Dis-assembling batwing wingman antenna

[arky]

I purchased a Sensar IV antenna for my 5th wheel while I was traveling and when I got home and found time to put it on I found the wingman attachment hits my refrigerator vent cover. I decided to try to take it apart hoping to move the wingman to the other side but I can't figure out how to get it apart. There are no screws, only plastic tabs, and prying on them using a small screwdriver has gotten me nowhere except just short of breaking them off. Another thought is to rotate the base slightly so the antenna is not stored in a front to rear position but at an angle when seated, getting the batwing to miss the refrigerator vent. But then there is the damage from wind while traveling. (Wind destroyed my old antenna when I forgot to lower it before taking off down the interstate at 70 mph.) I would put a wind deflector in front to help divert the wind.
The only other alternative is to seal up the existing hole and cut a new one, mounting the base farther away from the vent cover. I'd rather not do this if I can help it. Or I could just cut some or all of the batwing off.
Can anyone help me with this problem.

[Bill Adams]

There is no disassembling the Sensar. The top and bottom are sonic welded together and can only be opened by breaking. Even if you could, you could not do as you are hoping. Your only option is to see if you can get by with a somewhat shorter Wingman. The unit will work nearly as well with only 2 wings. If you have the room, cut off the outside metal wing and the plastic all the way back to the edge of the 2nd wing. If this will give you the clearance then you can install and use the Wingman in that configuration.
If that is not possible I would suggest that you do nothing with the Wingman and instead install the Sensar Pro unit.

[arky]

The unit was purchased several hundred miles from home and is not returnable so installing a different one is not practical. When purchased no information was given by the RV store about any possible interference problems and it certainly did not occur to me that there would be any problem until I tried to install it.

Experimenting and getting suggestions, I have tried turning the base 180 degrees with gives clearance but there is concern of wind damage while traveling at Interstate speeds as the wind would tend to lift the antenna up out of the travel locking slot and possibly break the worm screw. However, installing at an angle of about 10 degrees off from front-rear gives me the clearance and it locks good when it is lowered, with wind pressure working to keep it down instead of lifting it. I'll see what happens when I test it out going down the highway and post any problems. If it appears that damage may occur, I will install it back in a straight front-rear orientation and trim off part of the antenna as that is the best alternative and I appreciate the suggestion.

[Bill Adams]

The angled mount should work just as well as there are some factory installs done by manufacturers in this way. You would still want the antenna arms in the cradle, however, so your "fix" would be to remove the entire base (caulking and screws) lift it an rotate it the desired amount. While I cannot call this a recommended procedure, if you want to try to move the antenna those would be the proper steps. I highly recommend doing nothing to the mount if cutting the Wingman down to 2 wings will do the job.