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Hockeytchr's avatar
Hockeytchr
Explorer
Mar 19, 2016

Cable tv

We recently bought a new class c rv, after having a seasonal spot for years and years with a travel trailer. We still have the seasonal spot with our Hideout on it and we have direct tv there. But as we are about to head out on the road this summer in the Greyhawk Class C, hubby has a question. We see that lots of parks/campgorunds offer cable tv. His question is, do we need to carry or own cable to hook up to the park/campgound cable? If so, how much in length should we carry?

Thanks! I know it's probably here somewhere as another post but I wanted to avoid searching pages, and pages of information.
  • A splitter is good to have.
    A few times we had to share the neighbor's post. Also needed that extra 25' cable.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    DO you need to carry your own cable.. NO. you do not.. Will you need your own cable to hook up, Yes you will.. Why do you not need to carry your own?

    Short list of some places you might find a cable if/when you need one
    Park Store (often expensive)
    Local hardware
    Dollar General
    Wal*mart
    Truck stops (Often expensive)
    Lowes
    Home Depot
    Chain Hardware
    TV or Satv Store (Often expensive)
    Big Lots
    Best Buys
    _____ Appliances


    And one of those is always going to be nearby so you can quickly pick up a cable.

    OH RG-6 Gives a slightly stronger signal at the low end of Cable TV spectrum. Becomes significant as the channel numbers climb... Way better at Sat frequencies. Does not often cost more so I suggest RG-6

    If you do not want to run to the store, carry 25 feet, that will usually do the job.
  • Also make sure your TV has a built-in QAM tuner as it will be needed for parks with digital cable TV.

    Not all new TVs have QAM tuners.
  • We carry 2-25 foot cables. Most places one is enough but our cable hook up is on the back end above the license plate so sometimes we do need the 50 feet.
  • I've never needed more than 25' of coax to connect to park cable but we carry plenty more for our portable sat dish. As mentioned above, park cable is normally low quality, standard definition video with limited generic stations to choose from.

    Unless we are staying for a quick overnight stop, I always take the 5 minutes to set up our sat dish on a portable stand delivering all the same channels we have at home. Been doing it for years and the routine is quite simple once you get the hang of it.
  • I carry about 200' of coax, mostly for our satellite dish. I've never needed more than 25' for a park cable hookup.
  • Community Alumni's avatar
    Community Alumni
    I carry a 50' section but have only needed more than 30' once in the past 15 years or so that I can remember.
  • Just don't expect much by way of cable tv in a park. Most RV campgrounds have the barest of cable services and standard TV, not HDTV. In other words, the least service they can provide in order to be able to advertise they have cable.

    If quality TV is important to you, you might want to consider getting a portable direct TV antenna and take the receiver in your seasonal TT and carry that with you.

    Hockeytchr wrote:
    We recently bought a new class c rv, after having a seasonal spot for years and years with a travel trailer. We still have the seasonal spot with our Hideout on it and we have direct tv there. But as we are about to head out on the road this summer in the Greyhawk Class C, hubby has a question. We see that lots of parks/campgorunds offer cable tv. His question is, do we need to carry or own cable to hook up to the park/campgound cable? If so, how much in length should we carry?

    Thanks! I know it's probably here somewhere as another post but I wanted to avoid searching pages, and pages of information.
  • You do need your own coax cable. 25' will probably reach most all. 50' certainly would.

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