Starlink for RV Installation - Magnitude SV34

[Judge]

I finally got around to installing Starlink for RV in my '20 Magnitude SV34 and wanted to share what I did in case others want to use my install as a template.

First I purchased the following items in addition to Starlink for RV:

1. Harbor Freight Telescopic Flagpole: https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-g...kit-64342.html

2. Starlink Harbor Freight Flagpole Mount: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1245272...f=yr_purchases

3. Starlink Cable Connector Protector Cap: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1231243...op_home_feat_1

4. Flagpole Buddy 2" Pole Ladder Mounting Kit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G6UFEYU...roduct_details

5. Blue Sea CableClam: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002UEOIW...roduct_details

6. Cable Anchors: https://www.amazon.com/Zip-Tie-Mount...ps%2C91&sr=8-5

[Judge]

I decided that I was going to keep the Starlink Router in the cabinet above the entry door since it had an AC outlet. There was also a hole cut in the ceiling that Thor mistakenly made during manufacturing so I decided to use it for drilling a hole in the roof and running the cable from the Router to the Dish.

I used a 5/8” spade bit to drill through the roof. You will want to feed the Dish end connector through the hole from inside the coach because the Router end is a right-angle connector and would require drilling a much bigger hole through the roof. It was not a big deal to feed about 70' of the 75' of cable through the hole and out to the roof.

I used the Blue Sea CableClam to seal the cable where exits to the roof. The CableClam very slick and is meant for marine applications so it should be watertight but I still used some Eternabond Doublestick Putty Tape around it to make sure it truly stays water tight.

I then used some cable tie down anchors to secure the cable from the front of the roof along the passenger side back towards the ladder. They come with 3M two-sided tape but I opted to use two-sided Eternabond Tape to secure them to the roof. I did use the 3M tape to secure the cable tie-downs on the painted portion of rear cap on the coach.

I used a 1’ extension cord with an On / Off switched outlet so I could easily turn the Router Off and On. The AC outlet was a bit hard to reach towards the back of the cabinet so adding the switched outlet and short extension makes it easy to power on the Router when I am ready to use it.

[Judge]

I coiled up the excess cable and used a couple pieces of Velcro to contain it. I secured it to the ladder with an old mount I had for carrying chairs on an RV Ladder. I then installed a Starlink Connector Protector that I found on Etsy that someone created with a 3D Printer. This will keep water and debris out of the connector while traveling.

There is enough excess cable to extend the pole to any height or simply use the stock base for the Dish and place it on the ground or on a picnic table near the coach if I don't want to put the pole up.

[Judge]

The Harbor Freight Flagpole has five 4' sections. I removed the two lower sections of the flagpole so I could use the 2” Flagpole Buddy Ladder Mount. The flagpole is 20’ in total length but I didn’t need that much length plus the third section of the pole is 2" in diameter and it fits perfectly into the Flagpole Buddy Ladder Mounts while the bottom two sections of the pole are too big.

The three telescopic sections will still let me get the Dish as much as 6 – 7 feet above the roof (or 18 - 19 feet above ground level) if I need to clear any obstructions from trees, buildings, etc. around my campsite. I did have to use a heat gun to soften the adhesive in order to loosen the plastic chrome collar so I could remove the bottom two telescopic sections of the pole.

I then purchased a Starlink Dish Mount on Etsy that someone also created with a 3D Printer for use specifically with the Harbor Freight Flag Pole. It fits perfectly into the top end of the pole once you remove the round plastic ball from the top of the pole. The Dish fits very securely into the flagpole and locks into place like it does with the stock Dish base.

I then installed the two Flagpole Buddy Mounts onto the ladder. This mount is a bit expensive but it makes it easy to put up and secure the pole from ground level so you don't have to climb the ladder.

[Judge]

I will stow the flagpole and Dish in the coach when traveling. Once I get to a campsite, I can plug the cable into the Dish and then install the Dish into the end of the flagpole. Then I just extend the pole to the height I want and I simply put the pole into the Flagpole Buddy ladder mount to secure it in place.

The pole and Dish seem to be very secure with this setup. I also like the aluminum Harbor Freight flagpole over a fiberglass pole that I first looked at using. The Harbor Freight pole is a larger diameter and the aluminum makes it stronger to deal with wind and the weight of the Dish. People were also making Dish mounts for the Harbor Freight pole and not any other specific brands of flagpoles.

The installation turned out better than I had hoped. It is very clean in terms of the Router and Dish placement as well as running and storing the cable. Starlink also has worked great with my testing so far….. even in a part of the country where Starlink service is not yet readily available. The Router also works fine stored in the cabinet with plenty of signal and speed in and around the coach.

I’m looking forward to trying it out on one of our trips.... especially where there isn't any cell coverage.

The best part is that I am going to pause my service at the end of the month. I'm probably not going to need it until late August when we head out west. We are going to do a little camping this month so I can try it out once or twice before I pause the service and we head back down to Florida for a couple weeks in July.

[LarryD]

Originally Posted by Judge

I will stow the flagpole and Dish in the coach when traveling. Once I get to a campsite, I can plug the cable into the Dish and then install the Dish into the end of the flagpole. Then I just extend the pole to the height I want and I simply put the pole into the Flagpole Buddy ladder mount to secure it in place.

The pole and Dish seem to be very secure with this setup. I also like the aluminum Harbor Freight flagpole over a fiberglass pole that I first looked at using. The Harbor Freight pole is a larger diameter and the aluminum makes it stronger to deal with wind and the weight of the Dish. People were also making Dish mounts for the Harbor Freight pole and not any other specific brands of flagpoles.

The installation turned out better than I had hoped. It is very clean in terms of the Router and Dish placement as well as running and storing the cable. Starlink also has worked great with my testing so far….. even in a part of the country where Starlink service is not yet readily available. The Router also works fine stored in the cabinet with plenty of signal and speed in and around the coach.

I’m looking forward to trying it out on one of our trips.... especially where there isn't any cell coverage.

The best part is that I am going to pause my service at the end of the month. I'm probably not going to need it until late August when we head out west. We are going to do a little camping this month so I can try it out once or twice before I pause the service and we head back down to Florida for a couple weeks in July.

looks great Judge! thanks for the detailed write up. lookslike youve set it up to be permananetly mounted. if you need to how hard woulf it be to pull the dish off but leave wires etc in place? it would be ideal if i could have one dish/router that i could move between rv, boat and farm house as needed.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by LarryD

looks great Judge! thanks for the detailed write up. lookslike youve set it up to be permananetly mounted. if you need to how hard woulf it be to pull the dish off but leave wires etc in place? it would be ideal if i could have one dish/router that i could move between rv, boat and farm house as needed.

Funny you should ask!

I’m on my seasonal shake out trip for a one night run so its my first chance to test my setup on the road.

My Dish is NOT permanently mounted. I stow the Dish and flagpole in the coach when traveling. I keep the extra cable coiled up on the ladder when traveling.

I also bring along the Dish stand that comes with the system…. and its a good thing!

After about 30 minutes of letting it find the satellites (and I’m in an area where Starlink for Home is not yet available) I was getting intermittent satellite connectivity.

I took the Dish off the flagpole and put it on its regular stand and moved it behind the coach towards and opening. There is about 20’ of extra cable after my install to give me multiple position options.

After putting the Dish on the ground and closer to a clearing….. bang! She synced up with a reliable connection.

There was a large tree on the port side of the coach and I could see after the Dish moved on the ground that’s the direction it needed to point to connect reliably.

I also brought my T-Mobile for Home Gateway as a backup but there was only two bars of signal and it was painfully slow.

Starlink is now giving me a stable connection with a good speed so I am very pleased with it and the flexibility of my install.

Here are a couple pics of it the Dish on the Flagpole, on the ground and the tree causing an issue.

[Judge]

So I am impressed with StarLink......

The KOA we are staying at has marginal cell coverage.... 1-2 bars each for AT&T, Xfinity (Verizon) and T-Mobile Home Internet. The camp WiFi is pretty bad as well.

Once I moved the Starlink Dish to a better location than the flagpole off my ladder that was being blocked by a large tree, it has worked great.

I'm in west central PA where Starlink service is still not available for home use but I'm getting over 100Mbps of reliable speed.

I have a spare 75' cable that was on backorder but will be delivered today. It will give me the flexibility to take the Starlink Router out of the cabinet inside the coach and move it outside. Then I can use the spare cable to run 75' in any direction around the coach to hopefully find a location that will work in cases where there are a lot of trees or other obstructions.

Between Starlink and T-Mobile Home Internet and then our cell AT&T / Xfinity cell phones as backup hotspots, I think we should have some level of quality connectivity in 95% of our travels.

[HMCSW]

Mine showed up today.. cant wait to get it going. Going to use it at home and on the road.

[v_chat]

Interesting post about StarLink, wonder if they will have an autoposition antenna for the roof.
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-offic...ts-and-planes/

[Judge]

Originally Posted by v_chat

Interesting post about StarLink, wonder if they will have an autoposition antenna for the roof.
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-offic...ts-and-planes/

I saw a YouTube video a while back where a guy removed the Starlink dish from the positioning motors and then he mounted it directly to the roof of his car. He was driving down the highway and had a good connection.

But for it to reliable work with a plane, truck or other moving vehicle, I would think it would need a way to mount and keep the ability to realign itself.

[Judge]

I’m boondockong at my inlaws in western PA where Starlink is not yet available for home use. There’s a lot of treees around but eventually Starlink was able to lock in after a few hours.

The app says we can expect interruptions every 45 seconds. It has been working very well. I was streaming YouTube TV this morning. It paused a couple times but otherwise the picture and sound quality was great. No issues surfing the web, doinf email, etc.

T-Mobile home only has 1 - 2 bars of signal here and only gave is ~1 - 2MBPS.

So far I’m digging Starlink for RV!!!

[macdaddy1111]

Nice craft on the setup!

Been installing quite a few on the beach, UPS man getting worked bringing all the 150ft cables boxes to the compound.

we ran away for couple days lower outer banks NC and this time starlink was really slow. It did work fine streaming and web/emails for boss lady. It was 750gig up and down last month.

I had zero bars on T-Mobile brick, did work like a champ drive to Nashville and back.

heading to the CT house in a week, be fun to test out going north.

Originally Posted by Judge

I’m boondockong at my inlaws in western PA where Starlink is not yet available for home use. There’s a lot of treees around but eventually Starlink was able to lock in after a few hours.

The app says we can expect interruptions every 45 seconds. It has been working very well. I was streaming YouTube TV this morning. It paused a couple times but otherwise the picture and sound quality was great. No issues surfing the web, doinf email, etc.

T-Mobile home only has 1 - 2 bars of signal here and only gave is ~1 - 2MBPS.

So far I’m digging Starlink for RV!!!

[devnul@timmade.com]

We have a Thor 26HE, with no stabilizer jacks. How would Starlink work for a smaller RV when we move around inside? Will it compensate, and wear out the motors and gears?
Thanks!
Tim

[Judge]

Originally Posted by devnul@timmade.com

We have a Thor 26HE, with no stabilizer jacks. How would Starlink work for a smaller RV when we move around inside? Will it compensate, and wear out the motors and gears?
Thanks!
Tim

You have no worries at all. That would be a minimal amount of movement and not enough to make a difference for the dish.

[HMCSW]

At a park in Eastern Oregon. There are 7 Starlinks including ours. Has bees awesome! We put the router in the propane compartment and use the 20 amp plug on the parks source. We get anywhere from 40 to 100mbps

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by HMCSW

At a park in Eastern Oregon. There are 7 Starlinks including ours. Has bees awesome! We put the router in the propane compartment and use the 20 amp plug on the parks source. We get anywhere from 40 to 100mbps

Great update thanks

[atreis]

Originally Posted by devnul@timmade.com

We have a Thor 26HE, with no stabilizer jacks. How would Starlink work for a smaller RV when we move around inside? Will it compensate, and wear out the motors and gears?
Thanks!
Tim

It doesn't adjust position very often, so no worry about gears and motors from just the little movements of being in the RV. It can compensate electronically, without moving. The most difficult thing you might have is finding a place to store it while it on the road.

Love my Starlink, btw.

[DaveTheWave]

Pretty happy with the flagpole buddy kit. I think I'll move it to the other side of the ladder though. There is a vent cover right in front of that area that might give the dish enough shielding from the wind to leave it permanently mounted.

[DaveTheWave]

Starlink on Ladder

Photo didn't post above. I posted a link in this comment instead