Drilling roof for antenna

jgriz

I'm planning to drill a hole in the roof of my 2022 Tab 320S above where the microwave used to be, to install a cellular antenna (Parsec K9 Pro). See the attached pictures for where the antenna (cardboard) and hole will be. The antenna will be connected to a Pepwave 5G router mounted in the cabinet. I will splice into the nearby DC power wires.

My plan is to:

1. tape the roof and drill a 1.5" hole driver's side in the middle of the vent, 6.5" from the edge of the Tab.

2. drill up from inside (former) microwave cabinet a 3" hole around the 1.5" one, stopping at the aluminum roof. This larger inside hole will help with screwing on the antenna nut.

3. apply thread sealant to antenna bolt and drop through hole

4. bolt antenna nut from inside

5. apply silicon sealant around/under edges of antenna

6. Mount Pepwave router to wall or floor of cabinet
   
7. Splice into vent fan power wires to power router
   

Does anyone know whether I will hit any wires or support structures with these holes? That green wire going into the ceiling at an angle worries me.

Any advice to make sure this installation goes well? Am I missing something or does the plan look good?

I will of course update the thread when I complete the install.

pthomas745

The trailer has aluminum cross beams every (so many) inches across the top of the trailer.  This thread, on the first page, has a description of a solar panel install with a drawing/photo of the spacing of the cross beams.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/4971/t-b-solar-panel-roof-mount-with-tilt-able-brackets-mod-for-under-300/p1

This thread, about the Yakima rack install, has more detail.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/12592/clarification-on-aftermarket-roof-rack-installation

This thread is about a solar panel roof install, and includes a description of getting the wiring into the trailer on a 2019 320. 

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/8869/my-solar-install-clean-and-simple

jgriz

Thanks @pthomas745 . It looks like there may be a cross beam along the middle of the vent going to the side, so I should shift my hole forward a bit. That puts me closer to the vent power wires, so I’ll drill carefully and look out for wires as i go. 

Denny16

You could drill small (1/16 to 1/8th) pilot test holes in the area you want to drill, to make sure you miss the frame bits.
 Cheers 

Horigan

Be aware that when you drill through the roof you will encounter insulation that will get wound up on your drill bit.  If it were me, I would drill aft of the mid-cross beam so you're clear of the wires, 3/4 of the way back from the front edge of the fan.  Use a long small diameter drill bit to create pilot holes through both inside and outside.  Then use the appropriate hole saw bit to create the final holes on inside and outside.  Make sure the pilot drill is smaller than the center bit of the hole saw bit. 

If you happen to damage wiring, they would be easy to repair.  Turn off the battery before drilling to preclude the chance of having an arc welding incident.

tomtek

I have this hole to drill myself in the next couple weeks.   I am hoping to hide the wires behind the removable panel to the right of the cabinet.  Still thinking and measuring it through.    Pepwave 5g + Pepwave 42G antenna is my setup.

jgriz

I spliced into the blue wires going to the stereo for power and successfully connected the device. Be careful not to splice into the thicker solar panel wires. Next step is to actually drill the hole! Will be attempting it this week and will post update.

tomtek

jgriz said:

I spliced into the blue wires going to the stereo for power and successfully connected the device. Be careful not to splice into the thicker solar panel wires. Next step is to actually drill the hole! Will be attempting it this week and will post update.

I plan on running a dedicated 12 volt circuit on its own fuse with a rocker switch to turn off Peplink when not needed.    The antenna hole location and hiding the cables so the cabinet can still be used is my unknown at this point.   Looking forward to hearing about your success.

N7SHG_Ham

You might want to see what the antenna polarization is before mounting the antenna basically on it's side. My guess is it is vertical polarization and mounted high on roof with the top pointing up is going to work much better. I do realize roof space and places to punch the hole are limited, but I think where you show is going to greatly compromise the antenna performance.

Denny16

Good luck with this, and as previously pointed out, the antenna should be as close,to,horizontal as possible.
 Cheers 

SLJ

I would drill up from the inside first with no pilot hole. If you hit a support you haven't put a hole in the roof yet.

tomtek

SLJ said:

I would drill up from the inside first with no pilot hole. If you hit a support you haven't put a hole in the roof yet.

If I can thats the plan but since I am putting it through the wall it could be difficult.   I need to somehow verify that a cross member is not above the wall which I expect it to be for strength.    I am doing a lot of measuring using the vent the FM Antenna and the Window as reference points.   The variable that I don't know is the crossmember measurements on the CS-S. I expect they are slightly different in the back than the 320S but the front is the same so crossmembers should be same.

SLJ

tomtek said:

If I can thats the plan but since I am putting it through the wall it could be difficult.   I need to somehow verify that a cross member is not above the wall which I expect it to be for strength.    I am doing a lot of measuring using the vent the FM Antenna and the Window as reference points.   The variable that I don't know is the crossmember measurements on the CS-S. I expect they are slightly different in the back than the 320S but the front is the same so crossmembers should be same.

Contact NuCamp. Sent them a photo with exactly where you plan the hole. They can tell you if you're clear. I drilled a 6" hole in the side of mine but sent them a photo of the exact location and they replied.

jgriz

Update: antenna installed. Signal is good.

I nicked the green wire with pilot drill which I believe is for the ceiling light. I carefully drilled a 1.5" hole and stopped as soon as I got through to insulation. Then I taped up the wire and pushed it out of the way for the bigger 3" hole. Then I drilled the 1.5" hole through the metal roof. I removed a lot of styrofoam by hand to make room for the washer/bolt. Then I applied sealant around the hole, placed the antenna, and applied sealant around the edges. Didnt realize how bad at caulking I am so I'll have to clean it up later.

I'll probably mount the router on one of the walls of the cabinet after I've done some real world testing.

So far the signal is good, in the middle of a city.

Anyone attempting this just be very careful of the wires and cross beams. Drill small holes inside first and pull out insulation to peek around.

I'll post another update after I've done some boondocking with it.

screwlose

Personally I'd do a Pole mount, if you go with an adjustable say a painter's pole should be easy to pack up when it's time to go.
The whole idea is to get it as high as you can to get as good a signal as you can.
Maybe repurpose one of the Tv hookups, depending what year/model you have.

Denny16

@jgriz After the caulk dries, you need to recheck it for gabs, sa it will shrink some after cures up some.
 Cheers 

tomtek

screwlose said:

Personally I'd do a Pole mount, if you go with an adjustable say a painter's pole should be easy to pack up when it's time to go.
The whole idea is to get it as high as you can to get as good a signal as you can.
Maybe repurpose one of the Tv hookups, depending what year/model you have.

I have thought about this a fair amount.   I have a flagpole buddy that I have mounts on the T@B itself.  The roof mounted omni will be for the normal use and should work well in most cases.   I can always and plan on having a yagi directional on the flag pole if needed and switch cell antenna connections on the Peplink.   If the roof mounted covers most of the time I feel its worth it to permanently mount it.  Should do pretty well with outside Wifi also which I am interested in hearing from @jgriz on WiFi coverage inside and out through peplink and roof antenna.

tomtek

jgriz said:

Update: antenna installed. Signal is good. 

@jgriz  You inspired me to get it over with.   Hole drilling didn't go too bad but was super scary.  I double checked that no cross members were in the location mostly by measuring and guessing based on seam in ceiling and posted drawings which turned out correct.    I was fairly certain there were wires in the way (Bathroom light and Solar Panel) so I planned on going slow from top and move anything that needed to be moved.   I drilled a pilot hole from bottom inside the wall then double checked for cross members before continuing through roof.   From the top I used a hole saw with pilot hole to cut hole in outer skin.   Once it broke free I hand cut Styrofoam to remove and checked for wires.   I could see the wires mentioned above so I tucked them out of way and continued drilling through ceiling plywood.    

End result I am happy with.   Signal is good WiFi works in and outside.   One step closer to working on the road.  

All that is remaining is Permanent power with rocker switch, Mounting Peplink  and caulking antenna.  

Down the road I plan on putting an all-weather Ethernet Jack on the outside and another on inside for the equipment to plug into that I am a programmer for.  

Denny16

Came out nice… going slow,and easy pays off. 

Cheers 

rrcbov

I’m looking to do the same thing on my 2021 Tab 400 - looking for info on where, and where not, to drill.  Just sent a request for this information to NuCamp - will share response if I get one.

rrcbov

screwlose said:

Personally I'd do a Pole mount, if you go with an adjustable say a painter's pole should be easy to pack up when it's time to go.
The whole idea is to get it as high as you can to get as good a signal as you can.
Maybe repurpose one of the Tv hookups, depending what year/model you have.

I thought about a pole mount but don’t have a solution for how to bring the 5 antenna wires inside.

Denny16

You could pull it into the rear outside storage locker, then just coil the cable and put it inside the locker with the antenna when not using it.  I,plan to do this with our WeeBoost antenna which attaches to our TaB’s roof via a magnetic mount at this point.  Adding a painter’s pole might get it up higher for better reception, might give that a try also.
 Cheers 

rrcbov

Denny16 said:

. . . magnetic mount . . . ??

Isn’t the roof aluminum?   

Denny16

Yes, yes it is, which is why you need the steel washer, which mounts to the aluminum roof with adhesive and the magnetic antenna mount snaps on to the washer.  At least, that’s the theory, I need to mount the washer still.
 Cheers 

SLJ

rrcbov said:

I thought about a pole mount but don’t have a solution for how to bring the 5 antenna wires inside.

I put a TV antenna on a telescoping pole made from electrical PVC attached to the front. Ran the cable underneath down the drivers side next to the frame and came up through the bottom of the Nautilus compartment. I've since attached a small box at the bottom of the pole to keep the excess cable in when the antenna is in the lower position.

rrcbov

Did you protect the wiring under the trailer?  I like this approach.  I have the extra bins on the front but can probably work around them.

SLJ

rrcbov said:

Did you protect the wiring under the trailer?  I like this approach.  I have the extra bins on the front but can probably work around them.

The cable is spiral wrapped. It would be pretty easy for me to replace it a few years down the road if need be. It could also be run between the floor and the bottom cover but I didn't think it would be necessary. I can always move it but it's up above the propane run to the rear so if something does chop everything up that would be the bigger problem over a TV cable.

tomtek

My project is officially done.   All seems to work great. 

I am pretty happy with how everything turned out.   WiFi works inside and outside providing a stable dependable platform for me to work remotely.   

Switch to turn off PepLink router when not in use.



RepLink router mounted to access panel in cabinet.

Cheers

rrcbov

tomtek said:

My project is officially done.   All seems to work . . . 

Nice!  Can you provide more detailed information on how you drilled the hole - specific type of saw - process - lessons learned/what you would have done different, what to avoid/not to do, etc.?

The two worry items for me are where and how to drill the hole. 

Thanks.

jgriz

Did some testing in a remote location. The internet was good enough to stream 4k videos and video chatting, whereas my phone was barely usable off the wifi. The 5 Ghz wifi band seems to penetrate the Tab's aluminum just fine, as I got 300 Mbps between local devices inside, and good reception outside the Tab.

The antenna looks sleek, and unlikely to get caught on branches. While a taller antenna might give slightly better signal, I didn't want anything taller than the vent.

As the Pepwave router can get hot, I'll try not to stuff the cabinet too much.

I will probably mount it on the left side of the cabinet, as there is a gap when the door is closed for airflow.

rrcbov

I got this picture of the Tab 400 under construction that might help if you are thinking of drilling through the top of the camper.