WiFi

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Free Spirit

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Joined
Jul 17, 2016
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Location
Houston, Tx area.
Is it safe to assume that pretty much all RV campgrounds, both public and private, offer free WiFi. Obviously, we wouldn't expect WiFi in primitive areas.

WiFi is important to us as it is our primary source of news and TV.
 
I would say no.  Wifi is not always offered and when it is advertised it still is not always working.  Public (state&federal campgrounds) may be virtually nonexistent.  My daughters will attest to this. 

Cell coverage can also be very limited in places and cellular based Internet connectivity even more limited.  We recently traveled to some high volume tourist destinations across the country and were surprised at the lack of connectivity.  I didn't mind but was surprised.  Finally, don't expect universal cell coverage if you are driving cross country, it is common to have no coverage or emergency 911 only. 
 
You should not count on the WiFi at campgrounds. For example, we stayed at a KOA this past weekend, checking in Friday around 1:00pm. I worked the rest of the afternoon and the WiFi was great, not super fast, but enough for me to do work effectively. Saturday came and the campground filled up. WiFi terrible. My AT&T cell data was faster with two signal dots on my iPhone, so I used that for the rest of the weekend.
 
We are from FL and are on our way to Bar Harbor ME. We routed through Charlottesville VA, a state park in the Poconos, and then up the east coast once we got to CT. We are leaving MA today and will be in ME. I have been surprised at how good the WiFi has been this trip for the cgs that offer WiFi. The 2 state parks we stayed at didn't have it along with one cg in Rhode Island. In that case we used our Verizon hotspot. All of the other cgs have had very good to excellent WiFi. We've not found that to be true on other trips, but I did notice last summer that it seemed to be getting better, so wondered if the cgs were taking note and trying to upgrade. Prior to that, most, but not all, WiFi we had encountered was bad. As noted, not all cgs offer it either. I look for it and usually won't stay where it's not offered unless I have no other choice. Again, just because it's offered is no guarantee it works well.

I would say that if you absolutely need to depend on cg WiFi, then you're probably going to be disappointed. It's best to have your own back up to use.
 
I have never found a public campground with wifi. Doesn't mean they aren't there, but I haven't ever been in one (and we prefer public campgrounds to private). Even in private campgrounds that advertise wifi, we very seldom get a good enough signal to be useful for anything more than slow email. We use the data on our phones for our internet access. For example, we got back from a 2 1/2 week trip through Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was pretty much evenly divided between public and private parks. We had decent campground wifi 2 days, both at one specific private campground in Idaho. All the private parks advertised wifi, but they were essentially worthless due to speed and signal quality.
 
Nothing approaching TV speeds is likely, not only with the park WiFi, but your own cellular if you get that will be too costly to use for much TV caliber video.

Ernie
 
using Wi-Fi for TV takes a LOT of bandwidth, Few parks have enough for everyone to do that so please do not.

And no, most public campgrounds (State/Federal/County/City) do not offer Wi-Fi.. Bring your own bandwidth please (Cellular internet)  Most private parks I have visited DO offere wi-fi.. They just upgraded here.
 
Free Spirit said:
Is it safe to assume that pretty much all RV campgrounds, both public and private, offer free WiFi. Obviously, we wouldn't expect WiFi in primitive areas.

WiFi is important to us as it is our primary source of news and TV.
Click to expand...


No wonder that campings are now charging for WI-FI since some people like you watch TV on it ! :(
WI-FI is to get your e-mails and to answer them and to read newspapers ... NOT TO WATCH TV !  :mad:
Buy yourself a satellite dish if you want watch your tv programs !
 
Free Spirit said:
Is it safe to assume that pretty much all RV campgrounds, both public and private, offer free WiFi. Obviously, we wouldn't expect WiFi in primitive areas.
Click to expand...

Not really, especially not wifi that is reliable enough for streaming and likely not at public campgrounds.  They often cost less, and may not have the equipment and expertise to install/maintain wifi networks over a larger geographical area (compared to a smaller private campground/lot).

Improved campground wifi will probably become more common as customers demand/expect it, but it'll probably be a slow transition.

legrandnormand said:
WI-FI is to get your e-mails and to answer them and to read newspapers ... NOT TO WATCH TV !  :mad:
Click to expand...

This is becoming less and less the case with today's advancing technology.  A large majority of TV programming now is aimed at the broadband/streaming internet market.  Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and even YouTube are taking over the TV markets... not just old movies and video clips anymore.  In fact, Amazon Prime and occasional Netflix is all we have at home for TV now, plus the free over-the-air HD antenna networks (which often don't come in that well).  We haven't paid for heavily-commercialized satellite TV for many years.

Although we are used to "doing without" our online shows when camping, I can see how many folks accustomed to streaming TV (and new to RVing) may assume that it's a commonly-available service at campgrounds.
 
scottydl said:
Not really, especially not wifi that is reliable enough for streaming and likely not at public campgrounds.  They often cost less, and may not have the equipment and expertise to install/maintain wifi networks over a larger geographical area (compared to a smaller private campground/lot).

Improved campground wifi will probably become more common as customers demand/expect it, but it'll probably be a slow transition.

This is becoming less and less the case with today's advancing technology.  A large majority of TV programming now is aimed at the broadband/streaming internet market.  Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and even YouTube are taking over the TV markets... not just old movies and video clips anymore.  In fact, Amazon Prime and occasional Netflix is all we have at home for TV now, plus the free over-the-air HD antenna networks (which often don't come in that well).  We haven't paid for heavily-commercialized satellite TV for many years.

Although we are used to "doing without" our online shows when camping, I can see how many folks accustomed to streaming TV (and new to RVing) may assume that it's a commonly-available service at campgrounds.
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I also watch some Netflix and Youtube with my internet service that I pay for... but not on a free public WI-FI that is given to all of us.
 
I was at a CG recently that had fantastic wifi. We watched movies on HULU with zero buffering and everyone at the CG was doing it as well. So there are some campgrounds that get it and I can only hope that more will follow. I wouldn't mind paying extra for this quality wifi either.
 
At home we watch TV over the Internet frequently. Much, much more flexible than satellite or cable television. I would love to have that flexibility while camping, but it will take a long time before the infrastructure supports it in campgrounds.
 
Unfortunately streaming is a high priority packet and hogs all the available bandwidth more often than not. There are several ways to prevent this.  When I see it becomming a problem in a park I talk to the manager and offer to show them how to lock it down.  It's quite easy to do and takes 15-30 minutes.

Several parks we've been in have installed active monitoring and bandwidth limitation on a per device basis.  Use too much and you get slowed down or cut off.  Good system.

I download programs I wish to watch using bandwidth I pay for and store it on a wireless media device we take with us.  No buffering problems, no blips, works anywhere there's power.  Actually it works in places where there isn't power for about 5-6 hours.

This is one of them :  https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDWS2-064G-E57-Connect-Wireless-Smartphones/dp/B00H4BBWGY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1470259323&sr=8-5&keywords=wireless+flash+drive&refinements=p_89%3ASanDisk
 
DickHutchings said:
I was at a CG recently that had fantastic wifi. We watched movies on HULU with zero buffering and everyone at the CG was doing it as well. So there are some campgrounds that get it and I can only hope that more will follow. I wouldn't mind paying extra for this quality wifi either.
Click to expand...

There are some CG owners who are technology-oriented and we, also, have encountered a few parks like this.  They aren't yet the majority, but I'm sure they will become more numerous as owners realize that high speed internet can be a discriminator for their parks.  Creating wifi systems with non-interfering channels (so users don't conflict with each other) can be done, it just costs a bit more.  As owners recognize the importance their customers give to good high speed wifi more of them will implement systems like this.  The internet is a lot more than reading email these days and those owners who don't recognize that will be left in the dust.
 
This is funny. When this forum was in its infancy, we petitioned campgrounds to provide an online option alternative to borrowing the fax line at the CG office. Some of us used connections to cell phones and acoustic couplers. Nowadays, folks want to stream video (for free).
 
docj said:
There are some CG owners who are technology-oriented and we, also, have encountered a few parks like this.  They aren't yet the majority, but I'm sure they will become more numerous as owners realize that high speed internet can be a discriminator for their parks.  Creating wifi systems with non-interfering channels (so users don't conflict with each other) can be done, it just costs a bit more.  As owners recognize the importance their customers give to good high speed wifi more of them will implement systems like this.  The internet is a lot more than reading email these days and those owners who don't recognize that will be left in the dust.
Click to expand...

I have looked into some campgrounds that have you fill out a form and mail a check for reservation, no credit cards accepted...in 2016. To say they most likely cater to a certain clientele is an understatement. It's going to be a terrible shock to them when their demographic is one that is more tech savvy in the future.
 
Well, when we were young, we hiked twenty miles through snow to get a signal.  Sometimes we crawled across the desert to get a signal.  Time marches on.  You "youngsters" will eventually find yourselves either out of the technological loop or fighting to understand what future youngsters are talking about.  Wish I could be around to watch and listen.  ;D ;D ;D 
 
Tom and Margi said:
Well, when we were young, we hiked twenty miles through snow to get a signal.  Sometimes we crawled across the desert to get a signal.  Time marches on.  You "youngsters" will eventually find yourselves either out of the technological loop or fighting to understand what future youngsters are talking about.  Wish I could be around to watch and listen.  ;D ;D ;D
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I have been writing code since I was 13, I doubt I will ever be out of the loop when it comes to technology. ;)
 
Tom and Margi said:
  You "youngsters" will eventually find yourselves either out of the technological loop or fighting to understand what future youngsters are talking about. 
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I'm no youngster, for sure, but I have no intention of using my advanced age as an excuse for not staying as close to the cutting edge of technology as I can. 
 
Moebius said:
I have looked into some campgrounds that have you fill out a form and mail a check for reservation, no credit cards accepted...in 2016. To say they most likely cater to a certain clientele is an understatement. It's going to be a terrible shock to them when their demographic is one that is more tech savvy in the future.
Click to expand...

Credit cards carry fees that are not insignificant to a Mom & Pop operation. I think they are very much aware of their demographics and choose not to pass those costs onto their clientele. Heck, a couple of my favorite restaurants don't take cards.
 
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