Simply Schricks- Destination Unknown Again

We’ve been traveling full time for the past 28 months. We’ve stayed at over 215 different campsites throughout the United States. We enjoy our vagabond lifestyle, but Kristie works full-time and needs regular internet connection. To date, we’ve been using our Verizon cell service, a Verizon hot spot, a WiFiCamp Pro, and campground service. Somedays and some places, we have great service using one of the above but somedays and some places, we have intermittent service or no service at all. Needing regular, reliable, consistent service during the work week, we knew we needed to upgrade our service. We began exploring options and finally settled on Starlink RV. We figured that Starlink would give us high bandwidth internet pretty much anywhere as long as we had a clear view of the sky.

We’re going to share with you our overview of the Starlink RV system and our initial impressions.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a satellite internet service launched in 2019.  As of February 2023, it uses a constellation of thousands of satellites to provide service in 33 countries and is rapidly expanding to nearly full global coverage. Starlink improves on previous satellite internet service by offering higher bandwidth with lower latency which is important for applications such as voice and video calls and meetings. Starlink requires purchasing a satellite and router for $599 and a monthly service fee of $135 which includes the ability to roam from location to location. Starlink is also available at a fixed address such as a house for $110 per month service fee.

Starlink for RVs is ideal for customers travelling to locations where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable.

One of the benefits of Starlink RV is it provides the ability to pause and un-pause service at any time and is billed in one-month increments, allowing users to customize their service to their individual travel needs.

It has easy set up. The Standard Starlink for RVs ships immediately and arrives with everything you need to get online in a matter of minutes. The Standard Starlink requires a clear view of the sky to connect. These is an app to help to determine the best placement for your dish.

You can also try Starlink RV for up to 30 days and if not satisfied, return for a full refund of the hardware costs.

How’s the Coverage?

Starlink has a link to check availability in your location:  https://www.starlink.com/map. If Starlink is available at your location, you can immediately order Starlink and start service immediately. If Starlink is waitlisted or coming soon to your location, you can sign up to be notified when service is available.

Initial Set Up

We ordered Starlink RV on a Tuesday morning and it was delivered to our campsite in the RV park on Friday evening. In the box were the following:

• Dish
• Dish Stand
• Router
• Cable for dish to router
• Cable for router to power

It took about 10 minutes for the initial setup of unboxing the equipment, setting up the dish and router, and getting an initial connection. Since the initial set up, it’s been much faster, usually about 2-3 minutes total.

After our initial set up, we decided that we’d prefer to put the dish on a FlagPole Buddy. The FlagPole Buddy attaches to our ladder on the back of our rig. Upon arriving at a campsite, it takes about 5 minutes for us to connect the pole and place the dish on it. If we’re not using the FlagPole Buddy, we place the dish on the top of the rig and secure it with bungee cords in case of wind. Bobby coiled the dish to router cable and secured it in the compartment where the rig power cord is stored. He then drilled a hole through the compartment under the sink and up through the counter for a permanent home for the router. We then connect the power cord from the router to the outlet in the kitchen.

On travel days, we place the FlagPole Buddy in the carrying case and lay it in our bedroom and place the dish and the dish stand on our bed. Upon arrival at our campsite, we put up the FlagPole Buddy, secure the dish, and store the dish stand in the back of the truck. This takes about 5 minutes.

Initial Impressions

Positives:

• We’re loving the high bandwidth low latency internet service in almost any location. Love having reliable connections.

• It’s great that the dish automatically finds the best position and repositions itself as needed for optimal connection.

• We don’t have to worry about rain as the dish is waterproof.

• It’s great that the dish comes with a long 75ft cable which allows the user to position the dish in a location with a clear view of the sky. We haven’t needed to do this but it’s nice to have.

• If we deal with snow, the dish has a heater to melt snow!

Negatives:

• When we first downloaded the app and tried to set it up with the dish, it was confusing. It didn’t give enough information to figure out what we had to do when it said offline. Later, we figured out that we didn’t have to do anything, it just took a few minutes to connect. It’s now very easy to use and set up upon arrival at the campsite.

• The dish stand is awkward to store and transport. We store it on the bed during travel. If we’re not using it because we’re using the FlagPole Buddy, we store it in the back of the truck.

• The system requires 110v AC power. This is fine if we’re connected to shore power but an inverter or generator is needed if we’re not connected. So far we haven’t need to deal with this as we’ve been connected to shore power. However, we do like to boondock, so we’ll see.
• It is frustrating that as an RV user, we are not given high priority during “High Capacity” areas and during peak usage hours. This results in notably slower speeds especially during peak usage hours.

Next Steps

We’re going to be testing Starlink RV over the next month with our adventures through Tennessee and North Carolina.

We’ll see how it does in various locations with different obstructions and how it does in different weather including high winds, rain, hail, and snow. We may find a better storage place for the stand when we’re not using it. Most importantly, we’re interested in seeing how it provides service during peak time for video calls. It will be interesting to compare speeds and connectivity in various locations.

Stay tuned for future updates on our experience with Starlink RV and our regular adventures!

See you soon!

~Bobby & Kristie https://www.youtube.com/@destinationunknownagain/featured