Is this cabling ok? (1 Viewer)

[Randommoose]

Hi,

I got up on the roof of our new (to us) motorhome today to clean it. Took this photo part way though - it was just a little mucky!

The cabling seems dodgy/inefficient to me - is it?

The satellite dish cabling is all secured to the roof but hasn't been cut to size. Inside the motorhome it is the same - a great loop of cable tied up under the roof in a cupboard.

The solar panel cabling is loose other than two loose cable ties attaching it to the sat cable. Also the wires are two approx 4mm red cables run inside the approx 12mm outer black piping. The piping is stuck together with electrical tape at a join. This had come apart, hence how I could see the inner cables.

I don't like the idea of the solar cables bouncing around as we drive but want to check with the knowledgeable people on here what should be done about this. Any input would be great!

Moose

 

[Richard n Ann]

I put my cables in 16 x 16mm mini trunking and left the ends open to let any water just blow through. If I were you I would clean the roof thoroughly, wipe with methylated spirit and stick some trunking down with sikaflex 512.
Oh and shorten any cable as much as possible.

 

[Glandwr]

Or you could stop them bouncing about with these things. Roof would have to be very clean before sticking them though

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[funflair]

I wouldn't like that either so trunking would be on my list of jobs

Martin

 

[Figaro]

These new see through Oyster satellite dishes are brilliant aren`t they ?
Hardly know it`s there

 

[Speve]

I'm just cleaning the roof on my Exsis and the cables are in trunking however I discovered that with open ends the muck accumulates in there and results in eventually black streaking down the van, my objective is to stop this by getting rid of the nooks and crannies on the roof that hold muck and slime and moss such as sealant poorly applied when fittings stuck on roof so I've decided to tidy it up and smooth it out,I don't know why they don't do it at time of fixing as it looks much better? The tradesmen these days don't seem to take pride in their work do they? I would hate to leave a job like that as it would reflect on me and my future work received being self employed(now retired)

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[two]

I think you need some cable tie mounts. Function over form is all you need, especially on the roof where few will ever see it. All you need to do is stop the cables moving about. Using cable ties lets you see everything at a glance and is cheaper & easier to install.

 

[Randommoose]

I think you need some cable tie mounts. Function over form is all you need, especially on the roof where few will ever see it. All you need to do is stop the cables moving about. Using cable ties lets you see everything at a glance and is cheaper & easier to install.

Those cable tie mounts are what has been used for the sat cable and they are holding well. I was planning on using those so thank you for the link.

I'm just cleaning the roof on my Exsis and the cables are in trunking however I discovered that with open ends the muck accumulates in there and results in eventually black streaking down the van, my objective is to stop this by getting rid of the nooks and crannies on the roof that hold muck and slime and moss such as sealant poorly applied when fittings stuck on roof so I've decided to tidy it up and smooth it out,I don't know why they don't do it at time of fixing as it looks much better? The tradesmen these days don't seem to take pride in their work do they? I would hate to leave a job like that as it would reflect on me and my future work received being self employed(now retired)

It has been a half day's work cleaning the algae off the roof and especially around the edges and that's without cleaning under the solar panels (other than hosing the muck out). I don't want to have to do that regularly, especially as the motorhome doesn't have a ladder and our ladder isn't tall enough to reach the roof so I had to climb over from it leant on the wall. I'm fine with heights so on the motorhome was fine, but I'm a bit scared on ladders! We are going travelling so for the next 18 months won't have a way to clean the roof so need to get it clean and waxed (tomorrow's job) now.

I'm surprised the solar wasn't fitted better either. Also the mounts are ridged - structurally sound but collect dirt very easily! Also the panels hold the water on top, they don't have anywhere to drain (I don't know if that is normal or just mine).

Moose

 

[Randommoose]

These new see through Oyster satellite dishes are brilliant aren`t they ?
Hardly know it`s there

I know, impressive eh?!

Took it off and my husband repainted it. He also washed all the sides of the motorhome and between us we got all the previous owner's stickers off.

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[Robin McHood]

On RH all roof cables are run in cable trunking (as @Richard and Ann and @funflair recommend) secured to the roof by Sikaflex and then covered in aluminium tape to protect from UV. The ends have stoppers and corner joints to suit. Recently removed the Sat TV cables which had been up there ten years and they were in perfect condition. Not only will those adhesive mounts eventually come unstuck but they will allow your cables to trap leaves and other crud. We do use those mounts internally in electrical cabinets but no way would I use them without a securing screw in any exposed place and you dont want to be drilling holes in your roof!

 

[two]

You can use Sikaflex to fix tie mounts if you want to be sure they stay.

 

[Randommoose]

A bit of delay due to some other priorities but we got it finished today. I got the cable tie mounts as suggested by @rogher and that were already used for the Oyster cable. We've replaced the rear skylight (just visible in the bottom of the shot) with a mini heki. Repainted the sat dish. Oh and waxed the roof with Collinite the day after the original post so it is all super slippy!

So that is everything on the roof done ready for travelling. (yes we removed the roll of tape )

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[joka250]

A bit of delay due to some other priorities but we got it finished today. I got the cable tie mounts as suggested by @rogher and that were already used for the Oyster cable. We've replaced the rear skylight (just visible in the bottom of the shot) with a mini heki. Repainted the sat dish. Oh and waxed the roof with Collinite the day after the original post so it is all super slippy!
Impressive.

So that is everything on the roof done ready for travelling. (yes we removed the roll of tape )

View attachment 198724

Impressive.

 

[Figaro]

What is the disc in front (in photo) of the sat dish please ?

 

[Randommoose]

What is the disc in front (in photo) of the sat dish please ?

I think it is where something (sat dome? tv aerial?) was previously mounted and removed. I think the base has been left behind and sealed for waterproofing. I don't know more than my guess though!

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[Randommoose]

Same as there are some old mounts where I presume older solar panels were attached. You can see them on the camera side of the solar panel in that same photo.

 

[Paul and Kate]

What is the disc in front (in photo) of the sat dish please ?

Could be a Base plate for a snipe dish TV

 

[cookie]

steel plate for multimo satellite magnetic base ?

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