Touring - cell phone for touring

Hey, a friend and I are about to set off on a cross-country tour (!!), and because my mother is a worrier, i've promised her to bring along a cell phone. I don't have one now, and was thinking of just getting a prepaid plan so I could have a phone with me but not worry about getting a contract, etc. Does anyone out there have experience with pre-paid cell phones for touring? Think I could get away with never charging it if I only turned it on to check voice mail every couple days to make sure nothing has blown up at home?

Hi,
I have an AT&T prepaid phone that I keep on my bike for emergencies. I only looked at coverage for New England. AT&T
has the best coverage where I live. There may be be better choices for you, that's just what I use. I got a GPS carrying case at EMS to put it in. Bouncing around the bike is hard on a phone, so get a shelled case for it. You can get away without a charger for
a while, but eventually it will need a charge. Have your Mom mail the charger to a post office where you will be a few days from where you are when you get low. So if you don't get low, you won't need it. But if you do, she can send it to you. Good luck.

Verizon has plans where you can call from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the US and it is counted as local minutes. No long distance fees or anything. Plus it is free after 9 so you can call family and friends. Their service is great in most rural/suburban areas.
Try http://www.wirelessadvisor.com/forums/index.php for more details and local reviews.

I just got back from a week long tour and didn't use much battery power on my phone (1-2 bar change) since I turned it off until I made a call. I did plug it in outside a gas station once while I had a muffin and coffee, but this was precautionary and not really necessary.

Just got a Tracfone prepaid phone-- a good choice because they buy service form all the major cell companies, so there's coverage all over the country because they use towers from verizon, at&t, etc. thanks!

You can probably get away with not charging it all the time if you use it very sparingly. However, depending on how long your tour will be, you may still deplete the batteries. You have three options here.


Carry your charger with you and when your battery gets to half-full, find a place to plug it in for a little while. A bathroom usually has outlets. Is this a supported tour? If so, can you get someone in the SAG vehicle to periodically plug the phone charger in and charge it? It only takes an hour or so usually.
Carry a spare fully charged battery. Depending on the length of your tour, this may be enough.
Expect to buy or carry disposable "booster" batteries that cost around $4 to $6. they plug into the phone where the charger normally does and will give you about an hour of talk time. Just use it when your built-in battery dies and you need to make a call. These may not fit all models of phones though so check to make sure it will work with yours.

Once you choose your phone and are on your way, call your mom while you are on this ride. Everyday.

One day you'll understand what this means to her if you don't understand it now.

I've used both types of cell phone plans. A contract national plan with AT&T on a cross country ride (converted the contract to a regional plan after the trip was over) and a prepaid national plan on a ride from the west coast to MN. Although you can't beat the convenience of the national contract plan (lots of minutes, no roaming charges, etc.), the prepaid plan was more affordable... especially if you take along a prepaid phone card to use whenever possible instead of your cell phone.

Wooo!!! Go phone cards!

You didn't state how long a cross country trip this is going to be. If you are going all the way across the US, you will need to recharge your phone.

capsicum has the best solution. Prepaid phone cards are the way to go. One problem with cell phones is that in a lot of remote areas (away from big cities or interstates) the only cell service (if any) is analog. Analog service sucks down a digital phone battery in minutes. A prepaid phone card will let you call anywhere you can find a phone. Even in a small town, you can almost always find at least one payphone. And a phonecard is far lighter than a cellphone.

You can often borrow the use of a phone at restaurants (be sure you buy a meal!), government offices, etc.

Also, keep in mind that you should be able to get FREE internet access at any public library. I have found that small towns seem to give me the least hassle and the best service. If you set up a web based email account, then you can send and receive mail often on the tour. It's the best deal going.

Just got a Tracfone prepaid phone-- a good choice because they buy service form all the major cell companies, so there's coverage all over the country because they use towers from verizon, at&t, etc. thanks!
Let us know how the Tracfone works out.
Phone cards are good, but I found this summer that alot of places are disconnecting the pay phones. I found only one working pay phone in my travels through South Dakota, & two in Wyoming. Locally many places are cutting back too. Some businesses will let you use a card because it doesn't cost them. Some of the campgrounds that I stayed at had free phone & internet hook ups (you provide the computer) as long as you were a paying customer.
-Roger-