Second Tailgater Bites The Dust

Gently move the antenna to make sure the movement mechanism is not bound up. I've had to do so a couple times to my Winegard Carryout and twice to different friends Tailgaters. The drive assembly/belts seem to stick after sitting for several months.

Try connecting with another cable. Be sure you are connected to sat in.

I use the 211k receiver at home and only the TG in tbe RV. Since I am out of warranty I pulled the cover and nothing. No movement at all. I did a check switch but with the TG connected. Tbe only message I get now is searching for signal and then total signal loss.

Mine has never totally failed, but a couple times it could not get a signal and I ended up using the tripod. But next time it seemed to work fine.
Remove the top cover and see if the dish is moving trying to locate the sats. On mine when I first power up the dish will begin rotating, makes nearly a complete circle, settles back to a southern direction, then begins making incremental side to side/up and down movements, before finally finding the best location and stopping.

Remember that the Tailgater does not send out any messages. You are just seeing messages from the receiver and that's just what Dish programmed their receivers to say when the receiver is not seeing a signal (the searching message confuses many portable antenna users).
Do you get the setup screen when you hook it all up? Have you tried clearing the check switch before connecting to the Tailgater? Do you hear movement once you connect? Are you using a 211 or 411 receiver? Do you use this at home when you are not using the Tailgater?

If you're going to replace it, I'd suggest seriously considering Winegard's Pathway X2 instead of another Tailgater. The larger reflector will have fewer rain fade issues, and being able to choose either the western or eastern arc birds will give you more location choices.