Swap Winegard Mission for Trav'ler: Question for BClemens

shultz01 · 03-07-2017, 07:47 PM

Mr. Clemens. We settled on a left over 2016 Force 37TSHD. We'll have to deal with the lack of a pocket door between the living area and the bathroom area. :-)

Question on Winegard swap: The dealership is letting me swap dishes. I'll have to do it on location at the dealership. To your knowledge will I be able to use one of the two coax cables from the In Motion system to pull the control wire cable for the Trav'ler system through to the front (the Trav'ler only uses one coax cable)? If you could tell me where everything would run and be mounted if installed from the factory that would be helpful. I'd be very appreciative and thankful for any help and instruction you can give me on how to run the control wiring. Or if you don't think this is a wise move, please say so.

When I ran the control wire on my current motorhome I ended up running the control wire in the A/C duct because the coax wasn't free to move in the ceiling. I'd rather not do that on the Force if at all possible.

Thank you.
Andy

**bclemens** · 03-08-2017, 11:06 AM

We have done it here before, but there is no "best way".

1. You need to make sure you have 46" for that dish to lay down.
2. You need to have a 110V power available for the control box...which can dictate where you run it.
3. For a while, they were only running one coax. The 2nd (which is a secondary) caused more trouble than it was worth. Most of that was people not understanding the limitations.

What our guys would do is loom the control wire (snakeskin) and use a P clamp to run it on the roof to the nearest drop. Just make sure you use self level wherever you run a screw.

They would either come down inside the control tower (take off front panel and drill up from there) and over from there or into an overhead cabinet close to 110V. If you have pictures of the front overhead area, I can see where we would drop it, but we have made changes over the past year in that area.

shultz01 · 03-08-2017, 09:16 PM

Thanks. Here's a picture of the bunk area on the one we are looking at. I was worried about running the control wire to where the coax goes, but I don't have to, right? All I need to do is run it through the roof with coax and then to where there is an outlet...like where the washer and dryer plug in? That is almost directly under where the dish will be mounted. No need to run it all the way to the front.

FOURWHL · 03-09-2017, 09:29 AM

Is there already a penetration from the roof to the control tower? Or is that a drink a few beers and get the drill out activity?

edit: nevermind I re-read your post about taking off the cover and drilling up... makes sense when I pay attention!

shultz01 · 03-09-2017, 10:23 AM

I don't want to put another hole in the roof. I want to come through the roof where the current coax comes through and find a route to an electrical outlet from there. How hard will this be?

FOURWHL · 03-09-2017, 11:45 AM

From my (albeit limited) research regarding adding solar I've determined re-using existing wire runs is not a thing in the RV world. During construction everything is run in cavities and secured against movement so the idea of re-pulling new cables using old just doesn't apply in general.

Everything I've read and the few people I've talked makes it seem as though the real trick to new installs/retrofits on an RV is finding creative ways to run in accessible areas. Unfortunately that means a lot of times a new penetration.

I'm with you that new holes are to be avoided, but I have looked at a couple of installs where junction boxes and copious amounts of self leveling sealer are used and they end up looking just like all the current penetrations/installations (which if you go up there are quite a few).

I think I'm finally getting myself ready to take drill to roof

Anyways, not sure how helpful that is but I've spent hours scouring the web looking for a better alternative to no avail.

shultz01 · 03-09-2017, 12:53 PM

In my current rig I used the same access as the coax. Then into the A/C duct and then to an outlet. I'm hoping that's possible here to avoid another hole?

**bclemens** · 03-09-2017, 07:22 PM

Correct...when we run wires, we have to secure them by code. So you could go through an existing penetration, but you would still have to break that seal, run the wire and re-seal.

The control wire does not have to run with the coax...that can be anywhere that you can fit the control box.

shultz01 · 03-09-2017, 07:59 PM

Thanks BClemens! :-)
That's what I was planning on doing. Sounds like only one of the available slots in the plate pictured below will be used. I'll remove the plate to route the control wire harness into the ceiling. I'll use one of the three open slots, refasten the plate, and then re-seal. Any suggestions on the best route to take to the nearest outlet once inside the ceiling? Maybe backwards inside the A/C vent and over to the bedroom closet and plug-in with the TV and sound bar?

**bclemens** · 03-09-2017, 08:12 PM

We use aluminum rafters roughly 16"oc...so you could route it in the roof cavity, but the batt insulation may get in the way. There is really no good way to fish a wire after the fact. The guys would run it on the roof, loomed to the drop point. They would drop inside a cabinet typically.

You may also like: