Rating RV Parks Internet Connections

[grumblegrits]

After another encounter with poor internet at a park, I trolled the site expecting to find some discussion on this matter. I tried several search terms but had no luck.
I'm certain that I am not the only one whose eyes start to roll when a park starts to qualify it's internet with "we're having a few problems" "seems to be down right now" "it's okay if you park near the office" and other such excuses.
What in the world is so difficult about providing internet service in modern times?
Yes I know you can get bandwidth hogs causing problems, but that's only part of it, when you have to trek to the office in another park to ask them to reset their router once again it certainly gets tedious fast.
Quality of park appears to have nothing to do with it, I've received excellent and extremely poor internet at both expensive or modestly priced parks.
If would be nice to have a star rating system for members to go to for ratings on a particular park.

[navegator]

We are on the road all the time, we are of course retired and have the hot spot so that the wife communicates with the bank and pays the credit card, phone, and checks the balance on the checking account, if we were working and moving around we would still have the hot spot since it is a better connection and secure, rather than taking chances with spotty internet service by campgrounds that have many users at the same time and have to be reset all the time.

Rather than wasting time rating a system that is not too good, invest in a hot spot and you now have access to the internet any where there is cell phone service with the peace of mind that it is not going to go down on you or that the signal is so weak that you have to lug the lap top to the office or nearby just to do some work or communicate with the office or home.

navegator

[Oaklevel]

It is very expensive to provide internet to every site ........... They would probably have to raise prices considerably.

Leave the internet and smart phone home & enjoy the nature........Not sure what a smart phone is but hated it when they put a camera in mine can't get one with out it any more......I keep trying hopefully phones can be phones again......

[MarkTwain]

Trackrig wrote:

djgarcia wrote:

Also in El Mirage area, I just go to the AT&T store and sign up for WI + their router. Approx. $35 per month but great service and strength and speed. At the end of our stay I just return the router to the AT&T store. Now I don't have to put up with weak to nonexistent internet service or having to carry my lap top down to the RV park library.

P.S.do not waste your money on a service called TENGO:(:(:(

Yes, and if you ask, you'd be surprised how many RV parks are using Tengo Net which probably explains why so many parks have bad internet. We were over by Quartzsite two years ago at a park (Black Rock?) using Tengo Net. We called Tengo because their antenna in our area of the park wasn't working. To send someone out to work on it, the tech would have had to come from Phoenix. They wanted us to take a laptop around to the rest of the antennas in the park to see if any more antennas weren't working. They didn't come right out and say it, but the impression I got was they weren't going to send anyone out if only one antenna wasn't working. We stayed three days, the antenna never did work.

Bill

Right on Bill, RV parks use Tengo because it is cheap:(:(:( What a total waste of money:(:( You would think that RV Resorts would figure out that in the long using Tengo will come back and bite them on their financial butt:):)

[qtla9111]

If I need to be self-sufficient, why bother staying at an rv park? If your park has 50 sites, there should be enough bandwidth to cover those sites. If I have my own service I can stay just about anywhere I want.

[ncrowley]

I also agree that having internet access is important. I work using the web and I keep in touch when I am on the road for a long time. You just cannot rely on the internet at the parks. I use rvparkreviews and often you can get an idea of the quality of the WiFi. When I post reviews, I always talk about my experience with their WiFi.

[TechWriter]

noplace2 wrote:

Necessities are water, food and shelter, in that order. I hope that you truly appreciate how privileged you are.

You forgot air.

[tpi]

Count me in as one who thinks having communications/internet is important. It could be related to earning a living, it could be important to keep track of an aging parent (dementia, chronic illness, etc.) In some cases this communication is what allows travel at all.

That said, I have never counted on RV park internet services, and if they do work well I consider it a pleasant surprise. My suggestion is to have several tools in the toolbox-cellular based data plan (or two), and a good range wifi receiver.

One thing I try to do, and suggest is when posting info on a campground give brief assessment of the internet options. Quality of cellular service, quality of park wifi etc. I certainly agree rating sites could have categories for available internet service. Keep it simple and brief so people will actually bother with it. And yes a lot is beyond park's control. It still impacts the experience. Just like a pile of cow manure close to campground is beyond their control-but it is still undesirable..

[noplace2]

4X4Dodger wrote:

The internet is not just "Fun to Have" as you put it it is a true necessity and an economic one at that for many many people.

Necessities are water, food and shelter, in that order. I hope that you truly appreciate how privileged you are.

[4X4Dodger]

navegator wrote:
You pay for the water, sewer and electricity at a park, the internet at most parks is not charged for, one of these days they will start charging and all those that are complaining now will be complaining even more, we do not stay at the big money resorts, first of all they would not let us in too small and a class C, they probably have a killer internet service but then I do not know.

We have our hot spot that can be used anywhere we have a phone cell tower signal available, as for the out doors, we love going where there is nothing, no phone signal, no television and that is why I have oil lamps with citronella oil, charcoal grill, and propane grill for areas that do not permit open flames.

The internet is fun to have, I can do with out it or a phone or television, I grew up listening to the radio when you could get a signal, that is what a good book is for.

navegator

If you were on the road full time you would need to pay all your bills online and I bet do most of your communicating with companies online also. Banking, license renewal, vehicle tabs, keeping up with relatives all online. Car insurance just name it. Making reservations for parks, phone and online.

The internet is not just "Fun to Have" as you put it it is a true necessity and an economic one at that for many many people.

As for people not paying for the internet at RV parks: complete fallacy. If they HAVE it and offer it and advertise it, part of every dollar they get from you goes to paying for that service. You are being charged, maybe not as an individual line item or extra charge but you are paying...Therefore it should be good, reliable and Fast.

[AdirondackJack]

It would be really difficult to rate a Park's WiFi overall. You'd almost have to do it by site. The Park we worked at last year had the main router at the Office/Store and 3 repeaters in the Park. Reception would depend on your site in relation to the repeaters. Some campsites would have excellent reception and others would have poor reception.
We are not big TV watchers but have to have our Internet. Some years back we decided to contract for Verizon MiFi. We can depend on it nearly everywhere and now count it a plus when we stop at a campground where we can receive good reception on their dime.

[the_vfox]

If the internet connection works where we go woo hoo, but if it doesn't, we usually are only in a spot for a day or two, not going to lose sleep over it. The smart phones pick up the slack.

[Trackrig]

djgarcia wrote:

Also in El Mirage area, I just go to the AT&T store and sign up for WI + their router. Approx. $35 per month but great service and strength and speed. At the end of our stay I just return the router to the AT&T store. Now I don't have to put up with weak to nonexistent internet service or having to carry my lap top down to the RV park library.

P.S.do not waste your money on a service called TENGO:(:(:(

Yes, and if you ask, you'd be surprised how many RV parks are using Tengo Net which probably explains why so many parks have bad internet. We were over by Quartzsite two years ago at a park (Black Rock?) using Tengo Net. We called Tengo because their antenna in our area of the park wasn't working. To send someone out to work on it, the tech would have had to come from Phoenix. They wanted us to take a laptop around to the rest of the antennas in the park to see if any more antennas weren't working. They didn't come right out and say it, but the impression I got was they weren't going to send anyone out if only one antenna wasn't working. We stayed three days, the antenna never did work.

Bill

[MarkTwain]

fj12ryder wrote:
It does get a bit aggravating when the park paperwork says "WiFi at all sites" and it's not. Kind of like paying for full hook ups and finding the water pressure is almost nonexistent at your site, or you're paying for a 50 amp service, but only have a 30 amp outlet on the post.

If they advertise it, they should have it. No excuses.

They do have WiFi at every site, it just dosen't at every site:)

[Me_Again]

DallasSteve wrote:
The comments knocking a desire to have a good Internet connection and not appreciating the great outdoors seem out of place coming from people who own RVs. Sure, seeing the great outdoors is a big part of owning an RV (for most), but if that's the measure of a good life then you don't need an RV, only a tent and a fire starter. Just sayin'.

There is a difference between a weekend warrior and a snowbird. When we snowbirds are on the road or in a park for the winter we need email, banking and other connections. Chris

[navegator]

You pay for the water, sewer and electricity at a park, the internet at most parks is not charged for, one of these days they will start charging and all those that are complaining now will be complaining even more, we do not stay at the big money resorts, first of all they would not let us in too small and a class C, they probably have a killer internet service but then I do not know.

We have our hot spot that can be used anywhere we have a phone cell tower signal available, as for the out doors, we love going where there is nothing, no phone signal, no television and that is why I have oil lamps with citronella oil, charcoal grill, and propane grill for areas that do not permit open flames.

The internet is fun to have, I can do with out it or a phone or television, I grew up listening to the radio when you could get a signal, that is what a good book is for.

navegator