NoFi Wifi

[astrungis]

What is going on with campgrounds and Wifi? I have traveled back and forth across country for the past 5 years. My preference is to stay in c.g.'s that have wifi so I can check e-mail etc. But without fail, it never works properly if at all. After a frustrating trip with 2-in-a-row c.g.'s with either extremely slow or nonexistent signals I asked the 3rd one, "I see you advertise wifi, does it work"? The work camper behind the counter gave a sheepish smile and said, "No, we get complaints all the time". I thought that perhaps over the years, the situation would get better but it seems to be getting worse. My contention is it is false advertising. It is like saying you have FHU but find out that you have to use a dump station. Does everyone else find this to be the case? BTW, I am typing this from a public library 5miles away from the c.g.

[K0LCB]

Most campgrounds don't have much bandwidth on their wifi. If someone streams a movie, most of it is used up. Many campers don't care if they hog the wifi

[drknapp]

We have just returned from a six week trip and found the same situation in five of the six resorts/campgrounds we stayed at. All of them either really have bandwidth issues or really throttle you down. We ended up just using our Verizon phone as a hot spot for most of our internet usage. It ended up costing us a little additional for data overages, but it was worth it to have a working connection.

[richfaa]

we do not rely on CG wifi for the mentioned reasons. We have the Verizon jetpack. We need the connection, we pay for it, we use it.

[Rondo]

We have purchased a Verizon MIFI and it works well wherever we have been except on one trip and we were in the middle of Wyoming and we were without cell phone service and even our OnStar would not work. Can't figure that one out but no service what so ever, period!

[DQDick]

We also have a Verizon jet pack. We tried some campground wifi's our first trip out years ago and gave up. That was before streaming and all the rest, now there's no hope.

[astrungis]

Thanks for the tips about the Verizon Jetpack. Now I will have to convince my wife that I want "another gadget".

[dieselguy]

Verizon MIFI here as well ... I know what you are saying about advertising something that's not, but when you get stung several times you come to the decision to spend some bucks to get your own connection. It diverts tied up agony to something else like noisy neighbors.

[BB_TX]

Can't say I have ever stayed in an RV park that had wifi that was of much use other than checking e-mail, and slowly at that. Many times the signal has been strong but the limited bandwidth made it barely useable if at all.

I don't have MIFI, but if my Verizon signal is fairly strong I can do most everything I want without wifi.

[steves]

When on the road I usually use my smart-phone for internet access. Does not require Wi-Fi just uses the band width you contracted for.

[waynemoore]

Verizon hot spot on my IPhone. Cost a bit more but it works and is secure. Safe to do banking and whatever.

[hunts800]

Ditto here ...Verizon hot spot and it is secure.

[bigskyjimmy]

no brainer for me Verizon Jet pack,secure ,fast,reliable AND EXPENSIVE but being a fulltimer we gotta have it.sometimes the park WI-FI is OK for surfing and that saves GIGS on our Jet Pack

[mlh]

I have Verizon MIFI and Straight Talk cell service. Straight Talk is unlimited everything but after 5Gs the speed is slower. Total cost tax included is $46.26 and it uses Verizon towers
Lynwood

[thekrusers]

The parks we workamp at have the same problems. People used to travel with one computer, now people have tablets, laptops, smart phones and smart TVs. They have no idea how much data they consume and we all suffer. We also use a Verizon hotspot with great success.

[WeBeFulltime]

My Galaxy 5 works great as a hot spot on Verizon and can be used for other things at the same time. Got rid of my JetPack.

[Charli]

We have only been to one RV Park where we had good WiFi and it was part of our Cable TV package. It was unlimited and faster than we have at home. The rest have been a real disappointment. At certain times of the day you can get on but at peak times it's a waste of time. We frequent the closest Starbucks. Have a latte and update my blog, download emails, etc.

[1retired06]

We have also found campground systems unsat, and agree bandwidth is an issue. We notice that what works early in the morning or late at night does not work once the campground fills up. Particularly noticeable when the weekend crowds come in.

[JandC]

Since being full time we just decided we wanted reliable constant WiFi, no matter if we were towing down the road or camped someplace. The Verizon MiFi has given us that all over the U.S.

We use a cheap ($60.00) wireless WiFi printer, so we can print from our computers, I-pads, or I-phones with the MiFi turned on. No "free" campground wifi for us.

[kdeiss]

Verizon MiFi here also we can suspend service up to 6 Months whn we are not travelng
I remember the Days when you had to go to the C.G. office and plugin for dial up service talk about SLOW!