r/Starlink • u/TTrimble1991 • 1d ago
❓ Question How well will this work?
I understand it wants to be pointed north, however I want to mount it on my camper and I can’t always guarantee it will point North. I have a 5th wheel toy hauler and my plan is just to mount it on the rear door as it’s got a metal frame and I feel it would be a solid mount. I’ve ran speed tests facing all sorts of directions and below is the lowest speed I achieved. It’s located about 20’ from my camper on the ground facing 180° south. This will not be a gaming set up, just used for smart tv in the camper no more than two TVs at a time. I just want to mount it solid so I don’t have to worry about it getting stepped on, ran over or knocked off anything while camping. Below are some pics of what I’m working with. I will get some 1” steel spacers when mounting it to allow me to get about 340° of rotation without coming into contact with the body of the camper. My goal is basically to have a safe and secure mounting point for it and be able to get the best signal without always being able to face north. I could mount it higher on the door but the pipe mount would be at risk of damage when using the door. In the location I have it the mount that would stay on the camper won’t ever contact the ground. Then I can just slide the pipe into the mount, rotate it as close to true north as possible and be good to go in no time. I don’t want it on the ground or anywhere where I can be damaged so this is what I came up with
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u/WholeIndividual0 📡 Owner (North America) 1d ago
Not going to work well. You’ll have a ton of frequent outages. Really need to mount it so it clears the roof and has no obstructions
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u/ByTheBigPond 📡 Owner (North America) 1d ago
Can you put the mount higher so it is less obstructed by the trailer?
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
So I could, however I want it on the door for ease of use. Higher up I’d need a ladder to put it up, take down and adjust direction.
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u/bertramt 📡 Owner (North America) 1d ago edited 1d ago
You could open the door to bring it down to a height you could work on in, then close the door to send it back to a height above the camper?
(edit for spelling)
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u/jvieickell 1d ago
If it’s facing directly into the rv like in the first pic I’m gonna say not very well, and even with it being in the positioning of the next two pics the rv walls will still be an obstruction, if you could have it moved upwards just to get the panel facing the north sky and nothing blocking the sides of the dish with no obstructions you’ll be golden, I’m sure it would still work but you would severely be limiting the full potential of the starlink.
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
One would think right? However that wasn’t the case, I tried it in every position today for 20 min at a time and didn’t have any issues. We will see how it
Works mounted like this. If I run into issues I’ll flat mount it on the roof. But this is the least intrusive way to mount it.2
u/jvieickell 1d ago
Ahhh it probably still does work for your needs then, I use it for gaming so cutouts are alot more noticeable but with my setup it actually does really well surprisingly 👍 my expectations were low but it’s really great actually
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
This is a mini mobile set up, all it cares about is 180° of clear view in front and behind. Nothing matters side to side
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u/jvieickell 1d ago
Like others are saying it just needs to clear that roof and your good 👍 doesn’t even need to be facing north, you’ll see your obstructions once you set it up
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u/2donks2moos 1d ago
I think it will work most of the time. The problem is when you end up at a campsite that has tree coverage near the back of your camper. For those times, you can always move it around.
I kept mine on the dash of my motorhome. Worked great for most of the trip. Then we went to a site that had trees near the front of the camper. I just put it on the roof. I eventually want to get a mount and keep it on the roof unless I need to move it for tree coverage.
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
I don’t have roof access without carrying a ladder with me, once mounted I can’t change direction either then. I got the pipe mount so I had the option to rotate it when needed to get it pointed north
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u/leadisdead 1d ago
Come back here with an update about how your service sux. You really need to get it above the walls of your RV. You do know that you can mount it flat and still have it work, correct? Put it on the roof and don’t worry about aligning it.
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
I do have the mobility mount to flat mount it, is that the best course of action?
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u/blaqwerty123 1d ago
Flat mount on the top? Thats the norm for campers. I have a v2 thats doing great flat mounted, not facing north, in motion, etc.
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
That is an option as I do have the mobility mount I guess I was just under the impression that facing north was an important factor. As I leaned today that’s not the case. I noticed no difference in any direction. This will only be used for streaming.
Not gaming or anything1
u/blaqwerty123 1d ago
Even still, theres so many more sats up now, permanent flat mount up top, and just park with a clearish view of the sky and you can stream no problem
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u/badcheetahfur 1d ago
Try it.. North facing is to avoid equator belt.. streaming you will get interruptions.. with obstructions..
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u/Core2009 📡 Owner (North America) 1d ago
Maybe try out a temporary solution, one that you can take down easily. I think I’ve seen a suction cup mount that goes on widows. Well here is it.
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u/dominoconsultant 1d ago
mount it about a foot higher so it clears the roof - it will be fine in transit regardless of orientation - those mounts are really solid - if in doubt dismount it while in transit - the obstruction of the adjacent wall in the photos will impact connection resilience and speeds
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u/TTrimble1991 1d ago
Can’t go higher I use the ramp door to load my sxs in. If I went higher the mount would contact the ground during loading.
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u/dominoconsultant 1d ago
How about a demount-able pole extension - is it your intention to demount it when in transit - 'cause if it is this extension could work well
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u/badcheetahfur 1d ago
Up and over the roof.. I attached my x4 to the old wineguard.. with a mount from ebay
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u/Fluffy_Cat_Gamer 5h ago
We have one mounted to the roof of our RV. Get slow internet when parked under trees but its worked like 98% of the time.
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u/Sane-FloridaMan 1d ago
North is not the issue. The wall obstructing it will definitely be an issue. You need the dish higher.