well as email sent using a standalone program such as Outlook, but most people know not to ever put sensitive information in emails. 

There's also no such thing as a "secured air card", all cellular transmissions are encrypted with a system that is rather difficult to crack so any cellular data card or hotspot will provide a secure connection. Also, before buying any cellular device on eBay, Craig's List, or similar markets, always check to make sure that the item can be legally sold and activated.  Some devices may be subject to existing contracts and it's possible they can't be activated on your account.
 
We require internet connectivity to do our work as well. We have two mifi systems on board and use park wifi when available. That said, we've experienced that all three can be worthless when you need a good strong signal. Most has to do with where you are. Park wifi systems tend to be fine one minute and doing nothing at all the next.

We had the best wifi at a little county park in central Iowa on our way south. At our next stop a RVP, it was marginal so we had to rely on our mifi carriers to get us online. Not a problem, but you have to watch your bandwidth usage...it gets expensive if you go over your monthly limits. The next park, this time a Army Corps of Engineers park in western Kansas had great wifi, of course the place was nearly empty being the middle of the week. At a KOA in Colorado we had poor wifi, too many users and the park had the cheapest equipment too boot. The next place was fine, slow during peak hours but we were able to get a lot done the two weeks we were there. Here now at the park we're in...marginal again and its also in an area where both cell and data coverage by our two providers is nearly non existent.

So if you need solid firewall access to the internet, redundancy is the only way to go...mifi, wifi and even satellite if you can afford it.
 
One more thing about RV park WiFi -- so much depends on where you are in the park, or even which direction you are facing (the rear of the motorhome blocks more signal than the front, and screens more than glass). We were in one park recently where we were just a couple of hundred feet from the antenna, and pretty much in line of sight to it, but the signal was spotty and strength varied from a few seconds of rather strong to complete fade out, often within half a minute or less. It was likely because of the line of trees between us and the antenna. A different site would have given us a good signal (or none -- I checked with a tablet walk-about).

So, as others have said, I'd not depend on the park WiFi.
 
Many KOA's also charge for internet.

My recommendation is bring your own hot spot. In fact if you are WORKING by all means bring your own.. You can often get a portable cellular "hot Spot" for about a dollar or two a day.. V/s several dollars for Park Wi-Fi.
 
One thing that hasn't yet been mentioned in this thread is that using campground WiFi is much easier if you have all the devices in your RV connected through a router that has "WiFi as WAN" capability.  That way only the router needs to connect to the park's wifi and it's easy to try it out.  As full-timer RVers we find more and more decent WiFi's that are worth using, but I'd never bother if I had to switch all the computers, tablets, etc, one at a time.  We happen to use a WiFi Ranger router for this purpose, but there are a number of other brands that do the same thing.
 
<<< This is a commonly repeated misconception. >>>

As I stated before ... one should never use unsecured wifi offered at campgrounds, restaurants, etc. for banking or other sensitive reasons. They can be tapped by unsavory characters who can easily harvest vital information and can steal your money and cause identity theft problems. And, yes, there is such a thing as secured air cards. Also, air cards sold commercially are simply activated by using the telephone number assigned to the unit. I've never had a problem with them.
 
if you are using a secured website with a HTTPS protocol to your financial institution (almost all do) your transactions are not open to hackers on public WIFI networks. Email and normal web browsing can be tracked but a good firewall will prevent someone from accessing your files on your computers.
 
thomasamski said:
And, yes, there is such a thing as secured air cards.
Click to expand...

The cellular system is inherently more secure than wifi.  However, all cellular devices running on the same network (Verizon, ATT, Sprint, etc) and running the same protocol (3G, 4G/LTE) will be using the same transmission system.  One aircard isn't any more secure than any other. 

If you are connected to an HTTPS site, that encryption will essentially be "inside" the encryption of the cellular system.  Similarly, a VPN is a "pipe" through the internet which prevents most intercepts (except, of course, by NSA).
 
So far in our travels I would say I have encountered usable wifi in app 80% of the CG we go to in the NW. I even found wifi in about half the CG?s in AK last year. A few did have a small charge ($2/day) but I try and avoid them. I also look for CG?s with wifi when moving locations. I use a directional antenna (Nanostation 2) in the MH to pick up the wifi at our camp space. I hook my antenna to a router so everything I have then connects to my secure network. This wifi is good enough for email and the like but not much more than that. I will be using a data plan with Verizon starting next month so that will also allow me to use the phone for a hotspot if needed. I will continue to use the wifi for general stuff to save on the data allowance on the phone if needed. It's a nice backup for one another when a cell signal or CG wifi is not available.
 
Earlier this year my wife and I converted from using our Verizon air card to using the "Hot Spot" on our phones and it works great.  If you've got cell service you've got internet and with 4g it's extremely fast.
 
It is unbelievable how much our Internet use has increased this year with a Verizon hotspot. 4G eats up the data!
 
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