Forum Discussion

Coachman_Dave's avatar
Oct 18, 2016

Direct TV

I currently have a DirecTV account at my home. I would like to get one for my travel trailer also. I've talked to a couple RV dealers and they will sell me a receiver and dish for anywhere from $600 to $800. I went on eBay and if I buy them separately it looks like I could get by with about $200 - $300. Am I missing something here? I've always had great success with eBay but since I know nothing about this procedure of installing Direct TV, I'm a little hesitant to go forward with buying it on eBay.. any suggestions would help. Thanks!

18 Replies

  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    I take two from home, a DVR and simple one coax receiver. Be careful buying a used one on EBay without calling Direct with the receiver ID number as not all receivers will still work regardless of owned or not.
    Why not take a receiver from home??? it does not care where it's located.
  • We have Direct TV at the house with several receivers.
    Wre take a standard receiver with us. We do not care what is happening at home. We use the antenna for local programming.
    We use a Winegard Carry out for connecting receiver to the sats. Work good easy to set up.
  • Whatever dish you get, standard def 18" or high def 36"... The most important part of setting up the dish is to make sure it is absolutely plumb. If you are off a few degrees on the ground, your off by a few hundred miles in space.

    A quality tripod is a must especially with the larger HD dish. I recommend tv4rv.com. Their tripods are expensive but very worth it.

  • Good information posted thus far, but to be honest it is a re-hash of a question that has already been asked and answered in detail several times before. I think you'll see your responses will be a bit diluted since the information is already out there. A quick forum search will offer numerous discussions and thorough responses / explanations that will have you on your way in no time.
  • Bigbird65 wrote:
    I have DirecTV at home so I am interested too. I have read that most people will take their primary home receiver with them to use in the camper because it is already registered with DirecTV and will not incur an extra charge that buying a new receiver would. I could be all wrong on this.


    Back when I watched tv.. I would do this. Found an extra dish and brought a receiver with me. There is plenty of info out there to figure how/where to aim. Just need a clear view of the sw sky...
  • I have DirecTV at home so I am interested too. I have read that most people will take their primary home receiver with them to use in the camper because it is already registered with DirecTV and will not incur an extra charge that buying a new receiver would. I could be all wrong on this.
  • Standard definition with DirecTV is cheap and easy. You need a dish (ebay will work) and a receiver (ebay also works for this). Make sure the receiver you get is OWNED. It should say that in the listing. With some practice (and a cellphone app and cheap signal finder) the dish is easy to set up.

    HD is a bit more expen$ive. The dish and hardware is more expensive as is the receiver. I've never aimed one so I can't say whether it's any easier or not. It would be nice to take our DTV DVR with us so I may look into an ebay HD dish next season.
  • If you don't know what you are doing, it's always better to hire someone who does know what they are doing, and get it done right. Do a lot of watching, take notes, and THEN the next time, you can do it yourself. Small price for schooling you know!

    You can purchase on-line, but if you are not sure how it works, you've just wasted your money.

    But, there again, with our modern age of technology, there is no reason why you could learn how to do it here: Click here.

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