Dish Mounting Question (1 Viewer)

Frasue

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Mar 11, 2015
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Hi all, my first post since signing up so be gentle with me!
I'm close to buying a Snipe Pro Max for our Chausson S3 and was wondering if it was really necessary to drill holes through the roof of the van (as the instructions show) to fit the mounting plate?
As an alternative I was considering buying a larger sheet of suitable material (8mm HDPE or nylon?) and Sikaflex-ing that to the roof first, then screwing and Sikaflex-ing the Snipe's mounting plate to the sheet. From what I've read about the strength of Sikaflex I would think that the final assembly should be strong enough, but I would greatly appreciate any input from more experienced users. Idiotic or workable?
Thanks in advance,
Frasue
 

scotjimland

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In principal.. can't see a problem, just seems a bit over engineered.. but understand your reluctance to screw into the roof.. but it's normal practice..
Can you not just Sikaflex the dish directly onto the roof without screws.. ?

Other potential issue if you sell the van and want to keep the dish.. . removing the mounting plate could be difficult..
 

eddie

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People often stand in their vans, stood under a 700mm x 400mm roof light, and declare they down want any "holes" in their roof!

I agree with SJim, however the Snipe is really designed as a free standing unit so why not Simply do that if your worried?

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ES Cumbrian

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Dont worry about holes in the roof as long as they are well sealed with Sikaflex you will have no problems. I used to use it on my yacht for sealing underwater and never had a leak and I crossed the Atlantic four times in it.
 

Techno

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This isn't the suitcase model Eddie. It is wired to the ignition for automatic stowing and equivalent to 80cm.
 
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Frasue

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Thanks to you all for your replies. Thinking on this some more, perhaps my issue wasn't so much the fact that I was making holes in the roof per se, but that the self-tappers would be next to useless going into thin / soft material and just not worth making holes for in the first place. The nylon pad seemed a good way to get a larger area to bond with S/flex and also offer a decent substrate to screw into. Overanalysing much? (n):)
Anyway, your responses have helped to reduce my engineering angst and I'll be more confident in the end result no matter which method I eventually use. Thanks again!
 

ES Cumbrian

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Sikaflex is an excellent adhesive you only realise how good when you try to remove something stuck down with it.
 

Badknee

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Thinking on this some more, perhaps my issue wasn't so much the fact that I was making holes in the roof per se, but that the self-tappers would be next to useless going into thin / soft material and just not worth making holes for in the first place. The nylon pad seemed a good way to get a larger area to bond with S/flex and also offer a decent substrate to screw into. Overanalysing much? (n):)!
I understand your worry so how about drilling the roof, drilling out the lining from the inside and using nuts and bolts with a big penny washer to spread the load as someone did on our MoHo, fully sealed inside and out. Very neat job inside a top cupboard.

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funflair

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Not all plastics are good at taking adhesive, and from memory HDPE is one of these so I would be careful with that plan. If putting a plate on I would still screw and glue but possibly with a plate you could use more self tappers and not need to go through to the inside, that is what ours is like for the sat dish.
 
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Frasue

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I understand your worry so how about drilling the roof, drilling out the lining from the inside and using nuts and bolts with a big penny washer to spread the load as someone did on our MoHo, fully sealed inside and out. Very neat job inside a top cupboard.

If I'm going to make holes then going right through would seem to be the most effective method, Badknee, although I'm brand new to Motorhomes and so my ignorance is limitless! I'll be home from work in a couple of days and then I'll have a look and see if it would be possible to hide the penetrations and still have the dish mounted where I want it.

Not all plastics are good at taking adhesive, and from memory HDPE is one of these so I would be careful with that plan. If putting a plate on I would still screw and glue but possibly with a plate you could use more self tappers and not need to go through to the inside, that is what ours is like for the sat dish.

Thanks for the heads-up re HDPE, funflair. I'll be sure to do some materials research if I go down that route.

Thank you both for your input!
Frasue
 

Badknee

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If you drill straight through then it will give the tank cutter a guide to go from the inside with whichever size washer you decide on.

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hilldweller

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was wondering if it was really necessary to drill holes through the roof of the van

Frasue

You're not going to bring the cables in through a window are you !

"Everybody" does is the same, it works, it's proven, just choose glue only or glue and screw into your roof.
 

leeboy

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Are we saying that the base plate can be fixed by Sikaflex alone I'm about to fit mine and the instructions say silicone and screws.
Lee.

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pappajohn

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The early maxview sat dish was mounted via a supplied aluminium plate approx 400mm square with around 10 screw holes per side.

I simply stuck it to the roof with sikaflex and didnt bother with screws.
i ran a continous bead around 1" from the plate edge then a bead every 2" or so towards the centre....kind of a spiral.

It never came unstuck even in reasonable winds.
 

ES Cumbrian

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When I fitted my dome the manufacturers recommended Sikaflex and said using screws only would invalidate the Guarantee.

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Techno

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Do you mean a dome sold by Avtex? AFAIK they don't do a dome. Do you mean Glomex?

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ES Cumbrian

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Yes its a Glomex my mistake, they say use sikaflex to fix it but using screw only does not guarantee a perfect coupling with the roof and they decline any liability if you do not use sikaflex
 

Techno

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Quote
WARNING
Fastening with sealant is necessary and sufficient for the correct use of the equipment.
Fastening with the screws (not included) of the radome on the roof is optional.
Fastening with screws only does not guarantee a perfect coupling of the radome to the roof. GLOMEX declines any liability for an incorrect cou- pling of the radome to the vehicle roof.

Quote
  1. Apply sealant type SIKAFLEX®212-FC or similar onto the plates.
 
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ES Cumbrian

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Yes that's the bit I saw, mine is fixed with Siklafex only and I am sue that's all that is required.

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Techno

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A dome does not suffer anything like the same forces as a dish, especially one as small as the Glomex.
 

ES Cumbrian

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Yes my Glomex is quite aerodynamic and its four mounting feet are large giving a big contact area with the roof.
 
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My Trakvision dome is fixed with sikaflex only with no screw fixings. Now on the 3rd motorhome without a problem.

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ES Cumbrian

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I think mine was 512 bought from our local Yacht Chandler he only stocks one type so I just ask for white sikaflex. I did not use a primer just gave the area a good clean with a dry cloth.
 
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Sikaflex is more than adequate. However I don't know how well it sticks to nylon - I suspect not very well. Another well-known make of auto-dish unit (with a 90cm standard dish) uses an aluminium plate stuck to the roof with Sikaflex. Tapped holes to suit the unit base plate hold the unit to the aluminium plate. That's the way I would do it.

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