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09-06-2014, 12:19 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where I Park It
Posts: 482
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Free UNUSEABLE Wifi
I am a full timer traveling 7-8 months and staying no longer then a week in any one place so I think I can safely post my experience with "Free Wifi".
The following is my experience with over 95% of the campgrounds that I stay at. Very few have really usable wifi.
Most campgrounds now advertise that they offer free wifi but what they don't tell you is that:
- It will be slower then dial up.
- You have to come to the office to use it because it won't reach your site.
- It will be slower then dial up.
- They will monitor your usage and throttle you down to less then dial up if you insist on reading more then one email per day and visiting more then two websites.
- It will be slower then dial up.
- I won't go to a campground that uses Tengonet!
- It will constantly drop out to the point of sheer frustration.
- It will be slower then dial up.
It's free so stop complaining. So what if you can't get on, it's free.
My feelings are simple: I get decent water pressure, good electric and free flowing sewage hookups. Wifi is no longer an extra, it should be considered a necessity. It's how the world communicates. It should be totally usable, not minimal as a token offering. I drop as much as 3 points when I review a park on RVParkReviews. If I want to stream a movie or send out 10 emails, I should be able to. I expect it just like I'm home in a brick and mortar.
Am I being to fussy over "free wifi"?
__________________
2007 Newmar Essex 4508 All Electric w/ H2 Towed
Thor, my Min Pin Wing-man
Living full time for 8+ years and still counting.
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09-06-2014, 01:12 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 2,748
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The infrastructure is not in place that will fully enable you to do things that you want such as streaming movies. You have to remember that Wi-Fi at least as far as Internet access is concerned is only about 10 to 12 years old. I think it will be another 10 years or more before Wi-Fi is widespread throughout this country and everyone will be able to do things that they want to do with it.
In other words, expectation has exceeded reality.
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Burns & Diane
2005 Winnebago Aspect 26A/2012 Subaru Impreza toad
Illinois! - Where the politicians make the license plates......
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09-06-2014, 01:17 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 474
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Quote:
Originally Posted by baraff
The infrastructure is not in place that will fully enable you to do things that you want such as streaming movies. You have to remember that Wi-Fi at least as far as Internet access is concerned is only about 10 to 12 years old. I think it will be another 10 years or more before Wi-Fi is widespread throughout this country and everyone will be able to do things that they want to do with it.
In other words, expectation has exceeded reality.
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Spot on! Mobile Hotspot and unlimited data plan works for me
__________________
'98 Signature 42' Classic Suite purchased July 2000
Toads: (4 down) Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy 2500HD 4x4, or Scout Terra
Trailers: 28' HRC Stacker, 24' Look; contents vary per trip
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09-06-2014, 01:26 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Appalachian Campers Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 112
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderfoot
Spot on! Mobile Hotspot and unlimited data plan works for me
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What service do you use for your mobile broadband service? - I will be working on the road around 9 months a year and staying in my RV, most work sites are in major areas but a few are kind of in the boonies (heading to Delaware next week for a few months) and do not want to tether my laptop to my cell phone (the usage charge is out of this world), I do not stream videos or music - just email, facebook and news sites
__________________
2006 Monaco Signature Series Chateau IV 600 HP Tag Axle Traveling with a 2011 HD Softail Convertible on Hydralift and towing either a 2017 Lincoln MKC or a 1957 Ford Thunderbird
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09-06-2014, 02:23 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 474
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Gunny, my ancient AT&T plan has unlimited data grandfathered in... as long as I don't "update" my plan! We travel in many different areas and discovered long ago that one carrier doesn't fit all. As a result my wife's carrier is Verizon, also grandfathered with unlimited data. As you can imagine we receive frequent offers to "upgrade" our plans. We each have a 4g smartphone with hotspot capabilities but it's not uncommon to only have service from one provider. On a recent trip to NM, CO, and UT AT&T provided seamless service while Verizon was spotty in the more remote areas of CO & UT. Other areas we've experienced the exact opposite results. I'm sure you have researched the options available today but I've included a link that might be useful. Thanks for your service & good luck!
Stay Connected
__________________
'98 Signature 42' Classic Suite purchased July 2000
Toads: (4 down) Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy 2500HD 4x4, or Scout Terra
Trailers: 28' HRC Stacker, 24' Look; contents vary per trip
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09-06-2014, 02:43 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,024
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I am using a campground's "Free" Wi-Fi (included in site rental no matter if you use it or not) as I type this.. Now this CG is the best of the best bandwidth wise, I'm having no problems at all, I can stream video if I wish, I am told however that as the weather cools.. This may change.
Other campgrounds I visit, Some use Verizon 2-way satellite internet and the grass grows under the bits as they crawl down the wire.
Others have multiple high speed charter cable accounts, and the paint dries on the packts as they traverse the .... You get the idea.
It would really help of more parks would block port 80. That would kill off a good percentage of the video leaches.
__________________
Home is where I park it!
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09-06-2014, 02:49 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 2,457
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I just got used to going to local public libraries every few days to get a good connection. There is a lot of info on external antennas to grab a better signal *IF* the connection is good enough to give decent speed near the main antenna (office, etc.)
__________________
2008 Itasca 37H
2011 & 2012 Len & Pat's "One lap of America"
27K miles & 41 states in 13 months
Yellowstone Lake 6-1-2012
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09-06-2014, 03:08 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Naples, Fl.
Posts: 1,303
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I have been in parks with good Wi-Fi and some with bad. I do not consider Wi-Fi a "necessity" nor how the world communicates. Wi-Fi is not the only way to communicate on the internet.
If a campground has poor Wi-Fi or inconvenient use, like at the office, I just use my regular broadband hook up and pay for it. Not a big deal.
Always good Wi-Fi at Mc Donald's. The only trouble is that I have gained 20 pounds!
__________________
Camping Rig: 2006 Outback 27 RSDS--
2005 Dodge 3500 - Dually- Cummins
Full time since June 2006
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09-06-2014, 03:12 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Home in warm Sou Calif for the winter.
Posts: 1,401
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OldHiker
- It will be slower then dial up.
- It will be slower then dial up.
- It will be slower then dial up.
- It will be slower then dial up.
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I think you mean it will be slower "than" dial up.
I have found that this usually applies to rv parks that are, shall we say, on the cheap side. We tend to stay at parks that have excellent ratings and are highly recommended by previous campers.
I think a lot of it may have to do with Apple products too. My DW has iPhone and iPad and both have a hard time with receiving wifi signals while my simple HP laptop has none.
Rpn
__________________
Ron, Sandie and Lilly
2013 Tiffin Phaeton 42LH 400 ISL | 2011 GMC Terrain SLT-2
Roadmaster All Terrain | US Gear Unified Brake System | Pressure Pro
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09-06-2014, 03:20 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where I Park It
Posts: 482
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You are missing my point. This is a case of false advertisement. When someone states they offer a free product, that's what I come to expect - a free usable wifi.
__________________
2007 Newmar Essex 4508 All Electric w/ H2 Towed
Thor, my Min Pin Wing-man
Living full time for 8+ years and still counting.
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09-06-2014, 03:22 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,031
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I don't need to download movies on campground WiFi.
Have plenty of movies on my 2 DirecTV DVR's to watch on a 46" screen.
I was staying at one for 3 months this summer that had free WiFi with 26 Mpbs down that movies was possible to download at no buffering.
It was good to see a few short Utube ones a day with it. As my DataStorm/Hughes is two slow and uses a lot of data for them.
__________________
99 Discovery 34Q ISB
2014 MKS AWD EcoBoost Toad
Fulltime Since "99"
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09-06-2014, 03:26 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 156
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Could not agree with you more. We don't even bother with trying to get CG WiFi. We go directly to our Verizon hot spot.
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09-06-2014, 03:28 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where I Park It
Posts: 482
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[QUOTE=lanerd;2217125]
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldHiker
- It will be slower then dial up.
- It will be slower then dial up.
- It will be slower then dial up.
- It will be slower then dial up.
QUOTE]
I think you mean it will be slower "than" dial up. Spellchecker passed this.
I have found that this usually applies to rv parks that are, shall we say, on the cheap side. We tend to stay at parks that have excellent ratings and are highly recommended by previous campers.
I think a lot of it may have to do with Apple products too. My DW has iPhone and iPad and both have a hard time with receiving wifi signals while my simple HP laptop has none.
Rpn
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KOA's are more often then not guilty of this. And they are not cheap. Just came from one, Indianapolis, that charged $55/day on a weekly rate! Others are great parks, not cheap parks, that are just as guilty. It's the park owners that are doing this, not technology. It's all about bandwidth per dollar.
__________________
2007 Newmar Essex 4508 All Electric w/ H2 Towed
Thor, my Min Pin Wing-man
Living full time for 8+ years and still counting.
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09-06-2014, 03:42 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 6,393
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I don't know what it would cost the Parks to install a system that would satisfy your needs, to provide you with the wifi bandwidth you desire but I know I don't want to pay for it. Should every one who uses the Park pay an extra $5(?) per nite so you can watch movies? We have our own internet service and feel anything the Park offers as a bonus.
Just my opinion.
__________________
Wayne & Roberta
08 Winnebago Destination 39W Gas UFO Workhorse Chassis......It's really weird being the same age as old people. I thought getting old would take much longer.
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