Looking to purchase Satellite Dish for our RV Travels

Can anyone help us decide on a dish for our BigHorn? We just finished our 1st long trip across several states and was surprised at how many rv parks don't have cablel! How about the costs?
Thanks in advance!

I love my Winegard Carryout but its a bit spendy ($600). Contact your local rep for a regular dish. If using the standard dish, you may want to invest in a better tripod.

We use Dish network because it offers hi def on the Carryout.

Georgia46,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll find a lot of useful information here along with a great bunch of people who are willing to share their knowledge and experience.

Selecting a dish involves making several preliminary decisions:
1. Service provider - Dish, Directv, other? If you already have satellite at home, you may want the same service in the RV.
2. Standard definition vs High Definition: Your new Bighorn has high definition TV. You can use a standard definition dish, but the picture will not be nearly as good.
3. Manual aiming vs automatic aiming: pushing a button to find the satellite is much easier and faster, but more expensive. And to get automatic aiming with high definition for Directv, the dish will be more expensive.
4. Rooftop mount, carryout, or tripod mount: Rooftop is easiest, is automatic aiming, and requires no storage space, but may not work if you park under trees. Also it's likely to be most expensive. Most carryouts are now automatic aiming and can be positioned to get a clear view of the sky. Tripod mounts are manual aiming, least expensive, but take longest to set up and aim.

Apart from cost of the dish, there is the cost of the receivers. You can purchase outright, or lease. In order to lease, you typically have to sign up for a 2 year commitment for programming, paying each month. If you only use the RV for 1/2 the year, you may be able to suspend the programming charges while the rig is in storage, but only months of active usage count toward the commitment. Early termination is expensive.

I realize this is all pretty daunting, so here's the simpler answer:

Get the Dish TV pay as you go program with their Tailgater Dish and matching receiver. Here's a link that explains it.

We bought a dish and use our receivers from home. We set it on a tripod from TV4RV I get my alignment information from dishpointer.com. You may also want a signal meter to help fine tune your dish. Here is a link to one of many.

There are several portable dishes available as well as roof mounts.

We've used the Dish Tailgater for over 6 months now and it's worked flawlessly. Portable, finds the satellite automatically. Tailgater is $350 or less, plus you will need the 211k receiver; about $150. Shop around and you may get it for less. We like the fact that it works with only the cable connection - no separate power cord to mess with. Comes with 50 ft. of cable. Get it, hook it up, and call the number provided and you'll be up and operating in few minutes.

We use the Dish Tailgater as it was the cheapest option (450 plus or minus a few bucks) for automatic satellite antennas and receiver. We like it because it is easy to use and set up, but is limited to a single receiver and only works with the Dish network. It only requires a single cable and comes with a fifty footer. Do a search for Tailgater on this forum as there are several threads regarding it.

We have been using the Dish Tailgater for the past year and love it. It did away with the frustration of setting up. We use the Pay-As-You-Go with Dish and it works well for us. Especially since we are not locked into any contract commitment.

I have the Winegard travler on roof and also carry a portable dish to use when trees are a problem.I use a contractors tri-pod for dish I had to make a mount to fit dish to tri-pod.As to cost Winegard roof mount 1200 installed it my self portable dish less than 100.You should be pre wired for roof,If you are comfortable on roof and do your own work it is easy install. I have Dish at home and take home receivers with me and able to change address to get locals where we are camped.

I use Dish Network receivers from Home too. I do love the tailgator option though. I had my Dish for so long before the tailgators became available that I got really good at aiming my dish from the tripod. If you do it enough and are carry a small magnetic torpedo level with you it can be really easy to set up the dish. I carry a Dish 500 dish with me and I drilled out the arm that holds the LMB eyes and installed wingnuts and bolts to reattach it. That way I can fold the dish up smaller and put it in the storage bin when I travel.

We have DirectTv HD system and call us cheap but we found a slimline 5 lnbs dish from a house that was being vacated and they didn't need the dish anymore cuz DirectTv was setting them up at their new home. We have since upgraded the dish to the new swm system and love it. The dish is big so hubby breaks it down for traveling by taking the post and lnb section off the dish to store in the front compartment of the BC. We still like using the freestanding dish cuz in some campgrounds, having a roof mount with tree coverage just doesn't work. This way we can move the dish around to find the clear shot. Other folks have had good luck with the roof mount but where we do a lot of camping is cg with tree coverage.

We love the Carryout too. We have Direct TV and have an Automatic Wineguard Roadtrip SE on the roof but lately have been having trouble using it because it seems we always get parked in the trees. The Carryout allows us to find a clear shot, and is automatic. Works better than the roof one.

We bought the Winegard GM-1518 automatic antenna and the DISH 211k receiver last spring, using the Pay-as-you-Go option. Once I found a spot through the tree canopy to "see" the satelites, all was good. Granted, it has two cables, one for the signal, the other for power, but once it's locked in, you can remove the power cord. I used foam pipe insulation tubes to surround the lines between the antenna and the rig, and then buried them in a shallow trench for the summer. When we were away for extended periods, I just disconnected the antenna and stored it inside but left the cables in place with a marker (so they wouldn't mow them). At the end of our season, I just pulled them all up, wiped them off, and stuck it all in the basement.

We'll pretty much second Nabo and Danemayer (until he went off on the Dish Pay As You Go and the Tailgater). Had a single LNB for years on a tripod, but having HD at home, then SD on the road was just disappointing, so went with HD once we full timed.

I went with the Anser GM 5000, read up on that one and see what you think. The best part is the auto signal finding technology. Good reviews on this new dish Anser (Winegard) has out too.