So yes…
We caved.
We bought the Starlink Mini.
There comes a point in RV life where you realize some things are “nice to have” and some things are “we are absolutely not functioning without this.”
For us?
Internet falls into that second category.
During our recent shakedown trip with the RV, we quickly discovered that campground Wi-Fi and cell service can be very hit or miss. And by “miss,” I mean absolutely nothing. No internet. Barely a signal. Just us staring at our phones like maybe one lonely bar would magically appear if we believed hard enough.
Spoiler alert: it did not.
Now I know there are people who love completely unplugging while camping, and honestly, I respect that. Some people head into the woods specifically to get away from technology.
But that’s just not us.
And I think one of the biggest things we’re learning already in this RV journey is that everybody travels differently. What works beautifully for one person may not work for another.
For us, reliable internet matters.
Shawn is in his final weeks before retirement, and he still needs dependable internet for remote work. And honestly, between YouTube, blogging, maps, weather, emails, banking, and everyday life, we realized pretty quickly that internet is something we personally don’t want to go without.
So yes…
We caved.
We bought the Starlink Mini.
And honestly?
We’re really happy we did.
Why We Chose the Starlink Mini
One of the biggest reasons we decided to go with the Mini was flexibility.
We love that it’s month-to-month. We can pause it when we’re somewhere with good internet and turn it back on when we need it. That made it feel a lot more practical for us instead of feeling tied to another permanent monthly bill.
We also liked how portable and simple it is. Since we’re still figuring out what RV life looks like for us long term, we didn’t want something overly complicated.
So far, it has worked wonderfully.
And truthfully, the peace of mind alone has been worth it.
RV Life Looks Different for Everybody
One thing I never want to do is act like there’s only one “right” way to RV.
Some people boondock completely off-grid.
Some people want full hookups and every convenience.
Some people travel ultra-cheap.
Some people spend more on comfort and convenience.
None of those choices are wrong.
For us, dependable internet is one of the areas where we’re willing to spend a little more money because it lowers stress and helps us enjoy the experience more.
We’ll happily make sacrifices in other places.
But reliable internet?
Apparently that’s where we splurge.
Our Starlink Referral Link
If you’ve been thinking about trying Starlink yourself, we do have a referral link to share.
Right now, Starlink has a referral program available for eligible Residential and Roam customers. If you sign up as a new customer using our link, both you and we can receive a $50 service credit after your account has been active for about 30 days.
We figured if we were already sharing how much we’ve been enjoying it, we might as well share the savings too.
Final Thoughts
This whole RV journey has already been teaching us that sometimes the things you think you’ll need… you don’t.
And sometimes the things you think you can live without become surprisingly important.
For us, internet turned out to be one of those things.
And honestly, that’s okay.
At the end of the day, RV life is about creating a lifestyle that works for you and your family, not trying to fit somebody else’s version of what camping “should” look like.
And apparently for us, that lifestyle includes satellite internet floating around in outer space helping us answer emails in the middle of nowhere.
Life is funny like that.