Drilling hole in the roof?!!!

[Landyguy]

Any hints or tips on best way to drill a 1" hole in my roof to fit a roof aerial for my Motorhome Wifi 3G/4G.
What drill bit or hole saw?
Thanks in anticipation.

 

[scotjimland]

I would drill 1/4" pilot hole from the inside.. .. then a 1" hole cutter from the outside, drill half way .. then drill from inside to finish off

goes without say to make sure you are not drilling into hidden wires .. or roof beams..

measure twice.. cut once.. !

 

[scotjimland]

A guy I met on an aire in France was doing a similar job.. he was fitting a flexible pipe to extend his SOG exhaust onto the roof.. as it was in his awning area.. not pleasant when it was in use.. good plan.

I left him to it.. a while later, came over to ask for help.. he had cut through a wiring loom hidden in the roof..

not only cut, but a section of wiring clean out.. same size as the hole saw..

It took me a couple hours to fix.. I had to remove a section of roof lining and remove insulation to get access to the wire ends to join on new bits.. and divert around the hole..

in the end it was fine.. but lesson learned..

 

[****]

Drilling straight into shiny metal or hard fiberglass? Sticky tape down and mark on tape the drill hole as this prevents your drill running away and scraping the paint. You must have tried drilling a kitchen tile, same idea. Also make sure your areal has a good seal for the outside as the last thing you want is rain getting in. I tend to add a bit silicon to both sides of whatever rubber seal is supplied.

 

[Gaston aires]

Mentioned already but avoid wiring and roof bars at all costs.
Phil

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[Techno]

With care you can miss the wires. As Jim said drill from both sides but remove the skin as soon as you're through it and poke around in the foam

 

[Abacist]

Mentioned already but avoid wiring and roof bars at all costs.
Phil

How on earth do you know how to avoid the roof bars?

I can follow Techno's advice about avoiding the wiring but the roof bars are likely to be a bit different!

Any advice would be most welcome!

 

[Techno]

Roof bars if any are usually inline with walls or roof openings. Rarely in a cupboard.
This is why I say as soon as you're through the skin remove it and look.
Even with a pilot bit you should feel the lack of resistance after only a few mm

 

[Gaston aires]

How on earth do you know how to avoid the roof bars?

I can follow Techno's advice about avoiding the wiring but the roof bars are likely to be a bit different!

Any advice would be most welcome!

On my van the roof bars are visible on the outside of the roof. If not, I would drill hole in the inner lining where you want the aerial to come through and look/feel to see if there are any obstructions.
phil

 

[Badknee]

How on earth do you know how to avoid the roof bars?

I can follow Techno's advice about avoiding the wiring but the roof bars are likely to be a bit different!

Any advice would be most welcome!

The best way for you to avoid problems is to get Andy @Techno to do it for you.

Just sayin ...........

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[Techno]

On my van the roof bars are visible on the outside of the roof. If not, I would drill hole in the inner lining where you want the aerial to come through and look/feel to see if there are any obstructions.
phil

Yes panel vans are a different proposition

 

[Abacist]

Oooooh! Sounds very adventurous but as ever Techno has very sage advice! Many thanks for all your comments.

I can remember fitting a fresh water tank to my Bessacarr caravan in the offside front corner underneath the bed with an external fill point wired to plug in an electric pump. I was so careful to line everything up to fit and then drilled the bodywork! Like trying to get through a plaster and lathe wall - I had hit a horizontal wooden strengthening batten which was very strong and springy. I carried on as the external fill point was a very strong and thick all in one recessed plastic moulding. It worked fine and all fitted well and the integrity of the van was never compromised which was very lucky really!