Will Starlink cause campground owners to remove trees?

[Neal]

I'm in the Carowinds Wilderness campground in Charlotte, NC. My cozy stop to/from chassis service in Gaffney, SC. It has a lot of trees although I see one camper has a Starlink antenna out. I'm curious how well Starlink would work in a location like this. One thing I personally really enjoy is the forest camping feeling, not wide open RV parking lots. I remember staying at a nice campground in Canaan Valley, WV across from the ski resort and it was a very forested area, deer coming up to you, really feeling in the woods which I like. People relying on Starlink would not do well if Internet was needed in a campground like this.

While SAT antennas aren't a new thing, I think TV was more optional and less critical than Internet. My concern is Starlink dominating as the RV internet service provider is going to cause clearing of forestation for campground owners that want to ensure tenants come and stay.

Thoughts?

 

[Neemer]

Just my experience, but Starlink seems to be able to work in conditions that I don’t think were possible even two years ago. I’ll bet that if you hooked yours up, you’d be surprised at what you find.

Elon has practically blanketed the earth with satellites and he’s not finished yet.

 

[BGMAC]

I really would not like to see trees go down for that even as a Starlink user. That is one reason I don’t have my starlight on the roof. I can place it anywhere I need to within reason and Starlink doesn’t need a perfect view unless you need really high speed.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I would hope that a campground would not remove trees for this reason.
Think of our own Jim/Trish, they put in their own Starlink wifi for the campground, didn't have to remove whole swaths of trees, but are able to utilize a couple clearings to provide the service.

 

[sheridany]

I swear by the starlink roof install and after 30,000+ speed tests (says @Neal ) I have never had an issue. I have treephobia when it comes to coaches and I won’t stay in a heavily forested park meaning very dense foliage covering across the roof line. Last year at an event a good friend was nearly killed by a massive tree branch that fell without warning not five feet from where he was standing in an Rv park. No thanks.

 

[whereRVapp]

I swear by the starlink roof install and after 30,000+ speed tests (says @Neal ) I have never had an issue. I have treephobia when it comes to coaches and I won’t stay in a heavily forested park meaning very dense foliage covering across the roof line. Last year at an event a good friend was nearly killed by a massive tree branch that fell without warning not five feet from where he was standing in an Rv park. No thanks.

I feel like most state parks (Virginia’s and Pennsylvania’s) do a much better job managing trees than some private parks for this reason. That’s where we go if want rustic woods camping!

 

[whereRVapp]

@Neal I hope places do not start removing trees for the minority (including me) that now have Starlink. I also hope that campgrounds improve their onsite WiFi as needed to keep up with the latest streaming requirements and the such. If I really need solid internet for my work or kids school, we tend to travel in places that we need that requirement is met.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

@Neal I commend you for wearing your heart on your sleeve. But just as a reminder! Commercial camp grounds come at the cost of destruction, or in some cases the rebuilding of a "synthetic nature" on land once destroyed by Commercial endeavor.

Seems that most everyone seeks to drag the environment they are familiar with into a natural setting. Rather than seek a natural setting to commune with nature.

That said I like being bathed with the sun! I want to see more camping locations opened in the forest! But not by destruction of trees, rather by utilizing more of the meadow edges that are already present.

I believe the advent of solar, and things like starlink. If managed properly could alleviate some of our footprint by bringing the people out of the trees and into the clearings.

As for private parks? I think people like Jim offering kind of a mesh network with existing dishes to his customers. Shows me that owners will continue protecting the property, and investment they have made in the future!

 

[kimalexis]

I'm in the Carowinds Wilderness campground in Charlotte, NC. My cozy stop to/from chassis service in Gaffney, SC. It has a lot of trees although I see one camper has a Starlink antenna out. I'm curious how well Starlink would work in a location like this. One thing I personally really enjoy is the forest camping feeling, not wide open RV parking lots. I remember staying at a nice campground in Canaan Valley, WV across from the ski resort and it was a very forested area, deer coming up to you, really feeling in the woods which I like. People relying on Starlink would not do well if Internet was needed in a campground like this.

While SAT antennas aren't a new thing, I think TV was more optional and less critical than Internet. My concern is Starlink dominating as the RV internet service provider is going to cause clearing of forestation for campground owners that want to ensure tenants come and stay.

Thoughts?

We use starlink at every campground we’ve been at so far the past 2 years and I would say that’s about 30. We are generally able to get it high enough up on the flagpole we have that goes on the rv to get clear coverage. If not, it can be staked on the tripod on the ground out front. The one time we couldn’t use it was because didn’t have a long enough cord we’ve since purchased one. Also, minor blocks don’t prevent its use. We favor state parks and forests which are generally very tree friendly. I can’t imagine any of these campgrounds cutting down trees.

 

[lostinfla]

Please, don't cut any trees down! We usually look for shaded campsites as long as there's enough overhead clearance. We also use cell for our internet and streaming, which has worked great in 95% of the campgrounds we have visited, even out west. For the 25 bucks a month it costs me, I'll stick with that and sit in a nice cool space under the trees.