Installing Satellite Dish

[JDT]

My Ambassador does not have a dish but have been thinking about it. The only thing that has held me back is new tires, new tow bar, Splendide repair, and a VMSpc.

Just forward of the front a/c is a tag marked satellite. If someone has installed one what can I expect to find under the tag and how big a hole do I need to drill? A little scary.

[bullydogs1]

The tag is a label and not an access point....try to get the interior light closest to that point and the interior light should pull right out with a spring clip...Then I would use flashlight,hands, and eyes to fish and find the antenna wires right there....once you have the wires, you can drill a spot for the wires to fish out of and then seal the hole. The tag does not cover up a hole, but gives you an approximation of where the wires should be.. my light fixtures are spring clipped in and are removable and the wires are right there. That's how I found my solar panel wires.

[ShapeShifter]

I'll second what bullydogs1 says, except that my light is screwed in place, not clipped.

As to what will you find? Odds are there will be a single coax cable there, that runs to a bulkhead connector in the entertainment equipment compartment.

Most dishes/domes have a second (or third) output connection which can be connected to additional receivers (like in the bedroom.) Odds are that there won't be cables there to use those extra outputs.

Also, some dishes or domes need extra power/control cables. Odds are that you won't find anything like that up in your ceiling.

Take down the ceiling light that's near that spot, and see what you have. I'll bet it will be the bare minimum (just a single coax cable run to the main TV location.) Unless you're putting in a dome that gets its power and control over the coax cable, and is only going to feed a single receiver, don't be surprised if you have to pull extra wires.

[JDT]

Looking at a Winegard Trav'ler. I assume they need power.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDT Looking at a Winegard Trav'ler. I assume they need power.

We have the Winegard Trav'ler and love it but it was installed at Lazydays so I can't be of much help. I do know that Diplomat Don installed his own Trav'ler on his 2005 Diplomat and may chime in here. Bet he can help.

Bob

[ShapeShifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDT Looking at a Winegard Trav'ler. I assume they need power.

Yes. it has a combined control/power cable. It's got a small connector on the end of the wire, so it needs a hole a bit more than 1/2 inch diameter, even though the cable is smaller than that. It's not impossible to fish that cable through a wall or ceiling, but it's not real easy, either.

I have a factory-installed dome right there where the satellite prep is installed, and it has just a single coax cable. When I installed my Winegard Trav'ler this spring, I agonized over where to put it. The obvious place was up front to replace the dome. But I didn't do that, partly because I didn't want the dish up front where it would take the brunt of low hanging branches, but also because I felt it would be difficult to pull new wires to that ceiling location.

Besides the main coax and the control/power cable, I wanted to run a second coax line and also wire in a magnetic switch to warn me when the dish is not properly stowed. So that would be three extra wires to pull through the ceiling.

After trying a few places, I finally decided on the middle of the roof, above the center isle bathroom. It was relatively easy to drill a hole into the divider wall, run the wires down through the wall that has the main control panel, and down into the basement. I ended up using more wire that way, but I felt it was more protected, in that location, and it was easy to gain access to the various places where I needed to pull wires.

My suggestion is to carefully plan your installation, and make sure you can really pull the necessary wires that you will need BEFORE you drill any holes through the roof. I was going to place the dish even farther back than I originally planned, but ran into trouble pulling the wires. Fortunately, I hadn't drilled any holes yet, and could change the location to make the job easier.

Good luck, and feel free to contact me privately if you want to talk about any ideas or want any further information.

[walt2137]

I think you will find that Direct only has 3 LNB's that you need now that is 101 for reg sat 119 for locals and 99 for HD. I have my Motosat set up for 101 and 119 in the non skew, before I was using Dish had it set up for 119 and 110 in the skew.
JD it a easy install I have installed 2 and both up through the front cap from the TV cavity.
I should have said in the south.

[SpursMVP]

This was one of those jobs that I paid for. My local RV guy charged me $800 for the crank up satellite dish (including labor). Since we never used the crank up antennae I asked them to use that location.

No leaks, works great....no problem. For me the idea of cutting into the roof and making sure there are no leaks, etc was above my paygrade.

Now I'll change my own oil/trannie fluid/filters so I figure I gotta pay those guys something to keep their doors open.

[Diplomat Don]

JDT......The wires in the ceiling will be of no real value with the Winegard Travlr. It runs three coax size cables, two sat leads and one control/data lead.

I originally allowed Camping World to install my original dome when the coach was new (mistake). They drilled through my front cap and dropped the wires in over the driver's side. I used the same hole to install the Travlr. It's a very easy install in regards to the connections. Drop them through the roof and plug in. Two are for the satellite boxes. If you only have one, just coil up the other lead. The control/data cable plugs into a small black box that plugs into 110AC.

The satellite mounting is easy once you get it on the roof. I slid mine out a second story window and onto the roof of the coach (I park mine next to the house). You outline the sat dish with a pencil, remove the dish and run a bead of silicone inside the outline. Set the sat back down on the outline and use the self tapping screws to secure.....you're done.

I used the "antenna up" wiring on my Winegard batwing antenna and connected it to a magnetic read switch that I attached to the sat. It tells me when the sat is up. You can also buy the sat with an additional kit that connects to the ignition and will lower the antenna if you start the vehicle. I didn't care for this system because I often turn the ignition on to relevel the coach on soft ground.

[JDT]

Thanks, Don. Would you happen to know the stow height of the Trav'ler?

[ShapeShifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walt2137 I have installed 2 and both up through the front cap from the TV cavity.

Your rigs must have been different than mine. I quickly discounted drilling down through the front cap into the TV compartment because that would mean more exposed wire on the roof than I wanted, and the entry point would be visible from the ground since it would need to be so far forward on the sloped part of the front cap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diplomat Don The satellite mounting is easy once you get it on the roof. I slid mine out a second story window and onto the roof of the coach (I park mine next to the house).

You got lucky. I struggled with how to get mine on the roof. Finally, I placed an extension ladder against the back of the rig, and had a neighbor climb half-way up it. I then handed the unit to him while he was standing on the ladder, then I climbed up the MH mounted ladder onto the roof, and he then handed me the unit while I stood on the roof. It needed two people, but nobody had to try to climb a ladder while holding onto the unit at the same time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDT Would you happen to know the stow height of the Trav'ler?

A hair less than 10 inches.

[Caemlyn]

I installed my own Winegard Travel'r in about 2 hours. The pre-wire inside my HR Endeavor was worthless for this application and the conduit insufficient in diameter for the cables required. I drilled a hole in the cap just about the cabinet and ran 4 rg-6 coax and the control wire. 2 coax terminate in the forward cabinet and are connected to an HDDVR, the other two run to the bedroom for an additional HDDVR. though at this point, I wish I'd just pulled an HDMI cable to the rear and left both DVRs up front and could then, with the addition of an HDMI switch, could watch any source on any tv...
My installation took just under three hours and I did it alone. I carried my dish up the rear stairs, and boy was that fun!!