Anyone with SiriusXM Satellite (not WiFi) radio installed in their Escape?

[Genebuilder]

Looking to add a SiriusXM satellite radio in my Escape 23 after taking delivery in October. Would like to get comments from folks who might have done an installation, what kind, how they wired the antenna, good and not so good things about it. Thanx in advance for your comments.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I've had a couple cars now that came with introductory SiriusXM subscriptions. I found the music channels too narrow and didn't find much of the free range of mostly acoustic music I listen to, I far prefer spotify where I can play whole albums of most anything I want. I let SiriusXM lapse on both cars when the free intro was over. I also don't like listening to 'podcasts' or most any sort of talk radio, I guess it offers a lot of that too.

[iamunique127]

I don't have a SiriusXM radio in the trailer, I use my phone and a bluetooth speaker. I do have a Sirius subscription for the radio in my truck so I can use the app to listen on my phone.

Despite having extensive music libraries on both our phones we prefer to listen to radio most times. Sometimes though, if we want certain music, we do chose from our music libraries.

Good things about SiriusXM, IMO:
-I don't have to make playlists or do any of the curating myself (I mostly listen to music when I am doing other things and don't want to have to be fiddling with what I listen to other than changing stations)
-there are several channels of the type of music I like to listen to
-no commercials
-there are DJs who tell me a bit about the music I'm listening to
-the artist and the song is listed on my screen if I ever want to look at it
-the stations play songs and artists I don't hear on my local radio stations
-we haven't run out of stations to listen to if we get tired of one
-I can continue to listen to a chosen station no matter where I travel
-reception is mostly good everywhere
-listening doesn't use up internet data when using the Sirius radio itself

Bad things about it, IMO:
-there seems to be a playlist on most stations and they play the same artists and songs over and over like non-satelite stations
-there is not enough variety of some types of stations and an abundance of others
-stangely, there is poor reception on some stations at times

[BravoDeltaRomeo]

Originally Posted by iamunique127

I don't have a SiriusXM radio in the trailer, I use my phone and a bluetooth speaker. I do have a Sirius subscription for the radio in my truck so I can use the app to listen on my phone.

Despite having extensive music libraries on both our phones we prefer to listen to radio most times. Sometimes though, if we want certain music, we do chose from our music libraries.

Good things about SiriusXM, IMO:
-I don't have to make playlists or do any of the curating myself (I mostly listen to music when I am doing other things and don't want to have to be fiddling with what I listen to other than changing stations)
-there are several channels of the type of music I like to listen to
-no commercials
-there are DJs who tell me a bit about the music I'm listening to
-the artist and the song is listed on my screen if I ever want to look at it
-the stations play songs and artists I don't hear on my local radio stations
-we haven't run out of stations to listen to if we get tired of one
-I can continue to listen to a chosen station no matter where I travel
-reception is mostly good everywhere
-listening doesn't use up internet data when using the Sirius radio itself

Bad things about it, IMO:
-there seems to be a playlist on most stations and they play the same artists and songs over and over like non-satelite stations
-there is not enough variety of some types of stations and an abundance of others
-stangely, there is poor reception on some stations at times

I've had it in my truck since 2019. I was paying about $5+as a month. When my subscription was coming up this time, they didn't offer me a deal and wouldn't budge.

I opted to cancel. I'm now on a 3-4 month trial via email and no credit card. I'll continue that as long as I can using "Gmail" variations of my email. If they want to screw me over and not offer me a deal but I can get a deal as a "new subscriber", I'll play that game too.

I'm still trying to figure out an easy way to listen in the trailer or via portable radio when camping. For now, we use CBC radio as it is generally available everywhere. We don't watch the news or read the paper, so it works for us.

I could always do the streaming or downloading as I have Gigabytes and Gigabytes of lossless music, physical CD's, bootlegs etc, but it's such a hassle and sometimes I just want "random". What I'd really like to do, even though it's not practical, is bring a portable record player!

Underground Garage is my go-to on XM

[Vermilye]

I have a SiriusXM radio in the trailer. It is connected to my Sony radio (not stock) through the AUX input. I use their app on my phone connected via Bluetooth more than the radio because I prefer some of the app only channels. That said, I do use the radio when I don't have internet connections. Currently paying around $6.00 per month, renewed every 6 months by threatening to quit.

I have a marine antenna mounted on the roof. The radio is mounted under the storage cabinet over the bed next to the bathroom wall. I suspect the standard antenna would function as well, but not as east to attach to the outside of the trailer. It might work inside the upper cabinet.

[GinoandLinda]

Not a fan of SiriusXM. Had it for about as year and it was novel at first, but became old. I'd rather listen to local AM and FM or my own playlists. Our go to is a small Bluetooth speaker and either one of our phones.

Also, trying to cancel SiriusXM is a huge hassle. It took months to cancel poiur subscription and didn't resolve until we got our bankcard involved.

[Genebuilder]

Hadn’t thought about the SiriusXM app for the phone. Use the app to have SiriusXM on the television at home. It’s on more than regular TV programming… (most of it unwatchable any more): Phone app and Bluetooth might be a good solution.

[OneCentHillman]

YES! We purchased the Sirius XM Tour Radio & Vehicle kit along with a Portable Magnetic Wireless Bluetooth Golf Speaker.

You can mount the XM radio wherever it's convenient. The antenna provided with the radio has worked everyplace we've camped with it.

The Golf Speaker goes anywhere you want. I even take ours outside and attach it to my camp chair.

The sound is quite good. Not the same as installed speakers in four corners, but we were looking for a sound solution that was more targeted and portable and are very happy with this setup.


XM Radio...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Golf Speaker...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Genebuilder]

Bingo! Looks like a nice solution, OneCentHillman.

[iamunique127]

Originally Posted by OneCentHillman

The sound is quite good. Not the same as installed speakers in four corners, but we were looking for a sound solution that was more targeted and portable and are very happy with this setup.

We use a Bose bluetooth speaker and it sounds excellent. Two friends have different models of Bose speakers and the sound is also very good.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I prefer listening to whole albums, and use Spotify. I found pretty much all the SiriusXM channels just had too shallow and narrow of a playlist that repeats too often. right now, I'm pinging between Billy Strings "Highway Prayers", Jerry Douglas "The Set", and The California Honeydrops "Keep on Digging". all three of these albums were released in the past week.

re BT speakers, I'm rather fond of the JBL Flip and Charger series. I have one of each.

[StillCampin]

I forgot to install a regular radio antenna cable prior to installing my stereo so my XM radio is my only choice besides streaming (until I get around to pulling the unit). I mounted a permanent XM antenna on the roof (https://a.co/d/8p0Uood) with the cable dropping thru the roof underneath the base. The only problem I’ve had is with trees blocking the signal. I now have a portable antenna (https://a.co/d/giCWwBF) that will let me move it around to find the signal that the fixed rooftop can’t.

[Steelbird312]

[QUOTE=Genebuilder;476728]Looking to add a SiriusXM satellite radio in my Escape 23

If, by chance, you have XM in one of your vehicles, you can add your trailer to it for free by getting on your account on the internet.My wife has a subscription for her car. We went to her account on internet, added it to my truck, motorcycle, both our telephones and trailer for free. Hope this is of use.