More on RVing (please chime in with your stories!)

[DianaCox]

We had:

• The campground Wifi - would not stay connected
• Our own hotspot (AT&T) - showed 5 bars but would not stay connected
• Our cell phones - mine is AT&T, Charles' is Verizon, neither worked, nor could we connect to get phone or text service

And these campgrounds were here:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Coy...3d45407c3415!2m2!1d-122.34846!2d37.155141!3e0

In other words, all within a few miles of Silicon Valley!!

My concern is that my INTENT was to travel WHILE WORKING. I can do most of my work any time of day or night, so the theory was that we could be anywhere, and I could work in the evenings, or early in the AM while doing my morning constitutionals, and then during the day we could sightsee and hike. But I MUST have reliable internet to do this. I was shocked at how poor the campground internet was at all three places, all of which were nice places which cost $60+/night and all of which promised internet.

 

[DianaCox]

I was perfectly willing to continue to do tent camping, as I had done and enjoyed for many years in my first marriage (and for which I had very fond memories, because my ex was always at his best when we were camping), but after one attempt with Charles 10 years ago, he nixed any further camping - he had not vacationed at all before he met me, and camping went against all of his ideas about what is "fun" - it was uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. So the RV turns out to be an excellent compromise - he's really enjoying the whole MECHANICAL set up, including cooking, and having the option of heating and A/C. Plus, we can go up into the mountains, which is where he loves to be.

We still have a lot of tweaking to do before we will be completely comfortable in the RV, especially about taking longer trips (I am envious of the trip Liz and Charles just completed!), including that we need to buy a "toad" - none of our cars is suitable for flat-towing, and with a 30' RV, you need to have a car with you to run into town, take side trips, etc. But I have a current situation pending which needs to be resolved before we invest in another car (more when I know more), so we are just looking around to see what kind of car we can get - we don't want to spend a lot of money on something that we almost never drive.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

No, we use AT&T (tried Verizon ONCE and while their coverage was great, their customer service was piss poor.....not that AT&T is much better BUT with AT&T we can talk and surf the internet at the same time AND we are grandfathered in an unlimited data plan for our phones...something we would lose if we switched).

At home, we just use the wifi that is part of our cable/internet package.

You get live customer service at AT&T? They were my mom's service and I never got to talk to people. (Until I filed Public Utility Commission complaints.)

I was perfectly willing to continue to do tent camping, as I had done and enjoyed for many years in my first marriage (and for which I had very fond memories, because my ex was always at his best when we were camping), but after one attempt with Charles 10 years ago, he nixed any further camping - he had not vacationed at all before he met me, and camping went against all of his ideas about what is "fun" - it was uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. So the RV turns out to be an excellent compromise - he's really enjoying the whole MECHANICAL set up, including cooking, and having the option of heating and A/C. Plus, we can go up into the mountains, which is where he loves to be.

We still have a lot of tweaking to do before we will be completely comfortable in the RV, especially about taking longer trips (I am envious of the trip Liz and Charles just completed!), including that we need to buy a "toad" - none of our cars is suitable for flat-towing, and with a 30' RV, you need to have a car with you to run into town, take side trips, etc. But I have a current situation pending which needs to be resolved before we invest in another car (more when I know more), so we are just looking around to see what kind of car we can get - we don't want to spend a lot of money on something that we almost never drive.

"we don't want to spend a lot of money on something that we almost never drive."

And you bought an RV anyway? LOL

 

[southernlady]

You get live customer service at AT&T? They were my mom's service and I never got to talk to people. (Until I filed Public Utility Commission complaints.)

Yes, but it helps to actually GO to an AT&T store (one run by AT&T not a third party).

We've moved A LOT. While in Michigan we switched to Verizon thinking it would be better. And while the signal we got was great, the service was so so until we moved. Verizon has (or had) Easy Move (IT IS VERY MISNAMED). We moved to Wilmington. Had about 6 months left on that 2 year contract. We've always had insurance on our phones in case of damage or loss. Okay, 1) they had a problem even transfering our information as we were transferring from "one company" to another even tho all were Verizon. (They have several states in one section and each section is like dealing with BCBS in different states).

Then we thought we had everything settled until I thought I lost my phone and since I always left it on mute, dialing it would get us nowhere. I called the customer service number and she kept saying that my phone was not insured. Then she kept insisting that our contract was only a month old (not 19 months as I kept telling her). I said, no...we moved and used your "Easy Move" and if you check with the Michigan office you will see we have been customers for awhile. THREE HOURS later, she calls back, finally admitting that the information in the system had not transferred. NO APOLOGY. However, by the time she finally called back, we had found it.

THEN at the end of two years, we decided to switch back to AT&T. It took a supervisor to get it cancelled cause the system insisted we had only been "on file" for 6 months and they tried to enforce an early cancellation fee. We went into a company facility WITH the origianl agreement, the transfer documents and had a fit in front of an entire store of potential customers. That got it cancelled, we thought. A month later we get another bill which meant ANOTHER visit to cancel it AGAIN and backdate it as well as a statement signed BY the CSR and the Supervisor that we had cancelled ON time, owing nothing. A month later, we got a dead beat notice! Took a lawyer to convince them we were serious.

On the other hand, ALL our other moves since we left CA in 1997 have been EASY to do with AT&T.

 

[DianaCox]

We are gonna drive the RV - the car is just going to be "toad."

Keep in mind, I'm talking relative distances too. Our primary vehicle is a 2005, and I stopped driving to work in 2009 - it just turned 50K miles. Charles has put less than 2000 miles on his Beemer that we bought in 2010. And we probably put less than 1000 miles a year on the van. We've already put over 300 miles on the RV in less than a month.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Well, my only handy hint on connectivity is from five years ago, middle of nowhere (EN's corner of the planet), no Mi Fi, couldn't figure out what to do until we did...pulled up in front of the little storefront library, which was closed, and mooched off theirs. Since then, we have also done quick, almost-an-emergency connections in parking lots near hotels.

 

[DianaCox]

The point is to work from the rig. At night and in the early AM. :-(

 

[jillc]

@DianaCox I used to work on service rigs (I now work on land-based drilling rigs and we get communications set up), and we had cell-phone boosters in our vehicles. Magnetic antenna, powered by the 9 volt. Would purchasing one of those help maybe?
http://www.wpsantennas.com/marine-rv-amplifiers-boosters.aspx
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/mobile-...rs/pcmcat326300050011.c?id=pcmcat326300050011

 

[DianaCox]

@DianaCox I used to work on service rigs (I now work on land-based drilling rigs and we get communications set up), and we had cell-phone boosters in our vehicles. Magnetic antenna, powered by the 9 volt. Would purchasing one of those help maybe?
http://www.wpsantennas.com/marine-rv-amplifiers-boosters.aspx
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/mobile-...rs/pcmcat326300050011.c?id=pcmcat326300050011

Emailing these to my husband - THANKS!

Last night, I found this website, which suggests there are some new things coming out imminently:
http://www.technomadia.com/internet/ - that linked to a new site that is about to launch: http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/
Boosting the hotspot signal would be OK - although it irks me to pay for bandwidth when we're also paying for it by being in the RV park.

Charles just gave me some options he's found for next week - anyone have any feedback on these places?

• Konocti Vista RV Park www.kvcasino.com
• Willits KOA www.willitskoa.com
• Riverbend Resort www.riverbendresort.net

 

[bearmom]

I'm always underwhelmed by the wifi at campgrounds, and usually hotels as well. At campgrounds, it can make some difference if you are near the wireless, so I sometimes ask to be situated as close as possible. I also try to use it odd hours when there will be little competition for bandwidth.

Looks like you are discovering that RVs require much more maintenance than the cars (unless you drive a Yugo or a Jag). Fixing all the little shit that rattles apart or breaks is for me one of the main drawbacks to RVing. Life was so hard before Camping World.

You may not be ready on a shorter trip, but the national parks are all trip-worthy destinations. I dream of being able to work from Yellowstone for a season, but as Sue mentioned, no wi-fi there. Last time I was there I didn't even have cell service. Not sure if you prefer warm or cooler, but the heat this time of year makes the redwoods attractive to me, and places like Yosemite are preferable in spring or fall.

 

[jillc]

This is a bit off topic, but when I was in Belize a couple of years ago I ran into a retired American couple who said that if you volunteered/got unpaid work at the US National Parks, you get to camp for free. I think it was 4 hours/day or so many hours per week. Can't remember.
If this is common knowledge, apologies, carry on as you were...

 

[southernlady]

I'm always underwhelmed by the wifi at campgrounds, and usually hotels as well. At campgrounds, it can

You may not be ready on a shorter trip, but the national parks are all trip-worthy destinations. I dream of being able to work from Yellowstone for a season, but as Sue mentioned, no wi-fi there. Last time I was there I didn't even have cell service. Not sure if you prefer warm or cooler, but the heat this time of year makes the redwoods attractive to me, and places like Yosemite are preferable in spring or fall.

The wifi at West Yellowstone KOA was very good.

 

[bearmom]

The wifi at West Yellowstone KOA was very good.

Do you mean the actual town of West Yellowstone just outside the park? That was the last area I also had cell service. It's been a few years, so I'm hoping to hear it's improving and theres a chance I can manage a season there some day.

 

[southernlady]

Do you mean the actual town of West Yellowstone just outside the park? That was the last area I also had cell service. It's been a few years, so I'm hoping to hear it's improving and theres a chance I can manage a season there some day.

We were at the KOA just outside of town (there are two now side by side) and had no problems with the wifi.

 

[Munchkin]

Sounds like you are having fun! West Yellowstone would be great! I have been there many times. I also bet there would be places with great WI-FI in Jackson because there is so much money in the area.