After six months of using Starlink for RV I think the pluses strongly outweigh the minuses. Not a glowing endorsement but the main plus is having internet when there isn’t cell service or wifi. That’s a pretty big plus when you are traveling. Plus Starlink’s tech support is excellent if you ever have issues.
The main trip in 2022 where Starlink shined was during our trip to Yosemite National Park. We stayed at Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes RV campground west of the park. There was zero cell service and wifi cost $6.95/day and sucked (according to the office manager). We had decent download speed ~52Mbps and were able to stream Netflix, Youtube, and DirectTV. I was also able to make a cell phone call to book a layover campsite for our drive home. The Starlink antenna had a good view of the sky (photo above) here with only a few trees nearby.
We also used it during our stay at Bass Lake RV Resort south of Yosemite. That campground also has poor cell service and wifi since it sits on the side of the mountain. Although on a hillside, our campsite had a good view of the satellite and decent internet speeds. Some trees were obstructing the antenna (photo >>) but signal was pretty stable, no outages .
Between trips, I setup the Starlink for RV antenna for use at home. Since we had other trips planned and the monthly charge is $135 ($150 in 2023). I figured I might as well use it between trips. I bought a weBoost Antenna Telescoping 25ft Pole to elevate the Starlink antenna above our roofline. It worked great but during a wind storm, the top-heavy pole blew over. My pole setup couldn’t handle the torque from the wind blowing on the antenna 20ft in the air. No fault of the pole, it’s plenty sturdy. I just didn’t install solid enough support on the base since it was a temporary home trial. I’ve since bought a stainless-steel eaves antenna mount. The pole was for elevating the antenna when on-the-road. But, so far, I’ve been setting the antenna on the RV roof, secured with cable ties. I’ve seen other rv’ers setup their antennas on the ground at their campsite but I’m concerned about theft. I do not know if that’s an issue but rather not test it.
Unfortunately after the pole & antenna fell over, the Starlink antenna motor started to struggle. It would stow and unstow and start to search for satellite but then would display a ‘Motors Stuck‘ error. I messaged Starlink Tech Support and they called back by phone a few minutes later – nice! It was 6pm PDT. I explained the issue and without me asking, they offered to send me a replacement. I would keep the faulty but working antenna until the box arrived. Then use the box to send back the defective antenna. The box came within a week – it was a complete refurbished kit with router. I swapped all the ‘new’ components with the old and shipped it back prepaid (free). I’m impressed with Starlink’s support which is stellar ;-P
There was no issues re-establishing service with the new unit. It was already listed in the app under my account & it activated when powered on. I was online within minutes and it worked without any issues.
The next trip we used Starlink was to Utah where it had even more impressive numbers. Zion Canyon RV Resort has decent cell reception since it is in Springdale. The campground also has good wifi but I still setup the antenna on the roof of the RV. After hiking in Zion National Park, we were able to stream the Homerun Derby and Allstar Baseball Game. Evening peak hour speed was much slower than morning but still plenty fast for streaming and general internet browsing. This was using the refurbished replacement system.
From Zion, we moved to Bryce Canyon and although our site was shaded by multiple trees. I set the antenna on the roof and still got reasonable internet. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn RV Resort which has cell and wifi but the Starlink was used for streaming TV and internet surfing.
After Bryce Canyon we stopped for a few days in Kanab Utah. We did not use the Starlink since Kanab RV Corral RV Park boasts excellent wifi. Plus, since this campground is on the south end of town, there was good cell phone reception (T-Mobile). But it’s great to have the piece-of-mind that we could set it if the campground reception was bad.
After this trip, I did not setup the Starlink for use after returning home. Because the antenna pole setup is a pain and the at-home speeds are so-so compared to cable internet. I decided to pause the service when not on the road.
An important note about billing: I received a Starlink billing notification Nov 1st that my service would be billed Nov 9th. So I tried to pause the service Nov 4th and couldn’t. You have to pause the service BEFORE you receive the billing notification. Once the notification email is sent, “your invoice has been generated & is in the system” (Starlink Billing Support quote). You will be billed $135 ($150 in 2023) even though you do not plan on using the service. So be sure to pause your service well before your billing cycle if possible. The service is billed monthly and there is no prorated refund or credit for unused days.
The $135/mo fee is kinda pricey but I enjoy trying new technologies. I have not tried cell phone boosters or other RV internet options though. If you can afford the hardware cost ($599) & monthly fee, Starlink is a great way to get internet when you otherwise would be offline. ‘Unplugging’ is not a bad thing but we like having internet during our down time and staying connected to family. If you are on the road for only two weeks or less per trip, like us, then Starlink for RV is an expensive luxury. If you are a full-timer or at least on the road for a month or more then Starlink’s cost is worth it. Especially if you do not stay in campgrounds with wifi or in an area with cell service.
In addition to the $135/mo subscription ($150 in 2023), the standard RV hardware bundle is $599 (late 2022). Which isn’t bad actually compared to top-end cell phone booster hardware. Mobile Starlink hardware costs $2500 (in 2022; price has comedown in 2023) and will give you internet while driving.
I’ve tested using Starlink for RV at home to replace my home internet service. It’s promising if you do not consume a lot of bandwidth and have decent weather. If you have thick cloudy conditions, the internet speed drops. Since I was testing Starlink at home, when this happened, I just switched to cable internet. Starlink for RV is also throttled during peak hours versus residential Starlink. Conversely, when my cable internet went down for whatever reason, it was really nice to have Starlink as a backup.
Unfortunately, the residential Starlink service requires a different system, firmware, & antenna according to Tech Support. You can use Starlink Residential when camping – there are YouTube vlogs about how to change your address. But you cannot switch/upgrade your Starlink for RV to Starlink Residential for use at home. Starlink for RV will work at home, just not given the bandwidth priority of the residential service ie throttled.
So Starlink Residential may be the system to choose if you want to use one Starlink system both at home and on-the-road. Right now (late 2022), Starlink’s policies allow this or do not block it. In 2023, they changed this so your residential Starlink service address is difficult to move.
The technology, software and hardware are changing so what’s working well now, may change for better or worse. I’m betting on better. But we’ll have to see as more people join, if peak traffic clogs the bandwidth.
For now, we are sticking to cable internet at home and Starlink for RV on the road. I’ve just got to remember to pause the service at the appropriate time.
