CB- wire to Antenna

[happy2]

We want to wire our Antenna on the roof, how to run wire???

We do not want to put a hole in the motorhome, but we may have too.

Do not want Antenna on windshield.

So- what is the best way to do this so the antenna is on the roof.

From the wife

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy2 We do not want to put a hole in the motorhome, but we may have too.

happy2, That may be the only option you have unless you have a driver's side door. I have a satellite antenna wire going across the top of the door jamb but its a small wire. I run the wire up through zip cord Wiremold which I painted to match the window frame.

The OE will drill a hole and mount the antenna on the roof and use RTV to seal the base of the antenna. If it works for them, it'll work for you. Remember the antenna has to be in specific lengths so no cheating allowed!

The antenna wire will run up the A pilliar cover and up into the overhead cabinet.

[wa8yxm]

First consider the height of the antenna, roof mounted, and the height of the bridge you are driving your suddenly shorter antenna under...

There is one and only one way to get to the roof, drill a hole.. Now, it might be possible to buddy up with the Winegard Batwing's wire, but frankly I doubt it.

Suggestion.. This is how I mounted one of the antennas on this rig and likely will mount another

I have Velmac mirrors (I think I spelled that right) these are remote adjustable heated mirrors. They are mounted on a swing arm that swings out from a bracket that is bolted to the coach.. My rig is a gasser.

The arm is hollow, white metal, fairly thick

If you get an antenna with a PL-259 mount (The dealer either knows what that is or shop elsewhere) you can get the proper bulkhead connector (the shortest ones may not work here) and a few nuts and washers (2 of each)

Find a truly level spot on the arm and drill a hole to pass the feed through (You might want a trim ring for it on the outside) Drop a fish wire down the hole and fish it out in the engine compartment where the heater and control wires pass into the arm..

Hook a coax onto one end of the feed through and very carefully hook the fish line to the other end (NOTE if you drilled right you won't have a lot of clearance so tape carefully)

Pull the feed through up, apply trim washers, sealant and such and apply antenna.

[wa8yxm]

The other thign that works well on a Fiberglass coach is a "West Coast Mirror" type mount.. This is a simple clamp designed to go over the mirror arm on a west coast type mirror.. Comes in two flavors, one the bracket where the antenna mounts is fairly flat, the other one it's an "L" bracket. you want this kind

Just lag bolt it to the side of the coach

Be sure to use a NO GROUND PLANE type antenna

[GaryKD]

Hi happy2,
Go to No Ground Plane Antenna - iRV2.com RV Photo Gallery and check out how I mounted a Firestik no ground plane antenna. Some things to consider are:
1. The antenna and wire should be matched to each other. Buy them as a kit.
2. You'll need to purchase a spring and mount.
3. At least 2/3 of the antenna height needs to be above the roof line.

A no ground plane antenna may be best for a coach. Go to CATALOG Main Page (Frame Setup) and check out their products.

[happy2]

GaryKD, Thanks so much for the info, the sites you sent are very helpful. So to the drill we go. Thank you happy2

[happy2]

wa8yxm, great info, we are ready to go. Thanks happy2

[RickO]

A few months ago I broke down and drilled a hole in my roof to mount my trucker's antenna on my roof. Through advice from this forum, I used a low profile exterior junction box to seal the hold AND provide a relatively easy way to run other wires in the future.

1) Drilled hole...
2) mounted junction box to roof using self tapping screws and setting the entire box in a thick bed of Dicor.
3) ran wire into box and down into interior cabinet sealing both pas thrus with Dicor.
4) placed junction box cover on junction box using supplied screws and dicor.

So far, not a drip.
Good Luck.