Antenna above the mid-ship bathroom?

[OffroadGirl]

Hey gang, I'm hoping someone has installed a roof-mounted cellular antenna in the mid-ship location, with the attached router in the cupboard in the mid-ship bathroom where all of the fuses are. Has someone done this? Specifically, is there an easy way to route the cables like there is at the front cap above the driver's seat? Thanks!

[Dave.FL]

I installed a Poynting antenna for a Pepwave Max Transit on the roof of our Ventana. Location was close to the middle of the coach near the mid ship bath and near the centerline. I had removed the existing WEBoost and routed the cable through the a hole to the roof located inside the cupboard for the electrical in the mid-ship bath. Note that the existing roof hole is located right near the paint line (roof to coach edge). The antenna wire then runs across the roof to the antenna.
The router is mounted inside this cabinet as there were plenty of power options and it was a good central location on the coach. Works really well.
I looked at trying to run the cables for the antenna inside of the coach from the cupboard, between the ceiling and the roof, but didn’t really see an easy path to utilize without lots of work. Plus I didn’t really want to put in additional roof hole.

[Dutch Star Don]

The only thing I can tell you is that there is a BUNDLE of wiring running along the roof where the roof and wall meet. I would not do any drilling through the roof close to the edge of the exterior wall. If you come through the roof, remove the Fantastic fan interior enclosure and you'll be able to see into the roof and know where it's safe to drill. You might be able to drill just behind the facia of the circuit breaker cabinet.

[OffroadGirl]

Thanks for the quick info. I think midship will make the most sense, and it sounds possible. I'm going to get a box to elevate the antenna above the Girards, so I'll be able to run cable from the edge to the middle of the coach (away from A/C units as much as possible). Fingers crossed...

[Dave.FL]

Following up on DSDon’s comment: he is correct in that there are a bunch of wires between the ceiling and the roof running along the edge of the coach. I utilized a video probe in the existing hole through the ceiling that was used for the WEBoost wire to look around the area when I was trying to find an alternative route for the antenna wires. I also removed the fantastic fan assembly in the midship bath to look for options and used the probe again to look back towards the Coach roof edge. My assumption (which could be entirely wrong) was that whoever installed the weboost antenna opened up a small hole in the ceiling area (inside the cabinet) moved any wires out of the way and then used a long drill bit to make the roof hole.

[OffroadGirl]

Thanks for that info, Dave. More confirmation to just put it up front, so that's what we'll do.

[OffroadGirl]

Does anyone have part numbers or links (or ideas) for mounting an antenna on the roof, risen above the height of the Girard awnings? I've seen a construction box used, and other parts and pieces, but I'm struggling to find them.

I think we'll install the antenna a bit back from the front cap in the middle of the coach (side to side), away from the front air conditioner and not visible from the ground. Then, the cables will need to run to the access panel at the front cap and down to the router above the driver's seat.

How should those cables be run along the roof? How we protect them from the elements? What parts and pieces would you use? Thanks!

[Dave.FL]

For running the antenna cable through the roof I used the King Cable Entry Cover sku CE2000. Had to go with a large cover on mine as I had 7 wires/leads for the antenna and I wanted a wider width to fully cover the roof hole. Sealed with silicone underneath and then put lap sealant around edges. This kind of matches what was done previously on the coach for the satellite cables.
I enclosed the antenna wires in a high density nylon weave (marine/military grade). So far it’s standing up well to the elements. Since it was a short run of wires from the antenna to the cable cover I used a single cable clamp (marine 304 stainless steel with rubber cushion).
On the antenna mount I didn’t put anything underneath to raise the height.
Good luck on the install.

[Dave.FL]

Quick follow up on my previous response.
I reviewed my pics and found that I did not use the cable clamp as stated earlier. The sleeved wires run just in front of the BR fan and right next to the vents. It’s a short run and I didn’t think the clamp was necessary.

[OffroadGirl]

Thanks! I ordered https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074LV5BV2/ to protect the cables (we have 11 coming from ours). Now to figure out how to elevate it...

[xbcsutter]

Here’s how I mounted my antenna. A PVC junction box works great to cover a large not round hole in your roof. VHB tape to secure it and lap sealant around it. I ran a support across from awning/facia supports on either side.

[wqmiller]

Posting this as it may be helpful to someone trying to replace a WIFI Ranger SkyPro which is no longer supported by AT&T since it has a obsolete modem. Key points:
1. Coach is 2020 New Aire
2. Exterior WIFI Ranger box was mounted on right front of coach over entry door.
3. Interior WIFI Ranger modem was mounted in compartment over drivers seat.
4. When rooftop mounted Ranger box was removed, I found a 1 inch diameter conduit running to the interior modem location!
5. Installed a Poynting antenna on a electrical box (Lowe’s) which has 5 antennas (2 wifi, 2 cellular, 1 gps). Box covered existing holes in the roof and provided a convenient location for the extra cable length storage and easy sealing. Note that I relocated the AM/FM radio antenna on the box.
6. Installed a Peplink MAX BR1 Mini VR3 in the compartment above driver’s seat. See MobileMustHave’s website for description and features.
7. Installed a AT&T SIM card. Fantastic results thus far and NOT one instance of losing connectivity whereas the previous Ranger was unreliable about 30 to 40% of the time. Coach has not moved in about 2 months so it is an apples to apples comparison.
8. Can’t say enough good things about the installation and performance thus far.




Good luck with your install!

[OffroadGirl]

Originally Posted by wqmiller

Posting this as it may be helpful to someone trying to replace a WIFI Ranger SkyPro which is no longer supported by AT&T since it has a obsolete modem...

That looks fantastic! I just purchased the same construction box, but the install hasn't happened yet. It's good to have these photos -- thanks so much.