Share your Starlink RV install and experiences

[AbdRahim]

Ran across this video. Interesting.

 

[lemondrop9344]

Update..... We brought the Starlink from the home office back over to the RV today to give it another try. We are subscribed to the Home plan with portability. Our base address for the Dishy is in Southport, NC.
This time we set up the Starlink in Southport & activated portability. We then moved it over to the RV which is around 15 miles due west & located in an area that is not scheduled for availability until 2023.
It's sort of interesting to watch the Dishy search for the satellites & within a few minutes we were connected to the internet. We ran a couple of speed tests with speeds ranging in the high teens & up to 70 Mbps.
The real test will come next week when my son & his family head out to Ft. Lauderdale & will be staying in a state park for some 10 days.

 

[Scotttkd2]

Posted this in another forum, it addresses full time work situations, but still relevant IMO

In a usage situation where employment relies on a full time always up connection to the internet, I don't think there is a one size fits all answer. I have added the Starlink to my arsenal, and we rely heavily on it, but I still have the pepwave max transit duo operating with ATT and Verizon sims with the Starlink plugged into the wan port. So far its working well, and I see the potential to cut the cell plans down to a more reasonable and much less expensive size and use as backup to the unlimited Starlink. Everyone has to evaluate their needs and decide accordingly. 2years ago I was getting away with a weboost and an ATT hotspot, mostly fr entertainment. Things changed and we went full time and needed a more reliable connection. As this new technology develops I am sure it will improve, right now we are effectively beta testers, but I don't mind that. I like the options it gives me that cellular doesn't. Your mileage may vary in that respect.

 

[Tnedator]

I have a new RV lease a at a localish lake. I did the visibility test over the 4th weekend, and it's clear straight up, but has obstructions to the sides. Park wifi is better than most, but not great, and AT&T and Verizon are on the edge (0-2 bars inside, but Peplink with external antennas were getting 105-124 depending on band).

I'm hoping that Starlink will be able to hold a sat signal, even with the trees, but not sure. Next time I go up there, I'll bring the dishy and check.

 

[marc2912]

So I had canceled my order since they were taking too long to fulfill and was going to hotspot. Then I saw a v1 dish for sale at a decent price and said screw it. The specs are the same performance wise on the two dish, v1 is just bigger and heavier. The account transfer procedure when buying used was a bit more complex than necessary but I got it working at home and now it’s with us on our 11 day trip.

Originally I had grandiose mounting plans but as many thing goes it didn’t happen, instead I just chucked the dish on the roof of my jeep and ran the wire through the front door of the rv. Today we’re at the Elizabeth KOA in PA and I included both the Starlink app speedtest and the google one.

 

[Neal]

I screwed my Starlink stand into the roof and dicor'd the screws. The antenna will be stowed in the house while traveling. The stand will remain on the roof.

Speeds are anywhere from 50 to 250 down and 5-10 up.

 

[Neal]

Not quite a week of use but I have to say Starlink has been a pleasure to use. I used it solely since installing it, no other cellular sources are in play. It's been reliable in my current location of Oshkosh, WI. YouTube is no issue, everything streaming fine there.

 

[Tnedator]

Not quite a week of use but I have to say Starlink has been a pleasure to use. I used it solely since installing it, no other cellular sources are in play. It's been reliable in my current location of Oshkosh, WI. YouTube is no issue, everything streaming fine there.

In the end, are you going to use it when cell isn't good, or thinking of making it your primary.

P.S. Always wanted to go to the air show. How is it? Do you have any electric/water, or are you just in a field?

 

[Neal]

The nice thing about SL is it's pretty stable and I don't notice peak usage times like we do with the constant variations in cellular. As long as I'm not lazy I'll take the antenna up and use it and not use cellular if I'm in a good location. Cellular may become my alternate. Keeping in mind this is costing me an additional $135/mo and if cellular is giving me 100+ download speeds I'm not sure it's warranted. It's an experiment for now.

You can get sites with electric/water but they can be expensive. They advertise the sites at $75/day but that's now how it works. Those sites you have to book them early in a lottery type deal, i.e. book it before it's booked and then you pay $75/day from that day forward until the last day of the show, so it can get to 2K in a heart beat. I'm in the general camping which is $30/day and I've enjoyed putting all the systems to the test from solar, AGS with the AC's (fortunately a cool year here around 80'ish each day), and water conservation. I'm leaving a day early, tomorrow, which will be 7 nights and I'm about 50% on fresh, 55% gray, 30% black so a good system I could do about two weeks I've learned. The dumps station is right across street from me so that's an easy option too if needed and they have potable water.

The airshow is good, I'd say not as good this year as the last time I was here, probably inflation taking its toll. AVGas is 200% of what it was a year ago, or less.

 

[Tnedator]

Sounds cool. Wife and I would have to really change our ways to not be on full hookups. lol

I got Starlink, but current plan, especially since I'm barely getting to use my RV, is for it to sit in the bay as a backup for when I'm in places with no or unreliable cell, and then I'll enable Starlink for a month (lol, might have to hop in the Jeep to find cell signal to get on the app and enable it).

 

[marc2912]

I screwed my Starlink stand into the roof and dicor'd the screws. The antenna will be stowed in the house while traveling. The stand will remain on the roof.

Speeds are anywhere from 50 to 250 down and 5-10 up.

View attachment 13548

Do you have any concerns about putting and removing the antenna every time? I feel like it would stress the screws and seal. Most things on the roof do not get pulled and pushed on every trip.

 

[Neal]

Do you have any concerns about putting and removing the antenna every time? I feel like it would stress the screws and seal. Most things on the roof do not get pulled and pushed on every trip.

No. The antenna itself has a lock release. The bracket is light and I don't anticipate any issues but I will be keeping an eye on it. I imagine there is more stress such as today with dishy up and high winds. After my first leg I was expecting to find it in my toad windshield as I'm always concerned about something like this but was happy to see it still on the roof. I sort of wish I used an alternate solution so I could have that mount to use at ground level such as on the back of the toad, on the ground, on the picnic table but I can either order another or find some other solution for ground level. I have a sling type carrier that came I believe with the pole mount kit so I put the dishy in that, throw it over my shoulder (and neck) and go up my ladder. There's always a risk on and off the ladder so I will continue watching for options others use as well.

 

[marc2912]

No. The antenna itself has a lock release. The bracket is light and I don't anticipate any issues but I will be keeping an eye on it. I imagine there is more stress such as today with dishy up and high winds. After my first leg I was expecting to find it in my toad windshield as I'm always concerned about something like this but was happy to see it still on the roof. I sort of wish I used an alternate solution so I could have that mount to use at ground level such as on the back of the toad, on the ground, on the picnic table but I can either order another or find some other solution for ground level. I have a sling type carrier that came I believe with the pole mount kit so I put the dishy in that, throw it over my shoulder (and neck) and go up my ladder. There's always a risk on and off the ladder so I will continue watching for options others use as well.

To date for me I've just been placing it either on the ground or when I needed a little extra height on the roof of my toad. I'd love to hear how you're doing cable management. for me so far it's been through driver window with a towel to not pinch and prevent water entry during rain. I did also get the Amplifi Mesh router that I'll setup on my trip this weekend to not rely on the SL AP as i found it to be lacking with the number of devices I have connecting to it.

 

[Neal]

Right now the cable is going into the bay forward of the pegboard where there is a 120V outlet for the router. I push close the basement door, don't slam it, until it latches. It just compresses the gasket and doesn't affect the cable.

My plan and parts I already bought from Lowes is to put a 120V outlet in the electrical bay with cord reel as there is a gasket there to bring the cable up and in. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll do this as what I'm doing now works.

I had no issues with wi-fi to the router from my current location but I did run an ethernet from the half bath to the pegboard bay, over the wall and into the above mentioned basement compartment. Wasn't that hard, two people would be easier. The pepwave is in the half bath electrical cabinet that Starlink connects to.

Still ironing all of this out. I don't intent for Starlink to be my primary but instead a 3rd and final option for Internet. I'm just testing it out this trip and expect as I get into the Rockies I'll be needing it more as I don't have high hopes for cellular and some have said the Custer area which I go to tomorrow is also minimal cellular. With that said a temporary setup such as I have now, otherwise it's stowed under the bed, is viable.

 

[Tnedator]

To date for me I've just been placing it either on the ground or when I needed a little extra height on the roof of my toad. I'd love to hear how you're doing cable management. for me so far it's been through driver window with a towel to not pinch and prevent water entry during rain. I did also get the Amplifi Mesh router that I'll setup on my trip this weekend to not rely on the SL AP as i found it to be lacking with the number of devices I have connecting to it.

The other option would be to get a pair of ethernet adapters and plug one into the SL ethernet and the other into the WAN on your router. You are still wireless, but then you could leave the SL router in a bay compartment.

 

[Neal]

As I have a ladder on the back of my RV and want to minimize risk of being on the roof I ordered the Flagpole buddy which is waiting for me at my next stop.

https://flagpolebuddy.com/ols/products/httpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductshttpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductsstarlink-kit-2nd-generation

https://flagpolebuddy.com/ols/products/httpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductsstarlink-kit-2nd-generation

I also ordered a King tri-pod mount which I'll see if I can make work for Starlink when I need to get the dishy clear of an obstruction. I intend to keep the included tripod mount on the roof for now.

Amazon.com

 

[lemondrop9344]

As I have a ladder on the back of my RV and want to minimize risk of being on the roof I ordered the Flagpole buddy which is waiting for me at my next stop.

https://flagpolebuddy.com/ols/products/httpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductshttpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductsstarlink-kit-2nd-generation

https://flagpolebuddy.com/ols/products/httpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductsstarlink-kit-2nd-generation

I also ordered a King tri-pod mount which I'll see if I can make work for Starlink when I need to get the dishy clear of an obstruction. I intend to keep the included tripod mount on the roof for now.

Amazon.com

I bought a tripod from this outfit.

Build Your Own Tripod Package

Build Your Own Tripod Package

www.tv4rv.com

The make a machined adapter that will accept the Standard Starlink adapter.

 

[Scotttkd2]

As I have a ladder on the back of my RV and want to minimize risk of being on the roof I ordered the Flagpole buddy which is waiting for me at my next stop.

https://flagpolebuddy.com/ols/products/httpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductshttpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductsstarlink-kit-2nd-generation

https://flagpolebuddy.com/ols/products/httpsflagpolebuddycomolsproductsstarlink-kit-2nd-generation

I also ordered a King tri-pod mount which I'll see if I can make work for Starlink when I need to get the dishy clear of an obstruction. I intend to keep the included tripod mount on the roof for now.

Amazon.com

That is my current setup know as well. I prefer to run it off the flagpole and ladder to clear obstructions, but have 150 ft of cable and a 6 ft ground tripod in case trees are an issue in our travels. Very happy with the current setup and Starlink as a whole. Looking now at reducing my wireless plans to save some money now that I can rely on the starlink to carry most of the load. Will keep the wireless as backup but at reduced gb plans.

 

[Neal]

A lot of flagpole buddies with starlink on top here in Fort Collins, CO. Mine arrived today and I'll be installing it before I leave Monday. I'm using my current setup for now.

 

[Buly]

My Starlink RV kit it took 4 days to arrive after ordering. Can't wait to start using it.