Upgrade installation details for Xite XSG4NA replacement of XSG2NA

[sartor]

Hi all,

I received my new Xite XSG4NA unit last night, and today plan to replace the old/broken XSG2NA. This is for my 2019 Dutch Star 4369 Spartan.

For the most part, it's a drop-in replacement, but I've just got a few questions:

1) There's a new GPS antenna that comes with a long wire for being able to place the antenna head itself in an "optimal" location. Trying to follow the wiring for the old GPS antenna, it seems to snake it's way under the dash near the bottom of the windshield, over towards the bottom passenger-side corner, but I can't really tell for sure. Any suggestions on perhaps an easier/adequate place to stick on the new GPS antenna head? I'm considering just letting the wire exit from under the triangular black plastic cover on top of the dash that covers the radio unit access hole, and stick it on the top of the dash near the bottom of the windshield.

2) The new unit came with a separate, extremely thin, 2.5"-square metal flat piece of metal, with a couple of "double-stick" pads on the bottom, and a tiny (1/8") hold drilled right through the middle of it. What the heck is that plate for?

3) The old XSG2NA unit had a single yellow RCA "CAM" wire that was part of the larger connector that provides power to the unit. That existing connector (with all of its existing wires in the dash) will plug straight into the new XSG4NA unit. However, the new XSG4NA unit also has two completely separate wires attached to it, each of which has a 4-pin connector on the end (only three wires used though), and they are labeled "CAM CH1" and "CAM CH2." Am I correct in assuming that those connectors are for different Newmar models with different camera connections, and by simply connecting the existing large connector that includes power and the old yellow RCA "CAM" wire to the new XSG4GNA that I will still have the prior camera function I had with the old unit? I've got the "PV 360 Camera System", that was able to show me a "constructed" view of the front/sides/back of the RV as if one was looking straight down on it from the top. Or do I need to make any changes to the camera connections to get them to work with the new unit?

4) Supposedly the new XSG4NA unit supports Android Auto, but do I connect my phone to new USB connector that exists on the front of that unit, or do I use the old/existing USB port located left of the steering wheel by the driver window, and which routes over to the "USB1" portion of the existing large connector that includes power/CAM/USB1/etc?

5) The new unit came with a separate USB dongle labeled XS90200. I believe that's simply providing wifi connectivity to the new unit, for the purpose of over-the-air updates, and and that I should simply leave that dongle plugged into the USB port on the front of the unit (which then presumably answers my question (4) above and my *phone* should connect to the "Auxiliary" USB port by the driver window in order to get Android Auto). Correct?

Thanks in advance for any insights the irv2 community might offer. I would try to get these things answered by RiverPark themselves, but they won't be open until Monday, and I'd like to try to get most of the radio install taken care of prior to then if possible.

Tom

[sartor]

Well, I didn't get any replies to my queries here on this forum, but fortunately most of what I needed to know I was able to figure out as I proceeded.

Note that there was an earlier thread on a related topic when I was first trying to figure out what replacement to get for my Xite, and that thread is located here:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/eas...an-627292.html

Anyway, to answer (most) of my own questions above, here's what I found:

1) For the GPS Antenna, I simply unplugged the old connector from the old unit and left that old antenna routing in place wherever it went, and left the connector dangling. I plugged the new GPS antenna connector into the new unit, and for routing I simply ran the wire up and out the backside of the black plastic triangular access hole cover, and let the antenna block rest on the bottom of the dash by the middle of the windshield. Works fine!

2) Never figured out what the thin/flat 2.5"-square metal plate with the hole in the middle was for. Didn't use.

3) Was able to plug *both* of the large multi-wire connectors from the back of the old unit and into the new unit, changing nothing. The single yellow RCA "CAM" connection from the old unit that comes in as part of the larger connector simply "worked" with the new unit, giving the same PV360 camera functionality, selected using the dedicated "360 camera select" button on the dash. The new unit came with a *new* version of the smaller of the two connectors (the one on the back-right side, looking at the unit from the front), but there was no need to actually switch to that new connector, as the only new wires on it were unrelated to the function of my coach (e.g., steering wheel controls, which I don't have), so rather than have to "unwire" a bunch of the connections of the old connector in order to connect them to the new, I just used the hold connector.

4) The new XSG4NA does *NOT* appear to support Android Auto. There is no icon on the main menu for it, nor is there any mention of Android Auto in the user's manual, and connecting my phone to either of the USB ports (either the new built-in one on the front panel, or to the "AUX" USB1 port that wires in from the port by the driver's window over to one of the back connectors on the unit) doesn't seem to bring up any Android Auto function. Oh well...

5) I believe the USB dongle that came with the unit is just for a wifi connection for over-the-air (OTA) updates. So I've simply left that dongle plugged into the unit's front-panel USB port, and I've configured the wifi connection via the main menu setup. Haven't confirmed any of that functionality though, with respect to OTA updates. I'm not using the nav function anyway (since I use my Garmin RV1090 GPS).

So that's it! Very easy "upgrade" to install the new unit, with no cutting/splicing of any wires, and it is all working as best I can tell. I still hate the user interface of the Xite, and would like to have Android Auto, so I would have preferred a *true* upgrade to a unit like the Kenwood or whatever, but I really didn't want to deal with the cuttting/splicing of all the wires in the midst of this trip. If/when this XSG4NA unit ever goes bad though I'll probably bite the bullet and move away from Xite.

[FOLEYMECH]

Thanks for the lengthy and pretty detailed explanation. Im really considering the change for my 21 DS looks like I have the larger screens and mine appear to be flipped where my new receiver would be in the closer position to the driver. Im going to contact River park to make sure the new one supports Apple Car Play which would be my reason to make the switch. Really wouldn't use the built in Nav as long as the cell service works. We like the Waze app for GPS my wife has it set to the dog voice which is pretty comical to listen to at times. .

[WOODY_AU]

My screen is failing on our 21 London Aire. I really need Apple Carplay when we're traveling. Considering replacing with XSG4NA.

1. What was you total cost to replace head unit and screen?
2. Did you purchase directly from Xite?
3. Any other advice??

Thanks,

Wayne Wood

[flyboy013]

The existing GPS antenna is mounted on the front cap portion of the roof on the passenger side. A metal plate is affixed to the roof and the antenna is magnetically attached to it. The plate on my rusted out and the antenna was hanging loose. I reattached it with some silicone caulk. If the existing antenna works, I would use it with the new nav and save the new one for later. If needed, I would run the new antenna wire to passenger side and up A pillar. From there you can mount it high on windshield or even on backside of cabinets.

[sartor]

Hi Woody_AU,

Not sure if your question was directed to me, but for what it's worth, I did purchase my replacement XSG4NA unit directly from Riverpark (the distributor for Xite, I believe), and the cost was $1149, back in October 2023.

See my earlier post above for the details of what I encountered on the replacement. Generally speaking, it was an easy, direct plug-in replacement.

Tom

[Dutch Star Don]

When I changed my radio out to a Kenwood, it used a different sat antenna connection.

I had to pull the passenger plastic "A" pillar cover off to access a small hole at the top that goes into the front cap. Form the roof, I had to remove the 4" x 4" plastic cable cover and feed the new sat cable end through the hole, down through the cap to the small hole at the top of the "A" pillar amongst the bundle of wiring. After that, its' just run it back down to the radio.

As stated, the metal plate is to attach the magnetic sat antenna to the roof. Silicon the plate down, stick the antenna to it and then cover the sides and exposed metal of the plate, along with the edges of the antenna to prevent it from rusting.

[WOODY_AU]

Originally Posted by sartor

Hi Woody_AU,

Not sure if your question was directed to me, but for what it's worth, I did purchase my replacement XSG4NA unit directly from Riverpark (the distributor for Xite, I believe), and the cost was $1149, back in October 2023.

See my earlier post above for the details of what I encountered on the replacement. Generally speaking, it was an easy, direct plug-in replacement.

Tom

Yes Tom; Thank you for your reply. I called RiverPark today and they said they couldn't sell the XSG4NA to me because of an agreement with the motorhome manufacturers that encourages owners to purchase new motorhomes instead of upgrading.
Did you encounter anything like this? Do you have any contact info about who you dealt with? Any help is appreciated!!

[sartor]

Hi Woody_AU,

Wow, that's crazy! They won't even sell you one? That doesn't sound like it should even be legal for the RV manufacturers to "coerce" them like that.

I wonder what would happen if you just told them that you were "restoring an old RV that you just bought," and wanted to get a working radio unit for it?

I was able to purchase the XSG4NA back in October 2023 for my 2019 Dutch Star, after the XSG2NA crapped out, and there were "no questions asked." They just told me they wouldn't provide any warranty, but they'd happily sell me a new unit.

I can't say for certain who I dealt with, but the number I called was just their customer service number, 800-442-7717. And the person I dealt with *might* have been Pat Hansell (phansell@riverparkinc.com), as I still have the e-mail from him (her?) when they sent me the invoice.

I also remember I had to call into them a few extra times due to some shipping confusion, as they were supposed to be shipping it to me to coincide with my stay at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and somehow they "forgot" to ship it the day they were supposed to, and when I called back they were apologetic and agreed to ship it "next day air" at no extra cost to me. But again I can't remember for sure who I dealt with.

Sorry I'm not of more help; I hope you are able to convince them to sell you a new unit, and please keep us all posted as to how things turn out!

Tom

[BayRunner]

I don’t believe that’s completely accurate. When I was upgrading my system, RiverPark was more than willing to sell me the larger screen Xite system. The only catch was that per manufacturer agreement, they couldn’t sell it with the Newmar specific encoding. They would however sell me one with the generic Xite firmware not associated with Newmar.

Due to some size hurdles with the 2 screen Xite, I ended up putting in a Kenwood unit instead.

[FOLEYMECH]

Did you try to do the xite upgrade, last I checked River park was not selling the later model to replace our XSG3.

[Newairetx]

Know this is a bit of an older thread but I hate the system in my ‘19 NewAire and was looking to upgrade. What did you do for the second screen? Resolution on them are horrible and would love to upgrade the 2nd screen as well to see the camera feed more accurately.

Thanks!