How to get behind overhead lockers????? Tribute 680 Panel Van Conversion (1 Viewer)

[dna]

We have a mifi for internet access which until now I have used by propping it in the plastic windows. Having seen lots of vans with an external aerial (puck etc) on the roof I've been looking at the options for doing this myself. A lot of the aerials on the market have a spigot mount which requires a 20-25mm hole in the roof and access to the inside of the roof to screw up the large clamping nut. (And an easy installation would be to replace a spigot mounted TV aerial if only we had one!)

Choosing an aerial is no problem but I can't work out how to get access to the inside of the Van roof. All the lockers, wardrobe etc have a timber top to them and so far I've not worked out a way of getting above that without drilling through the wood. Attached are a couple of photos which attempt to show the end of the locker by the back door of the van. Looking closely at them, I can see that the timber is mostly stapled together. The cable from the solar panel to the control unit come through this area - its the thick black cable at the top of the first picture



Is there a practical way of getting above this area to access the metal roof panel?

If not I can only think of replacing the cable gland on the roof which contains the Solar cable with a double gland and running the aerial connections via that. We do have roof rails fitted so can use that as the basis for mounting the aerial.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thank You

Dave

 

[mitzimad]

can you take the whole unit down often screws hidden under plastic caps or discs

 

[dna]

can you take the whole unit down often screws hidden under plastic caps or discs

Thanks for the reply.
So far, I've located screws holding the cable tray under the lockers, screws at the end I've photographed holding the end of the locker to the timber across the top of the back doors.

It seems daft but I haven't found any screws that would be holding the lockers to the Van framework. All the screws are under sticky discs so I will have another look around tomorrow. A drawback is that the cabling for lighting and the Truma control unit run though the base of the lockers so would have to be removed before taking the whole unit down.

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[TheBig1]

If you are mounting to the roof rails, use another gland like the solar one bonded to the roof covering a hole drilled right through. Removing the cupboards and wiring already installed is the easy bit. Putting them back up securely may not be so simple

 

[dna]

If you are mounting to the roof rails, use another gland like the solar one bonded to the roof covering a hole drilled right through. Removing the cupboards and wiring already installed is the easy bit. Putting them back up securely may not be so simple

Thank You - that was the way I thought I would have to go. The less I have to disturb the better!

 

[Minxy]

When I put my solar panels on our previous camper I drilled through the roof on the UK nearside at the front on a flat area before it sloped down to the windscreen, the hole was as close to the over cab corner near the 'B' pillar as I could get it to minimise the risk of the cables getting snagged on stuff stored up there. If you do this then you could mount your MIFI on the front of the over cab facia using sticky Velcro so you can then remove the unit to charge it if you don't put in a permanent power feed or if you don't want to leave it 'on display' when you're not there, it also means than in the future the Velcro should come off without leaving a mark on the facia.

This is a photo of where I put the connector block under which the hole was drilled (it's not your usual solar connector but just a good waterproof box which I happened to have at the time):

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[dna]

When I put my solar panels on our previous camper I drilled through the roof on the UK nearside at the front on a flat area before it sloped down to the windscreen, the hole was as close to the over cab corner near the 'B' pillar as I could get it to minimise the risk of the cables getting snagged on stuff stored up there. If you do this then you could mount your MIFI on the front of the over cab facia using sticky Velcro so you can then remove the unit to charge it if you don't put in a permanent power feed or if you don't want to leave it 'on display' when you're not there, it also means than in the future the Velcro should come off without leaving a mark on the facia.

This is a photo of where I put the connector block under which the hole was drilled (it's not your usual solar connector but just a good waterproof box which I happened to have at the time):


View attachment 439129

That’s a great idea. I will have a look at that later.
Thank you

 

[mitzimad]

i always glue an ip rated junction box on the roof and drill down through the back

 

[berni109]

Thanks to Minxy Girl previous suggestion I went into the over cab area which proved to be the ideal location for the solar wires. I was up until then considering having to remove an overhead locker for access.
There was no bare metal inside in that area though in our conversion. - might be different in yours.

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[dna]

Thank you all for advice. I finally got round to installing the kit last weekend and used it on a trip to new quay during the week. The mifi is mounted on the panel above the rear doors and the aerial is on the roof rail.
A speed test at our campsite gave 58mbps download and 30mbps upload. We don’t stream tv so I’m very happy with those figures when we were 3 miles from the nearest town(don’t know how far away the cell tower was)

 

[uzsnowdrop]

I have to run two small airlines for Airtop suspension through my Boxer floor, does anyone know where I can get a ‘gland’ to prevent water ingress?

 

[TheBig1]

I have to run two small airlines for Airtop suspension through my Boxer floor, does anyone know where I can get a ‘gland’ to prevent water ingress?

plenty of choices of grommet on ebay, but W4 produce an interior gland for cable/pipe entry. Otherwise, any electrical wholesalers will have something suitable locally to you

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[Manic]

Thank you all for advice. I finally got round to installing the kit last weekend and used it on a trip to new quay during the week. The mifi is mounted on the panel above the rear doors and the aerial is on the roof rail.
A speed test at our campsite gave 58mbps download and 30mbps upload. We don’t stream tv so I’m very happy with those figures when we were 3 miles from the nearest town(don’t know how far away the cell tower was)

Out of interest what antenna did you fit

 

[uzsnowdrop]

plenty of choices of grommet on ebay, but W4 produce an interior gland for cable/pipe entry. Otherwise, any electrical wholesalers will have something suitable locally to you

Thanks!

 

[dna]

Out of interest what antenna did you fit

I eventually went for the Solwise Puck 2 - https://www.solwise.co.uk/a-puck-2

We don't need the Wifi or GPS additions at the moment so I restrained myself.

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[Minxy]

I have to run two small airlines for Airtop suspension through my Boxer floor, does anyone know where I can get a ‘gland’ to prevent water ingress?

If you remove the driver's side cab step plastic cover and you'll find some suitable access points under there for the pipes and may not need to buy a gland - I can't remember what it was like when I did my rear view camera etc cable but I recall I didn't need anything.