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vlopddap's avatar
vlopddap
Explorer
Jan 03, 2015

Water infiltration by TV antenna crank during winter storage

It check my TT very often for any issue during storage since it's in my backyards. Last week (on christmas day), we got A LOT of RAIN in Quebec (very unusual for northern canada)... First snow fall around mid-november and so far I had about 2 feet of snow on my TT roof, so I decided to remove very carefully some snow before the heavy rain to prevent overweight damage (as I do the same on my shed's roof). Under the soft snow there's a good 3 inches of hard ice that cover the entire TT roof that I didn't remove (I can't). After a few hours of rain I decided to check inside the TT for any problem, then I found a high flow of water coming by the TV antenna crank, there's no water around the antenna mats mount. There's only a small amount of water on the floor because 90% of the water was absorbed by the top bunk mattress (which is a good thing is a way). I began by raising the front of the TT (it were levelled) to drain excess of water from the flat aluminium roof, then I was able to remove the ice on roof because it's mostly melted now. At this point the water stop flowing inside the TT by the crank so I left the front slightly raised and ran the electric heater for over 24 hours at 20'C to dry the TT interior completely. I bring the bunk mattress inside my house to dry it up completely.

When the rain stopped a little bit I took my 6 feet stepladder to check the antenna on the roof carefully but I can't find any crack or damage in the caulk where the water can goes in.

My questions is : how did the crank handle is water sealed from exterior and is there any possibility than the 3 inches of ice can make the water to goes over the water seal of the antenna mast or something like that?

8 Replies

  • rjxj wrote:
    There is a rubber seal inside the housing but its not designed to seal that tightly. It works with normal rain fall because water wont run uphill around the aluminum housing to get to the seal area. If surrounded by ice, I could see how water would get past it. You need to get a heater up there and tarp it and melt it off or something. Could you crank the front up or down a lot to help the run off or perhaps get it high on one side?

    I agree with Dakota, if storing with ice and snow on it I would double tarp it other wise it's helping to "ice dam" it and help water go in somewhere.


    Thank you very much, that's exactly what I thought because there is so more "normal" rain after the ice were melted and there's no more water infiltration by the crank. Moreover today there's another heavy rain episode outside and no more water infiltration yet. Anyway as I tell I leave the trailer with the front raised to prevent backwater on the flat roof and I'll check it later on spring after the winter...

    And thank you very much to the other person who answer to my thread. And yes it's the most common Wineguard TV antenna.
  • I found a number of problems with my antenna installation. One that was not obvious was the failure of the caulking to adhere to the metal antenna base. It appeared to be just fine, but only after removing the antenna was the problem discovered.



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  • mfinnerty wrote:
    My son had a similar leak on his TT. It was due to the boot for the antenna cable being slightly ajar letting rain in.


    I also had this happen on an antenna cable. The boot looked ok but was just relaxed enough to leak in a heavy rain.
  • My son had a similar leak on his TT. It was due to the boot for the antenna cable being slightly ajar letting rain in.
  • There is a rubber seal inside the housing but its not designed to seal that tightly. It works with normal rain fall because water wont run uphill around the aluminum housing to get to the seal area. If surrounded by ice, I could see how water would get past it. You need to get a heater up there and tarp it and melt it off or something. Could you crank the front up or down a lot to help the run off or perhaps get it high on one side?

    I agree with Dakota, if storing with ice and snow on it I would double tarp it other wise it's helping to "ice dam" it and help water go in somewhere.
  • Assuming it is a standard Winegard antenna, it is important to lubricate the base of the antenna from time to time with a good silicon spray lube. Not only does this help in rotating and raising the antenna, but it keeps the rubber seal from drying and shrinking which becomes a source for leaks. If you don't have one, get a manual as it shows what, how, how often to lubricate what. They are downloadable at the Winegard website.
  • This is the very reason I cover my TT during winter storage. Snow accumulation, then melting & then freezing. If the snow melts & leaves water on the roof in low spots & then freezes it often times will damage vent seals & etc.

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