Dish Tailgater, pay as you go

RicB wrote:
Are you using a portable satellite with Dish pay as go you service? How is working for you? What products are you using? Where did you purchase them?
Thanks!

nope. using a roof mounted Winegard Trav'ler with a ViP722k DVR receiver. i set up the PAYG account with Strong Signals, an authorized DISH reseller. thinking about adding a portable dish as a plan b.

211k and a pathway

We are using a dish vip211z and a king tailgater. Workers great for us. From Camping World.

Pathway X2 and 211Z receiver with a hard drive attached (to use as a DVR). On the "Dish for My RV" plan with about 200 channels and HD. Works great for us.

Rob

Tailgater 3 and 211z works great easy setup. Bought straight from dish aprox 100 cheaper than CW.

Had a Tailgater with a ViP 211z receiver in my previous trailer and it worked well. Now have two 211 receivers but am using the Winegard Trav'ler. Also purchased two WD 2GB USB hard drives for DVR service ($40 activation charge). There is a newer receiver on the market called Wally but I'm not familiar with the benefit of using it in an RV. We purchased from DishForMyRV but Amazon would work as well.

The pay as you go plan has worked well for us. As we move around the country we just update our service address (zip code) and start receiving the local channels as well. The only detriment of the plan is you cannot sign up for a 2 year commitment at a reduced rate like you can for stick homes. With our 2 receivers and the Americas Top 200, along with HD, we pay ~$97 per month.

BTW, we've spent the last month in your neck of the woods, Hopkins then Markin Glen Park. Leaving tomorrow and headed to Howe.

Llibnmap wrote:
We are using a dish vip211z and a king tailgater. Workers great for us. From Camping World.

Same setup, but ppl motorhomes had the best price when we bought. Often not as strong a signal as using a portable dish...but way easier. It's a good way to go.

Tailgater and I think a 211 receiver, have had for about 3 to 4 years. Works great. Biggest issue we have is stopping the service after use. Dish just doesn't have a real smooth process for turning off the service at the end of a trip. You need to CANCEL the service, then you get an email to Please come back. If you only pause your service your are charged a $5 a month service charge. The service and reception is great, so I just keep saying to the surveys get a true RV package.

rhagfo wrote:
...Biggest issue we have is stopping the service after use. Dish just doesn't have a real smooth process for turning off the service at the end of a trip. You need to CANCEL the service, then you get an email to Please come back. If you only pause your service your are charged a $5 a month service charge. The service and reception is great, so I just keep saying to the surveys get a true RV package.

nope, all you need to do is simply stop paying the bill. most of the cust. support people you will encounter are not aware of or have no experience with RV accounts. there used to be a separate RV accounts phone number but that was discontinued a while back.

here's what we do. first, if you haven't done so create an online account with DISH. that will minimize your contact with DISH.

next, if you have your account set to auto-pay each month remove that option from your account. you can either pay your bill via your online account or by phone without human contact.

when you're ready to turn off your account simply stop paying your bill. you'll get email reminders but you can safely ignore them. when it's time to re-start you may have to call and speak to a CSR as your online acct access may be suspended due to inactivity. simply tell them you are in an RV and want to reactivate your account. that's it.

for residential accounts DISH allows customers to "suspend" their accounts for up to 9-months in each calendar year. as RV'ers we own our equipment and we are month-to-month, no 2-yr contract. our accounts are either on or off.

I will add this...as we've traveled around the US we have experienced tree blockage issues and sometimes can't receive satellite reception. Have also noticed some with Tailgaters experiencing the same.

When we return to Phoenix I plan on connecting my Tailgater (currently in storage) to the trailer and see how well it works. If it works out well, I may purchase a Pathway X2 which can do 2 receivers (same Sat) and get both eastern and western satellites.