After a lot of thought we switched satellite TV providers in the Travel Trailer. We have been with DirecTV for the last six years but have grown tired of calling them year after year to negotiate better pricing on the service that they provide. So, as a result, we decided to give Dish Network a try.

The good news about switching TV service is that my Winegard G2+ antenna works just fine with Dish as well as DirecTV and Bell TV. That means there is absolutely no concern about having to invest in a new satellite antenna. Click here if you would like to learn more about the Winegard G2+ antenna. We have been very happy with it’s performance over the last two years. It automatically finds the satellites providing you have a clear view of the southern sky. Some other good news was that during my preliminary discussions with Dish Network, it appeared that these folks really had their act together on the RV end of the business (unlike our DirecTV experience). However, as it turned out, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

After I set up an appointment for our house, I ordered the receiver for the RV. It would arrive a day after the technician would be here working on the house. I told the representative that I was pretty sure that hooking it up in the travel trailer would not be an issue. However, I asked the representative that if there was a problem, would they come back at no charge and get the RV set up. They assured me that this would be the case. As it turned out that was a complete falsehood.

Once the new receiver arrived I installed it in the travel trailer and began the step by step instructions. The receiver froze during the “Searching for Software” process. This began a four hour plus phone conversation with Dish Support. Not only did they not have a clue what to do but they told me that 1) not only wouldn’t they send a tech to the RV to hook me up (keep in mind the RV is here at my house) but that 2) I would be required to pay for a service call. Next came the shocking revelation; they don’t really have an RV business unit. They have farmed the RV business to a third party (which they refer to as their “outdoor department” which is very misleading). To say I was upset would be an understatement.

Let the frustration begin


I came in the house and told Tammy that if I could unwind the deal with Dish, I would. That not being a possibility at this point I was now on a mission to figure this out for myself. I spent over an hour on the computer searching Facebook pages and other venues to see if I could figure out the underlying issue.

Then I thought of a new approach; since the software wouldn’t download through the G2+ then let’s try to hook the new RV receiver to my home dish and see if I could download the software. Within ten minutes I had all my software downloaded. Later the next day I moved the box to the trailer and immediately had satellite TV. However, I wasn’t done yet. I also left some very honest feedback on-line about the service I received; and the deception I felt took place to get my business. Dish Network actually reached out to me a few days later. The representative apologized and gave me a small credit on my account for the trouble (and by small I mean $20.00, hardly compensation for the hours spent on the phone or the resulting frustration).

Success at last!

So what have I learned? Neither DirecTV or the Dish Network really has a handle on the RV industry. Both companies seem unable to troubleshoot any common RV issues. This isn’t rocket science, most of the issues that I have encountered are easy to resolve and certainly would be easy for a service representative to handle over the phone. Tammy and I have talked at length about how easy it would be to educate their own installers on how to get an RV set up. Certainly if I can do it, it should be a piece of cake for them.

Now as far as the Dish product, well, it is better than DirecTV. It is better from an overall price standpoint as well. As far as the travel trailer is concerned, you can pay as you go with your RV. This means when you want to use the satellite, you call Dish to activate the signal. Once activated, they charge you $7.00 for a month of service. So if you are not traveling there is no reason to pay a monthly service fee. We never know when we will be traveling so I told them to just leave the signal on to our RV receiver.

Overall, I am happy we made the switch to Dish, even though I certainly didn’t feel that way the first night.

Regardless of what satellite provider you use I highly recommend pricing each service out yearly. This will make sure that you are getting the best pricing available. Both services will work in your travel trailer.

If you are curious about how DirecTv worked in our trailer; you can view our blog about it by clicking here.