Internet Everywhere (Part 1)

One of the biggest challenges of living in an RV (for me personally and, I’m sure, many others) is reliable internet access. It’s tricky to get a decent connection from many homes in the US so, trying to do that from something without an address or utilities is a pretty big deal. Being an IT guy it’s my life line and how I keep fuel and food in the house.

Naturally, the main plan is to use the available wifi networks at RV parks. It’s typically included in the price of the spot and isn’t stellar most of the time. Sometimes it’s just downright unusable. There are many times, however, when the wifi is unbearably slow and quite over-saturated, and a surprising number of RV parks are devoid of any wifi at all. We have, unfortunately, already stumbled onto 2 of those such parks.

The other great (i.e. cheap) option is to pick up wifi from other locations that aren’t the RV park. Restaurants are a nice option for this as they typically won’t be secured with a password, and you can use the wifi from out in the parking lot if you’re not up for buying a meal and sitting inside. I will address concerns with using an unsecured wifi network in another post later, but it’ll do in a pinch. We also spent a good amount of time in a local library with an excellent wifi connection. The main draw back though is that you have to leave the house to go find the wifi, and sit in a parking lot or at a table to use it.

The solution to dismal or non-existent wifi we are currently using (for now) is the Verizon JetPack MiFi device. I added one to my cell phone data plan before we left and we’ve had a few weeks now to realize the pros and cons of this arrangement.

Pros: It’s always where we are and it’s definitely fast when you have 4G LTE signal.

Cons: The price. It’s incredible what cell companies charge for data, and how much even just a typical website uses to load these days! A few hours on Facebook and you’ve sucked down a gig or more.

This isn’t the final plan as far as internet goes, but it’s what I decided to start with. It’s a learning experience. Even with plenty of other full-time RV’ers out there using various technologies and reviewing them, I wanted to go this route and evaluate it for my needs. I have now, and the verdict is:  I will keep this handy near my laptop for emergencies but cannot rely on it for regular use.

The hunt for a better setup for daily use is still on…