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Poor to Terrible WIFI

Tom_Barb
Explorer
Explorer
Tucumcari N.M KOA has the slowest WIFI.
It is so slow, after you connect to the LAN select a site. It will not load.
2000 Newmar mountain aire 4081 DP, ISC/350 Allison 6 speed, Wrangler JL toad.
16 REPLIES 16

mkc
Explorer
Explorer
DFord wrote:
You have to figure the park is sharing it's WiFi with everyone in the park. It would be like you at your house sharing your WiFi with maybe 50 others at the same time. Speed will be sacrificed. The park couldn't afford to provide everyone with a highspeed connection. Most of the time, because of their remoteness, they're lucky to have any kind of wired connectivity for internet services. You can bet they can't get a fiber connection.


Agreed. First-hand experience while workamping at a park - the potential Internet service provider wanted $5K just to do a survey to see if they could bring service to the park (no mention of how much it would actually cost the park to buy and install infrastructure or the monthly fees from the provider).
2017 LTV Unity

DFord
Explorer
Explorer
You have to figure the park is sharing it's WiFi with everyone in the park. It would be like you at your house sharing your WiFi with maybe 50 others at the same time. Speed will be sacrificed. The park couldn't afford to provide everyone with a highspeed connection. Most of the time, because of their remoteness, they're lucky to have any kind of wired connectivity for internet services. You can bet they can't get a fiber connection. More likely, DSL because of the distances and density of population around their location - unless you've found a park very near a city.
Don Ford
2004 Safari Trek 31SBD (F53/V10 20,500GVW)
'09 HHR 2LT or '97 Aerostar MiniVan (Remco driveshaft disconnect) for Towed vehicles
BlueOx Aventa II Towbar - ReadyBrake Inertia Brake System

naturist
Nomad
Nomad
Slow wifi at a campground. That is not at all unusual and not particular to that campground. If you want a speedy connection, get your own hotspot or use your cell phone as a hotspot. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news that way, but, well, as others have reported, that's the way it is.

Tom_Barb
Explorer
Explorer
Tonight we are in a campground in Cheyenne Wy. (A.B. Campground and RV park) Wifi is wink quick, and secure.
well over 100 camps using..

It can be done.
2000 Newmar mountain aire 4081 DP, ISC/350 Allison 6 speed, Wrangler JL toad.

azdryheat
Explorer
Explorer
I quit using the park's wifi and use my phone's hotspot in stead.
2013 Chevy 3500HD CC dually
2014 Voltage 3600 toy hauler
2019 RZR 1000XP TRE

trailertraveler
Explorer
Explorer
I have found Park WIFI to be hit or miss. As mentioned; early morning, late night and middle of the week when the park is not full may be best.

Using a MIFI or phone as a hotspot is better, but we have encountered many occasions where even on a 4G LTE connection, the speed is not enough to stream even short news clips without stuttering/stalling. Every wireless hop reduces the speed, so tethering can be a better option than connecting to a hotspot. If you stream at all, it is not hard to use 1 GB per day. If your wireless plan has a hotspot/tethering limit it can go fast. I watch a couple of hours of news and an occasional show a day on my tablet and it is not uncommon for me to use 60+ GB in a month (my plan does not have a severe throttling penalty for use on the tablet, just tethering and hotspot).

Some phones will provide an internet connection to multiple devices but do not create a true network that will allow direct communication between devices such as casting. The MIFIs do act as a wireless router.

Xfinity, Verizon and even some smaller local companies have networks of wireless hotspots. We have had good success using Xfinity hotspots. They are co-broadcast from Xfinity commercial and residential customers' locations. RV Parks that have long term residents or Park Models may have multiple Xfinity hotspots. If you are not an eligible Xfinity or Verizon customer, I believe both have short term (day, week, month) plans.
Safe travels!
Trailertraveler

accsys
Explorer
Explorer
In our experience the Tucumcari KOA is a mom and pop operation that tries to cut costs everywhere it can. Last year they would only allow me to use $10 of my points there for a two night reservation. The sites themselves are nice but the operation of the KOA leaves a lot to be desired. It is classified as a Journey KOA and I expect it will not remain a KOA much longer.

As others have said, we rarely use a campground WiFi as we have found Verizon and AT&T mobile devices much more usable. There are exceptions - the Columbia Falls RV Park near the west side of Glacier and the campground we are in now, Trails End RV Park near Waynesville, NC both have good WiFi. For security when connecting to a park WiFi, we always connect through our Ubiquity set up, never directly to a park WiFi.
John & Doris
Doris and Robbies Blogs
2017 Cedar Creek Cottage 40 CCK
FMCA F380583, PA, Good Sams

RoyB
Explorer II
Explorer II
We gave up on campground WIFI years ago... Even when you find a good strong WIFI connection when everyone at campgrounds gets on it, it is all but non-useable... I have my VERIZON MIFI Acct to create my own safe and secure WIFI ZONE just about wherever we go. One place it didn't work was in GOBER, TX....

I would be using my cellphone to create a hot spot but my Gibbs older FLIP-PHONE doesn't support it... Yes I know.... One of these days...

My VERIZON MIFI gives us up to five users that covers our tablets etc... Has a 5GB data plan. Only really good for checking in with the kids, paying a few bills, and surfing the web... That's about all we need it for...

My OFF-ROAD Camper has the OTA BATWING antenna that picks up something just about wherever we end up at... We have a DVD player too and usually have a bunch of DVD's to watch... Being creatures of habit we kinda know what to expect on our trips home entertainment wise...

We usually sit around the firepit until 8-9PM every evening then get inside the POPUP for a few hours before going to bed...

Roy Ken
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - Words in CAPS does not mean I am shouting
Roy - Carolyn
RETIRED DOAF/DON/DOD/CONTR RADIO TECH (42yrs)
K9PHT (Since 1957) 146.52M
2010 F150, 5.4,3:73 Gears,SCab
2008 Starcraft 14RT EU2000i GEN
2005 Flagstaff 8528RESS

Pawz4me
Explorer
Explorer
As the others said, we rarely/never actually use CG wifi. Both for security/privacy reasons and because they almost never work and it's just a frustrating experience all around. But sometimes I do give it a try, just for curiosity. I've found that about the only time most campground wifi approaches usable is very early in the mornings, typically before 6:00 a.m. Sometimes not even then if there are a few other early risers.
Me, DH and Yogi (Shih Tzu)
2017 Winnebago Travato 59K

MitchF150
Explorer III
Explorer III
I never connect to any public wifi.. Just not worth it especially if it's FREE.

If you have a smart phone and know how to make it a hot spot, that's a lot more secure than some open wifi.. Even if the free wifi has a password, it's probably not a secret, so there you go there..

Good luck!

Mitch
2013 F150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab Max Tow Egoboost 3.73 gears #7700 GVWR #1920 payload. 2019 Rockwood Mini Lite 2511S.

LadyRVer
Explorer
Explorer
I have been out for about 6 months now. I have found about 50% of the campgrounds with wifi have been pretty good and the other 50% pretty sorry. It is what it is.

DFord
Explorer
Explorer
For security reason, I never use the park's WiFi. There's no way of knowing who is actually broadcasting that signal and hacking your information. WiFi is just not safe enough to be trusted - ever!
Don Ford
2004 Safari Trek 31SBD (F53/V10 20,500GVW)
'09 HHR 2LT or '97 Aerostar MiniVan (Remco driveshaft disconnect) for Towed vehicles
BlueOx Aventa II Towbar - ReadyBrake Inertia Brake System

BB_TX
Nomad
Nomad
Even when the RV park Wi-Fi signal is strong, the speed is typically so slow as to be barely useable if useable at all. And that is certainly not limited to KOA.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
Sometimes works for me very early in the morning. I never try at other times. RV parks are NOT providing what they promise...and they know it. Sometimes theyโ€™ll have a โ€œprivateโ€ WiFi for the owners, managers and employees.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad