Greystone Satellite TV antenna connection

[jheitman]

We just finished a trip from New England to Florida and to California. The Heartland unit has been working out very well. However, many parks don't have good TV connections and the antenna doesn't always pick up well when not close to a big city. So my wife wants a satellite system installed. I have a Greystone 32RE. I have been reading all the threads I could find on Satellite TV and one referred to a "HOOT"
article on TV connections. This article showed this diagram.



This diagram implies units are pre wired to the roof for satellite antennas. Does my 32RE have wiring running to the roof to connect a satellite antenna? I'm looking at a Winegard stationary Road Trip unit. This requires 12 v power and one (minimum) or two coax wires. Where does this wiring go to on the roof?

If the trailer is not pre wired, what does the factory suggest to wire a small dome on the roof? I would like to install the unit as far forward as possible without increasing the trailer height. Perhaps there is some way to get wiring down to the basement and then over to the UDC satellite connection, which I assume runs to the entertainment area in the rear.

Will I need to install a support plate on the roof to spread the weight, 13 lbs? How do I find adequate structural members to screw into?

Help, my wife is dying without her favorite programs.

jim & marilynn
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Owners Club # 1756[/FONT]

 

[Richard of Idaho]

Maybe you could try using a stud finder that you use to find the studs with in the house. Won't work on a metal roof though. Just a suggestion.
Richard of Idaho

 

[jheitman]

Maybe you could try using a stud finder that you use to find the studs with in the house. Won't work on a metal roof though. Just a suggestion.
Richard of Idaho

Yep, I was thinking of that but I think the roof is made of plywood over aluminum studs with foam between. No steel nails to detect was a stud finder. Thanks for the thought. Jim

 

[jheitman]

Would the factory please address the questions in the original post?

 

[jbeletti]

Jim,

Please call Customer Service today at 877-262-8032.

Jim

 

[jheitman]

Jim,

Please call Customer Service today at 877-262-8032.

Jim

I called Customer Service. The guy I talked to was sure the Greystone had satellite prep. He thought it was with the wiring in the bedroom vent. I took down the inside vent cover and pulled out all the wiring I could find. Here is a picture of what I saw.

I think what I found was mainly for the second air conditioner. There was a small gauge wire pair in a brown jacket, probably for a thermostate. There was an uncut loop of 14 gauge low voltage RV wire, probably carrying 12 volts. There was a utillity box with a really heavy gauge wire going into it, I image this is the 110v for the airconditioner itself. I didn't see any coax.

The customer service rep told me that he couldn't talk to the factory this week, because they were closed for the holiday week. He asked me to go up on the roof and look for a small round sticker for "satellite prep". I did go up and found no sticker.

I think the Greystone satellite prep consists of the connection in the UDC and the outlet in the living room at the amplifier switch box. So I need to get coax from the roof to the UDC, and the question remains: what is the best way to run that coax? I guess I could steal 12 volts out of the bedroom vent area, but I need to know if the 14 gauge wire loop is infact 12v DC?

Thanks Jim for the suggestion to call customer service, I'll try them again next week.

 

[jheitman]

I have purchased a wineguard antenna and I'm ready to install.
Can you give me some advice on where to bolt the unit.
It has 4 feet in the base and they suggest # 10 screws.

How far should I drive screws into the roof?
Can i avoid air conditioning ducts and wiring?
Driver side duct work doesn't seem to go very far forward.
Would you please provide a drawing of the roof showing installations to avoid.

My unit is the small, light weight, Road Trip, Minimax model.

I'm going to run the wiring on the outside and cover with some U shaped molding.

I think a lot of owners are interested in this accessory, and we would really appreciate a little guidance from the factory.

Thanks, jim

 

[jheitman]

My wife and I have worked through the details of the installation of a satellite antenna on our Greystone.
We thought it might be helpful to write a document containing all the details of our experience. Click on the file below to bring up the pdf document.

View attachment Sat TV Installation.pdf

Factory comments would be appreciated.