Van Life Basics TOP 5 STARLINK CONCERNS How To Get Internet While Living in a Van 

I’m a software engineer and I live in a van, usually on video calls for 2-3 hours a day. With video it does freeze every few minutes for less than a second. To my standards that’s perfectly fine. I’ve also had good luck in heavily wooded areas. The cord is long enough to find an opening. The dish doesn’t move very much once it locks into the satellites. You can use that to your advantage!

Bob, you were instrumental in my decision to "bug out" in an RV late 2018. Can't tell you how fortuitous that was come 2020. I was able isolate myself from society and felt so thankful for having the ability to do so. Lol... still isolating with great friends acquired along the way. And still looking to you for advice and recommendations to make RV life easier, better and more enjoyable. Thanks for all your research and real world experience. It's invaluable!

After fighting to use the phone based cell service internet last year around Quartzite, it was unusable, we moved. Someone parked near us in Marana AZ that had Starlink. I ordred it that day. No regrets. Only time I've had interruptions was during severe thunderstorms. It did open up camping areas we avoided because of no cell service. We cancelled our other, multiple cell service plans, so in effect, we saved money. So many beautiful spots in AZ to spend the Winter, now we aren't restricted to the I10 or I40 corridor. Good review, Bob.

1. I love my Starlink 2. Great video. All accurate. 3. I mounted on flagpole works great, really good to have up high 4. No power issues. 2 lithium batteries 400 watts. 5. Super fast and consistent, even in the forest 6. Great value. Can't beat it. 7. Its only going to get better.

Hey Bob, you should ask to review the new model that works while in motion. “The feature will require new hardware called “Flat High Performance Starlink.” SpaceX says that the hardware is able to communicate with more satellites at once which will enable getting internet while in motion. It is also apparently designed to be a permanent installation on your RV”

I live in a holler (hollow) in northeastern TN. I have some trees on top of the hill behind my house that obstruct my Starlink. While I can watch streaming TV shows with only minimal buffering, it drops far too often to support my Zoom calls for work. Folks that I know without any obstructions in this same area have zero complaints with Starlink. I just happen to live in an obstructed spot.

"Not a lick of cell service..........not a lick"..........I'm in Alaska and yup, I can't agree more.

I live off grid and charge my batteries for Starlink by solar 400 watts and wind. Starlink does use a bit of power but turning it off at night is the way to go. Definitely worth the cost!!

This has gotta be the Car Wizards dad :)

The crazy afternoon thunder/Rain storms in Florida knock out my starlink about once a week. Comes back on when the rain lets up. 5-10 minutes usually.

While I no longer have my RV due to health issues, I would 100% get Starlink. One of my biggest frustrations was not having communications at the places we liked to camp. Like you, we preferred mountain get-a-ways in the summer months. Starlink would have been the answer to this problem. I am hoping I get back to my old self and go RVing again. When I do, my second purchase will be a Starlink system. Thanks for sharing this information!! Safe travels!!

I’ve been using Starlink since June and I’m loving it! Everything Bob says is true. You need a clear view of the NORTH sky. I’ve parked next to trees and mountains, and still connected because my north view was clear.

Full-timers here. We bought roaming Starlink in May. Fabulous service in northern AZ, 6,800ft. in monsoon season in the tall pines. I'll let you know how it works at Caballo Loco this winter Oct - April, 2023.

Nice review. I think this would be a no brainer for anyone living in a van/rv. Especially if you don't use your phone that often for calls. Then you could just get rid of your cell service. The cell phone will still let you make 911 calls during an emergency. And for all other calls you set up your starlink and make your call on the cell phone using something like magicjack app. That is TONS cheaper. It would offset part of the cost of your starlink system. The only thing I would like to see changed is for them to create a popup version. Where you could mount a small box on top of your van/rv... maybe the size of a vent fan or rv ac unit. Then you hit a button inside the van and the cover rolls away like rolladen shutters and the dish lifts up. You would probably want to make some kind of alarm though in the event you turn on the van/rv without lowering the starlink...lol.

Thanks! This is very helpful. I think the point that really sells it for me is your statement, “I could not have camped in this location without it.” I will be working (online) from my rig and one has to have good service for that. And, as I get older, I value not being out of communication range (for emergencies). P.S. Loved seeing Cody run up and get his “pets”. I loved how you didn’t even miss a beat, never took your eye off the camera or lost your words. Like you weren’t even aware you were petting him. He has you well trained! 👍🐕‍🦺😀

At my house we have DSL. Speedtest today showed 2.14 MPS down & .47 Mps up. I'm ordering Starlink today. Thanks for the video!

I really appreciate you sharing this information. But the real show stopper is the lovely dog getting cuddles while you were explaining the information . Peace and love 💜💝

On your rig you should put a telescoping pole mount on the back so you can go further in the woods. I have seen them on over lander rigs.

I agree. I have used it through the Beta test period. Been awesome and has only kept improving. Weathet has not been an issue including 6 foot icicles during one freeze.

We love having starlink! On the weekends our cell service would bog down so much, because of all the weekend campers on 1 cell tower. You couldn’t even call anyone! I can watch videos with starlink & still make WiFi calls up in the mountains.

Cost is about $700 for hardware shipping and taxes. $135 mo SL-RV plan, pause by month anytime if not using. Power draw is 80-100w for only a couple mins at bootup then settles at about 30w steady. I turn off at nite 10pm-6 am, turns back on and within 5 mins back online again. Rain has not affected my Sl-RV except once in heavy rain/hail Been in Colo mtns for last two months, no problems just pick camp with view to north. Note that you can share your wifi with your camp mates...my wifi has been shared with 5-6 people up to 300 ft away.

I live in the mountains in a very remote place. I've had Starlink since February (2022) Rain and snow have not impacted my Starlink so far. But hail storms do. We've had some severe thunderstorms this summer, and when the hail starts, the Starlink dish turns vertical until the hail stops.

If I had a business that depended on the internet I would say it was worth every penny but since I just use the internet for non business purposes I say it's not worth it. As Bob says, it's dependent on your situation. I still want to thank CRVL for the information.

we've been using starlink since July for a remote 40 hours a week job. we also use it for entertainment and family time. we have had few issues that we were able to fix in a short time. our starlink has limits with northern sky requirements, but we have hotspots to cover those times. it's all a learning and adaptive journey. be safe, smile often and have fun! Rich and Michele in NC.

Not ready for prime time if you’re not a RU-vid creator or work on the road. Personally I treasure the times when I’m off grid and out of signal range. My marine radio with Weather Band works almost everywhere and I can tune in when I need to know if any threatening weather is approaching

This video is so important and helpful for me! Thank you so much for do this! I’m hoping to hit the road by the end of the year, but to be able to keep my remote desk job, I MUST have reliable internet access. This honest video gives me faith I’ll be able to access the internet for my job.

Defiantly a game changer for us! We now have phone and internet where ever we go!

Best review of Starlink RV I've seen yet, answered many lingering questions. Thanks Bob!

I hundred percent agree with Bob's happiness with Starlink. I have the same setup

We love you Bob

I’ve had mine since late January of 2022. At the first site I could not get a signal, it was in one of the rare areas that didn’t have coverage. It was in the Sasabe area. I moved over by Why and got it setup for the first time. When I returned to the Sasabe area I had no problem. I’m home now in Nebraska and I’ve lost signal during a heavy rain for around 13 minutes and I’ve had random signal losses in seconds. I’m dropped my Dish Network and the Verizon air card for my computer. I have Amazon Fire Sticks for my TV’s and use Wi-Fi for the computers. I now have more items on line and a lot better signal than before and for less money. It made traveling in my fifth wheel for 6 months a lot more convenient and at my house the internet provider went lacking that I never did signup. I live close to a very popular area for weekend travel and on Friday and Sunday even the cell signal would suffer and become unusable for streaming. And with the “unlimited” data after 5 gigs of use it would become unusable for streaming. Starlink has been a game changer and now all the providers are scrambling to do what they should have done for their customers.

We have had it for 2 months now and it’s been great. Tend to turn it off overnight as it drains the Bluetti 2000 watter. Seems to use between 60 and 100 watts when I watch the readout screen on the Bluetti. I expect it must use more when the snow melting feature kicks in. Can’t know until winter. We only need sun….

Bob, When you have your starlink up you can use it for your phone also. Like you said you can cut back a lot on your phone bill and use the starlink for your phone when you have it up and running

Just having solar panels means I already need to find a clearing in the forest. So I see no problems with Starlink above this. I would like to have had you give more exact numbers as to the power usage, i.e. wattage per hour or similar. Altogether, though, great info! Thanks!

I love my SL.. I am now full time in my class c rv so space and power isn't a problem for me. I have used it several times this mo.. set it up in an open space while in Helena Montana and The Black Hills of Sd... I have the RV PKG at 135./mo ..

Been living in the Jeep full time since I saw you in Pahrump and Starlink continues to be the critical item enabling my full time tech job - love it! I am still managing with 100AH LiFePo4 and 200w of solar + DC->DC - more would be nice but it's a Jeep :p

I've waited till I could hear what you had to say ...... Thanks so so much brother.

I have had Starlink for almost two years and it has worked wonderful!

I love my starlink. Works great.

You should report the average speed you're getting in each of the areas you're using this and under what conditions when the speed changes. This will go a long ways to building a database for all sorts of users who can make a more informed decision about making a purchase.

I live way up North in Canada and it works really well (rv type)

Going on my must have list... Thank you for the review!

Thank you for the review!! Please keep us posted and let us know if there's any changes after using it after 9 months to a year.. if you're still happy with it. Thanks again ❤️

Also keep in mind you shouldn't add a new battery to an older battery bank, in case you need extra power to run this thing.

I’ve had starlink for almost a year now and it works everywhere I go including Pahrump Nevada, my home base. I’m Boondocking in the National Forest, around Williams Arizona and have experience some very heavy rains with no problem for Starlink. People like Nomadic fanatic have a different lifestyle from us Boondocker‘s. He’s on the road almost all the time where there’s cell towers. Bob has hit the nail on the head good job Bob!

Tons of great information in this video thank you Bob

Fantastic! So happy to hear it works well for you. Maybe you could do an in detail a video on the set up and how it works?

Thanks Bob for your honest feedback on this and simple breakdown on pros and cons 👍

Starlink isn't offered in my area yet, but I went and got the RV version. I love it. I had ViaSat before. My speeds are awesome in comparison. I had 700 ms latency and 10-12 mbps connection. I buffered everything constantly. And online gaming....it sucked under ViaSat. My max usage allowed was 150 gbytes per month. With Starlink: My latency now is consistently under 100ms. My speed is 25Mbps or greater. My cost is less then ViaSat. My max usage, I don't know, I've never hit it with Starlink.

We love StarLink. It’s soooo much better than Verizon. We both work remote and are on Zoom 75% of the day

I use my starlink in the trees all the time. No problem. Just set up and test before I unhitch.

What scenery and national parks you have over there, starli k is revolutionary for people like yourself. I hope one day in the far future when I retire I will have the money and mobility to travel around America to every national park. Even if its only a few months every year, depends on visas.

Thanks Bob for all of your very informative videos! One thing you didn’t answer in this video is how to determine if Starlink exists in the area you want to go to. I know it’s not available where our farm is.

These discussions make me glad I can take cell service or leave it. Some downloaded movies my downloaded kindle and I’m fine off grid. Retirement is excellent for van living. I’ll wait a while for a portable starlink and let the youngsters and their videos be the Guinea pigs.

Excellent presentation on Starlink. Learned a lot. However, look where he set up and parked. So much for 'Leave No Trace." Not on a durable surface. So much for respecting the green grass and little yellow flowers.

I think you're over thinking the clearing size. I set it up on the nose of my semi truck and even with i looking back over my truck it works without issue. Rain has been an issue for me twice. But that a few hours so -shrug- I've had mine (Gen1 with the tripod) in very high winds and no issue accept one time I left it in stowed mode as after I put it out I was able to leech very good wifi and didn't want the power draw Power draw is an issue. I devote a 1500wh jackery to it and I can get 16-24 hours on it. But I don't have solar because Semi truck. And if you have to have it in cold. Power draw goes WAY up. 250w draw with the heater on. But since this came out a sleep mode has been added. So it will turn off the dish during hours you set. A feature that wasn't said is - It works in North America. I'm a Canadian trucker and I use my Canadian account in the US and I know Americans that use theirs down in mexico. The monthy fee is also cheaper in Canada and the hardware is 350 Canadian. So this might be a way for someone buying it now to get it for cheaper if they know someone in Canada they can get it shipped to. Speeds on the east coast can be all over the place.... But I've also been in places where I was getting .5mbit on Tmobile, verizon and ATT and set this up and great speed while I was waiting for a trailer to get loaded. Other then the rain storm its always been "useable" But useable for me might not be useable for others.

Full disclosure, I'm not traveling in my RV, we sold our house of 20 years and got our RV earlier this spring, but we will be in Memphis for our careers for a couple more years. But unlike what Bob said, despite being in a major metropolitan area, cell service wasn't enough for us, even though we really only wanted to stream some youtube and watch a movie a night on streaming services. The week the Starlink RV plan came out, we jumped on it even though we on the "regular" waiting list. Overall I've been quite disappointed, although not enough to go to an alternative. The speeds are stellar during the day, often hitting 190mbps. But at night, when we want it to watch a movie, it seldom provides the speed that I deem watchable, and often the speed is 1-4mbps. The pixelation and buffering more often than not makes it unwatchable, especially on our 48" OLED TV. And that's with only the streaming device (Mac Mini) connected to Starlink, as we keep our phones & tablets connected via cell service. We are in a wide open field next to a small lake, so it's not signal. I assume it's just we are WAY at the back the list when it comes to priority on the RV plan. I'm also not too confident about the future considering Starlink just lost a 900 million dollar deal with the government, so I question their proposed expansion plan. But until there's a better option, we'll just have to choose our nightly movie in the morning before work to download on the streaming services that allow it, and hope our mood doesn't change throughout the day.

For business purposes it would definitely be worth it. Maybe even for personal. It depends on each person's needs. Like how long they plan on being in the more remote areas where cell isn't going to work. It's almost a necessity due to the fact that one never knows when someone might need medical help.

Great video, but you’re west of the Mississippi where there’s not so many people. The people I know who are having problems are not necessarily near big cities but east of the Mississippi.

Great review BOB thank you big hugs from MN

🥰😂”fuss factor”😂🥰 thanks for sharing your info 🥰

I’ll have to stick with the company in Minneapolis I found called “PC’s For People” who provide low cost internet service & equipment. However, I’m thankful for your review of Starlink in case I win the lottery one day!😉 🎫 Unfortunately, while Starlink would be desirable, my income on social security is much too low to let myself even daydream about buying it. Like many quality possessions, low income folks do without most of it & learn to focus on other things truly important in life.

I pay about that much for internet in my sticks and bricks home, so I'd certainly be willing to do so for mobile internet. Sure, I could pay less now, but I REALLY like streaming shows and movies.

*Thank you for this video it answered Al the questions I had and even a few I didn’t know I had.*

When the costs come down it will be so awesome, power consumption will also be scaled down IMO. First generation gizmos are usually overpowered, and large to combat design challenges and electronic design flaws. But can see this taking over the market in a big way within three to five years.

Great review. I've had mine at my house (not roaming) for a week now and it's been great. Easy to install, good to very good speeds, and hardly any interruptions. We've had at least one heavy rain (maybe the same storm you had) and it worked fine.

Hello 👋 all, I just found the channel and so far love the content! Living off-grid in Northern Washington and snowbird in the winter. This is my first season with Starlink and I will have to agree “I love it!!!” Just for info, on average the system draws a constant 45-49 watts a little more when it snows about 55 watts. With no interruption during snow events due to it’s internal heating element in the “Dishy” I couldn’t believe when I went out during a good flurry to see how it was that I still had a signal only to find there was no snow on the Dishy, 6” on the ground but nothing on the Dishy, that’s when I looked at the Starlink app and found it has a built in heater in it, you have a option to turn it to auto or off. Looking forward to taking it on the road this winter and they do offer a hard shell travel case/backpack that protects the entire system when traveling! A little pricey at over $400, but worth every penny, it too is built to the 9’s though! Made for the “War-zone” I think??? Love the channel!!!

Just got back from 25 days traveling through NV, ID, MT, and UT . Only had one one connection issue in Great Basin NP(and that was due to me not being able to find a non-treed location). I love being able to be 'out there' where no cell signals are. Just wish it wasn't as expensive.

A good review that covered a lot of potential issues. I’m wondering how users (in the relevant areas) will find it works this winter in snowstorms. I’m sure there are a number of users on here that will be reporting on that factor and I think I would wait to see how that works out before committing. I would imagine light/regular snow wouldn’t be an issue but storms might. I’m sure it was taken into account during development but some real world usage of that will be interesting to see. 👍🏻

You talked me into it! Bought the RV Starlink and added the Ethernet adapter. I’ve avoided some of my camping areas due to no connections with internet or cell. As you put it in layman’s terms why if I could afford the RV model of Starlink? Love your videos and you are a national treasure.

We really like are starlink rv You can even get signal with some tree cover but it will degrade and spoil on you at times. Worth every penny.

TY so much Bob I have had questions about starlink for a while now.and I trust you to get the real skinny on this.

Bob. I have had SL for a few months at NR Grand Canyon. trees slow down speeds. but it is better than Company WIFI. Def need clear skies which I had the 1st month. Running 2080 and 1080 no problem then. I recommend this as well.

Thank you, Bob, for doing these videos. Just the other day I was wondering about Starlink and if it is worth it.

I think it is a fair monthly price, like you, I spend more than that on cellular internet, I think the equipment price could be cheaper though. I think it's worth the money. I'm going to get one next year.

I thought you were going to say you do not like it, and there was some other thing with it that was almost secret, but, you surprised me. Thank you for all you do!

Mobile Phone Tip: So I was in the local hills and I could NOT get a mobile phone signal. No Texts, No Calls, No Data. But strangely, I could get a car radio signal and listen to some music. So though, what if I connected my mobile phone to the car stereo via Blue Tooth? Could I get a radio or data signal as well...?? AND IT WORKED !!! Once I connected my mobile phone to the car stereo via Blue Tooth, I could send & receive text message, and download data for emails & apps. No phone signal, but hey, could be a life-saver !!! 📲

Excellent information : Thank You

Starlink keeps adding satellites so hopefully it will make bandwidth and obstructions less of a problem going forward. Most of the satellites right now are up north but over time we'll see more above the south which should help with problems with obstructions because they will be more overhead instead of closer to the horizon.

Great info and great video about StarLink!

Thanks for the great info on StarLink Bob. If my dream ever comes true for me to travel, this will be on my list of things I need.

330 solar..1000 watt inverter. I can use crock pot on high...for heater.. Cooking ..hot water

very informative. I'm in Colorado. I'm thinking I might get this for traveling in my teardrop and also use it when I'm home and dump my current wireless service. My friend lives in a narrow valley and has good service.

I would think that the cost would be worthwhile for the connectivity.I don't live in an RV,but would want access to the internet if I did

I love the eagle noise

Thanks for the information! Dependable internet would be so helpful for this working nomad.

Hi Bob, sounds great for the future 😀👍

Thank you for this review. I'm waiting for it to be available in BC, Canada. What a beautiful spot you are in! I dream of finding places like that.

I have had my starlink for a month moved several times within slab city with no issues or delays and I use residential service speed for me isn't so much an issue as latency as I work in virtual worlds with thousands of people downloading avatars clothing props live streaming and Skype in world I average 500 latency which is better than the 1000+ latency with frontier internet for homes

Thanks for the awesome video. I am waiting for this to come to Japan!

Yay BOB! It’s also expensive. Equipment is at least $600

Bob, that place is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing your info. with the rest of us. have a great day.

You may have said this, but Dishy has a built in freeze sensor/heater on the panel. It will automatically melt snow. Not that I’m going anywhere near snow!

I think 🤔 it would be risky for those who live on a fixed-income. Like you said the price changes all the time. Be a shame to invest that much money and then the cost of keeping it up might be too expensive. Save your penny's and go for it. Have a great day in the mountains 🙋.

If Bob likes it I think everyone should like it.👏

What a nice doggy!

Why not create a quick detach mount for the roof of your RV? It seems like it would solve a lot of potential issues. Maybe even include some kind of deployable mast?

We live off grid in a tiny house in the woods. Works great. We both do digital work. Meetings on zoom and transferring huge photoshop files (I’m a photoshop artist for an ad agency).

Good informational video. I live in town and pat $95 a month for cable internet so Starlink not that bad.

Can we talk about how much this saves on gas driving around or to town to get signal?!? 😊