Replace TV antenna

This is the OP. We just wanted to let you know that we replaced the TV antenna ourselves. It took a little less than 3 hours. The hardest part was removing all of the caulking and other residue (some sort of tape).

We want to THANK YOU for your "how to" responses and for giving us the confidence to do the job on our own.

I kept leaving up the antenna and breaking it no matter how many reminders and walkarounds that I did.

I got tired of babysitting the Winegard antenna, so I bought the RV Jack antenna. It doesn't need to be cranked up and it works great. One less thing to worry about.

Note: Check your distance between the old mounting location and the nearest object. Even though the RV Jack Antenna will mount in the same hole where the old Winegard was located, it was too close and would bump into my Air Conditioner. I had to seal the old hole and relocate it a few inches over.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Be aware that the installed Wingman (that's what makes it a IV) adds 10" of width to the antenna so be sure you have enough room on the roof for the antenna to lay flat on the roof when stowed.

I had this issue when installing my Batwing. I installed it so that it stowed to the side rather than front to back.

pdogg wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The added height of a raised antenna can dramatically increase the range of your TV antenna. No matter what you mount on top of those arms, you will always do better the higher the antenna is located.

no doubt true, generally speaking, but I can tell you the Jack antenna pulls in the signal much better than my batwing ever did.. it's a fixed 12" high off the roof surface.

Those who have tested both, side by side, would tell you that there was something wrong with the Batwing so ANY new antenna would have been an improvement. Check out the reviews of the 2 antennas done on this site by SVCJeff.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Unless you are seeing damage to something other than the antenna head itself you the replacement will only take a few minutes. Be aware that the installed Wingman (that's what makes it a IV) adds 10" of width to the antenna so be sure you have enough room on the roof for the antenna to lay flat on the roof when stowed.

Bill makes a good point; I wanted to add a Wingman to my old trailer's batwing but there was a clearance issue when folded down; the wingman add-one would hit the AC, so check before you leap. My new trailer has no such problem so I'll be adding the wingman when I can get to it.

pdogg wrote:

I messed up my Batwing last year when I forgot about it, and ran into a tree.. I replaced it completely with the Jack antenna mentioned above, including the base. Now I never have to worry about raising or lowering the thing... and I benefit from the built-in signal meter too..

That;s all well and good until you still hit a tree, and the 100% plastic base cracks, allowing water a direct path in.
I also have no use for that signal meter- it is fine unless you are near a cell phone tower, or any communications tower, in which case it is worthless.

The complete Jack is a good replacement for rental rigs, or for people who want to watch TV while driving, but it will not touch a Batwing for performance-I've sold, installed and tested both, sometimes side by side.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The added height of a raised antenna can dramatically increase the range of your TV antenna. No matter what you mount on top of those arms, you will always do better the higher the antenna is located.

no doubt true, generally speaking, but I can tell you the Jack antenna pulls in the signal much better than my batwing ever did.. it's a fixed 12" high off the roof surface.

The added height of a raised antenna can dramatically increase the range of your TV antenna. No matter what you mount on top of those arms, you will always do better the higher the antenna is located.

Don & Carolyn wrote:
Our Winegard TV antenna was broken in a few places during a wind storm. It looks like we need to replace it. We are looking online at Camping World's Winegard Sensor IV Antenna.

Has anyone replaced the complete antenna? Is this a project that we could do or would you advise having a technician do it?

Thanks!
Don

I messed up my Batwing last year when I forgot about it, and ran into a tree.. I replaced it completely with the Jack antenna mentioned above, including the base. Now I never have to worry about raising or lowering the thing... and I benefit from the built-in signal meter too..

The replacement is straight forward, the toughest part, as with anything on the roof, is removing the seam sealant (dicor).. once you've cleaned that off, you're just removing screws and replacing the head unit.. not a big deal..

The black plastic gear is available separately for about $5 at most RV dealers parts department. It is replaceable in 2 minutes or less. Each piece is also available separately so getting it all up and running again will be quite inexpensive.