Routing the wifi USB cable from ladder mounted antenna

bclinton · 05-02-2018, 02:04 PM

I am looking for some advise on routing my wifi camp pro antenna cable into the RV. Right now I have it routed behind my bumper underneath the rear and into the drain plug of the rear storage. I was going to route it to the fridge vent cover like some videos showed but my fridge is in my slide out and I do not have a roof vent for it. I noticed I my sewer vent is fairly close to the rear. I was thinking of removing the cap and running the cable down that space but wasnt sure if that was doable. Attached are some pics. I am assuming the vent pipe is in the cavity of the wall (bathroom) and if I remove the cap I will have access to that cavity and simply run the cable down and cut out a hole in the side of the cavity to pull it through. This way I could have the router mounted inside the RV rather than the storage compartment.

I still have to mount everything so nothing is final yet. Just wanted to see if running it down the vent pipe hole is doable...

HookupAndGo · 05-02-2018, 05:26 PM

We have a 351 that is essentially the same type of deal -- no fridge vent. When I ran solar, i ran the cable down through the vent like you are proposing. Found where it came through the RV and made a small hole where I could snake the cable out and continue with the routing. I then loaded up the hole with sealant and all good.

So, yes, no issues for me. I'm actually thinking of running a second cable down -- my wifi external ethernet antenna cable as well. But, that is another day.

bclinton · 05-02-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HookupAndGo

We have a 351 that is essentially the same type of deal -- no fridge vent. When I ran solar, i ran the cable down through the vent like you are proposing. Found where it came through the RV and made a small hole where I could snake the cable out and continue with the routing. I then loaded up the hole with sealant and all good.

So, yes, no issues for me. I'm actually thinking of running a second cable down -- my wifi external ethernet antenna cable as well. But, that is another day.

Thanks! Did you remove the cap and drop the wire down the space between the vent pipe and the cap? That is what I am hoping I find when I take off the cap. Looks like there is 2-3 screws holding the cap in place covered with dicor. Looking to find enough space there to drop the USB cable down. I might leave a pull wire there too as later on in my tinkering I will add a solar panel.

HookupAndGo · 05-02-2018, 08:57 PM

We took the cap off (3 screws sounds right) then dropped a weighted line down the pipe and snagged it with a small hook (clothes hanger) stuck through a hole we drilled in the pipe down inside the RV. Then we pulled the cable down and through. We went right down the pipe. Make sure you look closely at the pipe before you drill, one of the things we found was there was a an inverted Y we hadn't seen, so it made it just a little more tricky to get our feeder line.

Once we had it all, we sealed things up. On the roof we used Dicor to spot attach the wire going from our panel to the pipe.

Sbosserman · 05-03-2018, 02:42 PM

I bought this handy endoscope camera that you could use to explore where to fun the wiring. I also set it on my rear bumper and use it as a back up camera on my trailer. It says it sends the signal out 300 feet. It works OK for that, good signal in the cab of my pickup. Poor man's back up camera, but great all around tool for home & RV use. And at around $36, it's a steal!

https://www.amazon.com/Depstech-Endo...ndoscope&psc=1

DouglasReid · 05-04-2018, 06:54 AM

I mounted my long, 3', antenna to my old TV antenna mount that allows me to lift it vertical with the screw mechanism for the TV antenna. On the roof was a cable cover where the TV cable entered the camper. I removed cover, took out the TV cable, replaced it with the WIFI cable and then reinstalled the cover.

I sealed iit with DICOR self leveling lap sealant like it had before. After loosening the ceiling panels I routed the cable to the rear of the camper and down one corner to where the WIFI receiver and router sit.

The installation is clean and out of sight.

This is what the roof cap looks like:

https://www.rvautoparts.com/CE-4000-...oaAizhEALw_wcB

If you use this type of setup just don't forget to lower the antenna when you are towing the camper, DONT ask how I came to this stunning conclusion.

bclinton · 05-04-2018, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

I mounted my long, 3', antenna to my old TV antenna mount that allows me to lift it vertical with the screw mechanism for the TV antenna. On the roof was a cable cover where the TV cable entered the camper. I removed cover, took out the TV cable, replaced it with the WIFI cable and then reinstalled the cover.

I sealed iit with DICOR self leveling lap sealant like it had before. After loosening the ceiling panels I routed the cable to the rear of the camper and down one corner to where the WIFI receiver and router sit.

The installation is clean and out of sight.

This is what the roof cap looks like:

https://www.rvautoparts.com/CE-4000-...oaAizhEALw_wcB

If you use this type of setup just don't forget to lower the antenna when you are towing the camper, DONT ask how I came to this stunning conclusion.

I was going to go that route but m antenna does not raise. It is a King brand and just rotates.

JTseed · 05-07-2018, 08:12 AM

I just installed solar on my GT 270 and went through a similar routing options quest. Yes a USB should fit next to the vent pipe but the challenge will be snaking the cable down into the wall cavity. There’s just not much space and on my rig the vent pipe has a 90 degree elbow where it goes through a wall stud. It may be a challenge but it could work.

As for future solar additions, I recommend that you not plan on using that same routing path. To get the most efficiency from the panels it takes some larger wire which is nearly impossible to fit through those tight spaces. I ended up drilling a hole through the roof, then pulling the wire through the only a very short section of wall cavity.

Good luck on your project. Will be interested to see how it comes out.

bclinton · 05-07-2018, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTseed

I just installed solar on my GT 270 and went through a similar routing options quest. Yes a USB should fit next to the vent pipe but the challenge will be snaking the cable down into the wall cavity. There’s just not much space and on my rig the vent pipe has a 90 degree elbow where it goes through a wall stud. It may be a challenge but it could work.

As for future solar additions, I recommend that you not plan on using that same routing path. To get the most efficiency from the panels it takes some larger wire which is nearly impossible to fit through those tight spaces. I ended up drilling a hole through the roof, then pulling the wire through the only a very short section of wall cavity.

Good luck on your project. Will be interested to see how it comes out.

Thanks! I am ok with drilling through the roof but not knowing where the best spot to drill has been my problem.

JTseed · 05-08-2018, 08:31 AM

Yes trying to find "the safest spot" to drill into the roof was exciting. After using a stud/wire finder finally tried a spot behind the tilt-up TV in the kitchen cabinet area. Drilled a small pilot hole first, then a larger one for the wires. Installed an electrical box to cover the wires going up to the roof and back into the wall.

For my next daring trick, will be drilling into bed room cabinet to install DC power to run my CPAP when dry camping. Good luck on your adventures into where in the heck to run wires land.

You may also like: