The previous owner musta got in the trees, 1 of the Winegard sensar 'wings" was missing- this had the "wingman" attached- the antenna seemed to work well, but this last trip to Oregon showed we were limited.
Also missing was the cover over the black tank vent. clearance here with the antenna would be very close- and a direct replacement would not allow any of the 360º covers. So I wanted to change things up.
I decided to try a replacement Rayzar model head unit as suggested by a tech at Camping World- they were out of stock, I ordered directly from Winegard.
Once it arrived I had to figure out the foot print as it is round ( wider), so I had the location of the mount- the vent and my RV vent ( with a LARGE fantastic vent cover) determining how I had to mount this up.
The Pleasure-Way came with short elevators- about 11"- that wouldn't work.
Winegard sells replacement elevators about 26" ( i think) but those wouldn't be long enough...I would need to get about 34 inches so that when landed the mast would extend forward past the vent cover.
My first attempt was to simply cut 2 pieces of square 1" aluminum 1/16" about 5" long.
I used these to hard mount the antenna to the mount so that it would not elevate- it was simply sticking straight up. Still rotatable.
I had emailed wineguard about another concern ( no instructions came) and told them what i was doing with a pic- they did the "not recommended". And really suggested elevator masts.
they used to sell 36" masts but do not anymore- I called some of the local used rv parts places and no luck.
so i bought more square aluminum @ 48" long and cut it to 36"- ( I am now in for $40 in tubing, $55 for the rayzar).
I made a notch for the winegard gear and drilled a few holes for the pins.
Put together, this works well.
with the Rayzar ( both mounting methods) I am picking up Tucson stations 111 miles away ! It helps that they are at some elevation as am I.
one concern was that i now had the 36" masts extending forward and i was worried about the wind effect when driving.
to ease that I have added a piece of U channel to the roof to hold the masts from side to side movement- this will ease strain on the mount.
Nobody will look up there, but the U channel is a left over piece of the old sliding shower door left over from the bathroom remodel--- I knew I'd use it someday... It is secured with sealant- i predrilled some holes in case I later need to add screws. i prefer not adding holes to the roof unless I really have to.
We'll see how this goes, I may end up going with the "solid mount" I tried first- I think that may have less net lateral affect on the roof mount.
Mike
PW Winegard Sensar to Rayzar and making elevators mod
Linear Mode
