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TDOW · 11-04-2009, 08:08 AM

Greetings, Our Caravel received some ugly dents on our recent trip to AR. We had parked on a side street and while pulling away, possibly scraped a rod, holding a banner, on a street post. Result was two curb side panels, pushed in. Trailer is currently at Fogdall RV in Cedar Falls. They have successfully repaired over 90% of the damage. I'll try to post a few pics.

My question is...They had to remove the panels to repair them, so off came a few lights and the broken antenna. We don't watch TV, but should we replace the antenna, to keep the look, or simply get it patched? I see they offer an antenna at the Vintage airstream site. Should we ever decide to want a TV in the future, will we need one, in this digital age?

TDOW · 11-05-2009, 08:29 AM

Here's our ugly souvenier from AR, and the current repair. Was that a CB antenna or is it for TV? Not sure if we should patch the hole or replace/repair the old antenna. Any thoughts?

silverleeper · 11-05-2009, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDOW

Here's our ugly souvenier from AR, and the current repair. Was that a CB antenna or is it for TV? Not sure if we should patch the hole or replace/repair the old antenna. Any thoughts?

Looks like a CB antenna. Do you use the antenna?

BTW. Nice repair on the dent

TDOW · 11-05-2009, 08:37 AM

No, but there is also an old co-ax cable inside, from this antenna. It's the old style, flat lead in.

silverleeper · 11-05-2009, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDOW

No, but there is also an old co-axe cable inside, coming from the same wall.

leave the cable in the wall (in case someone wants it back) loose the antenna and patch the hole. I would also take the inside plate off and put a flat non cable cover plate over the hole. The small patch will look a lot better then the antenna. IMO

TDOW · 11-05-2009, 09:03 AM

I like your idea, especially if it's a CB antenna. We'll never use it and saving the cable is easy too. 10-4 good buddy!

Gerr · 11-05-2009, 09:25 AM

We also have a 67 Caravel. So sorry about the damage, that hurts. Nice repair going on. good advice from Silverleeper, lose the antenna, patch the hole.

SilverHoot · 11-05-2009, 10:13 AM

Did you find replacement panels or did you remove the dents. If you did the latter, WOW! Nice job.

markdoane · 11-05-2009, 10:57 AM

I think the original name for those was Police Antenna, but as far as I know the only use was CB. Mine was on the front next to the window.

A patch will improve the appearance. It's too low on the side of the trayla to use a regular TV antenna. If you do decide to replace the antenna base, I have an original whip that would fit in the base sold by VTS. Let me know if you need it. It's about 8 ft long.

Won't be much good for TV though.

Inland RV Center, In · 11-05-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDOW

Here's our ugly souvenier from AR, and the current repair. Was that a CB antenna or is it for TV? Not sure if we should patch the hole or replace/repair the old antenna. Any thoughts?

That antenna was also used for typical "ham radio".

Andy

TDOW · 11-05-2009, 11:46 AM

We've decided to patch the antenna hole. Thanks for the offer of an original whip! These are the original panels. New panels didn't quite match the curves. They would always look different and would not match the other side. I think the dealer described it as "looking like one panel was always pushing up on the other". Fogdall has always given us great service. They also repaired our door, which flew open at 65 mph, on our first ever camping trip, years ago. The door frame cracked in four places. Works like a charm now.