Winegard Traveler installation questions

chuckbear wrote:
I would suggest the OP contact Winegard and ask the tech support people what kinds of issues this installation might present.

I agree that we got off track from the original question so I will attempt to answer that. I have installed four. Three of my own and one for a friend. My experience is that it is easy as could be. The instructions are well laid out and complete. They used to have a video on their web site under the installer section that showed how to install it. I don't know if it is still there but YouTube also has videos. The instructions show the max slope the roof can be but all you need is a flat section. It is possible to raise a portion of the unit to compensate for a slope but I have never tried that.
The hardest part of the entire installation is getting the main unit onto the roof. It weighs around 70 pounds. I found that the easiest way was to lean a ladder against the roof, tie a rope to the unit, use the box it came in as a slide and pull it up. I am 71 years old and had no problems. Once on the roof the rest is easy.
Plan ahead where you want to run the cable. I have, so far, always been able to drop the cable down into the entertainment center.
The entire installation takes no more than one to two hours.

As a former Winegard Dealer Trainer, I have already answered his questions. Calling Winegard will get his the same answers I gave in the 2nd post.

Since the OP did not ask anyone about the quality of the Winegard they own, but seem to get only those kinds of responses, I would suggest the OP contact Winegard and ask the tech support people what kinds of issues this installation might present. Chuck

There will always be reports of problems with any products. No one would ever buy any RV is they avoided them due to issues from that manufacturer. I do with that you could field repair a Winegard but you can't. The RF Mogul can be field repaired but you either need to be very handy that you can do it yourself or work your way to one of the extremely few dealers spread around the US.
My Trav'ler has been working for about 5 1/2 years now without issue. I removed a working SK-3005 and installed the SWM version SK-SWM3 at that time. I sold the SK-3005 later and I suspect it's still working as well.
It's a great product but the fact that they sell something like 100 times more products than RF Mogul does they will certainly have more reports of an occasional failure.

I've had my trav'ler for about two years now and have never encountered a problem with it. I run my Trav'ler, Direct TV HD DVR, and TV all off a 600 watt inverter, it all works great all the time, any time. I get to my new location push one button and I am set up in about ten minutes.

I have a Trav'ler. The first one went bad in a month. Would not stow. I called Winegard. They said to remove it and ship the entire turret back to them and they would switch it out. Which they did. And all has been fine since.

Not sure how you can ask for better support than that. Sure, I had to remove the unit myself and I had to pay to ship the unit back to Winegard. But, so what?

Couldn’t agree more. The trav’ler is a total pos. Mine would not stow and their answer was ship it back on my dime. Not to mention what a pain to uninstall and reinstall. If it was me and I was dead set to buy a Winegard product I would buy a cheap disposable like the pathway etc. it dies chunk it and buy another.

fpresto wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
I would not waste my money on a Travler. Just too darn unreliable and absolutely horrid customer support. For repairs it must be removed, boxed and sent to Winegard. RF Mogul can be repaired right on your RV.

I disagree completely. One of the first things that I do when I get a new RV is put on a Trav'ler. My current RV is the 3rd and I have installed them all myself. I have never had an issue with any of them so I can't speak to the customer service.
I know that RFM advertises that they can be repaired in place but what I can't seem to find out is who does the repairs. A quick Google search for RF Mogul problems will show that they, like any other manufacturer, will have some units with issues.

Then how can you disagree with me? My first failure was at about 18 months. Shipped to winegard, supposedly fixed, three weeks in a shop and winegard finally replaced. This one been on the roof for several years, failed. Winegard wants me to take it off the roof and ship to them in hopes they actually fix it. After my last experience I have zero confidence they can.

RichNewcome wrote:
Once my Travler locks on, I shut it off and leave it off until I'm ready to stow it.

I do the same. Once locked on I just remove the power to the control box and leave it off until I am ready to leave. Then I power up and stow it.

donn0128 wrote:
I would not waste my money on a Travler. Just too darn unreliable and absolutely horrid customer support. For repairs it must be removed, boxed and sent to Winegard. RF Mogul can be repaired right on your RV.

I disagree completely. One of the first things that I do when I get a new RV is put on a Trav'ler. My current RV is the 3rd and I have installed them all myself. I have never had an issue with any of them so I can't speak to the customer service.
I know that RFM advertises that they can be repaired in place but what I can't seem to find out is who does the repairs. A quick Google search for RF Mogul problems will show that they, like any other manufacturer, will have some units with issues.