Installing a Winegard Trav'ler on a 36CKTS

[DKRITTER]

I'm waiting on the dish to get here tomorrow and if it ever quits raing here in DFW I'll install it.

For those who have gone before I would love some insite before I dive off into the deep end.

and pictures would help...........

[mrv8outboard]

I did my own installation on my Tiffin. I swapped out my King Dome. It was very straight forward installation. Youtube it, tvformyrv has good info on install. It is heavy and cumbersome so have help getting it to the roof. This is the biggest thing.

[mrv8outboard]

Make sure to know the mounting area. No wiring or plumbing under your mounting screws. Make sure the location can support the weight. Seal it up tight. This was the best upgrade I have done for my RV.

[Jim34RL]

There should be a locating decal on the roof above the bedroom area. This will inform you to mount the DISH traveler here. I have also included the wiring diagram for the traveler from Cedar Creek, See attached.

[DKRITTER]

It's been raining here for a week so I haven't been on the roof for over 6 months and had a couple of questions.

I read that it is best to attach it to the rafters as much as possible.

How do you find the aluminum rafters in-order to position the trav'ler?

Can it be mounted in the center due to the curved roof or does it need to be offset?

Any fairly easy ways to get the beast on the roof?

Thank You

[donniedu]

Get it on the roof? Strong friend or son in law helps.
Location? Place it where you have enough room. Mine is just foreword of the shower on the curb side. It comes with a cover that you screw down over the hole you make for wires. A dab of Dicor about every 12 inches will secure the wires to the roof just fine. Remember you have two wires to run and secure. You will want several tubes of Dicor to seal everything up.

[pdqparalegal1]

Originally Posted by DKRITTER

It's been raining here for a week so I haven't been on the roof for over 6 months and had a couple of questions.

I read that it is best to attach it to the rafters as much as possible.

How do you find the aluminum rafters in-order to position the trav'ler?

Can it be mounted in the center due to the curved roof or does it need to be offset?

Any fairly easy ways to get the beast on the roof?

Thank You

Tied mine in a rope sling, two people on roof. Hoist away!!

[wanderer69]

The installation is actually very easy. When done you will be patting yourself on the back for "not" paying somebody. The instruction that come with the unit are very easy to understand. Just plan out ahead of time each step.
Two people, two ropes one on the roof to pull it up, one on the ground to keep it from banging into the back of the trailer. Once its on the roof be careful moving it around that you don't cut the roof. There should be a label applied to the roof on the right half about even with the door. Under that is where the coax cables and antenna wiring is. The coax may not have connectors, so you will have to install them yourself. The wiring that is in the roof is the same as what comes in the box with the antennae so you now have a spare. Be sure and use the splitter that came with the antennae. The installation instructions tell you to mount on a flat a surface as possible. Well there ain't a flat spot on that roof so just get it as even as possible. I mounted very slightly right of center to where when it is folded in the stowed position it is just forward of the kitchen exhaust vent. As others have said be sure to at least two tubes of Dicor Self Leveling Lap Sealant. Do not use an electric drill/driver/screwdriver to tighten the mounting screws. This is a wooden roof and you could strip out the hole. Its ok to use an electric to start the screws but hand tighten them in.
Not sure on your 2016 but on the 2014 the wiring comes into the trailer in the roof of the linen closet in the bedroom. I had to drill a bigger hole there to be able to fish out the wiring.
As far as the hookups by the entertainment center yours may different than mine. If you have trouble there PM me and I will send you some old diagrams I had posted in 2014.
I've had mine mounted for almost two years and not any problems. Sure beats the heck of manually aiming one every time you stop.

[DKRITTER]

Everything went well, the sun finally came out Saturday afternoon and by Sunday afternoon it was dry enough to start.

We tied a rope to the dish and hoisted it up by a ladder placed on the side of the trailer, once up on the roof I looked for the marking which was near the door and I know the outlet was in the closet about 10’ forward and on the other side of the trailer. Thankfully the power wire and cable had already been run. We just cut the opening and fished out the wires to make sure we had enough cable and then it was on to placement.

The comment has been made that there isn’t a flat spot on the roof and yes there isn’t so we had to find the lesser of the evils between the 2 vents. Just a note, when you break out the dicor put on some rubber gloves because you can’t help but get some on you.

Marked the location then ran a liberal bead of dicor inside the line and placed the Trav’ler on it then screwed it down and I do agree to hand tighten the screws.

We had an extension cord up there and ran the traveler through all of its paces and it ran fine. We then secured all of the cables to the trav’ler and secured them then added another round of dicor around the base and all the screws. Installed the cover plate for the cable and landing plate for when stowed and a lot more dicor. I think I used 3 tubes of dicor.

We went inside and fished out the cable in the closet plugged it into the box and again tested the unit and all was fine. I moved the cable under the TV in the living room to the SAT connection and fired up the 211Z and it worked but not right so I looked at the instructions and found I needed to rerun the setup so the 211Z would sink with the new dish and in a minute we were up and running.

After running it for a couple of days the picture is better than the X2 was, changing channels (satellites) is effortless and so far the recording on the 211Z are a much better quality.

Everyone thank you for your insight and Jim thank you for the Cedar Creek document.

I'm a happy camper.

[dieselguy]

Question to those of you who have roof mounted satellite dishes ... what percent of the time is it useless due to trees at campgrounds? We're always used a tripod as we lake camp alot and many of the campsites we frequent make a roof mount useless. I'm wondering if it is just our RV lifestyle and experiences.

[BandJCarm]

I'm no experienced camper as many are...........but in EVERY campground I've been in, in the South, I have to move my tripod dish all over the place, including sometimes almost out in the road, to find a 'hole' to shoot through. Dishpointer Pro app on my smartphone helps, but isn't fool proof. I realize some western and some private campgrounds are fairly 'treeless', but most of our COE and State Park CG's are full of trees.

Which is why I'd love for this thing to be a) automatic and b) portable.

[DKRITTER]

HaHa, what's your definition of portable.

When we unboxed ours I set on a piece of cardboard in the driveway and fired it up. It found all the satellites in a few minutes sitting there.

You could build a stand for it and lug it around. The dish part is light it's the motors and stuff for the automatic part that's heavy. Lke 70lbs

[BandJCarm]

Well, that would work maybe.

BUT, I contacted Winegard and asked if this was possible, and they said "No, and it will void your warranty".

Makes zero sense to me.