Wi fi and laundry

[Kenmax]

My wife and I are new to RVing. We have a 2003 30' gulfstream conquest. Can anyone advise anything for wi fi reception. Plus any tips on laundry

[dizcom]

Welcome! There were two types of 30' Conquest in 2003, one was a travel trailer and the other a class A motor home. Which do you have?


For internet access, you can do something simple like tether to your phone, or something more complex that can be as extensive as you'd like to pay for. Most of us do something in between.


For laundry, most campgrounds have them (and every town you go through), but there are some options for portable units that are inexpensive and easy to take with you.


You can search this forum for specific answers using the search box at the top of the page.

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by Kenmax

Plus any tips on laundry

NEVER use a laundromat that is located in or close to a campground with tent camping.....most especially after it has rained.

We found "serious" dirt in the dryers from people putting in their filthy dirty jackets, pants, and muddy shoes. We could not use the dryers. It was impossible to clean them well enough to use them. Our clean laundry would have gotten "very" dirty.

[DamonCamper]

Originally Posted by Kenmax

My wife and I are new to RVing. We have a 2003 30' gulfstream conquest. Can anyone advise anything for wi fi reception. Plus any tips on laundry

What was said above.

\We have T-Mobile and AT&T. Unlimited data. IF you ave cell service, just turn on the hot spot on your phone and connect to that. So far it has worked for us.
We also have a DVD player and movies fir we can't get cell service and want entertainment.
There are better and WAY more expensive roads to go.

[LMHS]

I have my own washer & dryer in the bus. When I had a Class C, I used a "Wonder Washer" and a wringer, then hung the small loads of laundry on plastic hangers off a plastic chain I got at Home Depot or Lowes (can't remember). The loads were small enough that most folks thought I was airing out clothes that had been in storage. It was usually 4 or 5 shirts and/or 2 or 3 pairs of jeans. Under clothes and socks were clipped to plastic hangers with clothes pins and hung off a tension shower rod inside the shower overnight. The tension rod was pushed up and off to one side when not needed.

I have a no-longer-available Unlimitedville hotspot for wifi and streaming. There is now a similarly priced hotspot available https://www.visible.com

I have multiple computers and stream TV exclusively. I use about 65 to 75 GB per month.

[Isaac-1]

I too have a no longer offered, legacy grandfathered unlimited data plan wifi hot spot through AT&T. If I were to have to replace it today, I would likely either go with the Visible tethering wifi plan which uses the Verizon network, or the Calyx institute plan (501C non profit loophole discounted rate) which uses the T-Mobile network. This would be a hard call, T-Mobile network is likely faster connection speed, but less national coverage, though that is changing fast as they are actively building it out since buying out Sprint last year. Alternatively I would look at the FMCA plan, but that one requires FMCA membership (I am a member, and use their optional roadside assistance program).


As to laundry, we rarely stay in one place more than a few days, and our strategy is an opportunistic one, we typically travel with 9 or 10 days worth of clothes, so when we get to a campground with a nice laundry room we do laundry regardless if that is on day 3 or day 9 of our dirty laundry pile. We have stayed at a few campground with disgusting looking laundry rooms, though those are usually either public (state, federal) or roadside overnight stops. So far in the last 6 years of RV travel averaging about 75 nights per year on the road until Covid hit we have yet to really get stung by using this method, the worst has either been paying much higher than average rates to do laundry at some campgrounds, or occasionally using a marginal,well worn, laundry facility, but never a truly awful one.

[Nwcid]

You do not say how much you travel, where you travel and how long you stay.

To receive wifi you will have to be parked in a place that offers wifi and close enough to a transmitter. There are devices that can pick up wifi signals at extended range, but typically you are still restricted to a couple hundred yards.

If you mean how to get internet there are lots of options depending on how much you use and how reliable it needs to be. Others have discussed some options.

For laundry, many people stay at campgrounds/RV parks and many of them have a laundry area. For others like us who mostly boondock that means a trip to the local town laundry. On moving day we typically dump/fill water, top off propane and fuel, get groceries and do laundry.

[Isaac-1]

Just to follow up on the last post, we tend to do a mix dry camping, public campground camping and commercial campground camping. When doing dry camping we generally try to spend a night at a full hookup campground about once every 5 or 6 days which allows us to leisurely dump and refill our tanks without holding up the line at a dump station, do laundry, etc.

[Labrat46]

One of our favorite apps is Yelp which will show you many amenities around your current location. We use it to review places to eat and it also includes reviews of local laundromats among many other services. We prefer to drop off laundry which is usually priced around $1.50 a pound. Not that much more cost than when we do it our self. We go do a long lunch or some shopping and pick it up when done. We prefer that to sitting in a laundromat for 90 minutes on hard plastic chairs. We used to do it at RV parks but most have junk washers and dryers that took forever. This is working better for us.

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by Kenmax

My wife and I are new to RVing. We have a 2003 30' gulfstream conquest. Can anyone advise anything for wi fi reception. Plus any tips on laundry

late to the thread, but the best place Ive found to get info on mobile internet resources is... The Mobile Internet Resource Center at

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com

The also have a YouTube channel.