Winegard Trav'ler fitting rust out issue.

[brad1138]

As a tech, I see a lot of this with the Winegard Travler in the field (pic). Poorly engineered, it lets in moisture and corrodes. These are exposed to the wind as motorhomes/campers are driving down the freeway. With a head wind, it probably isn't uncommon to see 80+ MPH winds/rain.

The red rubber grommet is not utilized properly, being as the connector (F-81) it connects to has tapered edges. If the edges were flat, as higher quality F-81 fittings are, the rubber grommet would work as intended.

You would think engineers would think this through a bit better. When these corrode and fail, they are often 1000s of miles from the place that installed it. You can't just replace the parts without disassembling this $2500 dish (something we won't do). So the customer has to track down a motorhome dealer that handles these and is authorized to work on it. I have seen them rust out in under a year, probably under warranty.

(IMHO) This has class action lawsuit written all over it.

 

[brad1138]

This design has been the only design I have seen in the field, over probably 10 years. On their web page, it look's like they have a new design. The connectors are now sheltered to some extent.

 

[brad1138]

I should have included this.

 

[Josephinelcajon]

As a tech, I see a lot of this with the Winegard Travler in the field (pic). Poorly engineered, it lets in moisture and corrodes. These are exposed to the wind as motorhomes/campers are driving down the freeway. With a head wind, it probably isn't uncommon to see 80+ MPH winds/rain.

The red rubber grommet is not utilized properly, being as the connector (F-81) it connects to has tapered edges. If the edges were flat, as higher quality F-81 fittings are, the rubber grommet would work as intended.

You would think engineers would think this through a bit better. When these corrode and fail, they are often 1000s of miles from the place that installed it. You can't just replace the parts without disassembling this $2500 dish (something we won't do). So the customer has to track down a motorhome dealer that handles these and is authorized to work on it. I have seen them rust out in under a year, probably under warranty.

(IMHO) This has class action lawsuit written all over it.

View attachment 160231

Would a weather boot and fill it with electrical grease help? A weather shield/box over all the ports would have been nice!

 

[brad1138]

Would a weather boot and fill it with electrical grease help? A weather shield/box over all the ports would have been nice!

It certainly does, and if I get too them before they are rusted out, I add dielectric grease. But often it is too late... If they used it from the start, it would save a lot of people a lot of headaches.