Where to or where not to drill a 25mm hole in the roof ? (1 Viewer)

[zac]

I want to install a 4G antenna which requires a 25mm hole to be drilled through the roof , i have a Rapido 10000 Tag Axle motorhome. Currently i have a Vision plus Aerial which is mounted inside the back cupboard which i never use.

I have a couple of options

1. Take out the existing vision plus aerial which will involve cleaning all the sikaflex off both outside and in and then using this hole to mount the 4G aerial. From what i can see removing the sikaflex can be a pain even with silicon removal. If i use this option i wont be able to mount a wifi aerial without drilling a bigger hole later if i want one.(we dont use wifi a lot but it does come in handy sometimes and can be messy with wires going through the windows/skylights etc). The wifi solution is also very expensive at £349 which is why i am holding off buying it
2. Keep the vision plus hole so i can remove the actual vision aerial and retro fit a wifi aerial in the same hole with no modifications but then i would need to drill another 25mm hole somewhere near the existing hole.

Is there anything i need to check to ensure i dont hit any supports etc, do i need to keep a certain distance from the existing hole as i would like this to go inside the same cupboard.

I can see that if i get someone to do this it is approx £150 which is quite a lot just to drill a 25mm hole as the unit itself is self sealing and i already have power there because of the vision plus amplifier which will be redundant.

Any advice greatly received!

 

[Lenny HB]

25mm ? Surely the cable is only about 3mm∅

 

[zac]

25mm ? Surely the cable is only about 3mm∅

It has a thread that goes through the roof then a securing plate that pulls it tight from the inside which then makes it waterproof.

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[Techno]

some ideas
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/diy-through-the-roof-wifi-in-pictures.94136/

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Use the vision plus hole and use the vision plus pole as well. Remove the actual antenna from the top if you don't need it.

It should be simple enough to mount the 4G antenna onto that pole and it would be equally simple to also mount the WiFi antenna to it as well later if you decide to buy one.

No need to drill anything and no need to make the job any more complicated than it has to be.

 

[The Nomad]

I'm a firm believer in not compromising the integrity and water proofing of the roof if at all possible. Don't drill yet another hole if you can modify and re-use the existing hole/pole to mount the new aerial.

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[Geo]

As a retired professional installer i would have only charged you £5 for drilling the hole
And a further £175 for knowing where to drill it

 

[zac]

some ideas
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/diy-through-the-roof-wifi-in-pictures.94136/

I did read that earlier, very informative thanks

Use the vision plus hole and use the vision plus pole as well. Remove the actual antenna from the top if you don't need it.

It should be simple enough to mount the 4G antenna onto that pole and it would be equally simple to also mount the WiFi antenna to it as well later if you decide to buy one.

No need to drill anything and no need to make the job any more complicated than it has to be.

So purchase a different antenna to go on the pole ? that is a thought, would need to some how waterproof the top of the pole if the antenna straps to the side of the pole.

I'm a firm believer in not compromising the integrity and water proofing of the roof if at all possible. Don't drill yet another hole if you can modify and re-use the existing hole/pole to mount the new aerial.

Definately worth considering as i dont really want to add any more holes, just trying to cover all possabilities....

 

[Techno]

You can fit the antenna inside the pole if the pole is long enough and blank the end off. The inside diameter of the acrylic pipe is 32mm and can be bought 1 metre long on ebay.
36mm O.D. to fit a status grommet

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[Deleted member 29692]

So purchase a different antenna to go on the pole ? that is a thought, would need to some how waterproof the top of the pole if the antenna straps to the side of the pole.

Probably yes but that wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Reallyretired]

If you have a 4g antenna you won't get much benefit from paying out for a WiFi antenna. You might get some free data but the amount the antenna will cost would buy a lot of data. A lot of site WiFi is very slow anyway.

 

[Techno]

If you have a 4g antenna you won't get much benefit from paying out for a WiFi antenna. You might get some free data but the amount the antenna will cost would buy a lot of data. A lot of site WiFi is very slow anyway.

We're looking at using a pole for a 4G antenna I believe not wifi

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[Techno]

Something on along this line would easily fit in the pipe
https://www.telstat.com.au/product/rfi-cdq7195-4g-mobile-antenna/

 

[zac]

You can fit the antenna inside the pole if the pole is long enough and blank the end off. The inside diameter of the acrylic pipe is 32mm and can be bought 1 metre long on ebay.
36mm O.D. to fit a status grommet

Sorry i dont follow, could you expand on this further as this sounds like the way to go?

If you have a 4g antenna you won't get much benefit from paying out for a WiFi antenna. You might get some free data but the amount the antenna will cost would buy a lot of data. A lot of site WiFi is very slow anyway.

4G i think is the way to go, and i would much prefer just to use what I have rather than drill another hole, always seems clearer once you have discussed it

 

[zac]

Something on along this line would easily fit in the pipe
https://www.telstat.com.au/product/rfi-cdq7195-4g-mobile-antenna/

Forgive my ignorance but if this is inside a tube wont that restrict the signal? as i am assuming that this will be completely covered in tubing and sealed on the top.

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[Techno]

plastic wont shield the signal. Many aerials are in waterproof plastic enclosures

 

[Techno]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLEAR-AC...hash=item3f572ead44:m:mlVeX0mv9BLtyW0ZPs9kA6w

 

[zac]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLEAR-AC...hash=item3f572ead44:m:mlVeX0mv9BLtyW0ZPs9kA6w

So this will replace the pole i currently have and fit the whole it leaves behind!
I see on your other thread that you put on a small amount of piping on the outside to form tight fit when the pole is lowered, could you let me know the source for this as want to ensure i get the correct parts before i start taking things apart. I think it is a 40mm waste pipe Outside Diametre
Another question a lot of the aerials i am coming across are Directional as opposed to omni directional, ideally i just want something i raise and forget for the 4G signal but this is proving hard if i want a decent aerial of around 5dbi. Is it best for directional or omni directional on 4G?

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[Techno]

It'll be plumbing pipe with 36mm I.D.
Directional is better if you have a means of knowing or identifying it. Wont fit inside a pipe.

 

[zac]

It'll be plumbing pipe with 36mm I.D.
Directional is better if you have a means of knowing or identifying it. Wont fit inside a pipe.

thanks, will need to be omin directional then as not really have anyway of knowing how good the signal is only from the front of the router which will be unreliable. Just need to find a better one than 2dbi as the ones that mount to a pole all seem to be very low.

 

[Mikeco]

Go for it but start with a small bit and keep increasing the size. I drilled a hole in a Burstner roof once and cut a cable clean in half, very difficult to join up as well.

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[ukbill]

If it's the 4g WiFi booster,I put mine next to the Ariel,plenty of sealant,I've never had a problem,apart from I never use the bloody thing,

 

[zac]

If it's the 4g WiFi booster,I put mine next to the Ariel,plenty of sealant,I've never had a problem,apart from I never use the bloody thing,

Not sure, it boosts the 4g signal not the wifi one!

 

[ukbill]

BROKEN LINK
Are those what you have?

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[zac]

BROKEN LINK
Are those what you have?

nope, it would be the other one i was going to get Here but if i can use the same pole i would have to get another aerial which i am having trouble sourcing as i want it in white

 

[Manic]

Is the aerial you don’t use got a pole, if so you could use something like this.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/232554385104

 

[zac]

Is the aerial you don’t use got a pole, if so you could use something like this.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/232554385104

I came across that one but it has a very low dbi on it and the first pic is white but the pic with the aerial on the box is a light brownish colour, it has some good and bad reviews on amazon though.

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[Minxy]

nope, it would be the other one i was going to get Here but if i can use the same pole i would have to get another aerial which i am having trouble sourcing as i want it in white

Why not forget about the inner plate and instead just have a smaller hole for the cables then Sikaflex the 4G antenna onto the top of the MH which will make it watertight ... no need to alter your existing TV aerial at all then and as a bonus if you sell your MH in the future it will still have a TV aerial and you can easily remove your 4G antenna and seal the smaller hole.

 

[DBK]

Check with the supplier if the antenna you want requires a ground plane. If it does mounted on a pole it may not work optimally and of course it would be very vulnerable to branches.

I fitted a Poynting MIMO-1-01, bought from Solwise and wrote a thread about it on here. I chose it over the one you are looking at because they publish all the test results about it. Have a look at the tech specs link in this page (below). However, I don't know if it would go through a thick insulated roof. You would have to check on the length of the mounting bolt.

I'm sure the Motorhome WiFi one works very well but I'm very happy with the performance of the Poynting one. There's even a bit about my installation on their Case Studies page. (I didn't write it by the way!)



Edit: Just tested my internet speed where I am now in Spain. 59.09 Mbps download and 9.76 Mbps upload. The upload figure is typical of what I've found on this trip but that's by far the fastest download seen so far. Very dependent on location of course. Huawei 5577 MiFi and Vodafone SIM.

 

[zac]

Why not forget about the inner plate and instead just have a smaller hole for the cables then Sikaflex the 4G antenna onto the top of the MH which will make it watertight ... no need to alter your existing TV aerial at all then and as a bonus if you sell your MH in the future it will still have a TV aerial and you can easily remove your 4G antenna and seal the smaller hole.

That is another suggestion worth considering, the aerial is bulky and something we have never used since we purchased the vehicle as all our media is done from a 2tb external drive or the occaisional streaming via firestick/kodi. I would make cleaning the roof easier if it were not there . I am leaning towards using the existing pole only because it will remove the existing aerial. Just need to make a decision now.

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