Parks with limited amenities

[garyemunson]

Anyone else irked by chain parks that seem to think cable and internet are not necessary amenities? I don't go camping to watch TV but I do like to watch the news with my morning coffee and check my interests on the internet at least once a day. Places that have heavily wooded sites and are far enough out not to have over the air TV should, in my opinion, have both hookups (I don't complain about trees blocking my sat system as long as I can get cable). If I want to remove myself from civilization I'll dry camp at some state or nat park. If that's all I wanted to do I wouldn't have spent money on an RV and would be in a tent. Everyone has their own preference but if a place touts itself as a "resort", I expect facilities. What do you think about this? Am I over reaching?

[timjet]

Responding to the OP, when you select a campsite do you consider only the amenities at that site? If so how do you not know that WiFi, cable, or any other amenity is not available? All the campsites I've selected advertise their amenities so I know in advance what they have. Most resort campgrounds have just about any amenity you would want and are not shy about letting you know, especially when paying $70-$100 per night.
A quick look at campground reviews will tell you what amenities are reliable.

[RockyMt]

It all depends on my length of stay.

[fj12ryder]

Yeah, you'll probably be able to pull your Wi-Fi about the same time you can take out the shower house and toilets. After all those RV's have their own toilets and showers. Maybe take down the power pedestals because they have generators.

Just because they have the ability doesn't mean their going to want to spend their money when they can use the(your) amenities that they're paying for.

[westernrvparkow]

bikendan wrote:
With so many RV'ers streaming with their cell phone service, I don't see campgrounds spending more money improving their WiFi.

I just got a smart tv that, along with a DISH Anywhere app, we can watch all the channels we watch at home, using the cell phone or tablet.
No need for satellite TV or campground cable or wifi.

I still believe I am on a countdown to the day I can pull all the wifi equipment and consign it to the metaphorical junk bin next to all the pay phone equipment of yesteryear. My current guesstimate, before the end of 2021. As an added bonus, good chance the next year rates will remain the same since the savings from cutting the wifi cord will likely offset the inflationary costs of everything else.

[covered_wagon]

I love places where there is no service for electronics. Add the phone to that list . I feel healthier and happier exercising/ hiking, none of the plastic and the poison .

[bikendan]

With so many RV'ers streaming with their cell phone service, I don't see campgrounds spending more money improving their WiFi.

I just got a smart tv that, along with a DISH Anywhere app, we can watch all the channels we watch at home, using the cell phone or tablet.
No need for satellite TV or campground cable or wifi.

[hotpepperkid]

Just because a RV park says they have cable TV and Wi-Fi doesn't mean it is useable

[Dutch_12078]

We have reservations at eleven different parks in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina this winter, and none of them have cable or WiFi except one private park that has WiFi only in the office. The other parks are all state or national parks. We have our own satellite TV service and multi-carrier unlimited Internet data via hotspots, so we don't really care what the parks offer in that regard.

[colliehauler]

The only thing I could suggest is to call in advance to make sure the (resort) has the amenities you require.

Where my seasonal is at I do not have WiFi or television nor do I require it. I use my phone for news and go to the library for movies and books for the evening.

I tend to do outside activities when RV'ING and don't spend a lot of time in the camper. For me it's more about location then amenities.

I can understand that people who full-time want it to be like home.

[CavemanCharlie]

I, personally, would rather stay at a place that is cheaper and doesn't have all of these fancy dancy "amenities".

To each their own.

[spoon059]

garyemunson wrote:
Anyone else irked by chain parks that seem to think cable and internet are not necessary amenities?

Not really. What annoys me is when they claim they have internet... but it is such a poor quality connection that you can't use it. Either offer a reliable internet connection or don't offer one at all.

In regards to cable, I rarely watch tv when camping. We will usually bring a movie or two for the kids in case it rains. I always have my "Band of Brothers" box set in the camper if I want to watch something. That is the absolute best thing I have ever watched! Seen it at least 50 times from start to finish, I could watch it another 1000 times without it getting old!!!

[ctilsie242]

I think everyone has their own ideas about RV-ing. With T-Mobile, I've gotten by on cellular Internet without issue and tethering, and not bother with RV park Wi-Fi, especially if Tengo is involved, as I am too cheap to pay for that.

[Mr_Mark1]

rk911 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:

rk911 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
I agree.

We like to get a few channels with OTA or cable. Our coach has built-in WiFi so we have Internet service 99% of the time. I guess I could stream movies but I'm not too techie.

Bottom line, if a place calls themselves a resort, they should offer amenities.

MM.

curious...what is built-in wifi?

My coach has it's own phone number with WiFi and is password protected. If you are near me and you are trying to connect to the Resort's WiFi, you probably will see me listed as 'Coach #xxx'.

I can connect to the coach via my i-phone to check air conditioning, lock/unlock, check the batteries charging level, I could start the generator, etc. Liberty Coach calls their system 'Liberty i-link'. They can send updates to my system and/or check on the coach from the shop if I'm having an issue with something.

In fact, this morning I checked on the coach that is in the storage garage 17 miles away from home. It was showing that it was 88 degrees inside the coach and 83 degrees in the storage garage. I turned on the two fantastic vents to pull some of the heat out. I could turn on an air unit or two but then water would pool under the coach and it's really not needed right now.

Safe travels,
MM.

interesting. so you can use it to web surf, e-mail etc?

Absolutely, I can surf the web and check/send emails.

When my brother and his wife are in their coach and are next to me, they can connect to my WiFi too as they have my password. The Verizon package I have with the coach is 10GB per month.

I also carry a Verizon Jetpack that I take with me when traveling in the car (18GB per month). Sometimes, hotel WiFi is not that great so I'm always covered.

MM.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

I don't know about the OP

But we are one of a great many couples on this forum and in the country who do not "go camping" with our RV/TT.

We LIVE in our rig as we travel the country. Yes, we occasionally go to places like a beautiful USFS Campground 20 miles down a dirt road from any services.

But most of the year we need access to the internet at most campgrounds we visit. We don't even get paper mail any longer. Our mail forwarding service scans our mail and forwards us the images via e-mail.

If you want to get on your high horse about what "camping " should be like, fine. I'll just say you should try living at your home with no internet, cable, TV, for 250-300+ days a year.

I'm not trying to make people conform to my idea of what camping is/ should be.

Would appreciate some understanding that we all have different goals.

For the OP, if I wasn't exactly clear above - I provide solutions for those issues myself. I never depend upon an RV park to have them.

Just a FYI, the very best RV park WiFI/ internet I've ever had was at a remote state park, which just happened to be near a telephone company long lines microwave tower.