Roof Mounted Satellite Systems

Phil Smith

Retired South Carolina Chapter Leader
Looking for input on experiences with King-Dome vs Tracvision or Winguard. I am considering going to one of these systems that will automatically acquire a satellite signal and stop fooling with the setups and stroage of the dish and tripod. Don't need to have in-motion viewing but sure sounds nice just turning it on and letting the system do all the work.

Phil
 

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J

Jeff

Guest
Satellites!

Hi Phil:

Brenda and myself have had several mounted satellite dishes. We have had 2 of the Winegard Crank up style dishes. Each worked well, as long as you were parked with a clear line of sight to the southern sky. That would be the only negative for any satellite system, wether it be Auto Tracking or manual setup.

The King Dome, which I've heard alot of good things about is probably your least expensive choice. The Winegard is pricey and the Trackvision is also pricey.

Search the internet for the King Dome, I think you'll find various places that it is sold and some really good prices. I think they make several models too. One is a Low Profile one, which you will probably need for the height of the trailer. Remember the top of the Big Horn is around 12.5 ft. Which in some rural areas may be a problem if you encounter low bridges. The King Dome is a fairly large unit and I'm not sure on its height.

Hope this helps.

Take Care and let us know when you get the new rig.

Jeff
 

mowmoney

Member
Hello,

We don't own a Heartland yet, but are thinking of buying one soon. As for the satellite, we currently own a 2004 Cardinal and had a satellite man recommended by our dealer install our satellite system.

He does nothing but satellites and said that KVH was the better choice so far as brand and he should know what he's talking about since that's all he does is satellites. I don't really know all the technical stuff about it since that's my husband's area, but it works great so far and we've had it 2 1/2 years now.

We don't do anything except hit a button and it sets itself up. We tried a couple of different satellite dishes that we had to manually set up and could never seem to get them to work, so this one is idiot proof it's great on vacation since there are still many campgrounds that don't offer cable.

Good luck.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi all,

I am using a portable satellite dish at this time and I'm considering adding a roof-mounted crank-up style dish to my Landmark. I do realize that I will be limited by line-of-sight to satellite, as-parked (trees etc.). Just looking for a way to setup less "stuff". I don't want to spend the extra money for a domed semi or auto setup dish.

Has anyone installed one of these? I'm looking at the Winegard RM-DM46.

I downloaded and reviewed the installation/usage manual. Looks like a lot of pieces and a lot of work. I read a review on the Camping World on the dish from someone who installed one. He said it took him 2 hours. This looks like a half-day job with a helper to me.

Looks like I can get the dish for about $235 from Talco Electronics. Same company I got my
portable dish from.

Thanks for any feedback.

Jim
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Roof Mount Satellite Dish on Landmark - Done!

Well, I got 'er done!

Picked up the Winegard RM-DM46 crank-up style roof-mounted satellite dish with elevation display.

I spent about 3-1/2 hours installing the setup this Saturday. It went well. Up on the roof with a 1-3/4" hole saw chucked in my drill, ready to bore through made be feel a bit squeamish. But I had measured and measured and I knew what the outcome should have been. It was fine. I came within 1/2" of my mark on the ceiling inside the trailer.

Long story short, the install went well but on the site where I store my trailer, I have a couple of tall trees in the line-of-sight with the satellite in the 119 degree orbital slot that I needed. That's okay though, setup the portable and we had TV and Sirius music.

For a longer read, below, I've listed a few steps, comments and tips for others who may be planning a roof-mounted satellite dish installation:

1. Camping World and an independent RV service company quoted me $225 and $210-280 respectively for installation labor. This is a DIY project if you're handy and into this sort of thing.

2. If you're considering a manual system, consider a model with an elevation display like the RM-DM46. Much easier to sight in, knowing your relative elevation from inside the trailer.

3. If installing yourself, read the manual several times prior to install day.

4. The model I used does not have a wire chase within it. As such, you will have to drill 2 holes. One is 1-3/4" for the hexagonal drive shaft/directional tube. The other hole will be about 1/2" for the downlead and elevation sensor cable (if applicable).

5. You will need nearly an entire caulking tube of RV roof sealant to seal around the dish base, the downlead plate base, the dish feed arm cradle and all of the screw heads.

6. I shortened the preconnectorized downlead because I didn't need it all. If you also do this, you'll need an RG-6 coaxial connector, coax stripper, proper crimper/compression tool. I am not sure of the pass-band on them, but a twist-on F-connector may work too.

7. Sure enough, I found the factory installed coax for the dish, in the roof. The edge of the mounting hub (dish base) needs to be at least 10" from the edge of the roof. I opted to mount the center of the hub at 22" from the roof edge, matching the Winegard TV antenna. This put the ceiling controls in the bedroom right where I wanted it. Straight across from the TV antenna controls, far anough away from the medicine cabinet doors, line of sight to the bedroom TV (for seeing the signal level meter and hearing the tuning tone).

8. My Landmark roof is about 5-1/2" thick from rubber roof membrane to vinyl padded ceiling. Had it been greater than 6-1/2", I would have needed several extension items from Winegard.

9. The elevation display can be 12 VDC powered or it can be powered by a 9 volt battery. Rather than finding unswitched 12 VDC power, for now at least, I went the 9 volt battery route. The manual says it is good for 1 minute of use for 88 consecutive days. I guess this means 1 battery change at the beginning of each camping season for me then. I also decided to mount the display inside the medicine cabinet. There were wires coming into the cabinet from the ceiling (for the vanity lights I think), so there was plenty of room to get more wires through that ceiling penetration inside the cabinet. Using a stiff wire, I fished the display wire across the roof about 18".

10. Magnetic compases don't read correctly inside the trailer so don't trust it. check your trailer heading outside with a compass, then adjust your heading ring on the satellite rotation control in the trailer.

11. You will need to loop the 2 satellite jacks in the UDC of the Landmarks. For reference, in the UDC, the left jack is the wire that comes from the roof. The right jack is the wire that goes to the entertainment cabinet for the satellite receiver.

12. In the entertainment cabinet, besides the satellite coaxial cable feed, there is another preconnectorized coaxial cable (marked with blue tape). This line feeds the VCR input for the 2nd TV section of the Winegard RF switcher in the coat closet. If you connect this cable to the TV OUT jack (RF output) on the satellite receiver, then select VCR on the 2nd TV section of the Winegard switch, you will be able to watch satellite TV on the bedroom TV (channel 3 or whatever your satellite receiver's TV OUT modulator is set to.

Happy camping!

Jim
 

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Racerguy

Member
Satellite

Jim:
I installed my satellite dish this weekend. Your tips were extremely helpful. I did have to move the dish closer to the edge of the roof as I have 2 AC units. I measured from the edge of the roof 15" and made sure there was still room for the dish to rotate. Rotation is 17" from center of dish. So for folks that may want to install a second AC unit they will need to place the dish a little closer to the roof line.
All in all things went well, I just had a hard time drilling a hole in the roof!!:eek:
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Greg,

Congrats on your dish install! Glad some of my tips were helpful. Yours makes the 2nd roof-mounted dish on a Heartland that I've heard of to date. If there are more, I'd like to see some posts about them.

If you have any additional installation tips, please add them here for others.

One thing that disappointed me was that there was no additional backing/support above the padded ceiling for the dish control mechanism. Ideally, there would be wood cleats recessed by 5/8" and screwed to the joists, then a section of 5/8" plywood screwed to that then covered with the padded ceiling. This would allow for a nice solid platform to mount the 4 screws that hold the dish control mechanism to the ceiling. As it is, I don't feel that my mechanism is 100% secure for the long haul.

Greg - do you have a portable dish that you carry too? Just curious. I still carry my portable and have used it a couple of times when I could not see through the trees with the roof-mounted unit. That said, I love the simplicity and ease of sighting in the roof-mounted unit when I am able to use it.

Jim
 
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Racerguy

Member
I do have a portable dish as well. Don't want to get caught without the ability to watch my RACING!! I agree that there needs to be some additional support.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Jim and or Greg
I am going to put a satellite dish on the roof of my Mt Rushmore but the thought of not being 100% secure because of the lack roof support has me concerned. Do you feel that there is the possibility of the dish working itself loose and either tearing the roof or the inside ceiling? We are planning on lots of camping again next summer (67 days last summer) and do not need another skylight in the bedroom:eek: .
I see Talco is up to $240 for the RM-DM 46 has anyone found a cheaper price?
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Tom,

I feel comfortable with the roof-mount. The dish stows low and there are a bunch of screws that ring the base that go into the roof-deck.

The only part I worry about is the lack of blocking/support just above the padded ceiling. Time will tell if my worry is unfounded but so far, so good.

Looks like Winegard must have passed through a small wholesale price increase on this item as I found half dozen retailers within $5 of each other.

Best of luck to you Tom.

Jim
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Jim thanks for the quick reply. The $5 increase is not too surprising and not too bad considering the way everything else is going up in price. I will probably be ordering within the next week, x-mas gift for the wife. She will not go on extended trips without her tv and after being at some places you can barely get tv with the regular antenna she wants/needs satellite. Just read today that cable will be going up again so I would imagine the campgrounds with cable will be passing this along to its customers. In the long run I think satellite will be the best.

On another note, I will probably be sending you a reservation request and money for the rally. I just have to finalize a couple of things to make sure we are free so you should be hearing from us in a week or so.

Tom & Judy Atkinson
 

timk

Well-known member
Phil
Just finished up installing the Wineguard in-motion stationary dish.
It seemed rather simple, after I was done.
Looked like a lot of stuff in the box, but not really.
Turned it on, the little bugger made some some noise and found the bird.
Actually it was rather entertaining to watch, thinking about pointing the old dish on a stick. ( which we will be keeping, just in case )
TimK
 

Racerguy

Member
Tom
Sorry for the delay. I've been away for the past few days. I feel the same as Jim. If you install it yourself, don't forget to run a bead of caulk on the underside of the base. With that the screws and the caulking used around the outside I believe it'll be fine.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Tom,

I see in the latest CW flyer that the dish is $239 (club price) with an $18 delivery charge. That may be a few bucks less than others online, depending on their delivery charge. The satellite heading compass is on sale too. I have the same one and like it.

Oh by the way, I mounted mine near the roof edge and did "not" need the roof wedge as the slope on the roof was not severe enough to require it. When I tried to slip it under, it really threw the dish off-level. I returned the wedge to CW.

Grab a tube of white roof sealant - you'll need it all.

Best of luck.

Jim
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Jim,
Thanks for that info on CW. I have one not far from me, 10 minutes, and I have to go their tomorrow anyways so I will check it out.
 

steves

Member
Landmark Oakmont

Jim,
Are the Sattellite cables located in the same place for all the Landmark models? I think I have made up my mind to go with the crankup dish. Also, the closest RV dealer is about 50 miles from us, is there any kind of sealant I can pick up at Lowel's or Menards that is the same stuff?

Thanks,

Steve

Well, I got 'er done!

Picked up the Winegard RM-DM46 crank-up style roof-mounted satellite dish with elevation display.

I spent about 3-1/2 hours installing the setup this Saturday. It went well. Up on the roof with a 1-3/4" hole saw chucked in my drill, ready to bore through made be feel a bit squeamish. But I had measured and measured and I knew what the outcome should have been. It was fine. I came within 1/2" of my mark on the ceiling inside the trailer.

Long story short, the install went well but on the site where I store my trailer, I have a couple of tall trees in the line-of-sight with the satellite in the 119 degree orbital slot that I needed. That's okay though, setup the portable and we had TV and Sirius music.

For a longer read, below, I've listed a few steps, comments and tips for others who may be planning a roof-mounted satellite dish installation:

1. Camping World and an independent RV service company quoted me $225 and $210-280 respectively for installation labor. This is a DIY project if you're handy and into this sort of thing.

2. If you're considering a manual system, consider a model with an elevation display like the RM-DM46. Much easier to sight in, knowing your relative elevation from inside the trailer.

3. If installing yourself, read the manual several times prior to install day.

4. The model I used does not have a wire chase within it. As such, you will have to drill 2 holes. One is 1-3/4" for the hexagonal drive shaft/directional tube. The other hole will be about 1/2" for the downlead and elevation sensor cable (if applicable).

5. You will need nearly an entire caulking tube of RV roof sealant to seal around the dish base, the downlead plate base, the dish feed arm cradle and all of the screw heads.

6. I shortened the preconnectorized downlead because I didn't need it all. If you also do this, you'll need an RG-6 coaxial connector, coax stripper, proper crimper/compression tool. I am not sure of the pass-band on them, but a twist-on F-connector may work too.

7. Sure enough, I found the factory installed coax for the dish, in the roof. The edge of the mounting hub (dish base) needs to be at least 10" from the edge of the roof. I opted to mount the center of the hub at 22" from the roof edge, matching the Winegard TV antenna. This put the ceiling controls in the bedroom right where I wanted it. Straight across from the TV antenna controls, far anough away from the medicine cabinet doors, line of sight to the bedroom TV (for seeing the signal level meter and hearing the tuning tone).

8. My Landmark roof is about 5-1/2" thick from rubber roof membrane to vinyl padded ceiling. Had it been greater than 6-1/2", I would have needed several extension items from Winegard.

9. The elevation display can be 12 VDC powered or it can be powered by a 9 volt battery. Rather than finding unswitched 12 VDC power, for now at least, I went the 9 volt battery route. The manual says it is good for 1 minute of use for 88 consecutive days. I guess this means 1 battery change at the beginning of each camping season for me then. I also decided to mount the display inside the medicine cabinet. There were wires coming into the cabinet from the ceiling (for the vanity lights I think), so there was plenty of room to get more wires through that ceiling penetration inside the cabinet. Using a stiff wire, I fished the display wire across the roof about 18".

10. Magnetic compases don't read correctly inside the trailer so don't trust it. check your trailer heading outside with a compass, then adjust your heading ring on the satellite rotation control in the trailer.

11. You will need to loop the 2 satellite jacks in the UDC of the Landmarks. For reference, in the UDC, the left jack is the wire that comes from the roof. The right jack is the wire that goes to the entertainment cabinet for the satellite receiver.

12. In the entertainment cabinet, besides the satellite coaxial cable feed, there is another preconnectorized coaxial cable (marked with blue tape). This line feeds the VCR input for the 2nd TV section of the Winegard RF switcher in the coat closet. If you connect this cable to the TV OUT jack (RF output) on the satellite receiver, then select VCR on the 2nd TV section of the Winegard switch, you will be able to watch satellite TV on the bedroom TV (channel 3 or whatever your satellite receiver's TV OUT modulator is set to.

Happy camping!

Jim
 

Hippie

Member
We have the Winegard unit, and we love it. We got it two years ago. The only time we couldn't get a signal with it was when we were just south Augusta Me. We were out in the open but being at such high latitude we couldn't get over the tree line that was about a half mile away. We also carry a portable dish for such Occasions.
 
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