Community Forums

jstdreamin · 01-03-2015, 11:20 AM

We are new to RV'ing (Very Part Time) and have a Winegard RoadTrip Mission in-motion satellite dish on our Class A. We currently use Cable-One at home but we are planning to convert to satellite TV so that we don't have to pay an extra monthly fee when we go on the road for weekends or 1-3 week trips.

Any general advice on which service is better?

palehorse89 · 01-03-2015, 11:23 AM

Here https://www.google.com/search?q=Dish...=10&gws_rd=ssl a bunch to look through while waiting for other's to offer info.
I have Direct TV , house and Coach, I call them up in the spring, and have them power up the two receiver's in the Coach, then in Oct.-Nov. , call and have them shut them off till spring. $12.00 per month during the summer for them.

gman69 · 01-03-2015, 11:36 AM

dish has a pay as you go program that you can start and stop whenever you want, without signing a long term contract. you pay up front a full month, and can stop whenever you want. the remaining balance on your account remains and is applied when you re-start the service. also, you can get local channels from where ever you are parked, this is done by calling them and changing your service address. this service costs about $10 more a month than their residential service, but you can stop it when you don't need it (say when you get home). this service is primarily based on you owning your own antenna and receiver in your RV.

hdzcar · 01-03-2015, 12:07 PM

Make sure your dish supports HD for Direct TV or Dish Network assuming that is important to you. Some only supports SD for one of the other satellite providers.

**Lt Dan** · 01-03-2015, 06:54 PM

None of the automatic dome antennas will receive HD on DirecTV but almost all will receive HD on Dish Network.

jeryan59 · 01-03-2015, 07:17 PM

I have had both in my motorhomes, Direct you may not get HD Channels, Dish I was able to get HD. My big issue was if my Dish receivers didn't receive there nightly updates (while in storage) for more than 30 days the hard drive in the receiver would crash and by the time Dish sent me a new receiver I was back from my trip. So I went to Direct and have never looked back.

One of the biggest advantage of Dish other than the HD channels for me was 1 receiver was sufficient in my motorhome so I could watch 2 different channels on 2 different TV's. Been awhile since I have had Dish so I don't know if it is still true or not?

jfran304 · 01-03-2015, 07:31 PM

We have Dish at home so when we take off in the RV I just take a receiver from the bedroom and hook it up in the RV. If we are in an area where we can not get the local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) either on cable or on the over the air antennae we can call Dish and have them change our local viewing area.

With your Winegard RoadTrip Mission in-motion satellite dish you will only be able to get HD programming with Dish Network.

Jon

**Lt Dan** · 01-03-2015, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeryan59

My big issue was if my Dish receivers didn't receive there nightly updates (while in storage) for more than 30 days the hard drive in the receiver would crash and by the time Dish sent me a new receiver I was back from my trip.

I had the same problem but eliminated it by hooking up a separate feed from my Hopper system antenna at home. I take the 211K receiver out of the motorhome and hook it up in my office. Gives me an extra HD receiver at home now and it's only $7 a month.

jstdreamin · 01-04-2015, 12:20 AM

Great feedback folks! Thanks so much!

Duoglide1 · 01-07-2015, 01:12 PM

We are in RGV for the winter with a new to us 2005 coach that the previous owner had Direct TV in. The box is still in so I'm sure the Wiengard dome is set up for it. When we call Direct they cannot understand that the install is for a motor home that travels. What is the secret? Do I need to find an office and see a human? Thanks in advance.

2005 Country Coach Inspire, C9 CAT

wa8yxm · 01-08-2015, 09:06 AM

First: A suggestion: Get an RV account when you go Sat. There are reasons for this.

Now: Which is better is a toss up, Your in-motion dome (Depending on things like model and serial number) may be able to get all 3 or six Dish Network staellites, this means with a single receiver such as a VIP-211 you can get ALL the programming you pay for.

With DirecTV it will not get HD, only SD

With DirecHDTV it will not work (only SD)

However again depending on the model, with DirecTV it may be able to feed 2 or more receivers (With dish only one or two with restrictions on the 2nd).

The restriction... Domes can only see one satellite at a time.

In all cases you also want a ground mount (tripod) Dish or portable dome (Winegard Pathfinder X-2) The reason for this is the evil signal eating tree, if parked under said tree,, The Roof top antenna is no good.

So, after that which is best, Dish or Direct?
Look at the programming packages and choose the one you like the best, For my Son-In-law (As an example) Direc is big into sports, he wants to be a football coach and should graduate coaching school in a few months.. So he has Direc.. I just spent 2 weeks there and for most of that I'm lookin at close to a thousand channels and not one worth watching save for MeTV (Which I get over the air).

When I choose to use Sat, it will be Dish. But that is due to the fact I like the packages better.. (I mostly do over the air and have so much on my DVR's I'm having to off load to computers for storage).

Duoglide1 · 01-08-2015, 10:07 AM

If my coach is set up for Direct & want to get an RV account with Dish will they change the sat settings over during install? Or do I need to be researching how to change dip switches etc? I know zip about satellite tv.

2005 Country Coach Inspire, C9 CAT

**Lt Dan** · 01-08-2015, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duoglide1

If my coach is set up for Direct & want to get an RV account with Dish will they change the sat settings over during install? Or do I need to be researching how to change dip switches etc? I know zip about satellite tv.

I had DirecTV and when I switched to DISH it was just a matter of changing the Dip Switches on the antenna. I doubt if they will do that for you, but on most automatic antennas, it's a very simple change. Just search for the manual for your particular antenna and it will have instructions on how to change the switch settings.

Dennis4809 · 01-08-2015, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duoglide1

If my coach is set up for Direct & want to get an RV account with Dish will they change the sat settings over during install? Or do I need to be researching how to change dip switches etc? I know zip about satellite tv.

2005 Country Coach Inspire, C9 CAT

All depends on your antenna. My wingard Travler is Dish only. They also sell a Direct version. Memory is that Dish version was around $1,500 and Direct was around $1,800.
Works great and have had to use a portable Tailgater a couple times in the last three years.