I've read a number of posts about satellite systems for RVs. I know some of the posts are a little dated so I wanted to revisit this subject, taking into account new technology. I have a 2016 Forest River Rockwood 5th wheel. I spend three months during the winter in RV parks in Arizona. I spend summers dry camping/boon docking with only a generator. My priorities are : 1) HD picture quality; 2)portability; 3)ease of setup, 4)cost. I can't, at this time, mount anything on top of my 5th wheel due to height restrictions where I store my rig. I'm also not real keen on putting something on my trailer because there are some occasions when I park under trees. Something more portable better suits more of my types of camping. I'm leaning towards a normal dish mounted on a tripod, remote from my camper. I'm told they offer the best picture but I'm not sure that's still true with new technology. Can someone help and offer suggestions based on actual setups and configuration? Thanks in advance!

Ground based sat antenna, tri pod, 50 feet of coax will get you what you need. Dish or Direct, heck thats a raging debate no one can answer for you. Dish allows turn on/off pretty regularly. Direct has better sports packages. Both offer a form of system that gives you multiple TV and recording options.We take our receiver and mini rwceivers from home when we go out. This gives us recorded programing and the same channels both places.

You can't get Directv HD without the roof-mounted Winegard Travler. So it looks like DISH is your answer, which I know nothing about. FWIW, the Traveler is not a height issue as if folds down lower than the A/C units. I like that I push one button to turn it on and it automatically finds the necessary 3 sats for HD. I previously had a tripod mounted antenna and it was a real pain, at times, to find the 101 sat, With that setup I only got Directv SD reception.

azdryheat wrote:You can't get Directv HD without the roof-mounted Winegard Travler. So it looks like DISH is your answer, which I know nothing about. FWIW, the Traveler is not a height issue as if folds down lower than the A/C units. I like that I push one button to turn it on and it automatically finds the necessary 3 sats for HD. I previously had a tripod mounted antenna and it was a real pain, at times, to find the 101 sat, With that setup I only got Directv SD reception.I noticed that there's also a Trav'ler dish for Dish network. Do you know if there's an easy way to change between Dish and Direct-TV with a Trav'ler dish? I'm leaning towards Dish network due to their "pay as you go" plan. It's a little more expensive but worth it to have the "no contract" issue. I have cable TV at home so I don't have an existing plan.

azdryheat wrote:You can't get Directv HD without the roof-mounted Winegard Travler. So it looks like DISH is your answer, which I know nothing about.Incorrect. There are a variety of DTV Slimline 3 and SWM dishes that can be mounted on a tripod for example. My RF Mogul roof mounted dish also folds down and is lower than other roof stuff but automatic dishes are pricey.

Do you have satellite at your home?I see many people wanting HD. I cannot see that much difference, so we do not have it.We have an early Winegard Carry-out which gives us a very good quality picture. It is just as good as our house's three LMB dish.The Winegard G2 has some advantage over my dish. It is a little smaller in diameter and does not require second cable.We opted for a portable dish as a rig mounted one sometimes have signal blocked by obstacles.

Best RV Satellite Configuration? | Good Sam Community

BB_TX
Nomad
Jan 12, 2017
jstaffon wrote:
........
People have told me the dome type dishes tend to walk away in the evenings while you sleep.
.........

I don't think there is any epidemic of portable dishes walking away. Has rarely been mentioned here. But many of us do secure them one way or another. I bought a plastic coated steel dog tie out cable and sometimes lock mine to a tree, strut, or other secure object. But even on those times I have not locked it, no one has ever bothered it.
jstaffon
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
Thanks again for all of your help! As I've posted before, this forum and its members are awesome!
TechWriter
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
jstaffon wrote:

Also, do you have experience or good research comparing the Wally to the Dish 211
z
?

Your best bet is a 211
k
receiver -- is has an RF out for a 2nd TV and it has a built-in OTA (Over-The-Air) tuner which allows you to connect directly to your RV's batwing antenna.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Jan 11, 2017
The Wally uses an RF remote which is nice when the receiver is out of sight. Otherwise, they are both good receivers and both will work with an added hard drive and adding the $40 DVR option (one time fee). The Pathway X2 is larger and has a much better antenna inside than the other portables which I recommend if you have the space. The Pathway X2 and Playmaker are Dish only and compatible only with the 211/Wally series of receivers. The others will work with Dish or DirecTV. You may be confused about the SD/HD part. The domes cannot receive ANY HD programming from DirecTV but work like a charm with Dish!
Us_out_West
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
If you have 2 TV's each one has to have a receiver...same as in a house. With that a separate coax has to run from the antenna, in our case a Pathway X-2, to the receivers.

The 'main' receiver, in our case the one in our rear entertainment center, controls the satellite for both TV's.

At least in our rig.....:)
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jan 11, 2017
jstaffon wrote:
So I would have to run two cables into my camper? I only have one input to my camper for satellite. I don't think I want to snake a separate cable into my camper for the second output.
Don't make the mistake of thinking you need to run coax for satellite to the rear of the camper. Run it to the nearest access point which can be a much easier run.

I ran coax to a locker with barrel connectors to connect the portable dish coax.
jstaffon
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
Big Katuna wrote:
I use a Pathway with a 211Z. Love it. The X2 is the only carryout that can receive both the eastern arc or western arc sats; a big plus that gives you a better chance to avoid trees, etc.

It also has a bigger dish (hence the larger size) so gets more signal in rain, etc.

The two outputs do allow you to run two boxes. The limitation is the second box can only watch channels on whichever sat the first box is watching which isnt that big of a limitation; there are a bunch of channels on every sat.

So I would have to run two cables into my camper? I only have one input to my camper for satellite. I don't think I want to snake a separate cable into my camper for the second output. I have two connectors on the outside...one being for a park cable service and one for a satellite hookup. I could use both of them for the two cables but I think my pre-amp switch in my camper is an either/or so I couldn't use it that way without a lot of wiring changes inside. Does that make sense or am I off base?

I'm a little confused because others have said they can watch two channels on their system as long as the channels are on the same satellite. Does that work with one cable into the camper and two receivers? ... or do you need two cables from the dish/dome to make it work that way?
Big_Katuna
Explorer II
Jan 11, 2017
I use a Pathway with a 211Z. Love it. The X2 is the only carryout that can receive both the eastern arc or western arc sats; a big plus that gives you a better chance to avoid trees, etc.

It also has a bigger dish (hence the larger size) so gets more signal in rain, etc.

The two outputs do allow you to run two boxes. The limitation is the second box can only watch channels on whichever sat the first box is watching which isnt that big of a limitation; there are a bunch of channels on every sat.
jstaffon
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
Arcamper wrote:
We have Dish at home so I have a Pathway X2 automatic dish with a Wally receiver plus external hard drive so I can use the DVR capability of the Wally and they work great for $7 a month. I did have to buy the dish, hard drive and Wally for about $550 up front. This setup works better than the Tailgater and 211 receiver I had before.

That sounds like the configuration I'm thinking about. Have you considered putting the X2 on a tripod (or not) and putting it on top (temporarily) of your RV? People have told me the dome type dishes tend to walk away in the evenings while you sleep.

I've got a single input to my camper for a satellite system. The X2 has two inputs, I think, so you can watch different channels on two TVs. How would that work with an X2 in my configuration? Sorry for the detailed question...I haven't researched the X2 enough to understand the capabilities and how it would work ... or not work .. with my setup.
tinner12002
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
We have the direct tv that we have at home and use when traveling and at our campsite. They charge an additional $6 month when we choose to turn on that receiver and then remove the charge in the winter when we shut it down. I looked at having one installed on the RV and was told the best way is to have it on a tri-pod so if I'm camping near trees I can move the dish and still get a signal...something you can't do with a roof mounted.