Satellite TV for RV use is fairly popular among RVers, but how does RV satellite TV work, and how do you get it? Is satellite TV preferable to streaming your favorite TV shows or using an OTA (over-the-air) TV antenna? What are the pros and cons of satellite TV for RVers?
In this post, we explore the ins and outs of satellite TV for travelers and what it takes to get satellite TV on the road.
What Is Satellite TV?
You may have seen our post on RV portable satellite internet in which we defined satellite internet as wireless internet access beamed down from satellites that orbit the Earth. Similarly, satellite TV delivers television programming by beaming signals from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth. The signals are received by a satellite dish, which acts as the antenna.
On a building, a dish would be permanently mounted. But an RV satellite dish travels with you. It could be a portable satellite dish you set up at your camping destination, or a permanently mounted one on the RV’s roof. This type of automatic satellite dish can be raised when you’re stationary and lowered when it’s time to travel.
An automatic satellite dish like this one is raised and lowered from inside the RV as needed.
Mounted onto the satellite dish is a low-noise block (LNB), sometimes called a low-noise converter (or downconverter). This device converts radio waves to a signal that’s sent through a wire into the RV or building where the television is located. A satellite receiver (which may be a set-top box or a TV tuner) converts the frequencies received into audio and video, allowing you to watch your favorite television shows on your TV.
What Are the Advantages of Satellite TV for RVers?
Satellite TV can work very well in certain situations. Let’s take a look at the advantages of RV satellite TV.
Optimal Reception
With satellite TV, reception can (theoretically) be found nearly anywhere (this isn’t always true for RVers, but we’ll get into that in the section on disadvantages). Satellite TV reception, provided there’s no signal obstruction, typically offers better, more consistent reception than OTA (over-the-air) TV or streaming your favorite content.
Unlimited Entertainment
Satellite TV can provide hundreds of channels, including ones from outside the country. No matter what you want to watch, you should be able to find a channel that offers the content you’re interested in. This can include news from around the world and a massive number of sports options if that’s your thing.
Portability and Permanent Installation
While you can carry a portable RV satellite dish with you and set it up on a tripod whenever you reach your camping destination (and if you have the storage to spare), an RV satellite dish can also be permanently installed on the roof of your rig. There are pros and cons to both portable and permanently installed options, as both require optimal positioning to receive the necessary signal.
The upside of the portable dish is that it can be moved to the best signal location without moving the RV (i.e. out from under the tree that blocks the view of the satellites), while the upside of the permanently-installed dish is that it can be automatically raised/lowered as needed, right from inside your RV.
What Are the Disadvantages of RV Satellite TV?
Along with the benefits of satellite TV for RVs come a few disadvantages. Let’s take a look at those now.
Inclement weather or any significant precipitation in the air can cause issues with signal acquisition & strength. This could be a significant problem for anyone whose reason for having satellite TV is to enjoy a cozy day indoors whenever the weather is bad.
Obstructions like inclement weather or trees can have a very significant impact on whether you can acquire a signal at a given location.
Signal Obstructions
Aside from issues caused by inclement weather, other signal obstructions can pose a big problem to RVers. If you’re parked at a beautiful campsite surrounded by trees, while pretty, those trees could prevent you from getting a signal.
Of course, if you’re more inclined to boondock in wide-open spaces, this might not be an issue for you. But chances are good that, at some point, there will be an obstruction between your RV satellite dish and the satellite signal, and it will prevent you from being able to use the service for which you’ve paid.
Need to Acquire a Signal at Each New Location
When the RV moves to a new location, it’s necessary for the system to acquire a new lock on the satellite signal. This takes time, and some users say it takes an annoying amount of time.
Often Need to Park in Open Spaces to Get a Signal
If your RV satellite dish is permanently installed on the roof of your rig, you may need to park in wide-open spaces to acquire a signal. This not only can take away from your scenic camping experience, but it can also mean that you’re parking in the hot sun in order to get a TV signal.
It’s possible that in order to connect to a satellite you’ll need to park in a more open space than you would otherwise like to do. This is something to remember when considering satellite TV for RV use.
Storage of Equipment
If you have a portable satellite dish for your travels, you’ll need to have adequate space to store the dish and tripod when you travel.
Cost
The cost of the equipment needed to set up satellite TV for an RV (plus the cost of professional installation if you permanently mount the hardware) can be quite significant. Add to that the monthly fees associated with satellite TV, and you’re looking at a pretty expensive setup.
This may be well worthwhile for RVers who spend a lot of time on the road and tend to enjoy a lot of television, but it may not be worthwhile for travelers who only want to watch a show every now and then or on a rainy day.
What Do You Need to Get Satellite TV for your RV?
Now that you’re aware of the pros and cons, let’s discuss what’s needed to get satellite TV for your RV.
Satellite Dish
You’ll need a satellite dish, of course. The dish serves as the antenna for the satellite TV signal. There are a couple of options as we’ve discussed above, and each of those options is best suited to different uses.
Roof-Mounted
There are two different types of roof-mounted satellite dishes for your RV.
- Stationary Use Only: The first type of roof-mounted satellite dish is for stationary use only and needs to be deployed when you reach your destination. This can be done conveniently from inside your RV, usually with the push of a button once you’ve parked your rig.
- In-Motion Use: This type of mounted RV satellite dish is taller and larger and can be used while the RV is underway. These are dome-style units that will track the satellite while the RV is moving. Families with children tend to appreciate this option so that the kids can be entertained on long road trips…while safely belted in place, of course!
Tripod-Mounted/Portable
Tripod-mounted portable satellite TV dishes must be set up and manually aimed each time you set up camp in a new location.
This type of portable dish does give you the option of moving the dish to the best location for a signal without moving the entire RV (within reason since there are wires involved).
Portable satellite dishes are often set up on a tripod and must be set up and dismantled every time you move to a new camping destination.
Receiver
You’ll also need a receiver, usually provided by the satellite service provider. Its purpose is to decode the signal being received from the satellites.
Satellite TV Service Plan
You’ll need a service plan from a provider of satellite TV. Your choices (in the US) are mostly limited to DISH® and DIRECTV®. Both providers offer hundreds of content channels, and their services are very similar; however, there are a couple of differences in their plans which might make a significant difference to some users.
DISH® Network offers 30-day pay-as-you-go plans, while DIRECTV® does not.
On the other hand, sports fans may want to know that DIRECTV® offers NFL Sunday Ticket, (live-streaming of sporting events), but DISH® service does not. RVers should note, however, that NFL Sunday Ticket is not included with all RV plans through DIRECTV® (so be aware before purchasing).
We should probably also note that users say that DISH® has a very simple, seamless signup process. In contrast, DIRECTV® has a more complicated signup system with equipment provided by a third-party company. With DIRECTV® you’ll need to sign up for your choice of RV plan, and then you’ll need to sign up separately with an equipment provider (KING, Signal Connect, or Winegard).
Both providers offer a choice between mounted or portable satellite dishes.
A Television (or Several)
Finally, of course, you’ll need at least one television in your RV.
NOTE: if you have multiple TVs in your rig, you may need multiple satellite receivers, depending on how your RV is wired. Some RVs may have a switch box that controls what signal is sent to what TV, so you may be able to get away with a single receiver.
Is Satellite TV Right For You?
There are many ways to catch up on your favorite TV shows and movies: there are lots of RV internet options that could allow you to stream shows, and there are over-the-air TV stations that only require an appropriate antenna, like one of these:
- Improved HDTV reception with extended range and clarity
- Integrates UHF-enhancing wing for more channels
- Long-range signal acquisition gets more channels
- Built-in King SureLock signal finder for simple signal acquisition
There are also a number of ways to satisfy the various entertainment desires of RVers. Whether your appetite requires a setup like RV satellite TV provides or whether you’re satisfied streaming a show on your cell phone, there’s something that’ll work for you.
We use our internet connection to do everything, including watching (streaming) TV and movies. Drop us a comment and let us know how you roll!
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Jay
Saturday 13th of December 2025
The trend is away from satellite and towards Internet streaming. Most who prefer streaming have never used satellite even if their RV came with it. If streaming, you will need very fast Internet access via phone or satellite. Starlink is generally favored and the subscription costs $165/month. Installation and equipment costs hundreds and if it's a permanent installation, much more, but substantially less than satellite TV.
With a minimal number of channels plus a few premium movie ones, Dish Network costs us about $170/month. We have Dish in our home using its latest Hopper 3 receiver. We have no experience with DirecTV. The Dish Hopper 3 is a DVR (digital video recorder) with a terabyte of storage and multiple timers that allow simultaneous recording of different channels for later viewing. The DVR can pause, rewind and fast forward. The DVR has the programming schedule for a week in advance. They have a supplemental ”On Dish” magazine that shows the programs for an entire month. Dish has video on demand and many are free. The Hopper 3 is connected to your designated, main TV and with 3 other TVs via networked Joeys. (Notice all of kangaroo references.)
That sounds great for a home but Dish won't allow use of the Hopper/Joey system in portable applications. You would need to use their Wally receiver for that, which alone is more limited. Since we have Dish in our home, adding the Wally only costs us $7/month. While not technically a DVR, you can add a USB hard drive to it and then it essentially becomes one with almost all of the features of the Hopper 3. With the addition of the hard drive, it can record one channel while playing another with the same rewind and fast-forward features. As with the Hopper 3, recordings can be scheduled up to a week in advance. The Wally only communicates with one TV. Getting it to send a TV picture to a second TV would require an HDMI splitter with either direct cabling to the second TV or by using an HDMI transmitter/receiver, which have their own issues.
Other than free, over-the-air TV, other methods all require paying for those services. With streaming, you are looking at far less equipment expenditures. You will sacrifice the DVR feature, although the streaming content can often be paused, rewound and fast-forwarded. If you have smart TVs, they should each be able to watch separate shows at the same time.
No matter which system you use, you will need access to a satisfactory signal. Cellular might be adequate, but there often a dirth of cell towers near campgrounds. Even if you have a decent phone signal, it might not be fast enough to display TV programming. Satellite TV requires some kind of antenna that has access to an unobstructed southern exposure. Trees, buildings and terrain can all cause problems with that. Aiming a ground mounted antenna is impractical and usually unsatisfactory. I have placed a satellite antenna on an RV roof, aimed it and dragged the cable through an open window only to havile it blown off the roof due to the wind. So, some type of permanent satellite antenna is desirable. For that, you can use a dome antenna or a full-sized dish antenna. The antenna inside the dome is smaller and requires a relatively stronger signal. Because the done is up all of the time, it contributes to increased wind resistance when traveling. The Trav'ler dish antennas are available for both Dish and DirecTV and fold flat when being used. All automatic systems requires that they locate the satellites and lock onto them. That takes 5-15 minutes, sometimes longer. That needs to be done each time you move. Some domes have in-motion satellite reception. We had that and it worked very poorly. There were numerous obstructions plus the satellite needed to be correctly tracked with every motion of the RV. The resulting picture was noisy and constantly interrupted. Watching anything on it while driving was torture! We had problems viewing anything using the dome when stationary while camping at Big Bend NP.
Bad weather can interfere with reception, but it usually takes heavy rain to do that.
While the satellite TV requires an unobstructed southern exposure and connections to particular satellites, Starlink only requires access to the sky and not to any particular satellite. Roaming Starlink works even while moving. The average download speed is 25-150 Mbps. When we didn't have satellite access, Dish could go to streaming the same content via our Starlink connection and it worked very well. Other than Starlink, there is Viasat and Hughsnet, but Starlink is by far more popular. Tech support from starlink has been problematic and required submitting an online ticket. Eventually they might get back to you. Both Starlink and Dish subscriptions can be paused.
In summary, we are satisfied with satellite TV in our home and RV via Dish. If you desire digital communications, information and entertainment, there's probably something that will fit into your budget and lifestyle.
AC
Sunday 15th of December 2024
I have Dish Network, and have had it for a number of years, it works great to me it's better than streaming, even with the best internet service there are areas where your signal will be blocked. If you have dish at home the cost is very little to also, have it in your Motorhome or Camper.
LiveLongandWander
Saturday 14th of December 2024
We have Dish on our Tiffin and it works great, sans tree blockage. The MyDish app must be used to send a "wakeup signal" when you change locations. Note, if you use Dish at home also you can only have one local area at a time for both receivers.
Kim
Sunday 24th of November 2024
We’re getting ready to buy a new RV. We want a permanent satellite on the roof so we can stream from our Hulu account. Which would you suggest for us? We will travel in the Southern US.
TheRVgeeks
Sunday 24th of November 2024
Kim... these days, Starlink is usually the best bet (no contract, high speed). The latest hardware can be flat mounted on your roof so it's "permanent" (i.e. doesn't need to be setup at each site), though you'll likely want to make sure it CAN be removed so you could move it if you're parked under trees.
Richard
Monday 1st of January 2024
We have our cell phone provider figured out when we cross the border from Canada (we use Ting) but I am toying with Bell Express View as a TV provider. Our new to us RV has a dish mounted on the roof. So far we have gotten by with OTA. Do you have any insights/experience with BEV in the USA. Thanks
TheRVgeeks
Monday 1st of January 2024
P.S… we have a couple of friends who are down south in the desert southwest right now. They had upgraded their Shaw direct system when they were home in Canada, and were told that they wouldn’t have coverage down south because of a satellite change. But they’ve been watching TV as far south as Yuma, without any problems, so we’re not even sure you can 100% trust what you’re told until you get down there and find out for yourself. it may be worth posting something in an appropriate forum over at iRV2.com, to see if anybody has recent experience with Bell Express View.
TheRVgeeks
Monday 1st of January 2024
Hi Richard! Glad you’ve got the cellular side squared away. Unfortunately, since we don’t watch any broadcast TV (everything we watch, we stream), we don’t have any personal experience with BEV to give you any insights. We do know that, over the years, various satellite TV providers have had satellite changes that have affected coverage (mostly reducing access when south of a certain latitude), but we don’t track it all.