Satellite TV Dish Tailgater

[Chz hed campers]

Thinking about buying the Dish Network Tailgater mobile antenna. Wondering if anyone out there has this set-up, and if it's worth the $$. I am a Dish Network subscriber, so I can use the receiver I now have. Can I use this for the TV inside of our ST30RE, or is it just meant for outside use? How well does it work if there are trees around, andI don't have a really clear view of the southern sky? Just wondering. Thanks in advance for any comments.

[Stan]

I am a Dish user and take the receiver with me on longer trips. I bought a used 3 feed Dish antenna and made a stand out of PVC pipe. I now get all our normal channels anywhere on the road. You do need Southern exposure and it takes me about an hour to get it all aligned and working but for stays more than one night without cable, it works great. Antenna cost me 35.00 and the pipe about another 10. I have the 722 receiver so I can watch two different channels in the liv room and bedroom. Best part is there is no extra costs involved.

[tator447]

Gary,
While at the Factory Rally there was one of the Cruiser's there with a portable setup like you are talking about. Perhaps if he reads this post he will reply to you also. Good luck. BTW there is a weekend rally around Bloomington, IL the 3rd weekend of October if you may be interested. If you are let me know and I'll give you the person's name to contact. They only have electric there but the good news is you can fill your water tank "when" you get there which helps a lot.

Jim

[TTKITTLE]

We bought the tailgater and the recommended receiver for $500. We've been on three trips and have been able to use it at all locations but one ( too deep in the trees ). I had best luck just taking it to the flat spot on my roof of our 335ss. It only weighs 10 pounds. Set up is easy. The first time you use it you have to call Dish to activate it because we bought a separate receiver. Be sure to turn off the attennae booster. It is nice to not have to worry about adjusting the satellite to the exact position to get a signal. We only have to pay $7.00 per month for the receiver just for the months we travel. We can deactivate it when we winterize. So far well worth the money. We now are more alert as to what sites are most suitable for satellite reception. Hope this helps.

[sle1995]

Talked to my local dealer and was able to do some kind of promotion and got the receiver for free, but had to buy the tailgater($300). Had problems at first. Got a new receiver and a new tailgater and then it all worked fine. Trees are usually an issue, but once you get a signal, it works great. They say the handle needs to point north, but I usually line up the front of the tailgater at 225° and receive a stronger signal like that.

[Indy_Smiths]

I see you're towing with a Titan and your trailer is a bit heavier than ours. Overall, how is that working for you?

We've got a 2004 crew cab.

Thanks

[gmctodd]

Is the tailgater dish automatic or do you have to point it? I have the wingard caryout which is fully automatic. set it down plug it in and let it go. It can be set to pick up dish 500 (110 and 119) and the eastern arc 1004 (61.5, 72.7, 77) as well as others. If for some reason I can't get the eastern arc sats, I can switch and point at the dish 500 ones. The only thing i don't like is you can only watch one tv. for long stays I normally set up a tripod and the regular dish so the kid has his own tv.
Todd

[sle1995]

Indy_Smiths, Titan working out fine. Equalizer is a big help. Added air bags to the rear suspension to give me a little more comfort on the already existing tow package. Have not had any problems towing yet. Pulls better than the North Trail that I had. It weighed 2000 less.

[Chz hed campers]

The Tailgater will find satelites automacally when pointed south and plugged into the receiver and the receiver is plugged into a 110v outlet, or a 12v converter. Here's my question... How do I get the signal into the TV in the TT. Will the cable-in box on the ouside work or do I need to find a way to get the cable inside? The satelite receiver must be inside... the dish is outside pointed south, and the TV is inside. Will I need a new coax connection installed outside?
Thanks for your responses. Gary

[Accoster]

Gary,

I have a similar set up with a dish receiver and a portable vuqube 1000 dish, which is an earlier version of the same satelite dish but not automatic. If you want to plug the coaxial cable from the satelite into the dedicated cable plug on the back of the trailer, you will need to bypass the antenna booster inside of the trailer. There are tons of threads here on how to do that. If you don't want to do that you and always just run the satellite coaxial cable through a window directly in the satelite box. I split the coaxial line before the booster and installed a dedicated satelite outlet. It's not that hard, especially if I can do it.

I have been also looking at the tailgater since it is automatic. Right now I have to set up the vuqube manually and it takes me usually between 10-15 minutes to dial it in, sometimes longer which can be frustrating. Just make sure you have the VIP 211k receiver since that is the only one that works with the tailgater. These things are really portable, so they can walk away if you are not looking so make sure it is secured.

Let me know if you have anymore questions. Hope this helps.

Todd

[Livewire]

We also have the Vu Cube 1000,I usually bypass some of the steps like check switch and go directly to find satellite usually takes less than two minutes if you know sat position and have a good compass.

[Chz hed campers]

Thanks for the help Todd. I do have the VIP 411 receiver, so I guess I'm ready to make the purchase! You're right though, they are very tempting to thieves. Wonder if a can of very bold florecent spray paint (if its mine, I can paint it any color I want) and a game camera attached strategically, would make it less tempting! Gary