Winegard trav’ler AZ motor issue

[Dtjoint]

We just left on a month long trip that will include FMCA in Minot, ND. Our Winegard Trav’ler roof mounted satellite dish died with AZ motor runaway and AZ motor stalled messages. It would not go up and would not stow. After several tries of power on/off it finally did stow so I left it alone. Winegard said it was not field reparable and we would have to remove the whole unit and ship it back to them to repair. We spent the night at Marathon in OR (ultra busy place). They said they did not have parts to repair one and only stock the DirecTV units. We use Dish Network. We hav a portable unit with us so can use that until we get to FMCA.

Have any of you had success field repairing one? If not, any recommendations on a replacement? Winegard still makes the Trav’ler and RF Mogul makes a similar unit. Suggestions and recommendations welcome. Thanks.

Jerry

[Gil_J]

I was just parked next to a RV with the antenna reflector removed. The owner said he had a problem similar to yours and Winegard told him it was only factory repairable and repairs could take 4 weeks after receipt!

[Joe Camper]

How old is yours Jerry?

[Dtjoint]

I really don’t know, Joe, as it was on the coach when we purchased it in March 2017. It worked just fine until this issue. But, given no dealer being able or willing to fix it, I am leaning towards the RF Mogul unit. It seems to be a quality build and fully field reparable according to the dealers and the factory with whom I have spoken. We will use a portable unit until we get to FMCA in Minot, ND where we will make a purchase decision. So, opinions and recommendations between Winegard Trav’ler and RF Mogul appreciated.

Jerry

[Dtjoint]

I really don’t know, Joe, as it was on the coach when we purchased it in March 2017. It worked just fine until this issue. But, given no dealer being able or willing to fix it, I am leaning towards the RF Mogul unit. It seems to be a quality build and fully field reparable according to the dealers and the factory with whom I have spoken. We will use a portable unit until we get to FMCA in Minot, ND where we will make a purchase decision. So, opinions and recommendations between Winegard Trav’ler and RF Mogul appreciated.

Jerry

[Gil_J]

Jerry,

It sure is hard finding information and pricing on the RF Mogul product. The company site seems pretty much worthless, https://rfmogul.com/index.html#

[Dtjoint]

I talked with a person who will be at FMCA selling and doing installs. He said the Mogul unit is $2400 installed which is a few hundred more than the Winegard Trav’ler. Mogul has a a larger dish, acquires faster, is better built, has all the electronics inside the control box which installs inside the coach, and is field reparable according to him. If that is all true it is well worth the additional cost from my POV.

Jerry

[Joe Camper]

Jerry this whole topic just makes me cringe. How long do you think it'll be before it becomes obsolete and the next device comes yodeling up the canyon.

[BadFitter]

With the way technology is moving along, streaming certainly looks like the future. There is not much one can not do nowadays with a fast internet connection. Currently, there is an app for just about any traditional OTA, cable or satellite broadcast.

Watching the race the other day, a thunderstorm came in and blocked the Dish broadcast. I just fired up the NBCSN app on the smart TV and continued to watch the race in high definition. Don't worry - Be happy.

[Dtjoint]

All dependent on access to really fast internet. We often find ourselves with moderate to weak internet access. I may try connecting our coach TV to my cell phone to see if we get fast enough internet to allow streaming as a normal way to get access. My wife likes to see the local news which is not available for streaming (yet anyway) and she likes to carry her recorded programs along when we are out for several months at a time. A shame the Dish folks don't allow moving the external hard drive from one sat receiver to another. Ownership rights issues I assume. Anyway, when you move an external hard drive to another sat receiver the first thing that happens is to reformat that hard drive, loosing everything recorded on it. Once 5G is widely available (a long time for rural areas) then cutting off the sat. will make sense. For now, I still want a sat antenna that works.

Jerry