Best Wi-Fi Options at Camp – (or any public Wi-Fi)

Wi-Fi at camp:

Today marks 6 months on the road and after over 43 different stops across the country, we have come to learn that both wifi and cell coverage is spotty at best. Sometimes it is great to not have any coverage at all so we can completely disconnect but this post is more about how we stay connected versus not.

For the most part we have been staying at RV resorts and KOA campgrounds. Now keep in mind that these locations are not out in the boonies, and even with their close proximity to town, cell coverage has been limited.  Between the two of us, we have AT&T and Verizon and even with two of the largest networks in the country, our internet access from the phones only works about 60% of the time.  So our options for accessing the www at camp the other 40% of the time is to jump on the camp Wi-Fi if it is available of course.

Some campgrounds have an open public wifi with no password needed to access.  Usually those don’t provide any better access to the internet and we get booted off if we try to do anything other than check email.  Others offer password protected wifi and those tend to be a bit better allowing us to surf the web but if we try to stream or post video fuggetaboutit!  It also depends on how many people are at camp using the network. Typically morning and evening are high usage times and the chances of slow speeds or getting kicked off the network are high.  What we have experienced so far is that the 40% of the time we have needed to access the wifi at camp, it has been a frustrating experience.

The other option is to use a mifi or satellite internet service which we could justify if we were working, so right now, that’s out of the question.  (We’d rather spend our money on lobster rolls haha).

Sitting here at the KOA in Wilmington NC and using their Wi-Fi, the experience has been fantastic.  They also provided some super useful tips for using Wi-Fi at camp that I’d like to pass along:

Differences between 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi:

2.4 GHz:

Pros: Larger coverage area, better penetrating solid objects

Cons: Lower data rate; more prone to interference, usually more devices using this frequency.

5 GHz:

Pros: Higher data rate; less prone to interference; usually fewer devices using this frequency

Cons: Smaller coverage area; worse penetrating solid objects

**Both W-Fi and cell signals tend to have a difficult time getting through the aluminum on the Airstream – maybe the shine is reflecting them away ;-).

Which frequency should you use?

2.4 GHz travels farther at lower speeds wile 5 GHz frequencies provide faster speeds at shorter range. Your choice of 2.4 or 5 will depend on where and how you use your Wi-Fi connection most.

Several electronic devices use the 2.4 GHz frequency including microwaves, baby monitors, security cameras, guest’s hotspots. If there are a lot of these at the campground, 2.4 is likely to be congested, which can damage speed and signal quality.

5GHz will give you more signal strength and faster speed over a shorter range. If you can use most of your devices near your access point, 5 GHz is best. If you are doing a lot of high-bandwidth activities online, like gaming or video conferencing, use this frequency and move as close as you can to the access point. Also, if the RV park is full, 5 GHz will help you avoid wireless congestion.

Hope this is useful for you and if you have any other suggestions for best internet access while camping, please drop a comment below.

Cheers,

Tiny Trailer Trips Crew.