I travel and camp in my living quarters horse trailer. My husband and I are retired. He does not like to ride. I was thinking that if I got a portable dish that he would like to go more if he had something to do while I ride. I don't know anything about portable satellite, where do I start? We do have Dish network at home.Thanks for any advice you might have!

If you already have an account with DISH or DIRECTV its pretty easy to carry a portable tripod dish with you along with one of your spare SAT RCVRS.It is very easy to find the SAT position and with the portable dish and you can receive the standard TV format...Be sure to carry with you your account number and other SAT TV INFO including theoir 800 number. In my case my SAT RCVR loses its setting when I unplug it from it from the house and when I get setup again any where in the US I usually have to call the SAT PROVIDER and get them to reset my signal. You can do this ON-LINE as well if you have the account number and the SAT ACCOUNT ACCESS code...I pasted an envelope to the SAT RCVR I was carrying with me so I would always have it with me. This is all legit with your SAT PROVIDER and there is no charge or anything like that if you already have an account with them.In my case I do lose my LOCAL TV STATIONs. These require you to be in the same ZIP CODE area to receive them...I just use one of those BIRD WHISTLE SAT TV locator and then run the RG cable into the trailer and connect it to the SAT RCVR ANTENNA INPUT. Works like gang busters for us... I did this alot but when the NATL BROADCAST changed over to DIGITAL TV a few years ago I finally stopped bringing along the SAT TV items as the Direct TV OTA signals from the local towns turned so good for me picking up many full blown HIGH DEF TV signals just about everywhere we went to her on the East side of the US. The HDTV from the local towns is much better quality than the STANDARD mode SAT TV signals. We use the RV Trailer BATWING crank up OTA antenna to pic up these digital HDTV signals with great success... These are only the standard BROADCAST TV signals along with a bunch of movie channels and alot of the OLD TV programs like Gunsmoke etc... They also usually have a 24/7 RADAR channel which is next to have available when camping... The NATL BROADCAST HDTV digital TV stations is FREE to the public of course...This is a couple of easy to do options for you wanting to watch TV when in camping mode...Probably a good idea to try all of this at home first so you can learn all of the little things you need to know before getting out in the boonies somewhere...Roy Ken

We have had Dish at home for years. Several years ago I bought a vip211 receiver and Tailgater antenna (auto sat finder) for the RV. It only adds $7/month to your home account and you get all the channels you get at home. Unless, that is, you are outside the spot beam where you get your local network channels. But in that case you can just call a Dish, tell them you are in your RV, you are currently in X city, and you want to change your service address (not your billing address). Within a few minutes you will be watching the local channels of the nearest major city.Check dishformyrv.com.

Also have Dish. Much easier if you have a receiver dedicated to the RV. You can buy one and register it to you or get one with the Tailgater or similar type antenna and the Dish Anywhere package. The receiver comes with the package and stays with the RV. No need to recite the numbers on the receivers, Dish has your account number tied to your telephone number with all the receivers registered to you. I used my cell number on the billing info to make the process easier. If you are within about 250 miles of your home area you usually don't need to call as once the satellites are found they usually automatically work. Further away you will need to tell them the zip code where you are staying and they will send the signal for the stations. If you do that you will probably need to call again once home to have the codes sent to your home system. None of this takes more than 30 minutes to accomplish. If you are taking the home receiver with you you'll have to reinstall it at home and have the power on before you call Dish. If using the Dish Anywhere receiver you may be able to call from the road on your way home. Another trick you may think about is the iPhone app "Dish for my RV". If you're in a heavily treed area it will be a help to find the best site for your antenna. That said, I've found the Tailgater much easier to set up than trying to get a signal with the home type antenna. A friend we go camping with usually gets his Dish system up and working within a short time. I on the other hand have spent hours getting a signal and our antennas are next to each other. The Tailgater solved that issue. And I agree wholeheartedly with Roy about practicing at home a couple times before going on the road. Good luck.

We have dropped our cable connection, and signed up for Dish and had a system installed at home. Then, we bought a Winegard Pathway X2 satellite dish and VIP211Z receiver so we can receive Dish signals while on the road. The Pathway X2 is fully automatic. All you do is set it outside with a cable attached to the RV. Turn on the reciever inside, and follow the set up menu. Viola - In about 8-10 minutes, the satellite dish is tuned in, and all your channels are there.

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satellite TV for RV'ers | Good Sam Community

31 Replies

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Aug 16, 2016
In case you need a 2nd opinion, Dutch is exactly correct. No dome or single LNB antenna will work with a Hopper. The Hopper requires the DPP triple LNB (the Hopper 3 requires and latest version) and will not work with anything less. This type LNB can only be found on a full sized, open faced, Dish antenna/LNB combo.
Casi
Explorer
Aug 16, 2016
Dutch, that is exactly what I needed to know! I have been told more than once that my hopper would work for the tailgater!

Thanks for the reply
Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Aug 12, 2016
Casi wrote:
Thanks everyone. Sounds like Dish is my answer. One question.....do you get pretty good service/coverage at just about anywhere? Next summer we are hoping to go to Yellowstone. We have been there before and didn't have good cell service, does the satellite reception work pretty good everywhere?

Satellite reception works basically anywhere the dish has a clear view of the sky in the direction of the satellite. You can easily find that direction from your current location at DishPointer.com.

Be aware that if you have a Dish Hopper receiver at home, it will NOT work with any of the portable automatic dome antennas. It will only work with either a tripod mounted multi-satellite Dish dish or the $1500 or so plus installation roof mounted Winegard Trav'ler automatic dish system. You will need a lesser model receiver, such as one of the VIP 211 series or the new Wally to use an automatic dome antenna.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Aug 11, 2016
If you have a 211 series receiver than yes, the Tailgater (or Winegard Playmaker) just plugs into that receiver and sets itself up.
As mentioned above, you might want to review the posts from those trying to help from your original post.
GoPackGo
Explorer
Aug 11, 2016
The answers to your questions are contained in the earlier posts.
Us_out_West
Explorer
Aug 11, 2016
Sorry Casi when you haven't made post in 11 months on this subject, or any other for that matter, I can't help you.
Casi
Explorer
Aug 11, 2016
Well, it has been almost a year and I still haven't made the move. I just got back from a trip and I almost bought a Tailgater from another camper who had ordered one from Dish and was told that the order could not be completed so she ordered one from Amazon and ended up with 2! She just wanted her money back, rather than go thru the hassle of returning (or so she claimed). It was still in the box, no receiver and she wanted $330. She said that was the going price and since I didn't have a receiver with me then there was no advantage to buying hers. Now I am home and ready to get serious but I don't know what to order. Do I just buy a "Tailgater"? There is no series number or anything? Hers was a dome type.
Robocop
Explorer
Oct 03, 2015
I bit the bullet and bought the Pathway X2. I wanted to save a few bucks and go open face dish but I love simplicity and ease of setup with a portable dish. First test at home was great, even in the pouring rain, but of course the test will be camping next week. So far, so good and the signals from all sats were stronger than with the Tailgater. The Tailgater will have a new owner soon.
Robocop
Explorer
Sep 29, 2015
This discussion fits right into my present satellite dish conundrum. Have had a Tailgater for two years. Did not realize initially how difficult getting at least two (110/119) if not the third (129) western arc sats when I am in a forested area but fully understand the nature of the beast. I do like the automatic acquisition though. I have learned the nuances, use apps and a compass to dial in as best I can and run extra coax as need be. Now I am on the fence about either upgrading to a Pathway X2 for the additional option of eastern arc sats or adding a tripod dish to my resources and dial into a sat more methodically, although trees are still an issue. Although I am not a residential Dish customer I use it on the road more months than not. It is easier for me to suspend the service a month or two and restart it than totally closing out the account and rebooting the entire system IMHO.
azjeffh
Explorer
Sep 22, 2015
Casi wrote:
I was thinking that if I got a portable dish that he would like to go more if he had something to do while I ride.
Thanks for any advice you might have!

What does HE think about the idea? We are really enjoying our Tailgater but wouldn't if we didn't want to be there.

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