Telephones - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Me | General Topics > General Escape
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 04-20-2014, 10:16 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Ruthe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Highland Park, New Jersey
Trailer: Escape 19 February 2014
Posts: 975
Telephones

Back in 2002 we camped in Canada for two weeks without a cell phone. Every now and then we found a pay phone, called home and everyone survived. Now that the whole word is connected 24/7 I realize that we can't use our Verizon cell phones without some kind of upgrade. So what do you all do when you cross the border? Calling card? Disposable phone? Smoke signals?
Ruthe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2014, 10:32 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Ron in BC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,743
Check out "7-eleven speakout", it might have something that'll work for you. We have about the highest rates in the world. When we're in the US we use a pay as you go T-Mobile card and it's less than our 7-Eleven card in Canada

Ron
Ron in BC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2014, 11:03 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
We and the kid make sure roaming is turned off. We use texting from WiFi hot spots. Can send pix too that way.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2014, 11:55 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SLO County, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21C 2019 Expedition
Posts: 5,210
Would try to go pre-paid route for anything over a 2 week trip or everyday calling, or get a pre-paid card from Costco and use landline phones (they charge a premium to use payphones). Unless its changed in the last few years the Canadian cell carriers charge LD from your pre-paid city # to where you are when you take the call. That's what it was like in the U.S. 20 years ago! Telecomm changes rapidly and you have to research constantly to get the best deal.
Rossue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:01 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
I "talked" to my daughter in Europe and San Francisco, Portland etc. by texting from WiFi hot spots.
Cost nothing at all. You just don't get a voice at the other end hemming and hawing or having to make you wait while they go to the bathroom.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:16 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SLO County, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21C 2019 Expedition
Posts: 5,210
Call it creature comfort, but I, like most people these days like to be somewhat more connected. Hopefully Canadian cellphone providers are coming out of the rip-off-age and offering more choices for foreigners. In the older days AT&T had Canada calling as a rate plan in partnership with Rogers. That stopped in about 2010.
Rossue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:20 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
bvansnell's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2010 Escape 13
Posts: 431
We travel frequently between the US and Canada as we have family in both places. We have a Verizon phone for the US and a Fido phone for Canada. Cost for Verizon is $100 per year and cost for Fido is $10 per month. We use a land line in Canada for most of our calling when we are here. In the US we use free WiFi where available and our home WiFi network when in Canada. Works for us. We are always as connected as we want to be.
__________________
Brian

2003 Subaru Forester
2012 Toyota Highlander V6
2010 Escape 13 "Ladybug" Feb 2010
bvansnell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:22 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Everybody loves to hate the cell providers.
Remember when it cost $3 a minute to call long distance? The old days, before you could send pictures from your phone from the middle of nowhere?
Says I, as I reload my Apple TV software because Netflix keeps giving me an error message...
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:29 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SLO County, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21C 2019 Expedition
Posts: 5,210
Apple? Don't get me started. Yeah, I remember the $4/min "boat phone" charge in the BVI's. And you had to show proof of residence of one year to get pre-paid. Was in that biz for 20 years and will tell you its now like used cars. Do the research, then keep doing it.
Rossue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 07:13 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Ruthe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Highland Park, New Jersey
Trailer: Escape 19 February 2014
Posts: 975
There was something very nice about really being disconnected -- knowing we couldn't be found unless we wanted to be found. So wait -- I can text for no extra charge from Verizon when I'm in Canada? And how do you find a landline when you are camping? Does that mean pay phones actually still exist in Canada?
Ruthe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 07:36 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Illinois, Illinois
Trailer: Escape 21
Posts: 220
I have Verizon service and recently asked them about travel in Canada. The person in the store said that we could add an international plan for $25 a month that we could add for our travel there and that as soon as we got back we could take it off and it would be pro-rated for the time it was used (in our case we will use it for two weeks so will pay $12.50ish). This will allow us to make calls and text. He also told us to avoid using data there as it would be very costly.
tash is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 07:56 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,532
Whenever I go to the US or Mexico, I just contact my cell phone provider (TELUS), and get a roaming package. It gives me a whole bunch of free minutes and text, and bumps my data package to where it works just fine for me. Unfortunately, it is not prorated, and I have to pay for a full month, but the service automatically drops off after one month.

Of course I only have that added for one month. If I was to spend more time down there I would look for a different solution. A friend who has an apartment in Santa Monica, just swaps SIM cards in his phone.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 08:30 AM   #13
Member
 
mvassallo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Laramie, Wyoming
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19
Posts: 37
Called the local Verizon store, added the Canada plan for $15 per month pro-rated. Added plan just before going into Canada, called again when back. If I remember correctly, the full charge is added the first month, then money is credited back the following month for unused time. Same as Tash on the data warning, just used the phone for voice and text and found wi-fi as needed.
mvassallo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 08:35 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Ruthe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Highland Park, New Jersey
Trailer: Escape 19 February 2014
Posts: 975
telephone

i'll call Verizon again. We are grandfathered in on some plan that allows us unlimited texting so yesterday the guy said we couldn't get the Canada plan. But they also have an international plan that maybe we can add on. I really can't stand VErizon except that they have what has always seemed to be the widest coverage. However, as soon as the youngest child can get booted off the plan (when they graduate from college we graduate them from our family plan) I want to switch.
Ruthe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 11:38 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Verizon texting will cost you if you are using data.
You go to a nearby free WiFi spot and text from there. Any Starbucks, McDonalds, a lot of grocery stores. They are everywhere. But not the middle of the bush.
I used my iPhone as a WiFi hot spot at the Escape Rally because I didn't want to pay the resort for access. I connected my Mac to it by Bluetooth and sent some pix to the forum from my trailer.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 11:58 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
fudge_brownie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Janesville, WI, Wisconsin
Trailer: Escape 19 (sold) Escape 21 2014
Posts: 1,879
AT&T in the US has a voice plan and a data plan that you can add on a monthly basis. No prorate and it is good for 30 days. Costs are $30 each and the data plan offers 120MB for the 30 days, but with proper management and using WiFi when available it is doable. The calling side only offers 80 minutes of talk time.

The data side is handled by Rogers in Canada and appears to have very good coverage with LTE in many areas.

We plan to add both these to our phones for our visit in late May. Probably data on one phone and voice on the other. There is a bit of a payoff when we visit the Olympic peninsula, many complaints from US phone users getting dinged for Canadian minutes and data usage in that area as Victoria is a closer connection than any towers on the US side.
__________________
Paul and Janet Braun
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 now 2012 Toyota Sequoia V8
Escape 19' 2010 now 2014 Escape 21'
fudge_brownie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:01 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
And, Canadians in Victoria getting dinged US roaming charges. I thought they had fixed that.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:10 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
fudge_brownie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Janesville, WI, Wisconsin
Trailer: Escape 19 (sold) Escape 21 2014
Posts: 1,879
They may well have fixed it, what I am reading on the internet could be five years old. On the other hand how do you test it? I think you can turn off roaming on some phones, it will take me 20 minutes of research to figure that out, by that time who needs the phone.
__________________
Paul and Janet Braun
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 now 2012 Toyota Sequoia V8
Escape 19' 2010 now 2014 Escape 21'
fudge_brownie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 12:33 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
You only have to turn off roaming once.
Mine is turned off. Look around in Settings if you have an iPhone.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2014, 01:34 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SLO County, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21C 2019 Expedition
Posts: 5,210
With smart phones (most have them now), you will incur data usage without knowing it if you don't turn data roaming off, and huge charges may occur. Get to know your phone is the best advice there. Also, you will incur voice roaming charges if an incoming call goes to VM. We turned off our voicemail prior to our last trip to Vancouver Island.

Over the last few years pre-paid has arguably become the better deal in the U.S.- that's what is primarily used in Europe. You don't get that subsidized phone, but no crummy 2 year contract either. I just hope the next time we go to Canada there are better options for pre-paid than our last trip.
Rossue is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.