Starlink satellite mounting

[artfuldodger]

There must be some of you using Starlink. Where and how do you mount your Starlink satellite on your Montana?

[scottz]

Most of the ones I see are mounted on the ladder.

https://www.amazon.com/EEZ-RV-Produc...ed83e6f5cc9980

[Todd & Mary]

I had extra Unistrut on the roof from my solar installation. I mounted a pipe flange and got the pipe adaptor from Starlink and mount it on the roof. Its very solid and I don't have to worry about anyone making off with it.

[fatcatzzz]

Flag Pole Buddy

https://flagpolebuddy.com/products/o...2nd-generation
When the new dish comes out you would need a different adapter.

[LeftOverParts]

Most of the time we use this metal ladder mount and the Starlink ground pole mount. Very solid but beware the ground pole is heavy and need to raise it with care.

https://www.amazon.com/EEZ-RV-Produc...Y2hfbXRm&psc=1

If there are obstructions, we use the regular base and the 75ft cable to get clear.

[rames14]

John, I did a whole write up on my install. It may answer some of your questions. I use both the stand and a Flag Pole Buddy mount, depending on terrain and cover.
https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=88589

[Daryles]

Flag pole buddy and a 24' Telescoping pole.
I also have big spring Clamps so I can clamp the telescoping antenna pole to the edge of a slideout if I need to avoid trees etc.

[Ricos Ride]

I use a 25’ flagpole I bought at Harbor Freight. I got the adapter on Etsy.com. When possible I zip tie it to the ladder. If I need more height I place a board across the first set of the support arms. If I need to mount it more towards the front of my rig I use 2 heavy duty commercial suction cup clamps and zip tie the pole to them

[lj_cox]

We use our old WeBoost extendable flagpole and bracket mounting system. Got an adaptor for the top of the flagpole from Etsy; the dish snaps in securely. We ordered extra mounting brackets so there are 3 options to put the flagpole up (back of RV, front door side, and middle off-door side) depending on where the sky is clearest. Extending only 1 1/2 sections of the flagpole takes the dish to just above the roofline and we can go higher if needed to clear obstacles.

[Rnjmurray]

You can go to Starlink store and buy an adapter for a pole for about$35. Then to Home Depot for and electrical conduit pipe for $15. Then just use ties to tie it to the side of the ladder. If you need to move it to a different location you can use large alligator clips to clamp it to the side of a slide out. Works great

[Lucky23]

I 2nd and 3rd Flagpolebuddy.com great people to deal with always at the Quartzsite show.

[RetiredandRollin]

Great thread with great suggestions as always, you guys never disappoint. Having said that, same topic different question. How happy are you all with your Starlink? ..... is the juice worth the squeeze (cost related to functionality)? Finally, does it work as advertised and is it now functional wherever your travels take you?

Been debating on making the investment. Thoughts?

[mhs4771]

Just an FYI, just read that they have released Gen 3 Star Link Antenna with improved connectivity.

[lj_cox]

Originally Posted by RetiredandRollin

..How happy are you all with your Starlink? ..... is the juice worth the squeeze (cost related to functionality)? Finally, does it work as advertised and is it now functional wherever your travels take you?

DH works from home and while we used cellular for years, it's just not sufficient for large downloads. Starlink is way better than cellular. Not as good as home internet, of course. Price-wise it's expensive but the alternative is finding somewhere for multi-hour downloads and that's become a huge hassle.



Clear sky required, is the main thing. If anything (trees, power pole) occludes the sky vaguely northward (in the US), you get significant drops in signal. So we ask for open sites and sacrifice shade when we can, and book into shady campgrounds only where we know we'll have a good cell signal.


Thus far it's worked every place we've set it up (AR to FL and up the East coast to MA). I've got 4 options (3 on the RV, 1 on a ladder) for siting the dish to maximize getting an obstruction-free setup. HTH!

[DutchmenSport]

I don't have Starlink, but did have DishTV for a while. One thing I learned about satellite television is, when you are parked under trees, that dish (or antenna) has to be positioned with a clear view of the sky. Thus .... we always kept a long, long coax cable so the dish could be set-up away from the camper with clear skies.

The only problem with that was ... well ... we prefer camping under trees, in mountains and hills. In order to stretch a wire to a clear spot would often times mean crossing that wire over the road, or across someone else's campsite. Many times, we simply could not use our set up and just went back to over-the-air television.

Eventually, we canceled DishTV (for a lot of reasons), but this was one of them.

So, my advise is.... unless you camp exclusively in open areas and not in forests or under trees, then you need to leave your antenna portable so you can move it around. Because!...... every campsite is different.

Now, if you are parked permanently and never move your camper, then once you get your clear sky location, you'll not have to be concerned about this any more. Then a more permanent mount is in order.

[lj_cox]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

Just an FYI, just read that they have released Gen 3 Star Link Antenna with improved connectivity.

We took a quick look at that after reading this, and on first glance I HATE it. Might work well for some folks but having to point the dish yourself and no way to mount it high up are two big negatives for me.


There's no motor, no pole, just a little prop so you can tilt it up on one side. If I was the sort of person to actually ever get on the RV roof, maaybe it would be ok?

[LeftOverParts]

Re liking Starlink, we've had the Gen 2 system for almost 17 months and still very happy with it. Easy to set-up, no fuss activation and pause, and usually connects automatically upon power-up. I say usually bc I activated a few days ago and my iPhone where the SL app is located was in private IP mode (which I didn't know was a thing) and the system would not stay connected. The SL app notified me after reattempting connection and once corrected, hooked-up fine.

Also like the prorated billing feature. However, this will be our first time using SL over two billing periods so we'll finally be able to confirm if pausing mid-cycle is prorated or not. It's clear from our experience that activating mid-cycle results in a prorated bill - in round numbers, $5 per day ($150/30 days).

Re Gen3, the motor-less antenna seems a step back. It's designed for home or fixed position users. Since the antenna is at a 20 deg tilt, I suppose if there is a flag pole mount, simply rotating the pole for best signal should be easy. According to the limited reviews I read, the router is faster and "future proof". . . wish I could say that :-)

[Derby6]

I just bought a starlink, like 2 hours ago. I won't be to my trailer until late Dec or early Jan.
Thanks for mounting tips above--I'm sure they will solve that question!!!

2 things I am curious/thinking about in addition to mounting.

#1 How do you all run the cord inside. I can't think of access point but again, I'm not in my unit.

#2 Is the cord long enough or should I by an extension? Any other accessories I should get to have on hand?

[rames14]

Derby 6, click link in post #6. You can see how the cable was routed and why. Not for everyone but perfect for us.

[Derby6]

I'm Thinking about ordering this mount.

https://www.amazon.com/Starlink-Adap...c1df98776&th=1