I’m taking a break from blog posts for a week or so.
See you in July!
Starlink mounted on RV roof
We use Starlink as our primary internet service, though with cellular as a backup. We used to use an Actuated gen 2 dish, but earlier this year bought a new Standard gen 4 dish, with the intention to mount on the roof of our motorhome, so we can have Starlink internet service while driving down the road, plus don’t have the hassle of setting up the dish each time we stop.
To mount the Starlink dish to the roof, I bought a magnetic mount, so we’d be able to somewhat easily remove it if needed:
Our coach roof is fiberglass, so I also got a metal plate for the mount to stick to:
I bought a modem mount that holds the Starlink modem and power supply, but decided I wanted a different arrangement:
Instead I bought a different mount that I thought would work better, with separate pieces for the power supply and modem; they are meant to screw to the wall, but I attached them with heavy-duty velcro strips:
Cellular internet cupboard on the left, Starlink on the right:
While at Oregon Motorcoach Center we got them to install the Starlink mount on the roof for us:
Flying my drone later, showing the Starlink mount installation:
The wire from the dish going across the roof to a new junction box on the back of the front cap:
So nice to have Starlink always available. The only downside of the roof mount is if we park under trees, but most of the time the dish can still see enough sky to work well.
Video: Eugene to Albany, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 47 miles from Eugene to Albany, Oregon.
Eugene to Blue Ox RV Park in Albany, Oregon
We drove our truck about five hours from our home base to Oregon Motorcoach Center in Eugene to pick up our coach after its annual service, repairs, and improvements, then just 47 miles, about an hour of driving, from OMC to Blue Ox RV Park in Albany, Oregon.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:
An interactive map:
Arriving at Oregon Motorcoach Center to pick up our coach:
Our coach waiting to be picked up:
Toading up:
Beltline Road, Eugene:
A skoolie:
“Top speed 61.27435 MPH”:
Heading to I-5 North:
I-5 North:
Albany exit:
Arriving at Blue Ox RV Park:
Parked at the entrance as directed:
Office:
Campground map:
Our site, #144, the same as last time:
Other sites:
Indoor pool:
BLUETTI Elite 30 600W 288Wh portable power station
We have a Starlink Mini dish mounted on the roof of our truck, for use when we are driving in areas with little or no cell service, which can be quite nice. It was plugged into a 12V outlet by the back seat. But a minor inconvenience with it was that this outlet loses power when the truck is turned off, so we lose the internet connection, and it takes a minute to re-establish after starting the truck again.
To address that, I got a BLUETTI Elite 30 600W 288Wh portable power station. It is plugged into that 12V outlet, and the Starlink dish is plugged into its 12V outlet.
So now we can control whether or not to start the Starlink connection by turning on the DC output of the battery, and it can continue as long as we like. Plus the power station may be useful for other uses when out and about.
Unboxing:
Front of the power station; it has an input for DC or solar panel, three 12V DC outputs, two USB-C, two USB-A, and two AC outputs:
AC input on the side:
Stats:
Initially charging the battery via AC:
In the back seat of our truck, with 111W input from the truck (while idling) and 26W output to the Starlink Mini dish:
It has an app, which is more convenient to adjust settings:
Baseball: Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros
We attended a game of our Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros, playing at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington.
An interactive map of the ballpark:
Long lines for Humpy shoulder plush giveaway day:
Ken Griffey, Jr statue:
Edgar Martinez statue:
Brand-new Ichiro Suzuki statue:
Skybridge to Club level:
Roof closed:
Fish & chips; alas, they were out of ferry boat dishes:
We bought a blanket, as it was about 50° F:
Recent Mariners history:
View from our seats; Section 222, Row 3, Seats 11 & 12:
Roof closed:
Humpy shoulder plush on Jenn’s hat:
Chocolate mousse moose (that is actually just ice cream, not mousse):
Humpy costume:
Great State Burger:
Tasty burger:
Humongous Humpy:
Astros lineup:
Mariners lineup:
Play ball:
Media booths:
Mariners TV:
Whose Hiney? (It was Logan Gilbert’s):
Hat game:
Salmon Run:
Bear ate Humpy!
2025 AL West Champions:
Surprise marriage proposal:
Broken bat:
Hydro Challenge:
Split Screen Speed Date:
ABS challenge:
Foul Ball Dance Party:
Humpy:
Tied game in the bottom of 9th:
Walk off win:
Eugene, Oregon to our home base near Shelton, Washington
We left our coach at Oregon Motorcoach Center in Eugene, Oregon to get its annual service (early) and some repairs and improvements, and drove our truck about 246 miles, about four hours of driving, to our home base near Shelton, Washington.
An interactive map:
We of course took Paladin with us; traveling in the truck (or any travel really) isn’t his favorite thing, but he’s happy enough with some chill juice, if not stuck in his crate:
We stayed in a bedroom in our home base while our coach was being serviced.
Video: Albany to Eugene, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 47 miles from Albany to Eugene, Oregon.
Truck damage update
A real-time update on our truck issue, where the truck broke free of the motorhome when being towed.
As mentioned in that post, we decided to head home to get the truck fixed (if possible), and do the Alaska trip another year. After driving our morothome and truck separately for about 950 miles (1,529 km), we made it home safely.
Today we dropped off our truck at a local body shop, so they could investigate further, and get it inspected by the insurance adjuster. Hopefully we’ll hear their conclusion in the next few days, most likely early next week.
Here are some photos of the broken components laid out on the ground at home:
Truck, front frame, tow base plate, bumper, tow bar; all damaged:
I’ll do more real-time updates as we hear more, but in the meantime will resume normal blog posts next week, which are a couple of months behind real-time. They are not without drama, too… stay tuned!
Our motorhome and toad had a parting of ways
This blog is a bit behind real-time; we are actually in Canada at present, on our way to Alaska. Just 46 miles into the Alcan after Dawson Creek, leaving a fuel stop in Fort St John, the front frame of our truck failed, and the tow base plate broke off. Fortunately the truck was stopped at an intersection when it failed; it could have been much worse if it failed in motion. Luckily we caught it within about a minute of it happening. Yes, we have a rear-view camera which shows the truck, but we don’t stare at it all the time, when merging onto a highway and navigating traffic (and it shows the side view when indicating).
After sleeping on it, we decided to head home. We considered driving the truck separately, or storing it in Fort St John and renting a car in Alaska, but either would impact the enjoyment of our trip. We decided we’d rather come back again in a year or two and do it right. (We’re thinking about downsizing to a van or B+ anyway, which might work better.)
I’ve zip-tied the loose wires etc, and we’ll drive separately home over the next few days. We aren’t entirely missing out on Alaska this year: we also have an Alaska cruise in September, so that helps us feel this was the right choice for us. We’ll be back to see the rest of Alaska in the next year or two, and would like to explore more of Canada too.
Here’s a video from someone who saw us dragging the bumper (and then flagged us down). The video has gone viral, with millons of views in various Facebook groups, TikTok, etc. Reading the comments provides an interesting sample of humanity; some sympathetic people, but a lot more trolls showing a lack of empathy for a significant event, or making irrelevant comments or incorrect assumptions (it’s not a Jeep, we didn’t drag it lots of miles, we’re not Boomers or rich, etc etc). Disappointing, but not surprising.
Photos:
Zip-tied components:
I’ll provide more information later.