How do you start service in an RV?

[bsprague]

I have DirecTV in my motorhome. It was installed by a company that sells KVH dome antennas.

A friend got divorced and is happily living in his motorhome. He asked how to get it started. He wants DirecTV service with a dish mounted on a portable tripod. I called DirecTV and the CSR seemed new and unaware of RVs. The CSR didn't think the portable tripod was an approved mount. Yet, it is common everywhere there are RVs.

Can you call DirecTV and order RV service that includes RV installation?

Will the installer put the dish on a portable tripod?

Will the installer bring a portable tripod or does the customer have to buy one on his own?

What is the best way to do this?

[wallfishman]

well i would buy the portable tripod yourself After you get installed, you are going to have to learn to set it up anyway if you plan on being mobile with it.

Do you have a primary residence you park this thing at? If so mount a pole for the dish and use that when you are home. go buy a 1 5/8 inch pole and a 5 dollar bag of concrete. dig a hole and set the pole and use a level. get a tv ready and Id do your install if I got the job. If you cant do the pole mount yourself request one.

[RobertE]

Yes you can get service in a RV

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P1400120

For the other questions.

Will the installer put the dish on a portable tripod?

He should be able to if one is provided.

Will the installer bring a portable tripod or does the customer have to buy one on his own?

Typically, tripods are customer supplied. However, that may vary market to market.

Just the other day, I put a basic 18" on a 5th wheel. They had attached a section of thick walled PVC to the ladder, the dish fit right on it.

[BattleZone]

You absolutely CAN get RV service, but most CSRs won't have any idea how. It really isn't any different than an apartment install, but you will need a tripod (not included/extra fee paid to installer) and will need to learn how to point it (not difficult).

[bsprague]

So it sounds like the best way to do this is to attempt talking the CSR into arranging for a tripod. If that does not work, my friend should get a tripod like found at http://installeroasis.com/satellite-dish-tripods-c-44.html and have it ready when the installer arrives.

[Flugelman]

Yes you can get service in a RV

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P1400120



From the link: "Contact your local satellite TV retailer to order equipment and schedule installation."

This is what I did 5 years ago. Even got the $50 referral bonus for a friend. I bought a receiver at the time, installed it myself and made cable connections inside the coach for outside tripod installed dish as well as roof mounted dish. Piece of cake...

[bsprague]

From the link: "Contact your local satellite TV retailer to order equipment and schedule installation."

This is what I did 5 years ago. Even got the $50 referral bonus for a friend. I bought a receiver at the time, installed it myself and made cable connections inside the coach for outside tripod installed dish as well as roof mounted dish. Piece of cake...

I know retailers like Best Buy have the recievers. But, do they have the antennas?

[Flugelman]

I know retailers like Best Buy have the recievers. But, do they have the antennas?

Google "seattle directv retailer". You will find several D* retailers that should have everything you need. Might want to check with BBB to select best one...

[Steve615]

I know retailers like Best Buy have the recievers. But, do they have the antennas?

Best Buy offers this for folks that travel.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9075902&type=product&id=1218016568373

It's not very cheap...current retail price is listed at $669.99
It is designed to work with DirecTV,Bell ExpressVu and Dish Network services.

[cariera]

Buy a Vu Cube.

My neighbor just got one of these as he spends almost every weekend from April to November out in his RV.

He had no previous experience with satellite tv as his home had cable.

Literally he had the service up and running in less than 3 minutes using one of my receivers. He then changed from cable to Directv in his home, now he can take his tv with him.

This Cube is amazingly simple, a little pricey - however no HD is available.:)

[PokerJoker]

As the others said, using D* in your RV is easy, in fact, as long as you do not want DNS (distant feed) network channels, you can just add the receiver(s) to an existing home account for the nominal mirroring charge.

But if you DO want the DNS national feeds - then the fun begins.

D* has a form on their website that you can fill out if you want an RV DNS waiver. This form assumes that you already have the receiver(s) for the RV and that you have already activated it/them on your existing home account. You put on the form the ID numbers of the box or boxes that you wish to transfer to RV DNS service. You also give them a credit card number. Then you mail it to D* with a copy of your RV registration. In a week or two they will activate an RV account with those boxes with DNS enabled. This will be a separate account with a completely separate monthly charge. (IOW you pay double.)

This is apparently one of the very few times that D* will move a leased receiver from one account to another.

I realize that the above scenario runs counter to what some others have experienced. Maybe that's why they recently changed the form. As far as what people do that have ONLY an RV account, and no existing home account, I don't know, I never had to deal with that.

[dorfd1]

this may be ilegal. but get an h20 or hddvr and get rid of your home acount and switch to rv only and use an antenna so you will get your locals in addition to dns, that way you pay once.