So I have an option to add a Dome Satellite for 1200 on my RV.I currently have Dish Network and am wondering if this would be compatible. I am open to all versions of the recievers.My son is a Dish Network tech and says he can never get RV's to work on the dome dish's and always has to set up his own at the site. And alway see's the same for DirecTV dishes as well, always set up on tripods at the parks never using the dome.Anyone have any info on this? Does it work while driving as well?

In this case son is right dones do not like trees, I would get a portable dish.

Domes generally have a really small reflector. so yes, they can be problematic at times. I have a Winegard automatic dish on my roof. It can also be a problem depending on where you park. Remember, roof top dishes are always dependent on a clear line of site to the southern sky. We usually carry both but for the money the Tailgator is probably your best choice.

I have a winguard in motion with direct TV and I wouldn't buy it again. Major cool factor but is very finicky and has to have a completely unobstructed line of sight. Once you are at a site and no line of sight, it becomes a $1200 paper weight. 90% of the places we camp have trees. I bet we have been able to use it 3 times in 20 trips. We travel up and down the east coast and with all the tree cover, overpasses etc, it gets interrupted more than it gets reception. Get a portable one. And with the explosion of digital media I am not sure I'd buy any kind of satellite again. I can stream whatever I want on my 4g hotspot to a device and HDMI into a TV. No line of sight required.

Have a dome on the MH with Direct and have never had a problem getting the signal in. I always look where I'm parking that there is a clear view. I've watched people spends all kinds of time getting the tripod set up and finding the signal. We park push the button and usually the dish will find the signal on the first try. The only problem is the domes have to be kept clean and I use Rain X on ours but will still have signal lose in heavy rains but no problem with snow.

SLIDEx wrote:So I have an option to add a Dome Satellite for 1200 on my RV.I currently have Dish Network and am wondering if this would be compatible. I am open to all versions of the recievers.My son is a Dish Network tech and says he can never get RV's to work on the dome dish's and always has to set up his own at the site. And alway see's the same for DirecTV dishes as well, always set up on tripods at the parks never using the dome.Anyone have any info on this? Does it work while driving as well?As long as there are no obstructions, the domes work as advertised. They also work well on the road, but again, no obstructions, like buildings, trees, mountains, etc. They are not high definition but they do provide a decent standard definition picture. I have an in motion dome on the rear of my coach and a Sk-3005 HD dish on the front of my coach. Both have their place and will work fine if they have a clear line of sight to the satellites.Whenever I check in to an RV park I ask for a parking place with a clear satellite view. 90% of the time this is possible.

Dome Satellite | Good Sam Community

deandec
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
I installed a Winegard RT8000T Mini/Max in motion dome. It cost about $950 shipped to my house last summer via Amazon.

It will provide Dish TV in HD and Direct TV in Standard Def (our situation).

It performs better than our previous KVH in motion that we used for 11 years.

I do carry a portable dish for those line of sight type events.
JimM68
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
We have dish and a kvh dome, We also have a dish 1000.2 western arc fixed antenna.

The dome works great as long as there are no trees within sight. It works great in most of iowa and Nebraska, and also at chicagoland speedway in joliet.

It don't work at all at our seasonal campsite, too many trees.

One of those wineguard open automatic roof mount antenna's is on my list, as is a tailgater.
But for what we do now, what we have works.
All I really need is nascar.
Hjudge49
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
We have an in motion dome, and it works okay, BUT, if you want to watch two different channels on front and rear tv's, it gets too confused if they are from different satellites and you do need a clear line of sight, which often is problematic. I bought a dish with a tripod on eBay for about $50 and use it when we are camped for any length of time.
gasguzler
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
If you are ready to spend $1200, then a Wineguard Tra'vler 1000 for dish is the BEST for stationary reception. Camping world has them on sale for $1265. I don't know if the $29 install deal is still going on. I used to have a KVH R4 Dome and although it worked OK, to was finiky and eventually wore out. The Trav'ler blows it away and gets you HD too!

Wineguard Trav'ler clicky
dougrainer
Nomad
Dec 18, 2013
1. Direct and Dish Sat technicians have NO CLUE how to set up and operate a RV Domed system----PERIOD, as evidenced by what the OP posted. My biggest headache is when my customers try to have Dish/Direct Tech's install receivers in the RV and because they have NO training and have NO CLUE how they operate, then try to rewire and mess up the factory cables. Then they have to pay me to fix the problem.
2. Both Domes will receive Dish 500/HD. But, the BEST dome is a in motion to facilitate the auto switching between the Dish 3 Sats. Direct TV CANNOT get HD on a Dome. You need the Travler Non dome for that. The Travler non dome is also best for Dish HD. Doug
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Dec 18, 2013
You need to know more about the dome than the fact that it costs $1200. Give us some more details.
If this is a new dome then it will be able to get all of the Dish programming including HD but it can only get the programming from one satellite at a time. Do you know if this actually is an in-motion antenna? Domes come in 2 flavors, stationary or in-motion and they differ in price and performance.
Is the price you quoted installed or is this a price with you doing the installation work yourself?
Domes work great so don't let the haters confuse you. However, all the dome systems also have limitation compared to an open faced antenna like the Winegard Trav'ler. You just need to make sure the antenna you "think" you want will be able to do the things you want it to do.
chuckftboy
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
I have a KVH dome and a Tailgator with DISH. When I get a clear shot at the southern sky I use the dome. If in trees or obstructions I get the Tailgator out. If I only had one it would be the Tailgator Because its way less expensive, much easier to scan for a signal and very portable. Ive had as much as 125 feet of coax on it and it still worked fine.
JaBob
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
I have had a Wineguard dome for 5 years, only problem I've is when a tree gets in the way. For the afore stated reason I also have a Weineguard carry out which I use when a tree is in the way. Both units are very reliable. I would question anyone who makes blanket statements.

Bob
hawkhill
Explorer
Dec 18, 2013
If you want a roof mounted system, I would get a winegard Travel'r. There is a compatible model for DISH. We got rid of our KVH dome and upgraded to the Travel'r and could not be happier. It does not work in motion, but you can lock in all three DISH satellites at the same time whereas the domes have to toggle between satellites which can be a problem. Toggling is a problem if you want to watch programs on different tvs and the programs are not on the same satellite. We do carry a portable as well in case of heavy tree cover.
Thunder_Mountai
Explorer II
Dec 17, 2013
Our MH came equipped with a KVH dome. As stated, the small reflector was a problem. Rain and even heavy dew would kill the signal. Even had to clean off the dome after a big bird laid an ugly on the dome.

Now have a Winegard Travler. Couldn't be happier. Don't go dome.

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