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 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.

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).

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. All of it 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.

I am happy, overall, that we made the switch to Dish. Although 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.

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If you like cable television, most campgrounds have cable hook-up now.  That’s a great bonus for those of us who like to get our daily dose of cable news, sports, or entertainment.  Ten years ago, most campgrounds just supplied the essentials and you were on “Air Antenna” TV.  You just lived with whatever local channels you could pick up with your roof mounted antenna.

Today you can usually get cable at your chain campgrounds.  However “Cable” seems to have taken on a strange meaning.  It may mean you will receive 7 channels or it may mean 107, it just depends on the campground.  In one case we stayed in a campground that boasted it had cable hookups, but what they didn’t say is that you would need to go to the office and request a cable box and then set it up in your trailer.  That might be fine if you are staying there for a week, but not for a night or two.

Now if you happen to camp in a state park, county park, or do primitive camping you will only have your antenna available for whatever might be floating across the airways.

Beyond “Campground Cable” or “Air Antenna TV” there are more options available; but you really need to decide of its worth it to spend the money.  In our case we are already DIRECTV customers at home.  So adding another receiver to our subscription is only $7.00 more per month.  Where it gets expensive is in the equipment.   After a bit of research we decided on the Winegard G2+ satellite Antenna.  While this unit usually sells for around $600.00, you can find sales occasionally.  Sometimes there are discount coupons that might apply to anything you buy at a particular camping store.

You can certainly go with a less expensive dish (about half that price);  but you may need to manually find the satellites by moving the dish around until it connects.  This will probably require two folks to set up the dish, with one in the trailer and one moving the dish.  This is why we settled on the Winegard G2+, it automatically finds the satellites.  Should you decide on one that requires manual intervention there are iPhone Aps that allow you to find the satellites easier.

If we were only camping a couple weeks a year, this would not be an investment worth making.  However,  when you sit in one spot for over four weeks at a time, its worth considering.  There are some things to think about before you decide this might be right for you:

1.  Are you willing to extend your DIRECTV agreement by two years?  Once they activate your new receiver, you are committed to a new two year contract period.  I can not speak to how the other providers operate so you should do your research if you decide on Dish Network or another provider.
2. You will need to pay for an additional receiver, anywhere from 99.00 to 199.00 depending on if you want to record programs or not.  Again, there are specials that are available from time to time that may allow you to get a receiver for next to nothing.
3. The TV provider will probably need to come to your trailer to do the install and activation.  Threfore you will need to have your travel trailer handy.
4. You will need to decide where you are going to mount it.  We decided not to do a permanent mount after talking to several RV stores.  We decided to buy a tripod made for the G2.  This gives us the flexibility of moving it around at our campsite in case there is heavy tree cover.  It also protects it from standing water and high winds.  If you decide to have it mounted on the roof of your RV,  based on my research, it will be expensive.  There is also a ladder mount available; but again that will make things difficult if there is a large canopy of tree branches overhead.  In my opinion I don’t want to attach anything to my ladder that I may trip on while moving up or down the ladder.
5. Don’t be afraid to wheel and deal with your providers to get the best value for your money.

We are heading to Tyler State Park soon and I am looking forward to trying the system out before our big trip in about six weeks.

For more information about the Winegard G2+ dish, click here.

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