TAILGATER MOUNT

Yep, it works great so far. my next project is going to be a holder for my bbq, i'll use exh. tubing for it also. I have a gas outlet near the rear of my trailer and will make a mount for the tubing to fit near there. it will then extend out about 4' with a table for the bbq i'm not sure if I should have it just under the awning or just outside probably going to be just outside.
Jay D.

Really neat mod! I've been wanting to do something like that but never thought of using exhaust tubing. Great idea!
I did do make one handy gizmo though. My BBQ pit rusted out so I put a piece of plywood on the collapsible frame. It folds flat and easy to deal with.

56Jeff wrote:
I guess what I'm wanting to know is, does your dish disconnect from the pole easiely, and how did you do it if it does. I want to do something like that myself.

Thanks for the help.

56Jeff

jeff, the top platform just slips over the main tube,its exhaust tubing. I had a muffler shop expand a small section about 3" long to slip over the tube its attached to the platform. the tube also slips into a expanded piece welded to the bumper the dish just sets on the platform held there by the tabs. when i'm ready to travel I just lift the dish ant. off the platform and store it under my bed, the tube and platform go in my side storage compartment. https://i.imgur.com/lCV8bRmm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/v6qOZEcm.jpg
Jay D.

rickhise wrote:
Can u get a useable signal with some obstruction?

Depends.......your at a sort of disadvantage to begin with as auto aiming dishes have a small reflector, but a limited amount of leaves or branches.... you possibly would still get a usable signal. You may get a usable signal on a clear day but not if there is heavy cloud cover. There are lots of variables. Line of sight is everything.

Unrelated to the mount but....
I use a phone app to if the view is clear to the data I need
for Dish. On our tailgater.
So I keep moving the tailgater till it’s completely
Clear. Can u get a useable signal with some obstruction?

I guess what I'm wanting to know is, does your dish disconnect from the pole easiely, and how did you do it if it does. I want to do something like that myself.

Thanks for the help.

56Jeff

Not a bad idea, you can still place the dish on the ground if your two mounting positions won't work. The only negatives that I see is possible shake and storage concerns.

I bought the short tripod for my Playmaker and made a few modifications to it. I added a bullseye level for convenience and added three short legs so that the base can stay attached when placed in the storage bag.

56Jeff wrote:
Can you please post a picture of the underside of the dish? I'm interested in how you mount the dish to your pole.

Jeff, the top plate the dish sets on has 4, 3/4 " tabs welded to it, the dish just sets down in-between them. I also have a cable to lock it to the bumper or front hitch area. pictures coming soon.
Jay D.

Ralph, we are pretty new at this and have only used it 4-5 times, plus here in our yard several times testing it. but here on the west coast it seams to work fine. my understanding is that if its pointed in the general direction it will find the satellites providing nothing big is in the way. we were camped in a heavily wooded area last summer with several other people and the Oregon Duck game was going to be on soon everybody was scrambling to get there TVs to work, nun would. we knew were the satellite was and I just happen to have a small opening in the trees that way. i set the tailgater at the front and picked it up prefect. boy was I a hero! at home I had the T/G on the front and the satellite was to the rear and it picked it up. the platform the antenna sets on will swivel 360 deg if needed. so for now I'm about 7 or 8 times a winner. trees are a problem though, one I just haven't experienced yet. I do carry a roll of coax just in case.
Ralph I wasn't sure what you meant about the azimuth, that's deg horizontal. the dish platform will swivel 360 deg so that's 180 at the rear if that won't reach it then I go to the front for another 180 deg. so no matter how the trailer is setting I should have 360 deg. coverage. does that seem right, you sound like you know alot more about this than I do.
Jay D.

Nice fabrication but how does it perform in actual use or have you not tried it out yet?

I ask because I have a 3 LNB tripod mounted dish and have spent the last 10 years setting it up in wooded locations. I've found very few places I could not get dialed in through the trees (I am set up to either hit EA or WA) but its sometimes a real challenge, and have had the dish up to 300' away from the camper out in the woods. That's the main reason that I never went as far as mounting something on any of our trailers. It seemed I was going to be moving it to hit the birds at most places we have been if I would have done so, but wooded sites here are the rule and not the exception. Even if they were not, we would be searching them out regardless. Its really hard, actually almost impossible, to hit all 3 birds in the woods with a hard mounted dish. You would have to have the perfect opening in the trees, at the correct azimuth and elevation along with being clear for the azimuth spread, in relation to the mounted dish and RV. You usually are limited in the placement of the RV.

I assume out west your hitting the Dish western arc birds. With the option to mount both front or rear that helps, but unless you have the trailer within about 40/50 degrees azimuth to the spread of the birds you may be clipping 129 or 110 off by the corner of the trailer. What if your campsite aligns longitudinally with say 249 degrees or 69 degrees azimuth? Probably helps that out west 129 is at 37 elevation though. Can your Tailgator hit 37 degrees over the roof edge?