Recently I read a blog post at Gypsy Journal discussing which was better – Dish or Direct TV – for watching television while traveling as a full-time RVer. It got me thinking about what we do, and why, so I decided to blog about it here.

For our television viewing on the road, we use the Winegard antenna that came with our 5th wheel. Actually, it’s not the original antenna, but a replacement. Back in 2008, I managed to do what almost all RVers manage to do at least once: leave the antenna up while we were traveling (“antenna down?” is now on our breaking camp check-list) and it was mangled beyond recognition when we parked in front of a friend’s house near Chicago (darn those tree-lined streets!). Anyway, when we replaced the original antenna, we went ahead and upgraded to the Digital HDTV version and added the Wingman – a little attachable antenna that is supposed to boost reception.

Winegard Sensar RV Digital HDTV Antenna with Wingman

The Winegard antenna receives any over-the-air signals being broadcast near us. With the recent requirement for broadcast stations to change-over to digital, digital stations are about all we get anymore as analog is found in only the most remote locations, and usually that remoteness means no signal at all. Our television and antenna can also receive HD (High Definition) signals when broadcast, which is nice. This is more common in areas in the range of larger metropolitan areas.

What does all this mean for television reception and our viewing habits? It means that if we get a channel, then great. If we don’t, we have DVDs, and better yet – books! Redbox ($1 video rentals) is another option and is nice on occasion for recently released movies, if there is a Redbox location in the area. Also, if there is good Internet reception (either our Verizon air card or local WiFi) we might watch a favorite TV show via the computer through direct streaming (this can eat our meager data limits fast (5 Gb month), so we’re frugal or wait for free WiFi).

We like to think we can actually do without much TV. Back in 2003, we went four months without any television at all while on an extended RV trip from Florida to the Pacific Northwest and back. We didn’t miss it until we came home and had cable television again. Then we realized how much time we were wasting sitting in front of the TV mindlessly changing channels and decided to start recording select programs we enjoyed and just watch them and the news. We generally continue doing this today. It’s so much nicer to watch a program and be able to fast-forward through commercials. Not only is it more enjoyable, but saves time too! Did you know the average 30-minute sit-com is only about 19 minutes long minus the commercials? I wonder how many years of our lives we save by skipping commercials? Plenty, I’m sure.

Now that we’re full-timers, television is something we don’t really want to be completely without (local and national news and weather comes in handy), but we just can’t see the expense of satellite TV and the seeming headache we’ve read about with dealing with DirectTV or Dish Network. And from what we’ve seen of the reception at campgrounds that use satellite for their ‘cable’ TV, it’s not that great and very dependent upon weather. In some cases, we’ve actually unplugged the campground provided cable because our antenna got more channels and/or better reception!

We know we’re in the minority as far as full-time RVers go, but a simple over-the-air antenna works fine for us right now. How about you?