DISH Pay As You Go with HOPPER?

[paulcardoza]

Has anyone managed to get a Hopper installed with PAYG service in their RV? I'm about to make the call to DISH, but need to know if I'm wasting my time trying for this.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Dutch_12078]

I think this would work, but TechWriter may know different. Buy another Hopper (NOT a '3'!) and temporarily connect it in place of one of your existing ones in the house and call Dish to have it activated. Once it's up and running, move it to your RV and reconnect the old one. You should be able to turn it on and off as needed in your online MyDish account, only being charge the extra $12/month for the time it's active. Dish doesn't need to know it's in an RV, although they don't give me any hassles about ours being in our RV when I change service locations.

Oh, and I say not a Hopper 3, because only one is allowed per account currently, and not with any other model Hoppers on the account, only 211 series receivers.

[Mile_High]

TechWriter wrote:

Mile High wrote:

amdriven2liv wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Call 800-970-7959. Dish is claiming that this number will get you to folks offering dedicated RV Tech support.

Just got off the phone with them. Said I can't use my current Hopper in an RV. (Leased) Also said I need to buy the VIP211Z to travel.

Asked if I could buy the Hopper, he said they don't recommend using the Hopper due to vibrations while traveling. (which we have already done that and the Hopper is in my RV that Dish installed, since we live in it)

So, in the end, only VIP211Z, and I didn't even get to the cost of Paygo.

Any suggestions?

That is a consistent answer to what I get. Mention RV and Hopper in the same sentence - and the deal is shut down, even after I bought my own Hopper and Joeys.

If you want to use a Hopper in your RV, have DISH install one in your house. Then move it to your RV when you travel.

Ya, we have 2 hoppers and 6 Joeys in the house already. I used to drag some of that junk out to the RV to go on vacation and hook it up and check switch and all that work, and swore never again. Clean underwear and food is all I'm transferring anymore.....:) the simpler it is - the more I'm inclined to do it.

[TechWriter]

Mile High wrote:

amdriven2liv wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Call 800-970-7959. Dish is claiming that this number will get you to folks offering dedicated RV Tech support.

Just got off the phone with them. Said I can't use my current Hopper in an RV. (Leased) Also said I need to buy the VIP211Z to travel.

Asked if I could buy the Hopper, he said they don't recommend using the Hopper due to vibrations while traveling. (which we have already done that and the Hopper is in my RV that Dish installed, since we live in it)

So, in the end, only VIP211Z, and I didn't even get to the cost of Paygo.

Any suggestions?

That is a consistent answer to what I get. Mention RV and Hopper in the same sentence - and the deal is shut down, even after I bought my own Hopper and Joeys.

If you want to use a Hopper in your RV, have DISH install one in your house. Then move it to your RV when you travel.

If you full time, then contact a local DISH installer to install a Hopper in you RV.

I do not recommend contacting DISH directly, not even through the 'special' RV phone number, for ANY RV install. RVs are not in their script.

[Mile_High]

amdriven2liv wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Call 800-970-7959. Dish is claiming that this number will get you to folks offering dedicated RV Tech support.

Just got off the phone with them. Said I can't use my current Hopper in an RV. (Leased) Also said I need to buy the VIP211Z to travel.

Asked if I could buy the Hopper, he said they don't recommend using the Hopper due to vibrations while traveling. (which we have already done that and the Hopper is in my RV that Dish installed, since we live in it)

So, in the end, only VIP211Z, and I didn't even get to the cost of Paygo.

Any suggestions?

That is a consistent answer to what I get. Mention RV and Hopper in the same sentence - and the deal is shut down, even after I bought my own Hopper and Joeys.

[TechWriter]

amdriven2liv wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
If you already have a Hopper, why do you need another? You are already paying Dish, just move the Hopper. If you already live in the RV and you already have a Hopper in the RV I might be confused about what you are trying to do.

Was wanting to do the pay go. We don't need Dish every month. And probably won't need it till fall. But, according to the CS rep, we can't do that without buying the VIP211Z. $79 Plus to use it as a DVR, there is the need for a USB 2.0 hard drive, $99 and set up fee of $40.

That is what the CS told us we need to do PayGo.

Since you already have a leased Hopper, you probably have a 2-year contract with DISH, right?

If so, you've already thrown the dice -- you can't go Pay As You Go until your contract ends or you open another DISH account.

As Bill said, just move your Hopper to your RV when you're traveling.

[amdriven2liv]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
If you already have a Hopper, why do you need another? You are already paying Dish, just move the Hopper. If you already live in the RV and you already have a Hopper in the RV I might be confused about what you are trying to do.

Was wanting to do the pay go. We don't need Dish every month. And probably won't need it till fall. But, according to the CS rep, we can't do that without buying the VIP211Z. $79 Plus to use it as a DVR, there is the need for a USB 2.0 hard drive, $99 and set up fee of $40.

That is what the CS told us we need to do PayGo.

[Bill_Satellite]

If you already have a Hopper, why do you need another? You are already paying Dish, just move the Hopper. If you already live in the RV and you already have a Hopper in the RV I might be confused about what you are trying to do.

[amdriven2liv]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Call 800-970-7959. Dish is claiming that this number will get you to folks offering dedicated RV Tech support.

Just got off the phone with them. Said I can't use my current Hopper in an RV. (Leased) Also said I need to buy the VIP211Z to travel.

Asked if I could buy the Hopper, he said they don't recommend using the Hopper due to vibrations while traveling. (which we have already done that and the Hopper is in my RV that Dish installed, since we live in it)

So, in the end, only VIP211Z, and I didn't even get to the cost of Paygo.

Any suggestions?

[paulcardoza]

Thanks Bill!

[Bill_Satellite]

Call 800-970-7959. Dish is claiming that this number will get you to folks offering dedicated RV Tech support.

[TechWriter]

paulcardoza wrote:
I actually would not mind buying the hardware myself. I'm more concerned about getting it installed properly. Our Cyclone has 4 TV's. The LR main TV has nowhere to place the larger Hopper unit, so I'm guessing putting that in the bedroom and a Joey @ the LR TV is not a big problem?

Go with a Hopper 3. It's faster than previous Hoppers + it has 16 tuners.

[greenrvgreen]

Dish CS is getting better, I think. While the reps are still forced to disgorge canned responses the responses now seem to acknowledge the whole PAYG program, something that for a couple years they pretended didn't even exist.


For those coerced into the $5/month suspension fee, I would encourage you to revisit this with Dish. Dish reps know what the drill is on PAYG "cancelations" and no longer fight it, at least with me.

As for using a Hopper, etc, I have no idea, but I get the clear impression that Dish corp is seeing enough customer flight (cord-cutting, etc) that they are beginning to try to figure out how to retain paying customers, even if their usage patterns are different from 90% of their customers.

[Mile_High]

paulcardoza wrote:
Has anyone managed to get a Hopper installed with PAYG service in their RV? I'm about to make the call to DISH, but need to know if I'm wasting my time trying for this.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

I successfully got the Hopper and 2 Joeys installed on PAYG in our 5er...........once 😞

It is truly a **** shoot everytime you call to activate or deactivate. At one point they even shut down my service althogether because I mentioned "Hopper" in my RV. I bought the Hopper and Joeys and that was supposed to be the trick, but the problem is Dish employees are trained to give canned answers from a computer screen and if you are anything out of normal - its a hassle ahead. After fighting and boiling my blood just trying to get it turned on for a weekend, I surrendered. I said "what, did I say RV?? Silly me, I meant CABIN". That automatically put me in a seasonal mode there I can turn it all off once a year for $5 a month to keep the account open, and if its closed up to 9 months it automatically restarts full service. Not optimal, but at least I can enjoy vacation now without needing Valium!

[Dutch_12078]

A Dish retailer may be willing to handle that for you, but you may have to call a few to find one that will work on an RV. Local RV dealers may be able to point you in the right direction if they don't offer to do it themselves. Putting the Hopper in the BR and Joey in LR will work fine as long as there's access for running the coax from the dish. Will you be using a roof mounted dish like the Winegard Trav'ler? Or a portable tripod mounted dish? The automatic portable or roof mounted dome dishes do not work with the Hopper.