Satellite Prep. Question/King Dome Install

[texasshredman]

I own a 2004 MountainAire 5th wheel and I am wanting to install a King Dome Satellite Dome on the roof. My trailer appears to have a prep.kit due to the fact I have a wire comming from a open tube/pipe labeled Satellite Prep. on the road side storage area. I have two plates on the roofs ( I assume one is the roof access. Can anyone help me with any install details?

[K-Star]

texasshredman

hang in there and someone will surely come along soon with help.

In the meantime welcome to iRV2.com. We all hope you continue to visit with us and share your experiences. I'll be adding some Newmar Karma for you.

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally posted by texasshredman: I own a 2004 MountainAire 5th wheel and I am wanting to install a King Dome Satellite Dome on the roof. My trailer appears to have a prep.kit due to the fact I have a wire coming from a open tube/pipe labeled Satellite Prep. on the road side storage area. I have two plates on the roofs ( I assume one is the roof access. Can anyone help me with any install details?

Assuming that you have no need to an HDTV signal from DirecTV then you are on target for your installation.
The 2 plates on the roof are for your satellite connection and for a solar installation. The one farthest toward the front is your satellite connection. This is not always perfect but at worst it's just a bit of work.
Once you remove the roof plate you will find absolutely nothing underneath except more roof. If you have a rubber roof you will find a soft spot and you can open this with a box cutter type knife. If you have a hard surface roof you will need to drill a 1-2" hole in the center of the area covered by the plate and you will (should) find the conduit with a pull wire in it. Don't pull without someone on the other end as the cable can disappear!
Once you have both ends of the conduit and you have confirmed a good pull wire you can feed the King Dome cables from the roof into the video compartment, seal up the roof and you are on your way.

[69RoadRunner]

Why use a dome on a 5th wheel? You can't use it in-motion.

I think you'd be better off with one of the automatic dishes that can get all of the satellites.

http://www.campingworld.com/sh...ite-tv-antennas/6795

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Why use a dome on a 5th wheel?

Most domes are NOT in-motion antennas. The domes are much easier to deal with than an open dish and you can't leave a dome up when you drive off and tear it off your roof!
Convenience vs. performance is the buyers choice.

[69RoadRunner]

Do the standard dishes really sit up high enough to be a decapitation risk if left up?

I have a Kingdome In-Motion, and I'm not sure how convenient it is. Rain really hurts it and it's more likely to have a problem with trees than an open dish.

It's up to the OP to decide. I know you can't get the DirecTV HD channels with any dome, too.

Just tossing in my 1 cent (it's not worth 2 cents).

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Do the standard dishes really sit up high enough to be a decapitation risk if left up? I have a Kingdome In-Motion, and I'm not sure how convenient it is. Rain really hurts it and it's more likely to have a problem with trees than an open dish. It's up to the OP to decide. I know you can't get the DirecTV HD channels with any dome, too. Just tossing in my 1 cent (it's not worth 2 cents).

Have you ever driven under a tree? Sure, they sit up high enough! I suspect if you look at your dome you will likely find some scratches on it.
I said that it was a matter of convenience or performance. If you NEED DirecTV HD (you can still get HD with Dish Net) or if you want better performance in the rain then an open face dish is a better choice. If you want to eliminate the worry then a dome is a better choice.
It's the buyer decision.

[saydiver]

Quote:

Originally posted by 69RoadRunner: Do the standard dishes really sit up high enough to be a decapitation risk if left up?

Yes. We believe our dish was not totally down, when it caught on a power line as we were leaving the campground on PEI.

Sue

[69RoadRunner]

Quote:

Originally posted by saydiver: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 69RoadRunner: Do the standard dishes really sit up high enough to be a decapitation risk if left up?

Yes. We believe our dish was not totally down, when it caught on a power line as we were leaving the campground on PEI.

Sue </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

OK, I honestly didn't know the answer.

I only brought it up as something for the OP to consider.

I wish Newmar had an option for the automatic 5 LNB dishes for my Ventana. In-motion is nice, but being able to get every DirecTV channel is nicer.

I might invest in a portable dish and tripod at some point.

[saydiver]

Quote:

Originally posted by 69RoadRunner: I wish Newmar had an option for the automatic 5 LNB dishes for my Ventana. In-motion is nice, but being able to get every DirecTV channel is nicer.

It's not on the option sheet, but we had Newmar install our automatic 5 LNB HD dish, which we wouldn't be without. We think they had Elkhart Satellite install it. Only one coax line was pulled and our specifications called for four for our two dual DVRs, so Newmar service pulled the three additional lines.

Sue

[Max Hubrich]

69RoadRunner,

Run-- Don't walk to Camping World or someone else to remove the old dome and install one of the new 5 LNB HD DirecTv antennas. Bill Adams can do the MotoSat, maybe even the Winegard.

The kids can watch movies on a recorder while your traveling.

The picture quatity in HD is so far superior to our old viewing systems-- It's unbelieveable.

Take your old dome system home with you and run an ad in your local newspaper to sell it. I did, and the first guy that came to the house bought it for $250 without a quibble on the price. I had all the books, install and operating manuals, and all the old hardware to give him. He has a 5th wheel he wanted to put it on.

Life is too short, and our time is too precious to waste, to miss out on this fantastic media experience.

Some folks were waiting for some upcoming DirecTv change supposedly due out this year. Nobody knows what that is. The only thing I see Directv doing is changing some networks to other satellites and moving the channel numbers around.

When my antenna is stowed (Winegard Trav'ler) it is only a few inches high-- much less than the old KVH dome and I now pull in a 96-98 signal strength vs a 74 with the old dome.

As stated by others, if you want DVR capability you'll need two cable feeds from the antenna for each DVR recorder. My Winegard only has three.

Go for it!!!

[69RoadRunner]

I'm sure I will do the switch to the 5 LNB like I have at home. Hey, if I travel in the early fall, I have to be able to watch the NFL Sunday Ticket, which I can't get with the dome!

I don't know if I'll get to it this year.

Since I have a Ventana, they wouldn't do any specials like they will for everything above a Ventana. You only get what's on the option list.

I did get them to make the Energy Management System available on Ventanas. When they first came out with the 2009 option list, that wasn't available.