RV Setup

[torp74]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to be living in a RV full time starting this fall. I am a DISH HD guy with no more commitment. I have a 622 which is a POS in my opinion, but was wondering how I would go about setting up in the RV. Would I need a different type of account? I've read something about RV waivers, etc. Would I be better off not saying a damn thing to dish and just mount dish, switch, etc on a tripod and go for it? Any assistance would be appreciated!

torp

 

[Brussam]

Check out these links

http://www.dmbruss.com/zFullTimeLifeStyle/FTLS_SatelliteTV.htm

http://www.dmbruss.com/zFullTimeLifeStyle/FTLS_TVCabling.htm

 

[slick impala]

I personally used to have a bumper trailer that I used quite a bit. When I was on the road..I would set up camp and then set up my portable dish stand and aim it for the bird and run a cable from the dish into my receiver inside the trailer. Never called Dish and told em what I was doing. I only did this on weekends of WHEN I went camping.

Now as for you..since you are gonna be RV'ing full time: you have several options.

1. You can invest in a portable dish stand in which you would have to fidget with it every time you move. Since you are using HD receiver...I would imagine that would complicate things even more.

2. (I don't know if this will work for HD but worth a shot) You can invest in those Kingdomes(?) It's the kind that is mounted up on your roof and is covered by a dome. It can either be stationary or trackable meaning you buy stationary..you have to stay in one spot to aim for the bird....trackable...the one that tracks and follows the bird while you're driving (dunno how reliable that is).

What you would NEED to do is call dish and change your BILLING address to a dedicated/permanent address to receieve your bills, so to speak if you pay online or not. As for your SERVICE address..I would just use your mom's or a TRULY TRULY good friend who doesn't have Dish. Then whenever you travel...you will get dish, but as for locals..you probably would lose them if you go outside your spotbeam unless you get the nationals.

As for actual physical repair work...whereever you are at, I would pick up the phone book and call the local dish retailer and ask to have a tech come out (not DISH tech but dish retailer's tech) and fix whatever problem you have and pay him/her a couple extra dollars to keep their mouth shut about your deal.

It's worked with a lot of my full timer RV'ers.

My 2 cents.

 

[Sadoun]

Torp,

Are you planning on installing a permanent antenna on the roof of your RV or a portable one?

 

[Brussam]

Dish TV is totally aware that people used their service in RVs and they have no problem with it at all. It is hard to have cable or FIOS in an RV. You need a mailing address anyways and full-time RVers use mailing services for that. The only thing that affects is the time zone your subscription has on the Program Guide. You don't need to lie to them.

The lack of Locals for me is a benefit. As an RVer, I get to have DNS and with both the East Coast and West Coast feeds and the VIP622, I can capture just about anything I want to.

Most of the dome dishes are single LNBF and point to only one satellite at a time and very few can point to all three satellites, so no HDTV. There are new dishes that swing up and automatically lock onto all three satellites. But the problem with roof dishes is trees and RV parks tend to have them. That is why we use a ground tripod.

Read my articles above. The selection of tripods is important as well as the tools you should have. We set the tripod dish up even for overnight stays. The satellite Internet dish and the TV dish take about 40 minutes to set up and by that time the wife has the inside of the RV setup.

Repair work I handle myself. I don't want "technicians" running cable in my RV. I had the VIP622 fail once, Dish TV shipped to where we were at the time, and I returned the old unit. You don't have to lie to Dish TV about where you are.

Just recently, I was having a problem that looked like it might need a replacement VIP622 but is wasn't a hard failure, and Dish TV wanted a technician to look at it before they would replace the unit. But they wouldn't send a Dish TV technician because our house was on wheels and I would have to call a local technician. Well I thought that was stupid as well as the local technician thought it was too. But the problem went away.

 

[slick impala]

Brussam -

Obviously I am out of the loop on whats going on currently with Dish acknowledging about RV'ers and stuff. I did all this stuff back in the early days of Dish in it's infancy. I stopped after I sold my bumper trailer and continued to hear stories about what folks did. Guess stuff has changed nowadays. Glad its so much easier.

As for the technician, I was merely stating that in case the OP wasn't cable familiar or receiver familiar. Anyways, thanks for the new heads up about whats going on. Hope the OP can make a great choice for himself.

 

[torp74]

Thanks for the tips folks, Brussam, thanks for the links, pretty amazing rig you have there. I have a 622, and there are two dishes outside. They are pointed in different directions. I can take all that down and get a couple of tripods, but is there anyway to use just one dish?

 

[Brussam]

I am guessing you have a Dish 500 Pr,o for satellites 119 and 110, and another dish aimed at 61.5.

Buy a Dish 1000 or Dish 1000.2 dish, not a Dish 1000.4. The three LNBFs will acquire satellites 119, 110, and 129. That covers all you need.

If you are using 61.5 for Local Channels, those days will be over. Drop the Dish TV Locals and go to All American Direct and fallout the RV waiver and subscribe for DNS channels. We get all four from both the East Coast (New York) and the West Coast (San Francisco).

One of the advantages of being an RVer is having DNS especially with a DVR. You can use the dual tuners and record four programs in the time slot. Ex: 8:00 PM EDT/8:00 PM PDT, two at each time.

 

[bross]

is there anyway to use just one dish?

Yes, you can get a 1000.4 dish for satellites 61.5/72.7/77 or a 1000.2 for satellites 110/119/129. Either of these dishes will work with your HD setup. If you're going to be in one place with you RV you should get whichever one picks up the satellite your locals are on. If you're planning on traveling all the time, get a 1000.4 if you're going to spend most of your time in the eastern part of the country or a 1000.2 if you'll be mostly in the west.

 

[Brussam]

If I understand it correctly, you don't just get a Dish 1000.4 dish and use the Eastern Arc. There is also a receiver difference.

Since torp74 said he had a VIP 622, I believe his options are the Dish 1000 or the Dish 1000.2 and the Western satellites.

Also, as a full-time RVer, you will find the West far more suitable for living.

 

[bross]

Any of the VIP receivers will work with eastern arc.

 

[Nyth]

D
Just recently, I was having a problem that looked like it might need a replacement VIP622 but is wasn't a hard failure, and Dish TV wanted a technician to look at it before they would replace the unit. But they wouldn't send a Dish TV technician because our house was on wheels and I would have to call a local technician. Well I thought that was stupid as well as the local technician thought it was too. But the problem went away.

Odd.
I work for an RSP and I do service calls, DishMover installs and occasional new installs in RV parks on a fairly regular basis.

 

[Brussam]

Yes odd, but that can be the luck of the draw with a CSR.

I correct on the 622 and the Eastern Arc. You need a different Smartcard and so far, I don't think you can get one for existing equipment. But maybe that has changed.

 

[Tomboy257]

I took my 222 with me to AZ this winter and hooked it up to a Dish500. Lost my locals, but didn't care as local Phoenix stations came in good OTA, plus Tucson locals. Also lost alot of HD. TVs in RV aren't HD so that wasn't a big deal. If I go to HD TVs in RV then Dish1000 seems to be the way I would go. Home setup is Eastern Arc. Able to find inexpensive Dish1000 on E-bay.

 

[torp74]

Awesome help guys, thanks so much. Ok, I get a Dish 1000.2 dish and I am good to go. I won't need switches are anything to go along with it? Also, I will be pretty much in the same local area as I am now, so I think I can keep the locals. I am really just trading a 1 bedroom upstairs apartment for a RV on the lake. I'm thinking its a good trade.

Again thanks for all your help, this link and all the good RV links are really helping out!

torp74