By Cheri Sicard
In the video below, we join Izzy from Endless RVing, one of the winners of our 2024 RV video awards, for an RV tech video about Starlink for RVing.
Starlink for RVers–Every RVing Starlink user needs this!
Izzy and MJ recently upgraded to Starlink, and in the video, he discusses ways to mount your Gen 3 Starlink “dishy” [aka Dishy McFlatface, since it’s flat and not “dished”] when RVing.
As a side note, I also upgraded to Starlink satellite internet service last year and could not be happier with it. Prior to that, I had experienced LOTS of blood pressure-raising frustrations and LONG customer service nightmare phone calls attempting to get somebody, ANYBODY, to listen to me at both AT&T and Verizon when my service would suddenly drop out or when they changed my plans without authorization or notice. Collectively, I have easily spent more than 48 hours on the phone with these companies or on hold trying to connect with them. (That’s two entire days of my life!) Never again.
No matter where, no matter when, Starlink has been 100 percent reliable, and I have never had to contact them once for anything. But I digress.
The only occasional downside of Starlink comes with the question of where to mount the dishy so that you can conveniently plug it in. This is where Izzy’s video comes in.
The Gen 3 Starlink dishy comes with a simple mount. Just fold out the support and place it in the ground. This works great in most circumstances; however, you ideally want it to be higher up. This is not only for better sky views but also because setting it on the ground outside doesn’t always make practical sense. For instance, if you want to boondock discreetly, you are not going to want to set up your Starlink on the ground outside.
In the video, Izzy does what many RVers do: he buys a flagpole mount. Flagpole mounts for Starlink vary, so shop around for one that works for you. Izzy used one from Hitched4fun, I have one from FlagPole Buddy, and others exist.
Besides flagpoles, other Starlink mounts are available, including hitch mounts and freestanding mounts.
Watch the video as Izzy demonstrates how it all works. He also shows the Starlink connection and compares it to his cellular connection. This shows the importance of having unobstructed views with Starlink. It was functional but not as fast. But as long as you have an unobstructed view of the sky, which Izzy did not have in this video, Starlink offers lightning-fast speeds, even in extremely remote areas.
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StarLink works best when it can see the sky with no obstruction. If there’s a place on your RV that never parks under trees for shade or all you use it for is to download just text email, mounting the antenna to your RV makes things convenient but doing so does come with a cost to efficiency.
If you want zero buffering with maximum throughput for your multimedia content, don’t mount it. Leave the antenna portable so that you can nestle your rig in the shade while placing your antenna away and out in the open. You’re more apt to get a propane tank, tote or tire stolen than your registered (thus useless) antenna.
Personally I wouldn’t use anything Musk sells.
Y’all want some whine with that cheese?
So glad you piped in with a meaningless personal opinion. Like we need more of that here.
We bought the Gen 3 standard with roam last month. I mounted the antenna to the top of my pickup cap and the power supply and router mounted inside the cap mounted to the underside of the cap roof with the router pointed at the back of the truck cab.I have the F-150 PowerBoost so I power the system seamlessly all day driving. Works flawlessly. My wife using her laptop going across New Mexico I-40 saw 326,000 MB with us going down the road at 65+ MPH. It is a game changer.
As much as I would like to have internet wherever I go, I would never, ever buy anything that has anything to do with the Muskrat. He is doing his utmost to destroy this country and I’ll play no part in supporting that goal.
My thoughts exactly. America will get a reckoning with this mess.
Got the Starlink Mini a couple of months ago and absolutely love it. Just
plug it in to 110V as everything is built in and you’re good to go. Thanks Elon!!
Thank you, Cheri! With so many younguns traveling and working remotely, Starlink seems a godsend. We are neither (young or working), but this remains useful information, depending on how much and in what direction prices change. Happy new year and safe travels!
No mention of price. I guess it is one of those “if you have to ask you cannot afford it” items.