Forum Discussion

hottub's avatar
hottub
Explorer
Aug 03, 2020

sat dish

looking for best sat. dish for fifth wheel.
1. must be able to pay to go
2. must be able to get eastern and western sat.
3. must be capable of operating 2 tv's on different channels
4. being installed on a prewired for sat cedar creek.
question... would you roof mount with the concern of not getting signal in a shady campsite? or set up on tripod
Thanks

20 Replies

  • md_procouple wrote:
    We tried them ALL had a Tripod mounted dish, Had bought Wingard, and ended up with DISH Tailgater !! Always had problem getting the Tripod level then having to "aim" dish, not to mention storing the dish, and tripod when done. Never had any luck at all with wingard (Tried 2 different units). NEVER had a problem with the tailgaters, (we have 2 of them) We just put them on 2 small folding tables point the carry handles to the south and let them do their thing. Never had a problem with either one of them !! Good Luck and Happy Camping !!


    Dish has pretty good support , those automatics seem to work okay , but they do have their limitations with Directv . I have always used the tripod and sat. dish with my Directv never had a problem . Always took a receiver from home . We upgraded our system in the fifth wheel this year . We could of continued with our DVR from home as our other receiver no longer supported Directv We decided on a HR24 DVR dedicated to the fifth wheel and a new tripod and satellite dish , same dish as mounted on our house . Reception is great and it’s never been difficult to get the signal .
  • We tried them ALL had a Tripod mounted dish, Had bought Wingard, and ended up with DISH Tailgater !! Always had problem getting the Tripod level then having to "aim" dish, not to mention storing the dish, and tripod when done. Never had any luck at all with wingard (Tried 2 different units). NEVER had a problem with the tailgaters, (we have 2 of them) We just put them on 2 small folding tables point the carry handles to the south and let them do their thing. Never had a problem with either one of them !! Good Luck and Happy Camping !!
  • In a nutshell, the roof-mount Winegard Trav'ler is a single-arc antenna. It must be set up for either the eastern or western arcs and, in order for it to be converted from one arc to the other, the LNBs and switch must be changed out. The only automatic portable capable of receiving both arcs is, as mentioned, the Pathway X2. It is an excellent antenna, but is a single LNB antenna. This means it can only see one satellite at a time. It will serve two TVs/receivers at the same time if both are tuned to channels on the same satellite.

    Rob
  • We got the Winegard Carryout G3 with tripod this year, and so far so good. We have DirecTV at home so we just have an additional receiver for the camper. The initial set up was a little tricky but we did that at home prior to our first trip out with it. We stow the tripod in the basement storage, and the dish/dome itself in it's box in the washer/dryer cabinet (that doesn't have a washer/dryer in it) in the bathroom while traveling.

    ETA: We only have one tv so I am not sure how it would work with two.
  • I recommend the Winegard Pathway X2 for Dish TV. I've had mine for several years and it fits all of your listed requirements. Easy, automatic set-up. We've never used the eastern arc but it's advertised to do so. It will operate with two receivers but only one receiver controls the position of the antenna. The antenna moves slightly if the channel you've selected is on a different satellite than what you were watching. That could interrupt the channel the second receiver is "watching". The only issue I've had with it is when we've experienced freezing rain; the ice will collect in the track and prevent its movement. It's light and doesn't require a perfectly level surface for operation. I did make a short (5 or 6 inch) table for it to sit on. When I stow it in the front basement of my RV I just turn the table upside down and set the antenna inside the legs. Hope this helps.
  • The problem with the portable automatic antennas is with two TV's and two receivers, they both must be on the same satellite. The Receiver on #1 output controls the satellite. You can watch two different channels, but they must be on the same satellite.

    What we have seen is people use two portable antennas to get multiple satellite reception.

    Dish has a monthly plan that has no contract.

    Here is the Winegard antenna list for the different receivers. None of the automatic portable antennas will work with a Hopper receiver.

    https://winegard.com/plans/satellite-tv/dish
  • I would go with a portable automatic dish.
    Do you have satellite service at your home? If so you could use that receiver.
    Whether you get Dish or Direct TV is up to you.
  • We opted for the movable dish as we often camp in areas where a roof mounted dish would not work. Very easy to operate.
  • We tried to go the tripod route, but we could never master getting the satellites. Hubby said that camping is for relaxing and not fighting this thing, so we got the Dish Trav'ler roof mounted and have never looked back. Yes, we have to pick where we camp and even with trees sometimes you can get a signal through them, and sometimes we don't get a signal at all, so we do other things. It works for us.