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Old 03-18-2013, 02:20 PM   #1
davidjsimons
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Leaking TV antennae

Well, I have my first issue on my Cougar. I have a drip from around my tv antennae. I carried my unit back to the selling dealer and they said that the boot was up on the cable. They applied sealant and put the boot back on. I brought my trailer back home and it rained the very next day. I still had my leak. I went up on to the roof to look for myself. The boot was still on. I went inside and removed the the crank handle and bezel. The water is not coming down the shaft. It appears to be coming in around the base. I went back up onto the roof for a look. Everything appears to be sealed extremely well but I noticed that the antennae has a slight wobble. Could the antennae actually be loose and allowing the water to come in or is there something else for which I should be looking?


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Old 03-18-2013, 02:44 PM   #2
Clanton24v
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The base could be loose. My father in law had a similar leak on his jayco. Tightened up the base and it stopped leaking
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Old 03-18-2013, 06:48 PM   #3
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The first thing to check is the antenna cable boot. It may look like it is sitting down on the connector, but if it is riding up just a touch, water will run down the cable, around the boot and back in the bottom. There is a nut on the cable connector on the base that may well be loose. Pull back the cable boot far enough to remove the cable, then tighten the coax assembly on the base. After you do that, make sure that the boot is tight on the coax cable. Sometimes water will run down the cable and the boot isn't tight on the cable and it will leak past it. I have a small tie wrap holding mine as tightly as possible and it won't slip up on the cable at all.

Next, even though you say there is no water dripping on the center shaft, there is a rubber oring called the "quad ring" that seals the shaft. It rotates with use and can easily become brittle. There are instructions in the owner's manual to remove a small rubber plug and spray silicone spray into the hole to lubricate the gears, the shaft and that oring tow or three times a year. If it isn't kept lubricated, it will flake away and water will run down the shaft.

You say the antenna is "loose" on the roof. If you mean that the base moves or flexes with the OSB underlayment, that's normal. If you mean the base is moving and the OSB is staying stationary, then you may have either some screws that worked loose or even worse, a "long time leak" that has rotted away some of the OSB and the antenna is loose.

ADDED: I always think of more things after I post, but I was just thinking about your statement that the antenna is loose on the roof. If you mean the actual part that moves up and down and rotates, there is a nut on the inside that tightens the shaft to the antenna extension, That nut may be loose, it should be "fairly tight" but not so tight that the antenna will not rotate freely. Just thought about that, and your leak may well be right there.....

If you think about it, the base is sealed along the outside with DICOR, but there is nothing sealing the inside of the base (around the shaft) so any water that gets in can migrate to the wooden surface under the baseplate if it isn't tight and if the quad ring fails.

It's not difficult to disassemble the antenna, just pay attention to what goes where. I'd take it apart, check the OSB and reassemble with a new quad ring and reseal with new DICOR.

Here's the link to the owner's manual: http://dodgenmobiletech.com/sites/de...%20Antenna.pdf

Good luck, and yell if you have any questions.
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Old 03-19-2013, 08:40 AM   #4
davidjsimons
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John, I believe the nut that you reference may be more of my issue. I didn't know if some wobble was normal or not. My roof is as solid as a brick, the trailer is a 2013. I will try to get a wrench on that nut. I believe I read in the information that you provided that it is a 15/16. You would think that the base plate would have an elevated flange where the shaft goes through. That would prevent any chance of a leak given a loose nut, as in my situation.


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Old 03-19-2013, 10:54 AM   #5
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David,

Good luck tightening that nut... You're right, a flange would make it essentially waterproof, but I'm guessing that would add a couple of cents to the cost to produce the base plate so it ain't gonna happen

Don't overtighten the nut, the entire antenna assembly swivels on that nut/assembly to rotate so you can point it toward the stations to get better reception. It's got to move, but be tight enough to swivel. Kind of a "play with it till it works" procedure. Remember that if you overtighten it you'll put pressure on that quad Oring and it's really fragile.....

While you're up there, I'd doublecheck that Quad Oring. Those things compress and distort really easy. It might not be an issue today, but after you tighten the nut and swivel the antenna a few times, it's going to fail on you. Many people think that Oring is the weakest link in the whole antenna system.....

I usually wind up using my trust "fitzall" wrench (crescent) because I'm most often a bizillion miles back in the woods when it starts acting up
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Old 03-19-2013, 01:03 PM   #6
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I'm going to let the dealer take another shot at it Friday morning. Luckily I'm only thirty minutes from my dealer and I have a warranty. I made the appointment today. At least while I had my ladder out and the weather was good today, I went ahead and installed my Maxxair II covers.


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Old 03-23-2013, 10:36 AM   #7
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Well, I carried my unit back to the dealership yesterday. They ran water over it and managed to make it leak. They decided that the leak was from a bad o-ring in the worm gear assembly. They replaced the necessary parts and I have my unit back at home in my driveway. It is supposed to rain and snow, go figure, tomorrow night. I will check to see if it indeed has been remedied.


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Old 03-23-2013, 02:49 PM   #8
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David, The only Oring I'm aware of in the assembly is the "quad ring" that we discussed being so fragile. The owner's manual suggests that silicone spray be applied through that hole to lube the oring, gears and shaft multiple times a year. It's not difficult to do, just time consuming to get on the roof for that particular purpose. I'm betting that you'll be replacing it again in a year or so, but I wouldn't suggest buying replacements now, those cheap "foreign" Orings don't hold up well sitting in a drawer in a plastic bag.

I'm glad they got it fixed, or at least stopped the leak temporarily.

Now, happy camping LOL
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Old 03-23-2013, 02:53 PM   #9
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I don't know yet for sure. I'll know tomorrow. Are you still buried in snow?


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Old 03-24-2013, 12:35 PM   #10
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Oh yeah, we've got about 18" left out in the open areas, it's deeper where we've piled it away from drives and streets. It is supposed to be 36 today and we were hoping to lose some of it, but so far it's only up to 32 and nothing is melting, not even the icicles on the eaves. So, I'm thinking (hoping) that tomorrow will bring sunshine and blue skies AND WARMTH !!!!!

We just got back from about a 50 mile snowmobile ride. The only places there's no snow is when crossing the highways, otherwise, even the well used snowmobile trails are still covered in groomed snow and ice. No sand or dirt showing through anywhere.

We are forcast for mid 20's at night and mid 30's during the day for this coming week. They are saying mid April before any "significant" warming trend and probably early May before the snow is gone. This time last year, we had the trailer in the driveway and all the snow was gone except for a few of the bigger piles from plowing the roads. This year, it still looks like February <sigh>

COME ON SPRING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 03-24-2013, 12:41 PM   #11
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Well it is currently snowing again in Richmond. The good news is that my antennae is not leaking so far.


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