New Satellite Antenna on Roof

[B&J]

Greetings All,

Just had a Winegard Trav'ler automatic roof mount satellite antenna installed by the AS dealership. Also upgraded the TV to a 32 inch LED HDTV. We love it and it is so easy to use the satellite antenna. It finds the stations and locks in automatically. We got the Winegard SK3005 which will bring in all of Direct TV's HD stations. It comes with a power control box. Just push a button and it does the rest. You can look at some photos in B&J photo album.

B&J

[pattonsr]

From your photos, it looks like the antenna is mounted to the side and some sort of aluminum plate was used to level it. Or am I seeing things?

Barry

[Mexray]

We also like our Trav'ler, the Dish HD version...

I mounted it on the center line directly to the skin - I believe I hit a couple of ribs for stability - it's been over two years and still going strong...

Even with the large antenna dish, it still can't see through the pines when we're camped in the mountains...

[JBinKC]

We’re rendezvousing with the WBCCI Southeast Coast Spectacular Caravan soon, so I’m checking all my systems: 1.) ADT for home security; 2.) Netflix; 3.) digital cameras; 4.) XM/Sirius and OnStar for the truck; 5.) subscriptions to AAA, Good Sam, Trailer Life and the hometown newspaper; 6.) Mozy online backup plan; 7.) laptop, 8.) iPod; and 9.) iPhone chock full of apps to bank online, check the weather, see the tide charts and communicate with the world. Now, thanks to B&J, I realize that I’m leaving home for two months and won’t have satellite TV! Oh, that’s right, I’ll be able to get satellite channels at the RV parks with cable service. Whew! For a minute there I thought I was in trouble.

[B&J]

You are correct about the mounting plate. The base of the antenna must be level (+-5). Winegard recommends mounting in center of trailer when possible. Airstream roofs curve as we all know and because of the fans and skylights etc protruding on the roof, the installer had to mount the antenna off center. Some models of AS allow for mounting more toward the middle of the trailer. We had a concern about this, but the installer said he has installed several on various models of AS. There was one parked next to ours at the dealership and we were able to check it out. If we incurr any problems, will post to the group.

Originally Posted by pattonsr

From your photos, it looks like the antenna is mounted to the side and some sort of aluminum plate was used to level it. Or am I seeing things?

Barry

[B&J]

We just returned from a 3 week trip through Canada, Calif,Oregon, Washington, Idaho etc. Pulled the trailer 3,600 miles. We do our best to stay at high rated RV campgrounds and for the most part, have not been disappointed. However, the cable programming (when available)manytimes sucks. Camping in Canada there was no cable TV available. We used our bat-wing atenna to pick up a few local stations while camping in Banff. Getting ready to go down the Calif coast and camp close to the Pescadaro State Beach. Should have a clear shot for the SW satellites. Happy camping to all

Originally Posted by JBinKC

We’re rendezvousing with the WBCCI Southeast Coast Spectacular Caravan soon, so I’m checking all my systems: 1.) ADT for home security; 2.) Netflix; 3.) digital cameras; 4.) XM/Sirius and OnStar for the truck; 5.) subscriptions to AAA, Good Sam, Trailer Life and the hometown newspaper; 6.) Mozy online backup plan; 7.) laptop, 8.) iPod; and 9.) iPhone chock full of apps to bank online, check the weather, see the tide charts and communicate with the world. Now, thanks to B&J, I realize that I’m leaving home for two months and won’t have satellite TV! Oh, that’s right, I’ll be able to get satellite channels at the RV parks with cable service. Whew! For a minute there I thought I was in trouble.

[pattonsr]

B&J,

Did the installer make up a custom mounting plate (looks like aluminum)? By the way, which AS dealership did the install? Nice job.

Barry

[B&J]

I believe it was custom made, but not 100% sure. In our research prior to selecting the K3005, we didn't see a mounting plate like this one. There was another AS 27 foot CCD at the dealership with the SK3005 antenna and aluminum plate. The installer didn't have one with him, but left for a few minutes and brought one back to use on our install. The dealership is Toscanos RV in Los Banos, CA. Don't think this plate is a factory Winegard optional mounting plate. You can Google instructions and installation manual for the Winegard Trav'ler SK3005 and download a free PDF file. A good manual for the DIY's. But I recommend a dealer install, especially when running the cables off of the satellite. The installer didn't disturb any of the factory wiring for Sat/Cable/Stereo. Somehow he figured out a way to run 4 cables into our trailer. Whoever does an install, they should be familiar with the different models Airstream builds. As we continue to travel with our new sat setup, we will keep the group informed if we run into any problems. We've been researching sat antennas and hookups for a couple of years. Been with Direct TV for 11 years and we are very happy with their programming and service.

[missysanford]

http://t.co/8EP2TJ3

I own a similar unit and it works just great!

[rodsterinfl]

Is the batwing still worth having? If so what about the HD option?

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by rodsterinfl

Is the batwing still worth having? If so what about the HD option?

We live in a rural area and keep our AS in our yard, and when properly oriented, the batwing gets better digital OTA signals than my home TV antenna, which is higher than my house. We haven't installed the HD option. In fact, we've been all over the country and, in most places, we have been able to receive good signals on the batwing. I take a satellite dish with me as well, but if we're only stopping overnight, we use the batwing. When we're camping at one location for a few days, it's a good supplement to the dish because we can usually pick up the local networks, which we don't get with the dish.

[Jack46]

Where may I see your photos of the antenna?

[B&J]

Under Members Photos - B&J Photos

[B&J]

I would keep the batt wing antenna for picking up local stations. HD is a personal choice. Others might be satisfied with SD. We subsribe to DirectTV HD satellite and get ALL the HD channels when we travel - you gotta love it.