Community Forums

robertj1979 · 11-25-2012, 06:30 PM

We recently purchased a new Knight 40DFT from Lazy Days in Tampa and was very pleased with the purchase experience there. They did a good job of completing most issues while we were there. We have had only minor problems and the entire staff at Lazy Days has been great to work with.
We decided to add a moving satellite dish at our local "CW" dealer and were very dissatisfied with the work there. Made it clear when purchasing the dish that the new coach was "prewired" for the install and they stated it should be a very simple install. Long story short is that they told me after they completed that they could not find the wires in the roof but did not advise me of this even though I was at their facility and readily available. They ran a loose wire across the top of the roof and drilled a hole to gain access to only one TV leaving the other two TV's not working and an unneeded wire and hole drilled through the roof. Needless to say I was not happy and spoke with their manager who stated that this was their standard procedure and finding the wires would have cost them too much money. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this and hope it may save someone else similar aggravation. Plan to have the job done correctly most likely back at lazy days.

joeplazek · 11-25-2012, 06:50 PM

They sound like hacks to me.

joe

Traps90 · 11-25-2012, 07:44 PM

Hate to say this but I sure wouldn't be impressed with that.

itdave · 11-26-2012, 08:18 AM

It is common for installers to run new wires for a satellite dish. I have been told that even though the manufactures do pre-wire it is never clear where the wires are located. In the future I would avoid CW I have never heard good reports about there work. Having said that there is not a problem with running wires along the roof. Just make sure they are secured to the roof every few feet with tie warps. Make sure they use the black tie warps since they are better able to handle the sun light. Most satellite dishes only have two coax outputs so if you have a DVR receiver it needs both inputs. If you want to be able to watch different channels on the other TVs they will need separate receivers with separate inputs from the dish. This can be done by installing a switch. Your best bet is to deal directly with a satellite tv installer who works mainly on RVs.

robertj1979 · 11-26-2012, 09:31 AM

Thanks for your response and thoughts. I am done with CW for all except parts that I cannot get somewhere else. The biggest problem I had with their work was not telling me what they were going to do. I can't help but believe they did not want to let me know until after they completed because they would loose the sale of the dish. I made it clear to them from the beginning I expected that the prewire lines on the roof would be used and they never bothered to let me know until they were done. Feel a little better about the roof wire now but am going back to Lazy Days shortly fof some minor issues and see if they can do it the way it should have been done. I wonder now if the wires were there all along and they just ran the wire to be done quickly. The manager there was totally unconcerned and made it clear they were only concerned about their cost rather than doing the job right.
On a positive note, we traded in our fifth wheel and are really enjoying the motor home!

Dennis_K · 11-26-2012, 01:41 PM

On my 2012 Knight 36PFT I installed my own satellite dish. Like you I was told that the wiring is pre-run to a location marked on the roof. After inspecting the TV receiver cabinet for wiring I found two coax wires tagged with the roof location but nothing for the control wires that all automated dishes need in addition to the coax wires. I called the Monaco tech line twice to ask how the control wires are handled. Both times I got the same answer that there was a conduit containing a chase cord to pull the control wire with. I cut the 2" hole in the roof where the label was, and found two coax cables but nothing else.
At that point I was faced with running the control wire across the roof and adding another hole or finding someway to snake the control cable inside the coach through the hole I just made. It took awhile but I was able to go from the hole in the center of the roof to the A/C duct on the right side of the coach (the same side as the TV receiver cabinet), ran the control cable inside the duct and then it was a simple task to get from the duct over to the cabinet inside the ceiling.
I have since informed Monaco of their incorrect answers but I doubt it did any good.

robertj1979 · 11-26-2012, 03:18 PM

Glad you were able to find a solution given the correct wires were not there. I have also called Monaco a couple of times on minor things. Could not find the fresh water tank valve to shut off the water supply for winterizing even though it was in the manual. Monaco rep told me manual was wrong and there was not one but it was really not needed. I finally found the valve hidden behind a cover for the water tank. I hope you are enjoying your 36 ft Knight and liked many of the features better than the 40. My wife really liked the setup of the 36 and we came close to purchasing but local dealer in NC tried to jerk us around on price etc.