Grinding gears - Roadtrip Stationary

[Chandcamper]

I have a Roadtrip SD mounted on the roof of a fifth wheel trailer. The dish was mounted by the RV shop where I purchased it. I did the wiring personally, because I wanted a neater installation than I was likely to get with the dealer. The unit worked fine until a year or two ago, when it began to make the typical grinding noise of malfunctioning gears whenever I tried to use it. It will not move. I've resorted to the backup plan, and have been using one of Winegard's portable, fold-up ground mount types for some time now, something I'm accustomed to doing anyway since the dish often didn't have a clear view of the sky after parking in an RV or camping space. In any case, I'd like to repair the unit.

I may have not operated the unit correctly. My habit was to turn off power to the unit after it had locked on the satellite. It stayed in the same position and worked fine, but I did sometimes forget to power it back on before packing up and moving on. Does the unit be left on, or in any event turned on before moving, in order for it to stow properly? I'm wondering if the gear train might have gotten out of adjustment because it wasn't stowed properly?

Whatever the cause I'd like to do the repairs myself. I have a shop full of tools and access to a lot of technical advice. Can you point me to the necessary service information and a source for whatever parts are necessary? If you're wondering why I prefer not to take it in for repair -- it's because I've been told I'll have to move the trailer to their shop and leave it for five to ten days, and they won't give and estimate of the cost. They also won't be responsible for theft, so it sounds pretty risky to me.

[Bill Adams]

The dome antennas do not have or use any kind of a stow routine so once you turned it off, leaving it off was just fine. When you get to your new location you just turn it back on and let it do it's next search routine.
For us to help you are going to need to go up on the roof, remove the dome and have someone else power the unit on so you can watch exactly what is or is not happening up there. Once you have a better idea about what's making the noise or what's not moving we should be able to get you some guidance.
You can also call Winegard Tech Support while you have the dome off (you will likely need to leave a message and they will return the call within an hour or 2) if you would like to discuss what you see with a live person.
800-788-4417

[Chandcamper]

Thanks very much for the prompt reply. I'll investigate further...

[bowrpwr]

8/5/12... am just now experiencing the same grinding noise upon initializing signal search.. it sounds as if one direction is fine while the other direction creates the grinding noise.... will begin my investigation on the roof tomorrow... if anyone has identified the problem and cure, please respond...thanks .... Ron from California

[Winegard Tech Help]

Does the noise happen when it rotates? It may be a bad azimuth motor.

Like Bill said to the other person, go up and remove your dome and watch what it's doing to see if you can pinpoint exactly when the grinding happens.