Community Forums

seeg · 05-06-2018, 10:31 PM

When we returned from our last trip the Winegard would not lock onto any satellites. I spoke w/ Winegard C/S several times and we concluded it needed a new turret. I asked that the turret be shipped to my dealer in Bend in time for my appt on April 25th, about a week away at the time. Keep in mind we are not full timers and had only used the coach for 5 weeks last summer, a week over Thanksgiving, and a week at Spring Break. They said no, dealer would have to diagnose problem.

Sure enough, dealer and Winegard came to the same conclusion on the 26th. I was informed it would take 7-8 days for the part to arrive. I told the tech what they could do with the Winegard, called Advanced Satellite in Junction City, Oregon the next morning and they said if I could get there by one they could get an RF Mogul installed. Winegard removed, RF Mogul installed and we were done by 4:00 pm. One thing I liked about the installation is that they put the Control box in the overhead cabinet above the passenger windshield thereby freeing up space in the small cabinet where the Pepwave router and Firefly components are installed. More room, less heat in that small cabinet.

I always knew I'd replace the Winegard as I had an RF Mogul for about 3 years prior to the Cornerstone. I just didn't think it would be this soon. I shouldn't have ordered the Winegard w/ the coach but DW likes her TV and insisted. RF Mogul has improved the dish. All stainless hardware, stronger motors, improved GPS. To say nothing of the fact it's field serviceable. Lock on in 3-5 minutes. IMHO a superior product as confirmed by several dealers who sell both.

LWBAZ · 05-06-2018, 10:41 PM

I see lots of those RF Mogul dishes on Country Coach motorhomes and have had numerous owners tell me they are better than anything else on the market.

Thanks for posting your experiences. So far the Winegard Trav'ler on our 2018 Entegra is working fine, but it's good to know there is an alternative should it become necessary.

brobox · 05-07-2018, 05:25 AM

Dan, what you are saying is true about the RF Mogul being field serviceable. I looked at them hard at the Perry show, even the motor is just a couple of screws to change. No lifting a heavy turret up to the roof. CS seems to be outstanding, I have had a couple of conversations with them while my coach is in production. I am having the RF Mogul installed by the GA distributor at the time of delivery. They assured me that any trouble shooting can be done over the photo with parts needed, if any, to follow. Like the new Vega Touch, upgradeable over the internet sold me. No longer do I need to find a dealer, wait a week to get any required updates.

The Traveler was great when it replaced the King Dome back in 2004, but it's time has come for a compete update to modern technology. It is become as outdated as my old King Dome was.

Thanks for you for your informative post. It was posts like yours that helped me decide to do it right on the new coach. I can keep DISH without all the change over hassle, not something I want to do on a brand new custom ordered coach.

Finally I am not locked into one Satellite provider, change the LNB's and I can switch to whoever has the most updated equipment.

Johnontheroad · 05-07-2018, 05:44 AM

I had the original Motosat on my ‘09 Camelot since 2010. When I had a problem RF Mogul (who bought Motosat) supported the old Motosat, had replacement parts, and software updates. Nice to know someone actually cares and is willing to talk you through problems.

That said, on my new Entegra I have no dish. I’m going all wireless and local TV.

Rollin101 · 05-07-2018, 06:25 AM

You'll love it. I've had one for six months now and it has been great. Just left an RV park that was heavily treed. Never thought the Mogul would find the satellite, but within two minutes it had locked on and all was good. I'm sure it was just luck and there happened to be a hole just big enough for a signal, but I was impressed.

MoHoGo · 05-07-2018, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seeg

When we returned from our last trip the Winegard would not lock onto any satellites. I spoke w/ Winegard C/S several times and we concluded it needed a new turret. I asked that the turret be shipped to my dealer in Bend in time for my appt on April 25th, about a week away at the time. Keep in mind we are not full timers and had only used the coach for 5 weeks last summer, a week over Thanksgiving, and a week at Spring Break. They said no, dealer would have to diagnose problem.

Sure enough, dealer and Winegard came to the same conclusion on the 26th. I was informed it would take 7-8 days for the part to arrive. I told the tech what they could do with the Winegard, called Advanced Satellite in Junction City, Oregon the next morning and they said if I could get there by one they could get an RF Mogul installed. Winegard removed, RF Mogul installed and we were done by 4:00 pm. One thing I liked about the installation is that they put the Control box in the overhead cabinet above the passenger windshield thereby freeing up space in the small cabinet where the Pepwave router and Firefly components are installed. More room, less heat in that small cabinet.

I always knew I'd replace the Winegard as I had an RF Mogul for about 3 years prior to the Cornerstone. I just didn't think it would be this soon. I shouldn't have ordered the Winegard w/ the coach but DW likes her TV and insisted. RF Mogul has improved the dish. All stainless hardware, stronger motors, improved GPS. To say nothing of the fact it's field serviceable. Lock on in 3-5 minutes. IMHO a superior product as confirmed by several dealers who sell both.

Dan, what were the wiring changes to go to the RF Mogul? We are on our 3rd Traveler under warranty. I will say this regarding Winegard C/S they have been very reactive to the issues and cannot complain about how they addressed our problems.

brobox · 05-07-2018, 07:41 AM

That's what scares me 3 units while still under warranty. Was dealer service required?

Johnontheroad · 05-07-2018, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoHoGo

Dan, what were the wiring changes to go to the RF Mogul? We are on our 3rd Traveler under warranty. I will say this regarding Winegard C/S they have been very reactive to the issues and cannot complain about how they addressed our problems.

You can use the same coax but the control cabling is unique and will need to be replaced. It’s been a while but I don’t think you can adapt the cable as there are GPS lines as well as control lines in the RF Mogul. But you could call them and ask, they have been very responsive in any inquiries I have had.

brobox · 05-07-2018, 08:13 AM

I asked the control cable question at Perry. The cable does have to be changed but the traveler coaxes are fine.

wa8yxm · 05-07-2018, 10:12 AM

In days of old there was a company called Motosat They sold 2-way INTERNET dishes as well as Sat-TV (receive only) dishes and domens They were very high quality but the company closed

RFMogule. Same engineers they know their stuff.

That said I would recommend against a roof top less you need in motion for recording,

seeg · 05-07-2018, 11:54 AM

My installer verified he could use the installed coax from the Trav'ler but the control wiring is completely different. He stated installation on Entegras was "easy". He went in through the front cap and placed the control unit in the upper passenger windshield compartment. As I stated earlier this removed the controller from the small cabinet over the sofa freeing up space and reducing heat. As a matter of fact one of my projects for today is to clean up and reorganize that small cabinet.

MoHoGo · 05-07-2018, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

That's what scares me 3 units while still under warranty. Was dealer service required?

Since it was still under Entegra's 2 year warranty I elected to have the dish that was supplied by Winegard replaced by a service center. Since Winegard only provides parts for two years and labor for 1 year Entegra picked up the labor portion.

Not a hard job to replace the dish and turret but you do have to haul the assembly to the roof. However, if not under warranty I sure would not have paid someone else to do it.

brobox · 05-07-2018, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoHoGo

Since it was still under Entegra's 2 year warranty I elected to have the dish that was supplied by Winegard replaced by a service center. Since Winegard only provides parts for two years and labor for 1 year Entegra picked up the labor portion.

Not a hard job to replace the dish and turret but you do have to haul the assembly to the roof. However, if not under warranty I sure would not have paid someone else to do it.

I have been fortunate with my Traveler, but others have had your type of repairs.

I helped install a Traveler, and it's not hard. Muscling it up on the roof was the hardest part. That was one thing that sold me on the RF Mogul, any replacement part will fit in a small easy to carry bucket, except for the dish. Easy campground repair if something should go wrong.