Killer Campgrounds, wi fi Options

[Cheryl Fuller]

We are getting away from it all when rv'ing, but that doesn't include our family. Internet allows our son to send pics of the grandson and for us to have IM chats with several members of our fmaily at one time. It is important to us. We do stay at parks that don' have wi-fi - that would not automatically knock one out of the running, but we stayed at a park in WY that advertised wireless internet. It is true, they did have it, as long as you went and stood right outside the office window, where there was no place to sit. If it is insinuated that they offer it, I expect it to be useable. These things are modern conveniences for us, the same way that a hot shower is. I don't plan on getting away from that either...

[gwbischoff]

i just have to say this. i have been reading several campground reviews that have been gettinglow review numbers, then when you read them it is all over weak wi-fi. i think its a sad day when a really killer campground has to endure low reviews over some moron who cant go out and enjoy camping without a stupid computer to check his "e-mail" every ten minutes, then low rate a park over it.

sorry just my 2 cents worth.[size=4]

This is my first reply to a post and this topic (while the thread is a little old) caught my eye.

It caught my eye because I too was amazed after reading campground reviews for the first time of how many campgrounds that I was familiar with getting 1's and 2's based *solely* on the WiFi. Even to the point of the rest of the review glowing about the park.

Some of us enjoy the comforts of RV parks and some of us enjoy the "camping experience". I myself fell into that trap of booking a stay in a park that got full high marks from nearly every brochure and magazine that I had seen. And when I showed up, the facilities were nice, but you couldn't wedge a stick of gum between the campsites. It wasn't what I was looking for.

The other thing that struck me was the number of times I ran across the "Staff was very rude" comment. Not that I don't believe that there are rude camping staffs out there (I know that there are.) But I wonder how many of those fights were instigated by indignant campers who think that they own the piece of earth they camp on just 'cause they paid for the night. I've stood by and watched people have a stroke over the fact that the wind was blowing too hard for them and somehow it's the campground's fault. The wind.

I appreciate everyone's input on the reviews. If you're going to post a review, be objective.

[rangiebob]

My husband and I live full-time in our motor home as of May 2006. We travel around the country for our business and if we didn't have our online connection and cell service, we wouldn't have our business, hence we wouldn't have the money to pay for our motor home and diesel to run it and the luxury of living this wonderful lifestyle!

I don't appreciate being referred to as a moron because I check my email every 10 minutes. That's one of the things that has given our company such an excellent reputation, because we get back to people in a timely manner. To each her or his own, but no need to call names because it's not something with which you disagree, rodeo1.

[larrylund]

Well, hi.

We morons finance our full-time life on the road by working part-time in gifted education, he running the business end of a mathcamp and I teaching writing to gifted kids. All this is via a Datastorm dish which, right now, isn't working worth a rip even though we paid nearly $6K for it and all of its accoutrements less than a year ago. Cell phones complete the gear we must use constantly for work.

If that makes us morons in your book, then I can only hope you find others out here on the road as judgmental of how you must live your life as you are of how we must live ours.

W

A lot of us out here that enjoy RV'ing don't have a 9-5 job and draw a check every week. I'm one of em. I work in sales on commission and staying in contact with my clients while on the raod is a must. A lot of time I need to scan and email a document to be signed so I do need a good wi-fi signal. I guess if calling somone like myself a moron bolsters his ego that's fine. I work with clients like him from time to time. BUT wi-fi is import to more and more folks these days. Bear in mind, we do live in a High Tech era.

[popup6]

Perhaps the webmaster could add a check box in the review section about Wi Fi being good, fair, poor and let the readers of the review decide for themselves if having a great WI FI connection is important to them.
I pick and choose what I deem is important from the reviews such as campsite size (are you packed in like sardines or have room and privacy) Are the grounds maintained, are the rest rooms clean? staff, ect

[igor2brvn]

Well I cannot agree with the "Moron" definition and lower rating because the campground does not provide specific services, however and in my opinion, there should not be an evaluation by the camper but only a statement on what's available, what's not, and the status of the items identified.
My reason for arriving at this conclusion is because we are human being with different expectations and values and I am pretty sure that if the chat would amend the rating form in which it would be identified specific items that should be compulsory in a campsite and the extra amenities available, the readers of the report would make up his own mind of whether the place is suitable for his,/her or not.
As an example this list should start with size and locations (size; trees or not; whether it is well leveled or...; water, sewage, hydro, TV, Internet.. etc..; cost ..etc... and at the bottom of the list a comment by the evaluator whether the place was clean, functional, staff polite.. etc..
I am not trying to open a competition among members but, I am pretty sure that if the chat moderator would ask the member for assistance in finding the proper questions, we will be glade to help.

Galli,
Evaluations and opinions of fellow RVers are what I value from this website. Fact sheets from CG owners tell me about facilities and amenities available. What is most helpful to me are opinions from campers who have experienced the campgrounds - accuracy of fact sheets, state of condition of facilities, noise levels, and things that make the campground a camping pleasure. So, fellow campers, keep your opinions and evaluations flowing!

[Galli]

Well I cannot agree with the "Moron" definition and lower rating because the campground does not provide specific services, however and in my opinion, there should not be an evaluation by the camper but only a statement on what's available, what's not, and the status of the items identified.
My reason for arriving at this conclusion is because we are human being with different expectations and values and I am pretty sure that if the chat would amend the rating form in which it would be identified specific items that should be compulsory in a campsite and the extra amenities available, the readers of the report would make up his own mind of whether the place is suitable for his,/her or not.
As an example this list should start with size and locations (size; trees or not; whether it is well leveled or...; water, sewage, hydro, TV, Internet.. etc..; cost ..etc... and at the bottom of the list a comment by the evaluator whether the place was clean, functional, staff polite.. etc..
I am not trying to open a competition among members but, I am pretty sure that if the chat moderator would ask the member for assistance in finding the proper questions, we will be glade to help.

Galli,
Evaluations and opinions of fellow RVers are what I value from this website. Fact sheets from CG owners tell me about facilities and amenities available. What is most helpful to me are opinions from campers who have experienced the campgrounds - accuracy of fact sheets, state of condition of facilities, noise levels, and things that make the campground a camping pleasure. So, fellow campers, keep your opinions and evaluations flowing!

I would agree with you 100% if the RV camper feedback is objective ! We are human being and use a different meter in evaluating what we see, however, if I see 3 or 4 reports mention the same thing about a specific campground, I would have no objection in rating the place in line with the submitted reports.
What concerns me is when some one seriously criticizes a campground because it is too close to an highway an/or it takes time before the water warms up in the shower or the grocery store is not open till 11:00pm every day.
Yes I agree those are inconveniences but the campground didn’t promised a 24 hours service and the camper should enquiry before leaving ( by internet or asking in the chats) about the place and whereabouts ; I am not making a judgment but, in general the most convenient places have some reasons for having the price lower than others.
However and notwithstanding the above, if the camp side advertises internet service and when there it is not available or promotes a drive through camping spot and there is only two or three in all camp or campers are parting till 2-3-4 in the morning, I would consider that a very poor organization and I would agree 100% to report the fact on our chats.
Let me clarify some thing now, I AM NOT A CAMPSIDE OWNER and I am not working on their behalf but my objection are dictated by the fact that I visited several camps and several times I was surprised to find a too sever or a too lenient reports than what I actually noticed.
One recommendation that I already made to the moderator was to forward the complaints to the Campsite (without mentioning the name of the complainant) and ask him to defend him/herself by sending his objection, if any, to our chat.

[HappiestCamper]

I agree if it's advertisied, it better work. But I also see rodeo1's point (somewhat). A state park I go too often seems to always have the same 5th wheel there (a couple in their 30's). They put up their direct tv dish, and you see them once a day - when the go to use the showers. The other 23 1/2 hours they are inside. Why not just stay home at that point?

I agree that it is important to some people to have the Wi-fi, etc. But if you don't enjoy the CG by staying inside the whole trip, why not just setup in your back yard?

[Parkview]

Hello all,

Like BigMc, I am also a campground owner, and I regularly visit this awesome site both to see what RVers like and what they don't like. This Wifi question comes up a lot, therefore it is very important to me.

The problem is, from our experience, that all of the issues stated in this forum about Wifi problems are not as easily solved as some might think. We have been working on our system for 5 years, and, after going through 3 different "expert" companies, finally are to the point that we think we have a very good system. Perfect, no, good yes. Having a park in a very beautiful rural area has its advantages and disadvantages. We don't have access to a commercial cable company or a DSL signal from rural telephone cooperative, so we have to access the internet through a satellite feed. This provides challenges that simply do not exist in more urban parks.

I go to this trouble and expense because that is what many customers want and expect, therefore, I want to provide it. With satellite, the quality and availability of broadband signal is directly related to the amount of usage, the type of usage, and how crowded the park is at any particular time as well as some users' habits. When the park is full and there are many rigs between you and the nearest Wifi antenna or repeater, a site that had a perfect signal yesterday for one user may have a lousy signal today for a different user.

Built in wireless antennas in most laptops are not omni directional and are not as strong as USB adapter antennas. We have had people who could not get a usable signal with their built in antenna, but got an excellent signal with a USB extrnal antenna just by putting the antenna next to a window (think of the old days of rabbit ear antennas for TV if you are old enough). Where one sits in an RV can affect the signal; microwave ovens are notorious for interfering with signal strength, metal skinned RVs block wireless signal more than fiberglass skinned ones.

As for quantity and type of usage, satellite broadband providers like Hughes Satellite have a little know policy called the Fair Access Plan (FAP) that few people are aware of. Under FAP after a certain threshold of usage in any given 24 hour period is exceeded, the satellite provider with no warning will cut back the speed of reception to the park until the next day to a speed that is slower than slow dial up service. This FAP threshold depends upon the level of broadband service the Park has purchased. For 3 years we were totally unaware of this policy. The solution was for us to buy more broadband, doubling our monthly ongoing costs for broadband from $100 to $200. This may seem a little inside baseball for most, but do an internet search for "Fair Access Plan" and it will be explained far better than I can.

Believe me, we want to provide what you want, but it not always as easy or as inexpensive as some in this forum seem to think. In some ways I envy the more urban park owners who do not have these problems, but I would not trade the beauty of this rural location for the convenience of a more urban setting.

Thanks for letting me harp a little, and I don't think any of you are morons. Doug

[Texasrvers]

I would like to thank Doug for his view. I have been following several threads that address wifi, pay showers, KOA's services, etc., and I think he explained the park owner's position very well. He sounds like he cares about his clientele and wants to provide the services they want. However, there is always more than one side to a problem, and I think he has presented some things for us to keep in mind. I am sure some owners just don't care, but we need to be mindful that those that do care sometimes have valid reasons for not being able to provide the services most of us expect.

I also enjoyed Doug's reply on another thread about "free services." We prefer for there to be one price with all the extras built in even though we probably won't use all those services. This is just simpler than trying to pay a base fee and then picking your amenities like an ala carte menu, and I'm sure it is easier for an owner to keep up with who is using what.

Now, HappiestCamper, why do you care whether or not your neighbors stay in their RV 23 1/2 hours a day? They obviously do not camp the way you do, but so what. Would you rather have the group mentioned recently in the KOA thread next to you?

[HappiestCamper]

Now, HappiestCamper, why do you care whether or not your neighbors stay in their RV 23 1/2 hours a day? They obviously do not camp the way you do, but so what. Would you rather have the group mentioned recently in the KOA thread next to you?

Doesn't bother me at all - they paid for the site, and they're not bothering anybody. I'm just wondering why someone like this would go to the trouble of moving a fifth wheel to the campground, when they could get the same experience just by sitting in it in their backyard?

Kind of like going to Disney World and staying in the hotel room all day

[Webmaster]

Now, HappiestCamper, why do you care whether or not your neighbors stay in their RV 23 1/2 hours a day? They obviously do not camp the way you do, but so what. Would you rather have the group mentioned recently in the KOA thread next to you?

Doesn't bother me at all - they paid for the site, and they're not bothering anybody. I'm just wondering why someone like this would go to the trouble of moving a fifth wheel to the campground, when they could get the same experience just by sitting in it in their backyard?

Kind of like going to Disney World and staying in the hotel room all day

We sometimes take the kids to my parents and camp out in a nearby campground. You said they are in their 30's so it's likely they may be up to the same thing.

[HappiestCamper]

We sometimes take the kids to my parents and camp out in a nearby campground. You said they are in their 30's so it's likely they may be up to the same thing.

Good point.

[Texasrvers]

HappiestCamper,

Sorry. I guess I came on a little strong. I suppose I was defensive because staying inside the RV sounded a bit like us. We stay at both campgrounds and RV parks, but we are not your traditional "campers." We basically use our motor home as a rolling hotel room. When we stay for a few days in an area most of our time is spent sight seeing. We leave in the morning and don't return until late in the evening. We are so tired that we just grab a bite to eat and fall into bed. We don't cook on a grill or sit outside around a fire. If we did we would probably fall asleep and let the fire burn out of control. In our instance we may not be outside enjoying the campground, but what we're doing sure beats sitting on our driveway.

Also the webmaster may have figured out what's happening. Sounds like the couple is getting a little "quality together time."

[rodeo2]

o.k

i apologize for the moron comment. i too like to check my e-mail from time to time. i had just returned from a trip where i stayed at some really nice parks that i then read reviews on. people had reviewed the park at a one or two because they couldn't get good wi fi. one park didn't even offer it but was hammered because they didn't have it.

i too believe if a park offeres it then it should be there. but still! rate the entire park, don't rate a fine park 2 just because you couldn't get on the wi fi. the next person may be looking for a nice park and pass it up because you gave it a 2.

please excuse this old cowboy, 20 years in law enforcement, listening to every kind of bitching imaginable sort of crept up on me.

rodeo