How Do I Set up a Campsite Notifications Scan?

January 6, 2021

In this video I’ll walk you through the process of creating a campsite scan. Through this screencast you’ll see the Campnab interface and set up workflow. You’ll learn about each step in the process, and also get some pointers on how it works.

Introduction

Hey—it’s Eric from Campnab.

Today’s question is: How do I create a campsite notifications scan?

Now this is probably about one of the easiest things you’ll ever do. But, let me walk you through it step-by-step, just so you can see how simple the whole process is.

​Campnab is a web app

Campnab is a web app. That means that you can use it in your standard browser window without having to install any other software.

So, just go to campnab.com and you’ll see this screen [pictured in video].

Find a park

Now scroll down to this Find a Park section. We scan a lot of parks, but we don’t scan them all, yet. So, if you don’t find the one that you’re interested in, let us know that you’d like us to add it. We can prioritize adding it to our service.

My personal favorite park is Mount Robson, so, I’m going to search for Mount Robson, and select it from the drop down menu. These lists are going to change from park to park because every park is organized differently.

Select campgrounds

Some will have 20 different campgrounds. Others won’t have any. They’ll just be one big park with all of their campsites under that umbrella.

For today’s demonstration, I’m just going to scroll into Robson Meadows. From here you can see a couple of new options. You can scan for specific sites, or for any site.

Let’s say I have my heart set on one of these sites here. I can select those, and the system will only send me a notification if something comes up in one of those campsites.

I’m not so worried about the specific campsite, so, I’ll chose “Any Site”.

Apply filters

In this setting, I’m going to select “Filter my Scans”. These options are going to vary based on what that park makes available for us to actually filter by.

Most times I would say choose “Scan for all openings”. That is the option that is going to give you the most possible notifications.

But let’s just say that you specifically want to scan for a site that’s for a small trailer of up to 18 feet. By selecting this option, it’s going to filter out everything but sites that would accommodate your particular vehicle.

Use this filtering) carefully because this will reduce the number of notifications you receive.

Choose dates

I’m not going to go to Mount Robson until all the snow is gone. So, let’s hit the middle of the summer.

If I’m flexible (or if you’re flexible) you can turn on Flexible Dates. Flexible Dates allows you to search for the two days prior to, and following, your preferred arrival date. And this is really cool, because it increases your chance of finding a spot.

Set duration

It’s very tempting to say: “I want to stay for 8 or more nights”. This reduces the odds of you getting a spot. If you select “1 or more” nights you will still be notified of any opening, even if it is of a longer duration.

Selecting 1 or 2 nights is really going to bump up your chances of getting the spot you want. So, I’m going to select “1 or more”.

Provide mobile number

Campnab is built around text messaging because we want to get notifications to you as quickly as possible. We also don’t want you to have to remember a password, when you’re out on the road.

So, everything is based on your mobile number. That number is important. You will use it to sign into your account. You will use it to access all of your dashboard options, where you can edit scans, manage scans, cancel your account, all of that.

So, I’m going to pop in my mobile number here, and click “Verify”. I’m going to receive an access code. There it is. And it’s two, nine, three, nine. And once I’ve entered it, I’m logged in.

Pick a plan

Now, because I’ve turned on filtering, pay-per-use is inaccessible to me. But I can always turn off filtering if I do want to run a pay-per-use scan.

I’d encourage you to go for a Monthly Membership. You can go Annual too, and you’ll save a few dollars, but Annual locks you in for a minimum of one year.

I love monthly because it allows you to run more scans at a lower cost with a lot of options.

It allows you to edit your scan. It allows you to run searches for specific sites. It allows you to filter your results. It really is one of the nicest options.

And it also means that you can, at any time, go and cancel your plan. Use it for four months in the summer and the turn it off in September. And you’ve only paid for those months that you’ve used.

Choose tier

I personally use a Good Plan. Where I camp, that’s plenty. But, let’s say you want to stay at Yosemite, or San Elijo, or certain parts of Florida. You’ll want more options because those sites are so super-competitive.

In those spots, you might want to look at The Awesome Plan. It runs scans at a greater frequency, which might be beneficial.

We also have this Mega Plan. We didn’t intend to add that, until one guy reached out to us, and said: “Can you add a plan with more scans?”

And so we did, and we just hid it because we didn’t think anyone else would want it. And then a few other people asked for it, and we just said “yeah, sure—we’ll just add that in.”

But, again, you don’t have to go for the highest option. You could start with Good and see if it works for you and then upgrade if you need more.

We really want this to work for you and I don’t want you feeling like we’re trying to upsell you on anything. Again, the only spot where I think you really need to look at plans like Awesome are in those super-popular states like California.

I’m going to choose the Good Plan. And from here I’m going to be asked to provide my payment information.

Do keep in mind that the plans are subscriptions. That means they will automatically renew. If you cancel them at any time before the end of your term they will not auto-renew. But you have to go in and click the Cancel button in your dashboard.

But here, I would just add my name, email, credit card number, and all that other stuff. And hit this Subscribe button. And from here I would be all set to go.

Future videos

In the future, I will come back and provide videos with information on how to increase your chances of finding a spot. More information about filtering. I’ll also show you how to manage and edit your scans.

So, if you’re interested in more of this information subscribe to our videos on YouTube. And that way you’ll be notified of additional ones as they become available.

We can help

Let’s say you have questions, though: something is confusing you; you’re frustrated; you’re not getting your alerts the way you think you should.

Come over to the side, and click this Chat button;). Eric and I both are monitoring this pretty much all the time.

Sometimes we’re out with our respective families, or skiing, or hiking, or running, or whatever, and we’re away.

But so long as you add your email address, here. We’ll be able to respond to you right when we get back, and you’ll receive those updates to any kind of chat messages that are going back and forth.

That’s pretty much all I’ve got right now. I hope this made things crystal-clear, but, like I said, there’s really not much to it.

Happy camping!