PreWired for Winegard Trav'ler Satellie Dish

[mail2us]

Many RV manufacturers are prewiring their 5th wheel floorplans with identifiable roof access to mount a satellite dish on the roofs. Keystone Montana does not. Will send a suggestion to Mike Mack on this one. Not sure how viable or cost effective but everyone seems to love upgrades. Just a thought Mike.

Update: speaking to Mike Mack, I got the feeling, as I always do with him, he is listening. The factory is on minimum schedule right now, however, Mike assures he will include the pre-wired satellite dish issue strong consideration on newer models coming our way. Certainly not a promise, nor do I expect it but he was positive. We like Mike! Look ahead.

[bncinwv]

I agree whole-heartedly with Dennis, they provide the satellite connections in the convenience center, why not the roof where the logical installation location would be? The difficult part would be that it would be model specific, but surely they can figure that out?
Bingo

[remhob]

We agree. We paid CW nearly $700 for installation and they did a stinky job. We have the wire running across the roof instead of inside. They said that is the way it is always done.

[DQDick]

I talked to Mike at the Rally and pointed out to him how many travelers you could see down the row. He said he didn't think it would fly as an option since the dealers make too much money selling the units but I didn't try to go back and approach it as just the prep. We need to start pressing for that.

[mail2us]

Heartland upscale models have this already as an option. Not sure if Redwood does.

[DQDick]

That should do it. Keystone is nothing if they aren't competitive.

[jcurtis934]

Of course, Keystone is owned by Thor...who makes the Redwood if I remember correctly...so it would be "all in the family" sort of thing. John

[Irlpguy]

To my knowledge there are only two makes of automatic mobile satellite systems, one being Winegard and the other HF Mogul (formerly Motosat). Mounting is different on the two but if Keystone were to identify the best location for the install and beef up the roof at that point it would be great.

As far as the wiring is concerned, every entry into the roof is a potential leak point. If you want to have satellite in 2 locations in your RV and a PVR then you need 4 wires entering the roof, 3 coaxial and one power.

When mine was installed they did come across the roof about 3 - 4 ft and then down a vent stack, no holes drilled for the wiring. I prefer that to any method of entry requiring more holes to be drilled in my roof.

I think the only way it will be provided by Keystone will be as an option that the majority would want and which they can charge extra for. Not sure we are there yet.

[Montana Sky]

Another thing to think about Keystone is if you are going to start pre-wiring the roof for the dish, you may want to consider the number of jacks you are going to install up there. I have four independent jacks on my roof and all four have dedicated lines that run to each tv. I had this done at time of build as I wanted all three tv's in the coach to have the ability to watch something different at the same time. The fourth line is doubled to the living room tv as I wanted the ability to DVR a show while watching another. If they use just one or two, then the bedroom and living room or basement and living room will have to watch the same channel. All three tv's wired independently will allow the end user to hook up the number of satellite receivers of their choice. Total cost for me to have this all wired at time of build was $200. Standard wiring has two jacks as the factory typically wires the basement and living room together at no charge. I paid for the extra two jacks and labor for independent wiring during the build. Just something to consider as the end consumers, especially full timers, are looking for ways to make life on the road even better now that technology has become a daily part of our everyday lives.