Removing the dish

bigb · 08-11-2021, 07:15 PM

Going to remove the old rooftop dish as we will never use it. Planning to remove the inside controls and replace with 4.5" recessed light to match the originals, anyone done this?

catmandoo62 · 08-11-2021, 10:15 PM

not yet but my dish is gonna go too.

bigb · 08-13-2021, 05:14 PM

The dish was successfully removed. A word of caution if you decide to remove it entirely, Winnebago uses adhesive silicone under the base of their antennas and dishes which sticks to the roof like glue, if you try and pry or pull it off you will end up taking chunks of the thin Filon roof material with it. I made a sort of garote out of welding wire and worked it underneath and sawed back and forth, it took a long time and did damage a small piece of the roof. After removal I patched all holes with Bondo and sanded smooth and have ordered a large Eternabond patch so I can cover the area with one piece. Then I will finish compounding and waxing the roof. I got the hole enlarged for the new light and the wire pulled, just waiting on the light from Ebay which matches the existing lights exactly.
I am so glad to be rid of it, the roof already looks much neater and will give me more room when servicing the AC.

bigb · 08-13-2021, 06:13 PM

To cut the hole for the light I first took the correct size hole saw and used it to trace out the hole on the ceiling. I didn't dare try to cut the hole with the hole saw for fear of ripping the upholstered ceiling. Once I got the hole marked I took a multi tool blade and modified it with a zip disc down to about 1/4" and gradually cut the hole all the way around. I pulled the wire using a thin fiberglass fish stick. My original lights are available on ebay only 2 for $13.55 and free shipping a great deal if you need some recessed lights: https://www.ebay.com/itm/27291793740...5c9%7Ciid%3A1I will of course change the halogen lamp for an LED.

**creativepart** · 08-14-2021, 10:32 AM

It looks like your dish was not in the center of the roof. Is that so? If so, doesn't that seem odd? I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Maybe that's that way because it is on the smaller Via RV????

bigb · 08-14-2021, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

It looks like your dish was not in the center of the roof. Is that so? If so, doesn't that seem odd? I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Maybe that's that way because it is on the smaller Via RV????

No, it was dead center. Maybe you are mistaking my padded roof board for the edge of the roof. I made up two pieces of 3/8" plywood with black foam padding on both sides for working on the roof. I am 230 lbs and I don't feel comfortable walking or laying on the roof without them. With padding on both sides they don't slip and they are comfortable for kneeling on, and they don't damage the roof.

**creativepart** · 08-14-2021, 11:48 AM

Yep, that's it. I thought that looked like a roof edge.

MadMaxWinny · 08-18-2021, 04:39 PM

I love this project! Not only do I hate the antennas, when the dish was installed they had an extra 10-12 feet of cable that they secured with ONE wire clamp, leaving this horrid huge loop unsecured. I added another couple of clamps after a wind storm when we thought things were being ripped off the roof (it was just the cable slapping itself to death).

alamon · 08-19-2021, 06:20 AM

Yes, I did the winegard/dishectomy as well. Nothing says old motorhome like that big dome on top. I'm sure it made one very cool awhile back.

I didn't replace the inside hole with a light though, I just put the old crank back in place. It's very low profile and I don't even pay any attention to it.

Up top after everything is removed there is only a small hole left which I used a pvc end cap to cover and silicone to waterproof it from leaks. Looks so much better now. Good job.

**ThomB** · 08-19-2021, 06:36 AM

You guys did it the hard way. I took mine off at a gas station.

Fotoguzzi · 08-19-2021, 06:56 AM

That's funny, did the gas station have anything to say?

**ThomB** · 08-19-2021, 07:59 AM

Direct quote: "You no fit there"

We were trying to get gas as we headed into an RV park right in San Francisco. We exited the highway and were shooting for a gas station that I had to make a hard-right to get into. The pumps that I needed were not within my turning radius so at the last minute I tried to turn the other direction. That canopy was lower. Shaved off the dish but did no more damage. The little old man came out and gave me that quote. I ended up pulling next to the pump I wanted to go to, jumped up there and took the dish off the roof (clipped the wires). It looks better without it! LOL

catmandoo62 · 08-19-2021, 11:17 AM

i caught mine on my garage door,thought it was up far enough got 3/4th the way backed out and crunch.stop and thought what the heck was that.got out and look and sure enough i was 2 inches too low with the door.

bigb · 08-19-2021, 07:40 PM

The piece of Eternabond arrived today, a bit wrinkled which I had hoped would smooth out but didn't. Maybe parking in the sun for a while?

MadMaxWinny · 08-19-2021, 08:02 PM

If you haven't installed it, I'd try a little heat. If it's installed with wrinkles, I think you're finished.

bigb · 08-23-2021, 07:15 PM

Pretty much finished on the roof, all buffed out and tomorrow will add a layer of Meguiar's Flagship Marine & RV Wax. The Eternabond had some wrinkles in it from being the end of a roll I suspect and I could not get them out. They are only on the top and do not affect the sealing, besides that I put it there mostly to hide the different color and the Bondo that I filled all the holes with so it was already pretty much water tight. After painting my radius edges and buffing the rest of the roof it looks 100% better up there. The light for inside that replaces the crank will be here Thursday. The only thing left now is to re-paint the top of the front cap, I am going to tape it off and paint it white to cut down on heat in the cab which the dark brown really attracts. I'll leave the brown around the edges 4" to match the radius edges. Will do new clearance markers and gaskets at the same time. That will be a job for the Winter though.