You can use your home dish receiver in your RV but you have to call your service provider to update your service address every 200 miles from the last address you provided.
Becasue you’ll loose the local channels about 200 miles from the last service address.
If you don’t use your dish receivers for few weeks then it’ll be deactivated and you need to call the DISH and tell it is not in use for several weeks for some reason and they will reactivate your receiver again.
I know changing address every time is not a small headache unless we’re camping in any particular location for a long time. That’s the reason why I recommend buying RV specific dish network from DIRECTV or DISH and a good RV satellite-like Winegard Pathway X2 PA6002R that comes with a wally receiver. Its dual arc technology receives both Eastern and Western arcs for maximum HD/SD DISH programming throughout the US in all weather conditions for moving vehicles.
Now we are going to solve some doubts related to the home dish and RV and will tell you how to properly do it.
Check your RV capability for in motion television?
Whether your RV is ready to have in-motion television depends upon which type of antenna are you using and how you are using it.
Obviously, for in-motion tv, you need an in-motion antenna like the one that is offered by DISH. It comes with a mound that maintains the stability of the signal while driving. If you want an even much better signal then you should install the antenna as high as possible.
To achieve that height you can mount it with a tripod. A Tripod mount will become even more important when you have a standard definition dish instead of a satellite dish, and depending upon the model you have, you might also have to take your dish down when driving.
Another benefit of using a tripod mount is if it is summer and you’re at any campground with a shaded parking spot, with a long enough cable of up to 150′ you can extend your dish to the open sky.
If you’re using a standard definition receiver, using an 18″ round SD dish will be very easy to tune in. Generally, SD is poor on big screens.
Do you have more than one TV in your RV? If yes, you can either add a separate receiver for the other TV and can connect both to the same dish antenna or you can buy a multi-switch receiver to operate more than one TV with a single receiver.
The easiest is to buy a separate receiver for separate TV to watch different channels at the same time.
It is good if you have coaxial cables connecting the antenna to the receiver and set up a connection between your TV and receiver. Make sure that the coaxial cable should not be longer than 50 feet as the signals could lose the quality.
You can use in-motion TV if your antenna has a clear LOS or Line Of Sight to the southwest sky.
Do you really need a top-up account for your dish tv in RV?
Yes, you need it! Why? Because when you are headed for an RV trip then at most of the time you may be moving from one locality to another then resting, Let’s say if someone in your family wants to watch TV (Like your 10-year-old child) then you need In-motion HD antenna and an upgraded account, which required an additional fee.
When you acceded to Dish Outdoors, the dish will provide you an antenna with the freedom to add up to three set-tops to your account. If you want more than you can subscribe to Dish Mobile HD, in which you get up to three-receiver to your subscribed account.
How many TV channels can I watch in my RV?
The number of channels will depend upon the plan you choose. Like with DISH if you pay around $50 then you can watch 50+ channels including CNN, HGTV, AMC HD, and TLC for a month. If you pay around $90 then you can watch 190 channels and from 190, 120 will be the top 120 in America.
If you pay around $100 then you’ll get 190+ channels including FXX, HSN, Local channels, and the weather channels. If you pay around $110-$120 you’ll get 240+ channels including all of America’s top 200 channels like oxygen, Syfy, bravo, kids channels, and local channels.
Like DISH different providers have different prices, channels, and terms of conditions. With Dish, you can go for the cheapest plan and can purchase your desired channels to stream for a month, and can cancel anytime you want.
Types of satellite antennas for RV?
There are two types of satellite antennas you can find on market for your RV. Each type of antenna has different work and a similarity like both antennas can be used for internet. Here let’s look at the difference between mounded or portable antennas with the help of a table.
| Mounted Antenna | Portable Antenna |
|---|---|
| Works best if you’re living full time in the RV | Works best if you travel more frequently in your RV |
| When you’re not in any populated areas and want a backup cell hotspot to use the internet | When you’re in populated areas like a campground, RV park, etc and want to connect with public wifi networks using a wifi extender |
How to watch my favorite shows and movies without any satellite tv network?
There are many ways to watch your favorite movies and tv shows without buying any antenna and receiver. Here are some ways you can try:
- Have a fast internet connection in your RV? If you do have then you can buy several OTT subscriptions like Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, AMC, HULU, Disney+. etc., and can watch any of your desired movies or TV series on your smart TV.
- If you don’t have a fast internet connection or you don’t want to set up wifi in your RV then you 2 more options to watch Netflix and other OTTs. Either your can use your mobile hotspot to watch it on TV, but it cost a huge amount of data so you can watch on your smartphone itself, or if you’re in an RV park then you can connect with their wifi to enjoy your shows.
- If you don’t have any of the above choices then you can record your desired content on the Dish hopper receiver at your home and then can bring it with you on RV to watch.
- No hopper, no problem! Still, we have another solution. You can store content on your tablet or laptop and can cast these videos to your TV.
- Buy or bring your favorite DVDs collection. You need to create resistance on the surface so that the DVD doesn’t slip during the ride.
- The last thing you can do is to buy and set up an old-school TV antenna to pick up local channels.
Can I use my DISH Hopper 3 in my RV?
According to Hopper’s creator, you can use Hopper 3 in your RV unless it running any close to the current software. It works great with the DPH42 multi-switch. What you need to do is to connect the hopper to a traditional RV dish as you do with any usual dish.
There are many benefits of having a hooper mainly when you’re using your home dish receiver Since you can record up to 16 shows all at once which is double that of any other tv recorder and you can watch multiple TV shows in primetime.
If you don’t want any hopper then the Amazon Fire TV recast is going to be another good option for you.
Do RVs need special TV?
RVs or motorhomes do not ask for any special TV! Just make sure they have the anti-glare screen to watch your shows in daylight or artificial lighting.
Tips on How to make your RV TV anti-glare?
- Put your TV in the right places to cut most of the glare
- Close the windows if the sun is directly coming through them.
- Apply an anti-glare protector that fits your TV
- Tweak the settings to reduce the glare
- If you don’t want to do all this, buy an outdoor specific TV. Some options are Samsung Q80, Q90, and Q100 series. These Samsung models have a triple layer technology that reduces the glare very significantly and enhances the off-angle viewing and black levels.
How can I boost my RV antenna?
You can use the TV antenna booster like a Winegard TV Antenna booster.
How does an RV antenna booster work? The antenna itself comes with a built-in signal booster. When you turn on the power supply that gives sufficient electricity to the signal booster in the antenna by the COAX cable that is connected to the antenna.
If you don’t know how to set up a signal booster in your RV then here is a video of the signal booster. Watch it from 1:12!
How do I hook up my dish to my RV?
Here is 4 step procedure to hook your dish to RV (Prefered for DISH):
- Locate a clear line of sight (LOS) to the Southwest sky. What is LOS? Antennas are required to be on clear LOS because radio transmission demands a clear path between antennas also known as radio line of sight which exists between the direct free space between two points.
- Connect the COAX cable you have from the satellite to the receiver
- Now connect either your home dish receiver or the RV or motorhome receiver to the TV.
- Now turn on the receiver and follow the screen instructions for further setup.
Michael is heavily inclined towards traveling to natural places and documenting cultures/people from different parts of the world. He also loves hiking and camping and is spirited toward all outdoor activities. He will share his passion for outdoor life and brands or products we use outside our homes. He has good research skills, and that’s why you can see why his articles are packed with info that is factual and not readily available. He also has the vision to travel the whole world and share it with all readers of Outdoor Favor.
