Installing Portable Satellite in our new motorhome

[LarryDel]

We just purchased a 2019 Forest River Forester Class C and we've also purchased a portable satellite dish. The instructions that came with the satellite dish say that you need a direct connection from the satellite to the TV which means we can't use the cable hookup on the outside of the motorhome, but we don't want to drill a hole in our new RV. Is there a way to use some sort of splitter system between the cable and the satellite. Thanks for your comments.....

[enblethen]

Older rigs normally have RG-59 cable. Satellite setups normally require RG-6.

[jplante4]

I have a 23 year old coach so the cable connections are all suspect. I put a separate outside cable tap close to the Dish receiver to keep the total amount of cable to a minimum. I have had zero issues with the satellite.

[turbojimmy]

Big Katuna wrote:
I use the factory park cable wiring for the sat/dish connection.

You just need to find it inside and disconnect it from whatever it’s connected to eg amp or splitter or switch box and connect it directly to you sat box.

I never use park cable tho.

This is what I did. easy peasy. But the other side of my park connection was easy to get at.

[2oldman]

You can drill a hole in your new trailer, or your old one. You'll probably end up doing that.

[CA_Traveler]

You should be able to find a way to run the coax from the receiver to a basement storage area. Route it in cabinets, walls, etc. In the basement install a barrel connector.

Note: There is no reason to route the sat coax to the DS rear location where you might find a cable connection.

[Bill_Satellite]

Here is a copy of a post I made in a similar topic. Hope it helps.

Satellite TV is NOT Cable. In most cases you will not be able to use that connection due to the way the manufacturer wires a trailer for cable (splitters, amp, etc.).
The best option, if you can a way, is to create a new input for your satellite coax connections. Many RV's are wired with a Cable input PLUS a Satellite input and this is the very best option. If the satellite receiver is in a slide-out you might consider drilling a hole through the wall to the outside where you can install a outside coax connection with a weather cover. If it's not in a slide you might be able to easily route a cable through a storage area, wall, floor, cabinet, something, to get a cable from outside to the receiver location.
As mentioned above, some trailers send the Cable signal directly to a wall plate where a small button or slide is used to turn on the power supply for the roof top OTA TV antenna and, when turned off, allows Cable TV to come through. If you are lucky and the manufacturer did not install any splitters along the way then this connection can be modified for use by both Cable and Satellite. To find out you would need to remove the wall plate and determine which coax goes to the outside cable connection (usually labeled) and remove that from the wall plate. Connect a coax extension from that wall plate to the receiver and see if it works. If it does not then you are done. If it does work then you can add an A/B switch to that coax and send one coax to the receiver and loop one back to the wall plate to allow the Cable connection to work as well when necessary.

[Big_Katuna]

I use the factory park cable wiring for the sat/dish connection.

You just need to find it inside and disconnect it from whatever it’s connected to eg amp or splitter or switch box and connect it directly to you sat box.

I never use park cable tho.

[wa8yxm]

IN theory there is a "Splitter" but it does not work well.. Trust me on that.

First. I'm not opposed to drilling holes. You get a standard coax bulkhead connector from your RV parts place and then drill about a 1/2 inch hole. pass the cable out hook it to the connector. layer dome caulk or dealant and screw it to the wall. Looks factory if you do it neat.

But if you do not want to drill holes.

Class A: I went through the firewall. existing hole. just push through the expanding foam sealant.

All RV's. get the cable into the utility tunnell (This is a riser that runs along one or both sides of the RV) and exit alongside the water line.

[garyemunson]

When we got our new motorhome several years ago, we bought a portable dish as I hated the roof mounted manual dish I would always have to fool with for so long to get a signal on our previous coach. After about 6 months, I ended up climbing on the roof and mounting it permanently (Winnebago had a connection hidden under the skin of the roof and a template for making the hole and finding it). My experience was that while the portable made it easy to get out from under trees, you then had the problem of dodging plants and other obstructions on the ground. It seemed half the time I was placing the dish on the roof anyway. My suggestion to you is a roof mount. One less thing to worry about setting up and breaking camp. Most people with sat are commercial campground users (to have the needed 110 Volts for the receiver and not running the gen) and you will find that they are quite hip to sat users and all you need do is ask for a sat friendly site at checkin and you will be put in a spot with a view of the sat.

[K_Charles]

We use the same cable for dish and cable in our Winnebago. There is a splitter that has power pass only need way. The side without power pass is for cable and the side that has power pass is for dish.

[enblethen]

Some new MHs come with a satellite connector installed on the exterior of the rig. You need to check to see if Forest River did or did not do this.
If it is not you can get a through the window cable device. It fits through sliding windows.

[Dutch_12078]

I've always installed a direct to the receiver coax and bulkhead fitting inside a bin with pass-thru to the outside for my satellite dish hookups. I usually replace the cable fitting cover plate with a dual fitting plate and label them accordingly.

[Ranger_Smith]

No it needs to be a direct connection with no splitter