Don’t Let Bad Internet Connections Ruin Your Trip
Some people go RVing in order to escape from the real world. For these people, being unable to connect to the internet is no problem at all. That said, not everyone wants to escape completely when out in their RV.
For some, this is because they are on the road full-time and need to work as they travel. For others, it’s because they have to be on call—even on the weekends—when they go out camping. Still, others simply prefer the ability to get an internet connection no matter where they may find themselves parked.
Try These RV Park Wi-Fi Solutions Instead
What are these people to do? There is, of course, the option of using campground Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, RV park connections tend to be less-than-awesome, offering weak connections and very slow speeds at best.
If you’re having trouble using campground internet when out camping, you may be wondering how you can improve your connection. Lucky for you, we know of a few RV park Wi-Fi solutions that might just work.
Using campground Wi-Fi
Assuming you prefer to stick to using the campground Wi-Fi, you have a few different options. Try these solutions to your campground internet problems the next time you’re out. They might make a big enough difference to keep you happy from here on out!
Stick to simple tasks
The first and easiest thing you can do is simply stick to the tasks that don’t require a fast connection. Often, my family will download movies before a trip in order to remove the need to stream anything later. Social media and email should work even with a very bad connection, so as long as you don’t need to attend video meetings, you might be able to get away with a poor connection for a few days while you camp.
Head to the clubhouse
If you do need the internet to be a bit faster, but don’t want to invest in an RV internet setup, consider heading to the campground clubhouse or recreation center. Usually, the Wi-Fi routers are located in these buildings, meaning your connection will be stronger there. That said, it is still possible for the routers to be bogged down by other campers, so the end result may not be all that much better.
Set up a Wi-Fi booster
Finally, there is the option of improving the connection in your camper by putting up a repeater (also known as a ranger or extender). The repeater works by pulling the Wi-Fi connection into your RV and repeating it or amplifying it. Many people find this makes an enormous difference and makes the campground Wi-Fi much more usable.
It should be noted that a device like this can also amplify Wi-Fi found in public places, meaning you can use Walmart internet to work while parked in their parking lot.
How to get your own internet
If the suggestions above don’t cut it, you might try some other RV park Wi-Fi solutions. In this case, you have a few different options to choose from, and you should be able to make use of these options to ensure you have a good connection wherever you roam.
Get a mobile hotspot
The first thing you’ll need in order to have internet in your RV no matter where you travel is a cellular connection through a hotspot. We recommend using a cell carrier that offers decent coverage all across the country. The two most popular options with RVers are Verizon and AT&T.
Invest in several carriers
Unfortunately, no carrier has good coverage absolutely everywhere, especially when it comes to more remote camping locations. For this reason, if you need to make sure your connection works everywhere you go, we recommend investing in two or three plans with different carriers so you can switch to the connection that works best wherever you happen to be.
Read campground reviews
Another way you can ensure you have connection no matter where you camp is to research spots beforehand. RV LIFE Campgrounds is a great place to start, as it offers information based on the experiences of other campers. Many people will include info on the cell carriers that offer service in that location, and some even go so far as to talk about how good the connection was.
Try a cell booster
If you get somewhere and you find that you have some service, but not enough to get much done, you might try using a cell booster. Cell boosters work by amplifying existing cell service, making for a faster connection. Obviously, this is helpful when you need a decent connection but can only seem to bring in 1 extra bar of signal with the hotspot.
Invest in Starlink
Our final tip? Give satellite internet through Starlink a try. While most satellite internet is slow and difficult to get set up, Starlink is fast, becoming more and more portable, and will soon be one of the easiest ways to have reliable internet even in the most remote locations.
With these RV park Wi-Fi solutions, you should be able to connect to the internet in your RV no matter where you go. Why not start working on your RV internet setup right away so you can stay connected on your next big RV adventure?
Find more RV park Wi-Fi solutions
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Chelsea Gonzales is a full-time RVer, freelance writer, and roadschooling mama who loves sharing her expertise about RVing with kids, roadschooling, and full-time RVing. The entrepreneurial and free-spirited author is also artistic director of the Aistear Mobile Irish Dance Academy, and currently travels with her family in a 27-foot travel trailer. Chelsea’s informational articles about full-time RVing, raising children on the road, camping, and destination features appear on her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander. throughout the RV LIFE network, and in RV industry media outlets such as Outdoorsy, Coach-Net, and RV Share.
You can also subscribe to Google Fi, which already includes several carriers without the need to subscribe to them individually. This has worked very well for my family all over the US and Mexico.
Most campgrounds will throttle back WIFI speeds to campers using a restricted channel. This is to keep the higher speeds available for the owners use.
As far as the booster, if the received signal is weak to be begin with, it cannot make it stronger. It will allow the weak signal to penetrate inside making it appear stronger. That’s why you may get one bar better inside. If you take the phone or computer outside of the RV, it will be better than inside. Nothing in the way to block the signal. It’s the same for cellular.
Don’t try to rely on the King WiFi extender. I find it doesn’t do well in the RV Parks, let alone anywhere else. Just my opinion.
One thing that’s cheap but not mentioned is getting a wifi receiver that’s got a USB cable between the receiver and the computer. Cut a pop can roughly in half, take the larger part and cut a hole in the bottom, poke the USB receiver through it and plug it in. The half-can works roughly like a parabolic reflector to increase your signal, just have to point it correctly to aim it.
I agree with Ronnie Hall, King Wi-fi extender is useless , just a waste of money.
I found that using my phone as a Hotspot for my tablet worked great until I got the message from Tmobile telling me we had reached our limit, 5gb…