Since we are here in Arizona for the next 6 weeks preparing for our daughters wedding there most likely will not be much to report on any sightseeing. So I will take this opportunity to talk on some issues with our Life on the Road.
The ability to do this lifestyle is made much easier by technology, especially the internet. Before the internet was available as it is now I do not know how full timers could have done it. Think about getting your bills timely, paying your bills, getting your pension check and getting it deposited, getting prescriptions filled and the list goes on. With the internet we do all these things online now. The mail we do get, via our forwarding service to our daughter, is not even worth looking at, and if it is our daughter scans it in and we retrieve it, via the internet.
With such importance on the internet I made sure, before we left, that we could stay connected where ever we are. Our basic access system is our smartphones. This gives us internet access via the Verizon network, which has been great throughout the United States (great job Verizon!). To have that access on our laptop I found a program that allows you to tether your phone to the computer so the computer can use the phones data network. The problem with that is we now have data caps in place from Verizon on our phone (bad job Verizon!). Our tablet also has a hot spot feature that allows tethering, but data limits are in place.
The phone data network was meant to be our backup as most RV parks have Wi-Fi internet access. This is where my complaint arises. These parks realize that to be competitive they must offer Wi-Fi and they will include it in their write-ups and advertising. However we are finding that most do not live up to their claims. We have found that some you can only get a strong signal if you are in the office area. Others the signal goes in and out during the day and most have bandwidth issues as the volume of users become higher in the evening. The problem is that you do not find all this out until you have set up in your spot and logged on. At that point is it worth it to find another spot or ask for a refund and go to another park?
I am sure it can get expensive for a park to do Wi-Fi and do it right as you have to install access points throughout the park and these parks can be quite large. Bandwidth may be an issue with the internet provider and not the park, but all this should be provided to you when checking in. We have found parks that do Wi-Fi very well so it can be done. The park we stayed at while in Santa Fe, New Mexico had access points for each row of RV’s. The signal was strong and the service was free. We have found a few parks that have contracted with a provider, Tengo, that provides good service. They monitor bandwidth usage in a 24 hour period and tell you they will reduce your speed if you download a large amount (1gb) of data in a 24 hour period. I have no problem with that as they tell us when we log on and they offer very good speed as long as you stay below that limit. Obviously if you were into streaming video and downloading movies it would be a problem.
These parks need to step up and live up to their advertising regarding Wi-Fi. Internet access has gone from being a novelty to a necessity and the RV parks need to recognize the importance RV’ers place on this.
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