On a recent trip, I witnessed a motorhome driving through the campground, heading for the exit, with the satellite antenna in the raised position. I ran after the motorhome and let the driver know of his situation. In this case, this was the driver's first time out with his brand new motorhome. After stopping to lower the antenna he found that he didn’t know how to get the antenna down and had to read the instruction manual.

I’ve seen even experienced RVers drive away, from their campsite, with a TV antenna in the raised position. So, with the latest incident, I was reminded of several ways to remember to lower an antenna before driving away. As you know, it is very important to lower the antenna to prevent serious damage to the RV roof.

I’ve used something as simple as a spring-loaded, clothes-pin to use as a reminder. When the TV or satellite antenna is down, the clothes pin is clipped to the antenna’s crank handle. When the antenna is raised, the clothes pin is removed from the crank handle and clipped to the gear-shift lever or steering wheel. The idea is that if the antenna is still up when getting ready to drive away, the sight of the clothes-pin on the shift-lever or wheel will remind the driver to lower the antenna.

Our current motorhome does not have a gear-shift lever. However, the steering wheel has flat spokes. As a result, the spokes are flat enough to clip a clothes-pin to them. So, when it is time to break camp and I see the clothes pin on the steering wheel, I know I need to crank the antenna down.

Another reminder is to hang or clip the RV ignition keys to the antenna crank handle any time the antenna is in the raised position. This works for any RV, even those that don’t have a gear-shift lever. Even though this is an effective method, I feel that this is not a good idea because it might make it easier for a thief to steal an RV.

Just about anything that can be hung on the antenna crank handle can be used as a reminder to lower the antenna. I’ve heard of one person who used a small beaded bracelet to hang on the crank handle. Whatever is hung on the crank-handle should be bright enough to catch one's attention.

So, always remember to be sure the TV or satellite antenna is lowered before driving away.

This tip was submitted by Maury