Running DirecTV Antenna Wiring on Lance Squire 4000?

[Lexicon7]

I considered using "U Bolts" and strapping my dish on the top of the rear ladder. I saw a dude in a park lot and he had his there. Looked pretty slick and was positioned below the roof line for aero.
My Lance has some HD Rack Rails one each side of the AC unit. I'm thinking of building the mast there so I can stand on the bed to position the dish.
I am a rookie RVer and have yet to do any work up there. I thought about removing that archaic "crank up" antenne and running cable down though there. My first thought was to run it straight down into the drivers side overhead bunk cabinet behind the little stereo speaker and then out the bottom of that cabinet. This would bring it directly to behind the TV mount. Any thoughts or ideas appreciated.

[AnEv942]

Ohh Ok -your looking at the cabletv input inside the camper-it disappears into cieling-assuming it lead to roof. Well mine does also but it doesnt go to a roof plug-it goes over and drops down the wall and exits thru underside of wing. The ota lead also follows same path but instead of turning and going to wall it turns opposite direction to roof ant.
Ive replaced our rj59 antenna lead before, the only reason I was able to was I had the radio ant off, only bout 16" across inside the roof and it was not fun. Point being using the ant location to rerun sat cable, fishing thru roof sideways not likely. If your adding an rj6 cable for the satellite definitely want a place that it can drop straight into an interior cabinet for ease. Unless you know your going to roof mount sat, and even then I still might make the connection under wing or in ext. cabinet, run to receiver location.
Then there is always the 'ribbon'-I call it the cheater. Short piece of flat coax allowing to go out window.
but so many variables in camper-equip locations hard to say how to get from A to B.

[Lexicon7]

Buzz.. I'll dig around a bit more & see what sticks! BTW.. Nice rig!

[Buzzcut1]

look under the drivers side overhang for a capped coax connection. I use a portable Flex King which rides on the bed when traveling that I set out on the TC roof or out on the ground at the end of its 50'cable. it is self locating. Here it is on the roof.

[Lexicon7]

Mark, seems to me that OEM antenna is just dead weight up there..
I reconsidered running the coax through there though but I may just remove that dinasour and put a patch on...
What I was really interested in is doing my first work on the roof and actually drilling some holes and running cable. As expected, even someone familiar with DIY as myself finds the whole idea tenuous at best!!! What seems to make the most sense is to try to find the other end of the cable I see heading up to the roof when I look inside the cutout for the "cable" coax nipple inside the TC. Where would you start if you wanted to drop the DTV cable straight down? I have those racks that would be easy to fabricate for securing the dish mast and could make it so it can lay down when we are moving... I like the idea of just standing up to dial it in... I don't plan on being in any parks so could easily move my rig around in order to get reception..

[AnEv942]

Look in your exterior cabinets, somtimes the cable tv connection(if supplied) are installed there.

Our tripod is small-stores in the box it came in, along with dish arm-fits a small cabinet. The dish itself when we carry simply lays on bed-moved to cab if not used.

[Lexicon7]

Hmmm that's all good info... since I started this thread, I pulled out both the OEM "cable" hookup recepticle and the house 110 GFI recepticle both located under the Lance DVD player and decorative shelf above. I noticed the feed going up from the cable cutout and I assume that the other end feeds to the roof as there doesn't seem to be any cable plugs on the side of my old rig.. This is a 1995 Squire so we're talking old school here I guess..
Food for thought on the Tripod idea but where does it travel? The small space is not great for anything else but me an the dog and can't see pulling a pod in and out every stop.. It probably folds up and straps on the roof for travel doesn't it... More research is required... thanks..

[RoyB]

I don't have the DirecTV anymore but when I did I always ran into trbl at the various campgrounds where I would want to park under the tree cover for maximum shade on the trailer roof trying to keep things alot cooler.

This of course would kill my direct path to the southern skies for my SAT HOOKUP.

I eventually purchased a second portable SAT TRIPOD Dish setup so I could move the dish out from under the trees.

You might want to plan for something like this or at least think about it having easy connections for changing over to a portable dish setup when needed...

Strange enough for us when the National Broadcast System came out with their digital TV change-over we stropped bringing out our SAT TV stuff and now just use the Natl Broadcast full blown HDTV for free when camping off the power grids...

Roy Ken

[AnEv942]

Not sure about removing the 'archaic' antenna unless your looking for sat. specific program. There are a lot of places where over the air digital signals are abundant, though not as many stations we used to get pre-digital, just depends.

But isnt there a dish kit that will bolt to the Winegard arms?
Ours is a manual small Direct on a tripod, only gets set up if were going to be some place for a while. I was thinking Id be mounting on camper and could live there, use tripod if needed. But the half dozen times we've used I was at the end of 50' cable trying to get over a hill or under/thru a tree etc.

As far as wiring, I hardwired the coax in same location as the cableTV hookup under wing. Ran up thru cabs to receiver location. Works for hooking up tripod, If I ever mount dish Id just run a short cable. In all honestly its an exercise-just haven't gotten dialing in the satellites down, once committed I HAVE to get working. By the time I succeed I'm plugging in a DVD to relax...:)