Just installed satellite TV in our TT and are on our 2nd trip out using it. We have the typical folding tripod and a 20" dish. Aiming the dish and fine tuning it takes some patience. The tripod and dish bracket aren't really designed for easy movement because you have to loosen and re-tighten the nuts/bolts to adjust it.Is there something on the market that allows easy movement for fine tuning the dish?

I've been setting up HD with DTV and now DISH for 15 years. What made it easy for me was getting a surveyors tripod and getting it level. I made my own mount but the one setup from RVTV ? is fine. Lookup your settings via the sat box and adjust the dish per your zip. I have a bubble level on my mount and level the dish. This is very important. I use Dishpointer AR on my iPhone to find the SATS in the sky. I put one leg of the tripod toward the SATS so I can tweak angle later. With the beeper or a phone connection to someone inside, I start scanning the general direction until I peak the signal on the sat box. I raise and lower the leg toward the SATS to peak he signal. 5-10 minutes. Longer if I have to find a hole in trees.

I'm not sure what a 20" dish is, but my DTV HD Slimline needs a sturdy level tripod. Once that foundation is laid, then it's relatively easy. Since you mentioned patience, I assume this is HD, and a 'typical folding tripod' would not be my choice for the job. I'm not sure what kind of loosening and tightening you're talking about.SD was a piece of cake compared to HD.

The Satellite Dish Conversion Kit from tv4rv may be helpful. I have not used it, but it appears to make elevation adjustment much easier. Look here:Satellite Dish Conversion KitFred

Yep, its called an automatic, aims the dish all by itself :WI got an automatic dome when one windy day my picture blocked out, and I saw my tripod dish blowing across the parking lot:M

Satellite dish aiming | Good Sam Community

2oldman
Explorer II
May 23, 2016
lynndiwagon wrote:
I got rid of all of the all-thread stuff and replaced the hex nuts with wing nuts.
tv4rv also sells a kit to modify the lnb arm to be hinged and folded to the dish. Very nice for getting in and out the door.
lynndiwagon
Explorer
May 23, 2016
I got rid of all of the all-thread stuff and replaced the hex nuts with wing nuts.
cpaulsen
Explorer
May 23, 2016
Lantley wrote:
I played the manual game for a few seasons and then I decided to pay for convenience and purchased an automatic dish and never looked back.
Words like align,azimuth,angle are no longer in my vocabulary

Autos are nice but some places I have been there were so many trees around. One place I go to a lot....I run about 250' of cable to get the dish in a spot to get reception.
Dutch_12078
Explorer II
May 23, 2016
There are no portable automatic dishes that work with our Dish receiver, so we use a Dish 1000.4 dish that I modified for a no tools assembly and adjustment. The dish gets mounted on a low cost roof mount tripod that I also modified for easy setup and leveling. My average setup time is about 15 minutes including anchoring, leveling, and aiming.
Big_Katuna
Explorer II
May 22, 2016
I set my numbers for my house and use it all over the state and never change it

I peak the signal by adjusting the tripod leg a bit. The one I place toward the sat.
2oldman
Explorer II
May 22, 2016
Lantley wrote:
I played the manual game for a few seasons and then I decided to pay for convenience and purchased an automatic dish and never looked back.
I almost gave up when I first started the manual game. First few times it took between 30 minutes and 2 hours. That was with a crappy meter.

It does take practice, but now it's a piece of cake.
2oldman
Explorer II
May 22, 2016
wa8yxm wrote:
Preset... Likewise the Tilt/Skew (you can fully tighten this if you like, odds are it will be right)
Tilt comes last. shoot the 101 at 90°. Then again it may not matter that much.
Lantley
Nomad
May 22, 2016
I played the manual game for a few seasons and then I decided to pay for convenience and purchased an automatic dish and never looked back.
Words like align,azimuth,angle are no longer in my vocabulary
wa8yxm
Explorer III
May 22, 2016
Assemble the tripod.. Using the Sat Receiver input the ZIP CODE you are parked in (NOTE Some folks claim the zip code is used for many things.. The only thing it is used for is what I'm typing about now.. If you have other means of doing this you need not even enter a zip code.. One exception..l on some receivers it sets the Default weather report area). has nothign to do with what channels you get.

This will give you two or 3 numbers depending on the antenna/receiver

Azimuth (Direction)
Elevation (Explains itself)
Tilt or Skew (Right or left tilt)

Preset the Elevation and snug (do not fully tighten but make it snug)
Likewise the Tilt/Skew (you can fully tighten this if you like, odds are it will be right)

Snug azimuth and then swing the dish through the recommended direction (use a good compass) you may find major differences here beween suggested and actual.

Once you have peaked (Use a battery operated color TV and monitor the receiver's antenna pointing page) slightly pull and push on the top of the dish to see if it gets any stronger.. if so slightly adjust elevation and re-peak azimuth... When happy fully tighten.

The antenna I used to point needed very precise angles... And that's now I did it.
2oldman
Explorer II
May 22, 2016
You need a decent tripod like this:

so it's easier to aim without all the messing around. Available at tv4rv.com. The tripod you have is, imho, not suitable. I don't know how you can get HD with your setup.