Dan, I am surprised that you did not contact the suppliers and ask like I did. I, like you thought the water coming in was via the tube and gaiter but in fact the head was letting in water. When I took it out you could hear the water inside it. The supplier said that if it was the head then you need to clean up the edges and the groove, then rub with wet & dry sandpaper, thoroughly clean and then apply mastic all around the edge filling in the groove. So I first drilled a very small hole in the groove at the pointed end and drained out the water then followed the instruction above. Hope this helps those who have the same problem of water coming down the centre of the tube, down the cable and save £20 + on parts you do not need.
I now watch more RU-vid videos than I do tv. Your videos are more relevant, more educational & more informative than channels with much bigger budgets. So helpful. Brilliant, Dan. A 👍 from me.
Dan, this is a good exorcise if only to see how the whole thing goes together for future problems. I am a 40+ year caravanner and thought I new it all, however since I've been following you I've learnt quite a lot just by watching you do the things that you do. I'm sure other people are the same. Well done and thank you.
Great video in your usual easy to follow and thorough style. A little tip when smoothing sealant is to smear a little vegetable oil on your finger first.
Nice one Dan,this could be a landmark video if you discover that Status antennas have a leak problem with age,think how many are out there!!! It would be good too see a strip down of the old antenna to establish the fault. Many thanks Dan can’t wait for the next episode.
Hi Andrew, Im following this video up with an insight into what actually failed, and a quick repair too. and also how i upgraded the antenna as well. - that will be out in the new year. Thanks Dan
I wouldn't worry too much about looks as long as it does the job. It's not as if anybody's gonna notice. It made sense to replace the base seeing as you'd already bought it and the seal on the old one was probably close to failing. You've nothing to lose by dismantling the aerial if. Like you said, it could be just an O ring. If you upgrade do you think that Status might send you one FOC and you could do one of your reviews? Our Lunar just has an aerial socket on the outside so we just plug in in external aerial. We bought an aerial (can't remember the make and model) and a mast which is clamped to a bracket on the A frame. I might just demonstrate this in a future video.
Next time you run your finger around caulking, dip your finger first in some soapy water or pre-mist the area with soap water. You will get better looking results. Also could you not have just used some butyl tape in place of the felt getting a better seal and allowing no wicking action through the felt? From Canada here so don't know if felt is the same meaning here as it does across the pond... Also not a good idea to have the coax in the water at the beginning of the video do to wicking even a little and allowing the possibility of rust or oxides to form... Could cause some signal degradation... Enjoying your videos the last few days...
I replaced the aerial on our 2008 Avondale with the status 570 and the results were amazing, the amp has a light on and tells you when you have the best signal.
Good video. Belt & Braces method is the best. I would replace the aerial too. We are supposed to be switching over to DAB soon . As you said a good excuse to up-grade. Nice One. Phil & Juliet.
I have this same problem of water running down the centre tube, I sealed all round mine last year including the joint casing around the antenna itself, but this winter still got drips again, i use my caravan in winter, and im beginning to think it could be condensation, and the antenna is acting like a damp trap, my thought is the warmer air from inside the caravan goes up inside the antenna through the tube, cold air outside then makes the warmer air inside the antenna condensate, and after a few months there is that much moisture build up inside it runs back down the tube.....
I found some water held in the bottom turning part after a wash was done to the roof of my van the day I collected it. Is it common water can leak inside and down that if it hits in a certain point or do you think they’ve damaged the seals?
just come home from work to upgrade mine from the old ufo type to status 530 i got off fleabay. just check youtube and you have a video, perfect timing thanks for info. now going to drill a hole in roof of caravan, wish me luck
you will see a video of me fitting a Status 570 to replace the 530, but also how to inspect and replace the O rings on the pole. This is what was actually at fault on my antenna. This will be coming out in the new year. Dan
the one i got off fleabay had leak fault. I removed about five screws and split apart. The sealant inside had gone. Have resealed, cleaned it up with plastic cleaner looks like new( on a budget) 1999 swift caravan.
Well done, great video and as always great advice. I think I may need to replace my antenna. I can get some stations but nit all and nit that good. You mentioned FM and DAB. Can they be fitted to any caravan and do do you know if they ensure more channels and better signal . Kind regards Steve
Great video Dan. You are a man after my own heart. I love fixing things myself too. Caravanning wouldn't be half so much fun if these little challenges didn't arise now and then. And, you also spotted a potential upgrade opportunity, good man :) No problem with lip-sync by the way.
Thanks Dan, I have exactly the same problem with water coming down the centre of the pole. It's a 2008 campervan and I am going to tackle it this week. Any tips or photos on taking the antenae apart?
With regard to the sealent, it would be worth considering using a non adhesive type as if you need to remove it again you will curse the day you used adhesive.(Bitter experience)😥
Please can you help, new to caravaning, on our first visit we noticed you can run an arial type cable from the caravan to the electric supply, so my question is what type of cable and where can we get one from. Sorry for asking, but we watch all your films and they are so helpful. Sarah and John
Hi Sarah & John. Its a good question. So all you need is a 25m standard aerial cable. Try to get a good quality one so you won't loose any signal. The connection on the electric post is a standard TV coax connection. Be warned however, they can be loose from constant plugging in & out etc, so be equipped with a bungee cable to hold it in. Back at the caravan it really does depend on what caravan you have. Some have an external "Satellite Dish" connection that can be used. These have a F-Type connection, so you can buy an adaptor to convert a standard TV coax connection to an F-Type. (don't worry, ill put this below) If your caravan doesn't have a satellite dish connection, don't worry - you can buy short strip of flat coax which you can place in the window and connect the outside to the inside etc. Links below, hope that helped. Dan TV Cable : www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-25m-Black-RG6-Aerial-Coax-Cable-Coaxial-Lead-4-Free-view-Magic-Eye-Tv-Link/371400046413?epid=2199090594&hash=item56792af74d:g:s4IAAOSw7ehXRZLC F Type converters : www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-F-Type-Connector-Male-to-TV-Aerial-Socket-Female-Adapter-RF-Coax-Converter/331888350681?epid=1176009110&hash=item4d461655d9:g:818AAOSw0UdXsugS Flat Coax : www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flat-Satellite-Sky-Freesat-TV-Aerial-Coax-Cable-Caravan-Window-FREE-F-PLUGS/301987198429?hash=item464fd6f5dd:g:PPMAAOxy63FSqhhN
Hi Alan, 1st impressions were it needed replacing, the felt ring looked like it was allowing water in. On removal, it looked like it was not to blame and in fact was the antenna. In subsequent looking at the removed parts, it had in fact failed. The rubber collar had a tiny crack, and the felt rim has a tide mark on it. So its fair to say, it was a job worth completing. I will be following this video up with a antenna repair (which also had failed) and an antenna upgrade. Dan
i can't fix towel rails in plaster board at the moment, try as I might - the bathroom's towel rail is always coming free from the wall... so, theres my limit lol Dan
Er?..... seal around the bath maybe .... haha lol .... you n me both Dan ... takes longer getting sealant off fingers, gloves, tissues, kitchen roll, spatulas, knives, trowels, ( insert any flat implement here) etc than doing the repair ! Great vid as usual ... 👍🏽
You didn't need to seal around the gasket and sealing over screws is not a good idea for future reference. All you had to do was use neoprene washers which would've looked much better.
It does not need all the sealer its designed to be a seal without the need for all the horrible sealant, I hate the stuff! Sealer could actually affect the seal design itself.
Hi, When i spoke to Vision Plus, they stated "it won't hurt" when i asked about the sealant around the outside. I do agree though, the sealant is horrible stuff. Its a skill ive never perfected or even gotten close to getting right lol. Take care Dan
