Removing TV Aerial for ferry trip

[Lynn_5064458]

Hi Everyone

We are taking our 1997 Swift Challenger 530 SE to the Isle of Wight next month and our ferry ticket asks us to remove the TV aerial from the top of the 'van. Hubby thought he'd seen an article detailing how to do this in the PC magazine but we can't find it in our back issues.

Does anyone know how to do this? It's not an essential bit of kit to us as we choose not to have a TV in the caravan.

Many thanks.

Lynn Cox

 

[Damian]

Hello Lynn, I live on the Island, and have taken vans off and on to the Island for years and NEVER have had to remove an aerial.

When you get to the terminal advise the traffic marshalls when they collect your ticket just before loading that you have an aerial on the van. They will simply place you at either the front or back of the boat. The only time height comes into play is if they are using the mezzanine car decks, then you cannot pass under them and have to wait until they raise them out of the way.

 

[rayc]

Lynn, I travelled Wight link from Lymington to Yarmouth with no problems at all.I had the same experience as Damian. There was plenty of height and from what I remember the loading staff were very efficient.

 

[Lynn_5064458]

Hello Lynn, I live on the Island, and have taken vans off and on to the Island for years and NEVER have had to remove an aerial.

When you get to the terminal advise the traffic marshalls when they collect your ticket just before loading that you have an aerial on the van. They will simply place you at either the front or back of the boat. The only time height comes into play is if they are using the mezzanine car decks, then you cannot pass under them and have to wait until they raise them out of the way.

Thanks for that, Damian.

We are sailing with WightLink - do they use similar boats to Red Funnel? i.e. does it matter which ferry company you sail with?

Lynn Cox

 

[Lynn_5064458]

Lynn, I travelled Wight link from Lymington to Yarmouth with no problems at all.I had the same experience as Damian. There was plenty of height and from what I remember the loading staff were very efficient.

Hi Ray

Many thanks - you've just answered my question about whether it matters which company you sail with.

 

[Lynn_5064458]

Thanks for your responses - hubby will be delightd that he's got one less thing to do before we go.

Lynn Cox

 

[rayc]

Lynn, what I found with Wight link when I went for spring bank holiday is that they would save high vehicles for one ferry and then not use the mezzanine deck. This was not a problem because I think they leave Lymington and Yarmouth 3 times an hour - or I may be a bit mixed up and there were three ferries continually on the move and each trip was 1/2 hour or so.

Hope you have a good time we think IOW is great.

 

[Damian]

Lynn, the choice of fery operator is down to you, Wightlink is my preferred operator as they have more sailings, and a shorter journey time, and a cheaper tarriff. Sailings from Yarmouth to Lymington are every half hour, as are Fishbourne to Portsmouth.

Red Funnel takes just on an hour crossing and it is only available from East Cowes to Southampton.

As the crossing to the Island is one, if not THE most expensive fery crossing in the world, the least costly and shortest time is preferable.

As a member of the CC, you get a special rate for car and van, which is better than Island resident rate as there are no time restrictions on travel.

Which site are you going to?

If you havent been here before, be prepared for very different roads, a style of driving which has to be seen to be believed at times, great scenery and wildlife, lots of good places to eat and some great places to visit.

 

[Lynn_5064458]

Lynn, the choice of fery operator is down to you, Wightlink is my preferred operator as they have more sailings, and a shorter journey time, and a cheaper tarriff. Sailings from Yarmouth to Lymington are every half hour, as are Fishbourne to Portsmouth.

Red Funnel takes just on an hour crossing and it is only available from East Cowes to Southampton.

As the crossing to the Island is one, if not THE most expensive fery crossing in the world, the least costly and shortest time is preferable.

As a member of the CC, you get a special rate for car and van, which is better than Island resident rate as there are no time restrictions on travel.

Which site are you going to?

If you havent been here before, be prepared for very different roads, a style of driving which has to be seen to be believed at times, great scenery and wildlife, lots of good places to eat and some great places to visit.

Last time we came to the Isle of Wight we had a trailer tent and it was just the two of us. This time we have our caravan and a 2 year old son so we're going to do different things.

We loved the island last time and can't wait to visit again.

Lynn Cox

 

[WatsonJohnG]

To remove the Status completely you loosen the allen screw at the base and lift off the unit to unplug the coax cable.They come with a plug/stopper to seal the hole but these are available from caravan dealers.

You can just unscrew the point and I would do that as we suffered damage to the caravan side when it was removed by Brittany Ferries crew last year.

 

[RichardW1]

Does anybody know if you have to remove your status aerial for the p.o dover/calais ferry. Richard W

 

[Royston]

Lynn,

It is the top spike the radio part of the aerial that they refer

to, often depends where you are placed within the ferry,The spike just unsrews from the main part of the aerial.

 

[Lynn_5064458]

Thank you for your advice.

Lynn Cox

 

[Ogre]

It's not just the TV aerial you need to watch out for. Last year we went across on the SeaCat from Dover to Calais. As I parked my Volvo Saloon (not towing this time), one of their deck crew, grabbed my aerial (powered), and tried to force it down into the holder.

Even at full reach it's shorter than the height of the car, so God knows what he was doing, and it was only when I reached the outskirts of Calais that we realised that he had damaged it beyond repair. Good one Seacat!

My advice would be to turn your radio off before you enter the ferry, then if this clown is still working for them, he can't get yours too.

It's never been right since.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

We made a complaint to Brittany Ferries and received a letter of apology and a

 

[Brian_5062637]

Hi

If you have lost the plug for the hole left when you remove the Status aerial the plastic cap from a cheap bottle of plonk fits perfectly. Beejay

 

[Lynn_5064458]

Just a quick thank you for all the advice.

We decided not to remove the aerial and had no problems whatsoever. We had a great holiday, too!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Glad that you had a trouble free trip without removing the aerial.We have had many trouble free trips but still on the one we remember had damage as two seamen scrabbled up the side of the van to remove the point off the aerial.For that reason I will be removing the point before we embark next week.We will also be removing the jockey wheel as lots are damaged on the ferry ramp.Some stabiliser manufacturers also recommend removing them before going on to the ferry as well.