satelllite decisions

[Jamesbighorn]

Does anyone have any input on Dish versus Direct tv. We've had Direct tv for 12 years in home and now are going to add satellite to our new Bighorn. Don't care about NFL Sunday Ticket anymore. Sounds like Direct tv will never reach an agreement with the Pac 12 Network which I would like to have (carried by Dish). More interested in customer service issues, pricing, satellite functionality, etc. Camping World to install either system in a few weeks. Interested in how they have handled service issues, etc. Thanks.

 

[Gizzy]

We have cable at home and did not want any contract to have satellite in the coach, so we went with the Dish "pay as you go" and use the Tailgater and love it.

 

[JohnDar]

We have cable at home and did not want any contract to have satellite in the coach, so we went with the Dish "pay as you go" and use the Tailgater and love it.

Same here. We use the GM1518 automatic antenna. Unless you're always parked in the open, a roof mount antenna may be a problem. Doesn't take much foliage to block the signal.

 

[TXBobcat]

We use DirecTV on a tripod and only SD not HD. With an automatic antenna such as the one mentioned above it is easy to use. I think there are two antennas of that type. One needs DC as well as a cable for the signal to the receiver. I believe another just needs the cable to the receiver.

I use one of the 18" round dishes that goes with SD. I don't have to skew it to access the satellites. I have 100' of cable and can move my tripod to an area to access the 101 satellite. It takes me about 5 minutes to set the satellite up. I use the app from Dishpointer.com on my iPhone. The app is DP AR Pro.

BC

 

[Eddhuy]

We have cable at home as well and go with the pay per month Dish Network. Our dish is the Winegard GM-1518 Carryout. As far as customer service, I have not had any problems with them at all but have not had to talk to them much either other than subscribing to or cancelling service.

 

[klindgren]

We have cable at home as well and go with the pay per month Dish Network. Our dish is the Winegard GM-1518 Carryout. As far as customer service, I have not had any problems with them at all but have not had to talk to them much either other than subscribing to or cancelling service.

Does this set up allow you to watch different channels on both the downstairs and bedroom tv's or can you only watch one program?

 

[papajoel55]

We use the Direct tv with the winegard 1518 we picked up at Adventurerv.net it was 587 dollars and then we just take one of our boxes from the house but you have to make sure it is not a swm box if it is you cant pick up local channels with it without getting extra parts for it is a lot cheaper than having one installed also you just call direct and get the local channels for where you are at. you do need a box at each tv you watch.

 

[hoefler]

We have Dish in the house and have a extra receiver/tuner in the coach. We pay $7.00 a month for the extra receiver. We use a roof mount Winegard AND a Carry Out when we need to. I WOULD NOT go to Camping World for the install. I would use a stand alone antenna, instead of the roof mount when I do it again.

 

[donr827]

We have Direct TV at home and a SK3005 auto dish on top of the trailer. I just take two receivers from home and have had no problems. Will not get local channels when we leave the coverage area for our locals.
Don

 

[jassson007]

Same here. We use the GM1518 automatic antenna. Unless you're always parked in the open, a roof mount antenna may be a problem. Doesn't take much foliage to block the signal.

I have been impressed with my roof top directv dish so far as signal is concerned. I have been in two different sites recently that I just knew I would not have a signal and low and behold I did. One of them I got all my Hd's and last one I only got my sd channels but still was more than I thought I would.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Theresau]

We've been with Directv about the same amount of time. Biggest reason I've stuck with Directv is their customer service. I did pursue Dish a few years ago and wasn't impressed with the sales cycle. Then we tried cable for a year (Brighthouse) and just terrible customer service. So we went back to Directv.

Directv installed our "manual" SWM satellite dish/system on the RV for us. Only cost was a service fee - all equipment was provided free of charge. We were always able to connect successfully.

At the Goshen rally we upgraded to the Traveler on the roof and just love it.

We have one receiver permanently in the RV and then bring in two others (DVRs) from the house when we head out - so we're all set for the Living, Bedroom, and Basement area. We use the Whole-Home DVR in the RV - just love it.

When we've moved out of state, Directv sets up our receiving address so that we get the local channels (e.g., FL). Then when we come home, they reset to our home address. They are fully aware that we are temporarily in an RV when we ask for this.

Best of luck. There are quite a few threads about this subject.

Theresa

Does anyone have any input on Dish versus Direct tv. We've had Direct tv for 12 years in home and now are going to add satellite to our new Bighorn. Don't care about NFL Sunday Ticket anymore. Sounds like Direct tv will never reach an agreement with the Pac 12 Network which I would like to have (carried by Dish). More interested in customer service issues, pricing, satellite functionality, etc. Camping World to install either system in a few weeks. Interested in how they have handled service issues, etc. Thanks.

 

[Bob&Patty]

We use the 1518 also. I mounted it on the ladder (Winguard part) and ran cables through the top of the rear cap, down inside the cap and to the UCD. The 1518 is compatiable to DirectTV or Dish, but no HD. The recievers stay in the coach and works great. We get a deal because we have DirectTV at home also. The 1518 can be removed with one bolt from the ladder mount and set out if need be. The 1518 ladder mount comes with a wall type switch that be mounted anywhere and hooked to a 12V source. I put ours in the closet by the door and drew power from the fuse panel. When set up, flip the switch and voila...we have satellite TV. The kit also comes with a 12V wire that has a cell phone plug on one end and the plug for the dome on the other end and its 50' long.

 

[JohnDar]

Just to add, I've had good success with DISH's customer service getting set up and resolving connection problems. But it remains that you need a clear window to the arc of the satellites to get anything. The further north you are, the lower on the southern horizon are the satellites, making trees a problem. At the Goshen rally, all I had to do was park the dome in front of the rig.

In regards to a DC power supply for the GM1518, once you've made connection and locked the satelites, it is not needed unless you move the dome.

 

[scottyb]

Tailgater here. I call Dish before I leave on a trip to activate and give them an address of where I will be. They program it to where I can pick up the local channels at that location. I like the portability and automatic setup of the Tailgater, in case there is a heavy tree cover. I don't think I will every mount one on top unless I buy a motorhome and can watch TV while going down the road.

 

[Theresau]

What channels do you get from Directv with this - when considering options, I searched and could not find the list. I did read that you may also lose local channels depending on the state/area. We greatly considered this as well - the local channels pushed me over the edge to the Traveler.

An advantage to the Directv Traveler is that if you switch to Dish later, it is less expensive than vice versa....per Winegard.

We use the 1518 also. I mounted it on the ladder (Winguard part) and ran cables through the top of the rear cap, down inside the cap and to the UCD. The 1518 is compatiable to DirectTV or Dish, but no HD. The recievers stay in the coach and works great. We get a deal because we have DirectTV at home also. The 1518 can be removed with one bolt from the ladder mount and set out if need be. The 1518 ladder mount comes with a wall type switch that be mounted anywhere and hooked to a 12V source. I put ours in the closet by the door and drew power from the fuse panel. When set up, flip the switch and voila...we have satellite TV. The kit also comes with a 12V wire that has a cell phone plug on one end and the plug for the dome on the other end and its 50' long.

 

[shelsay]

We have had Dish service at home for 11 years and have been generally satisfied with the service. When we purchased the Landmark, we had a Winegard Travl'r installed on the roof and have been extremely satisfied with reception. In three years, we have had only one instance when we were unable to get reception. We try to remember to mention when making campground reservations that we have satellite and would appreciate an appropriate site. We have a dedicated receiver in the rv which allows us to watch different shows on the 2 tvs at the same time.

Pat

 

[ziggy]

Jamesbighorn,
Welcome to the forum! It's nice to have another member from Oregon to talk to. As you can see, it doesn't take long for people to respond to questions on here...

We have used DirectTV at home for several years and decided to keep an HD receiver in the trailer to use with our roof mounted Traveler. Then we bring one of the DVRs from the house for the other TV. DirectTV talked Mark into setting up a separate account for the RV with distant network programming on it. We were supposed to be able to turn it on and off a certain number of times a year so we wouldn't be paying when we weren't traveling. What they didn't make clear was that the deal is a totally different account than your home one so it was costing us about $100 a month to have that one HD receiver and distant networks along with our regular channel pkg.

Don't fall for that! We finally did get that account canceled and the receiver added to our home account. I haven't looked into Whole Home and hadn't thought about changing the address on our account when we are going out of our local channel area for any length of time.

A question for the experts, OK, two questions.....

1. What advantage does Whole Home really give you and do you need extra hardware in the trailer for it to work.

We did not get the Genie because it requires some kind of part Mark doesn't want to buy right now. He did run HDMI from the closet where sat comes into the trailer over to the back of the BR TV so I would have an HD picture and not have the receiver sitting on the dresser below the TV. Heartland, if you are listening, it might be nice to run HD cabling to every HD TV in the trailer. Seems kind of silly to have HD TVs without it....


2. What do you do if you are only spending a few days in an area before moving to a new locals area, or is that when you change your address on file and buy the distant networks until you get home again?

Kristy

PS We are having an Oregon campout in October that would be a great way for you to get your feet wet and see if the whole "rally thing" is something you might like to do. Let me know if you have questions about that.

Does anyone have any input on Dish versus Direct tv. We've had Direct tv for 12 years in home and now are going to add satellite to our new Bighorn. Don't care about NFL Sunday Ticket anymore. Sounds like Direct tv will never reach an agreement with the Pac 12 Network which I would like to have (carried by Dish). More interested in customer service issues, pricing, satellite functionality, etc. Camping World to install either system in a few weeks. Interested in how they have handled service issues, etc. Thanks.

 

[Eddhuy]

Does this set up allow you to watch different channels on both the downstairs and bedroom tv's or can you only watch one program?

The GM1518 has two coaxial outputs, you can get one receiver that allows watching different channels on 2 televisions or 2 separate receivers.

 

[Theresau]

In regard to #1 - it depends on your DVR and receiver as to whether you need to add what is called a DECA device (Amazon has these...) to get Whole Home DVR and you also need to turn this on with Directv (I think they charge $3 a month extra for this). You can find the list of which DVRs and receivers need the DECA if you do a search on the internet. Our dedicated DVR in the BC needed this as it's an HR22. Our home DVRs are HR24's and they don't need the DECA. It's real easy to do add this and it works great. The 3 DVRs work very well together (we have a TV in the basement area too). It's great to be able to watch a recorded show on one TV and then go to another TV and resume it right where you left off or to watch a recorded show from another DVR. #2 - I have only changed the receiving address if we are going to be at the new address for a long period of time. It does take a customer service phone call... You can pay for the national local channels and then you wouldn't need to do this. But I like to get the local news as well as the national local programs and would rather keep my bill down as much as possible. If we're on the road and staying only one night I would use the antenna to view locals...

Jamesbighorn,
Welcome to the forum! It's nice to have another member from Oregon to talk to. As you can see, it doesn't take long for people to respond to questions on here...

We have used DirectTV at home for several years and decided to keep an HD receiver in the trailer to use with our roof mounted Traveler. Then we bring one of the DVRs from the house for the other TV. DirectTV talked Mark into setting up a separate account for the RV with distant network programming on it. We were supposed to be able to turn it on and off a certain number of times a year so we wouldn't be paying when we weren't traveling. What they didn't make clear was that the deal is a totally different account than your home one so it was costing us about $100 a month to have that one HD receiver and distant networks along with our regular channel pkg.

Don't fall for that! We finally did get that account canceled and the receiver added to our home account. I haven't looked into Whole Home and hadn't thought about changing the address on our account when we are going out of our local channel area for any length of time.

A question for the experts, OK, two questions.....

1. What advantage does Whole Home really give you and do you need extra hardware in the trailer for it to work.

We did not get the Genie because it requires some kind of part Mark doesn't want to buy right now. He did run HDMI from the closet where sat comes into the trailer over to the back of the BR TV so I would have an HD picture and not have the receiver sitting on the dresser below the TV. Heartland, if you are listening, it might be nice to run HD cabling to every HD TV in the trailer. Seems kind of silly to have HD TVs without it....


2. What do you do if you are only spending a few days in an area before moving to a new locals area, or is that when you change your address on file and buy the distant networks until you get home again?

Kristy

PS We are having an Oregon campout in October that would be a great way for you to get your feet wet and see if the whole "rally thing" is something you might like to do. Let me know if you have questions about that.

 

[Gaffer]

We have used Direct for years. I just take a reciever from home when we travel. Look around and you can find the round 18" (SD) dish and tripod cheap or free. I have two that I got for free. The SD is easy to aim as there is just asmuth and elevation to worry about. No skew. If you are in trees and have to carry out and aim two or more LNB's things get more complicated. You still get your local channels if you are not far from home and on the road I just call Direct and let them know where I am and then I get the local channels for that area. Works for me.