Share your Starlink RV install and experiences

[marc2912]

So to really simplify it for you picture this, you're in a motel and you're in the first room. The people in the next can hear you pretty well because the walls are badly insulated. The people in the room after them though can't hear you as well because, well between the two walls and the space in the middle room, the insulation is overall much better. Now if you talk to the people in the middle room they could relay your message to the room at the end. In this case your message to the last room gets delivered without an issue. The people in the middle room are you mesh unit. Now the issue with your setup is that you don't have a room in the middle, the first room is your basement and your living space is that 3rd room. If you put your mesh unit in the third room it won't help as the message is already 1/2 lost. This is why, sadly, you'll probably want to run a wire somehow to inside the RV.

Is there any other way? Potentially. You could check if different locations in the basement for the Starlink unit helps, depending on what's around it and above it you might have better luck, also try different orientation for the starlink, standing, on it's side etc. Try to connect to it with a device as close to it as possible from within the living space. Are there places in the basement and living space where you can, when close, get an ok signal? If so, can you place the mesh unit there? If you can't find a good connection that way then you'll struggle no matter what.

Regardless of if you do find an ok connection I still think hardwire is the way to go. Next time you have RV service done ask if they can run an ethernet cable from anywhere in the living space to the basement? See if you can work with that for Access point location in the RV.

I actually have the WI-FI turned off on the Starlink and have it, via ethernet, going to a Ubiquiti Amplifi Access Point (pic of my AP) but could have really used any cheap Access Point since it's wired in. That's what all my devices connect to.

Best of luck.

 

[ehochuli85]

All great points, marc2912, thank you.

Without wasting your time on why, I'm pretty limited on the bays I can use. The most practical is the front driver side bay. I get pretty good signal strength in the front of my coach, but by the time I get back to the bedroom, the signal has significantly deteriorated. So my thinking is that if I put the mesh inside in the front of the coach, my signal in the bedroom should be very strong, because that's only 30 or 40 feet, with no obstructions at all. Is that correct?

Also, does the mesh amplify the signal at all? In other words, if the signal strength where the mesh is placed is 30 mb down, does the mesh simply forward the 30 mb down, or does it increase that signal strength and forward on a stronger signal than 30 mb?

Thank you!

 

[lemondrop9344]

Marc2912,
An informative post, however, I am confused if you are using a mesh WiFi setup or access points. Would you please calrify? As I understand it, mesh WiFi can be more expensive & might be overkill (in a RV) when one can accomplish the same thing (WiFi signal distribution) with an access point.

I normally prefer hard wiring all the nodes in a LAN if it can happen without too much hassle. I've found setting up a LAN in a RV presents a variety of opportunities. Integrating Starlink into your RV LAN creates a few more.
I've been using a Residential Gen 2 Starlink on Roaming for around a month. I'm not real fond of their proprietary connectors & have yet to decide how I want to connect the DISHY to the router as a permanent setup.. In so far as I elected to mount the DISHY on a tripod for ease of placement, I run the cable through a window in close proximity to my hub. Sort of tacky, but it's working.

Unlike many others with Starlink, I elected to have the Starlink router communicate with my hub router (Peplink device) via WiFi. Starlink broadcast on both 2.4 & 5 Ghz bands.

Looking at the Starlink Android app, it suggests the Starlink router is sending the WiFi signal to the Android phone approximately 4 times faster than the DISHY is sending it to the Android phone. I assume my Peplink device (MAX BR1 PRO) is more efficient than my phone, so the speed to my hub router would be as good or better than what I observed with the phone. While I don't dispute that hard wired Ethernet connections are considered better, based on these observations, the transmission speed of the signal is bottle necked at the DISHY to the Starlink router. I will readily admit I could be mis-interpreting the results & I'm very open to someone correcting my interpretation.

When I initially installed my Peplink device, I discovered WiFi signals in a RV seemed to be less efficient than they were in a stick & bricks location. I had difficulty in connecting to the ROKU's in the front & basement of the RV. There are many Android apps (suspect IOS apps also) which allow one to measure WiFi signal strength & channels. I used WiFi analyzer to determine the signals to the ROKU's were most likely blocked by the washer/dryer & the pantry filled with can goods. By placing a hard wired access point with a direct line of sight to the ROKU's, the WiFi signal issue was resolved.

Every RV installation will prevent a variety of opportunities we must deal with. Those who camp/boondock in remote locations with out access to 120 VAC might have to run their setups off 12 VDC. Others may use an inverter with a combination of solar & battery banks, or generator & battery banks.

Please understand, I'm no trying to refute anything in your post. I'm suggesting there are viable alternatives when one doesn't want to deal with hard wiring devices.

 

[marc2912]

Also, does the mesh amplify the signal at all? In other words, if the signal strength where the mesh is placed is 30 mb down, does the mesh simply forward the 30 mb down, or does it increase that signal strength and forward on a stronger signal than 30 mb?

The Mesh unit will be limited to whatever connection speed you have between it and the main unit in the basement.

Examples:
Max speed to the main Starlink router is 30mb down and 5 up.
As long as the connection between the mesh unit and the router can cover that then it has the ability to make use of the full avail bandwidth. Now just because it can cover the full bandwidth doesn't mean your device will. If you're too far from the mes unit and your connection is spotty you might be limiting that. You have to remember there's 4 signals to cover:

Starlink <-> Your dish <-> starlink router <-> starlink mesh <-> your device.

Only 3 really matter, the dish to router is wired so you'll never have an issue there. The weakest connection out of the three leftover is you weak point and final bottleneck.

 

[marc2912]

Marc2912,
An informative post, however, I am confused if you are using a mesh WiFi setup or access points. Would you please calrify? As I understand it, mesh WiFi can be more expensive & might be overkill (in a RV) when one can accomplish the same thing (WiFi signal distribution) with an access point.

I normally prefer hard wiring all the nodes in a LAN if it can happen without too much hassle. I've found setting up a LAN in a RV presents a variety of opportunities. Integrating Starlink into your RV LAN creates a few more.
I've been using a Residential Gen 2 Starlink on Roaming for around a month. I'm not real fond of their proprietary connectors & have yet to decide how I want to connect the DISHY to the router as a permanent setup.. In so far as I elected to mount the DISHY on a tripod for ease of placement, I run the cable through a window in close proximity to my hub. Sort of tacky, but it's working.

Unlike many others with Starlink, I elected to have the Starlink router communicate with my hub router (Peplink device) via WiFi. Starlink broadcast on both 2.4 & 5 Ghz bands.

Looking at the Starlink Android app, it suggests the Starlink router is sending the WiFi signal to the Android phone approximately 4 times faster than the DISHY is sending it to the Android phone. I assume my Peplink device (MAX BR1 PRO) is more efficient than my phone, so the speed to my hub router would be as good or better than what I observed with the phone. While I don't dispute that hard wired Ethernet connections are considered better, based on these observations, the transmission speed of the signal is bottle necked at the DISHY to the Starlink router. I will readily admit I could be mis-interpreting the results & I'm very open to someone correcting my interpretation.

When I initially installed my Peplink device, I discovered WiFi signals in a RV seemed to be less efficient than they were in a stick & bricks location. I had difficulty in connecting to the ROKU's in the front & basement of the RV. There are many Android apps (suspect IOS apps also) which allow one to measure WiFi signal strength & channels. I used WiFi analyzer to determine the signals to the ROKU's were most likely blocked by the washer/dryer & the pantry filled with can goods. By placing a hard wired access point with a direct line of sight to the ROKU's, the WiFi signal issue was resolved.

Every RV installation will prevent a variety of opportunities we must deal with. Those who camp/boondock in remote locations with out access to 120 VAC might have to run their setups off 12 VDC. Others may use an inverter with a combination of solar & battery banks, or generator & battery banks.

Please understand, I'm no trying to refute anything in your post. I'm suggesting there are viable alternatives when one doesn't want to deal with hard wiring devices.

I think the use case here is really poor signal propagation between the basement and the main living space. My recommendation is not to try to find a way to mesh between the two but to use a hardwired line as meshing between the two could lead to an extra bottleneck. IMO, with starlink, the connection to the satellite should be the bottleneck not a poorly configure local network. That's the way mine is currently wired, i have wifi off on the starlink router and wired from it to my AP using the spare port on the back of the router. Why would you not wire your starlink to the peplink?

 

[ehochuli85]

lemondrop9344 and marc2912 ,​

Thank you very much! My problem is that much of what you're saying is going right over my head. I understand that a direct wire from the dish to the starlink router placed inside the coach is the best solution. However, that's going to require me to have Newell install an adapter from outside the coach, into the coach, from which I can plug in the router. Newell seals there coaches pretty completely, and I'd like to avoid breaking that seal. But yes, that can be done, and is likely the way to get the strongest signal inside the coach.

However, I am already ordering a mesh for use at my casita in Arizona, where we stay for 3 winter months. So if I have the mesh, why not use it in the coach, rather than installing an adapter to bring the cable inside? Is there any downside to this or reason it won't work? I'll have the wired SL router in the forward driver side basement, (for several reasons not worth wasting your time explaining, that is the best bay for the router). There is a great spot inside the coach, just behind the driver's chair, to place the mesh. That gives the mesh a straight unobstructed shot to the back of the coach. And if "overkill" is the answer, what's the downside, if I already own the mesh?

Thank you again!! Ed

 

[lemondrop9344]

lemondrop9344 and marc2912 ,​

Thank you very much! My problem is that much of what you're saying is going right over my head. I understand that a direct wire from the dish to the starlink router placed inside the coach is the best solution. However, that's going to require me to have Newell install an adapter from outside the coach, into the coach, from which I can plug in the router. Newell seals there coaches pretty completely, and I'd like to avoid breaking that seal. But yes, that can be done, and is likely the way to get the strongest signal inside the coach.

However, I am already ordering a mesh for use at my casita in Arizona, where we stay for 3 winter months. So if I have the mesh, why not use it in the coach, rather than installing an adapter to bring the cable inside? Is there any downside to this or reason it won't work? I'll have the wired SL router in the forward driver side basement, (for several reasons not worth wasting your time explaining, that is the best bay for the router). There is a great spot inside the coach, just behind the driver's chair, to place the mesh. That gives the mesh a straight unobstructed shot to the back of the coach. And if "overkill" is the answer, what's the downside, if I already own the mesh?

Thank you again!! Ed

Short answer........ if you already have the mesh device & plan on using it in both locations, there is no downside.
My biggest gripe with Starlink is their proprietary connector from their DISHY to their router. IMO, it makes connecting the DISHY to the Starlink router less than user friendly without cutting & splicing the provided Stalink cables.
As I read your response, it leads me to believe you do not yet have the Starlink equipment. I will assume you are getting the Gen 2 Starlink setup. As indicated above, the Starlink proprietary connector & cable does not easily lend itself to a clean installation in a RV. The proprietary connections are on both the DISHY & the Starlink router & require a larger hole than regular Ethernet wiring. One way or another, without running cables through a window opening, or an existing wiring run, you will need to attach the DISHY to the Starlink router. Most likely it will be with the proprietary Starlink connections. A caveat follows:
There are all sorts of methods to circumvent this described on the internet. Most involve some sort of modification to the supplied Starlink cable between the DISHY & the Starlink router. If it's discovered by Starlink you have done this, it voids your warranty.
You will also require a Starlink Ethernet adapter to attach your mesh device to the Starlink router.
Please understand, I'm not trying to discourage you from your proposed method of setting up Starlink in your RV. I'm just trying to ensure you are aware of all the pieces you need to set it up as you have described.
Good luck & safe travels.

 

[Neal]

@ehochuli85 all you can do now is try the mesh router. Yeah, some of the discussion above got pretty deep and beyond the scope of your question. I'd reach out to Newell at some time and just ask them "if I had you run an ethernet cable from the basement inside the coach, where would you do it and is there already an conduit in place that I could use to run it myself?" - there is a chance they preinstalled a conduit and some Newmar owners will "special" this for this very reason.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

There are other ways to do this directly with a Newell’s coach network and router.

As you'll see from one our test setups below...⬇︎

 

[XS Newell]

I think I'm really going to regret this post..... If you want to loose the portability of your StarLink Dishy and have it permanently attached to your coach, I have done that and it works well. In my case I mounted the dish on the roof just behind the spoiler on my Newell and ran the cable down to the upper electronics bay where I added a PoE injector and plugged the dish directly into the factory supplied Cradlepoint router. This eliminated the Goofy shaped SL router and simplifies my Wireless setup. I also run a T-Mobile home gateway into the Router for alternate ISP Service if the SL Dish is blocked or speeds on TMO are faster. This is my setup and I think it works best for me.