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Good Sam Roadside Assistance

What Does "Satellite Prep" Mean On An RV?

by Anonymous

What RV

What RV "Satellite Prep" Means

I am considering either a roof mounted satellite dish or a portable movable satellite dish/pod for my new 5th wheel trailer.

Nearly all manufacturers state that they include "satellite prep" how would this benefit me with either option I am considering?

ANSWER: Hi as usual there is no simple answer because Satellite prep means different things depending on the manufacturer of your 5th Wheel Trailer. Below I have listed some of the more common setups of Satellite prepped RVs.


1. There is one Coax cable connection (not on the roof) on the outside of the RV for a portable satellite dish to plug into with one output cable connection on the inside of the trailer. The input connection is usually located in the same exterior location that you connect cable TV to your RV.

There could be a separate Coax Connections for the Satellite or again depending on manufacturer you could end up plugging the satellite into the cable connection.

Depending on manufacturer you may have other outputs for the satellite signal in the RV. You may also have a Video Control Box in your RV that allows to switch the satellite signal to the other TVs in your RV.

2. This type of Satellite Prep has everything I mentioned above but also includes a pre-wired satellite connection on the roof of the RV and may also include a more elaborate Video Control Box to manage your RV's video inputs.

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The benefits of a "Satellite Prep" is that you don't have to install all of the satellite cabling yourself.

If this is a brand new RV that you bought from a dealership I would suggest that you contact them to find out what their version of Satellite Prep includes. If this a used RV you may want to try to contact the manufacturer and give them the model number and I am pretty sure that they can tell you what you have on your 5th wheel.

Hope this helps.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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