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  1. #1
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Questions about installing a Winegard SK-SWM3 satellite dish

    I just picked up our new 2016 Reflection 318RST and I'm thinking of installing a Winegard SK-SWM3 satellite dish for DirecTV service. The biggest concern I have is routing the wires. The second concern is drilling holes in the roof. If anybody has mounted this dish, could you let me know how you routed the wires? Also, I understand the roof is a solid piece of plywood. If so, does that mean I could basically mount the dish anywhere as long as there are no restrictions on the dish movement near vents, etc?

    I'm thinking of running the two wires (one coax and one power) down a vent rather than drilling a hole in the roof but I need to go look at the rig and see if that's an option. There are two boxes for this antenna set up that need AC power. I'm thinking of putting both of them in the compartment where the water control panel is. There is an AC outlet there as well as the satellite input that routes the signal to the TV. The challenge will just be getting the two cables from the dish to this compartment. Any help would REALLY be appreciated. I suspect if you knew what you were doing this job could be done in an hour - which means it will take me all day.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  2. #2
    Long Hauler LCBoyer's Avatar
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    I think it might be possible to fish a wire through the front cap, I don't see any way to pull a wire through side walls
    2018 Freedom Elite 24FE, 2 Yorkies, and my wife MARILYN, HAM call K0LCB. Traveling around this great country, making friends and seeing lot of beautiful and interesting places

  3. #3
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    So my dish is arriving today and I'm planning the install. I contacted GD customer service and asked if there was a preferred location to mount the dish. Of course they said they don't recommend mounting anything on the roof. I should have expected that. Anyway, does anybody know what the roof construction looks like? I'm looking for a cut away photo so I can see how much space there is between the roof and ceiling inside. I want to make sure the screws I use aren't too long and I'd also like to avoid wires in the ceiling if possible.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  4. #4
    Long Hauler LCBoyer's Avatar
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    I never tried to pull cable on a GD. I did pull cables on a Winnebago by tying my fish tape to antenna cable and pulling it back
    2018 Freedom Elite 24FE, 2 Yorkies, and my wife MARILYN, HAM call K0LCB. Traveling around this great country, making friends and seeing lot of beautiful and interesting places

  5. #5
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    At this point my #1 choice for the cabling is to just go up on the roof each time we arrive somewhere and plug the two cables in. Not ideal but it will work. My second choice is to pull cables through a vent. I don't see any scenario where I drill a 1" hole through my roof and try to figure out how to route them. I'm nervous enough drilling the small holes to mount the dish. The dealers want $1,000+ to mount this thing and I just won't pay that much out of principle.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  6. #6
    Seasoned Camper kregli's Avatar
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    The "professional" installers will usually opt for a vent. For Momentums (and I suspect the others), the walls are aluminum framing with wood trusses for the roof and plywood on the trusses. In my case the main wiring channel (electric) was the wall between the bath and kitchen. I ran the winegard (and solar) cabling up through that channel and cut a hole up to the roof. I then used the existing satellite distribution with a (SWM) splitter and power injector in the basement. In my rig there is a pantry along that wall where I could get access to the channel and enough room to drill the hole to the roof.
    Keith Regli
    2016 Momentum 388m
    2015 Silverado 3500HD DRW
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  7. #7
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Thanks Keith. That information helps. It would be cool if GD would post photos showing the rough framing and electrical/plumbing for each model before the "sheet rock" goes up. I know on the new home I built I took pictures of every room (wiring/plumbing, etc) before they put the sheet rock up. Those pictures came in handy down the road.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  8. #8
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Well, I got the dish installed this afternoon and....it doesn't work. It will spin a round for a few minutes and find the 101 satellite then it just spins around, goes up and down, pauses, etc for 30 minutes without finding anything else. I've shut it down, pulled the power, etc multiple times and when I fire it back up it does the same thing. I left an email with customer support. I think it's dead :-(
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  9. #9
    Seasoned Camper kregli's Avatar
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    Bummer. I've seen that behavior and the solution was a bad connection in the cable that runs between the base and the LNB. That cable moves as the dish moves and I found the crimp connection at the base had become loose so the controller would sometimes see a signal and then lose it when it tried to peak, so it would start searching again. Might be different in your case, but worth a look.

    Also, make sure the trailer isn't due North and South. The algorithm sometimes fails in that case.
    Last edited by kregli; 02-13-2016 at 09:07 PM. Reason: another thought
    Keith Regli
    2016 Momentum 388m
    2015 Silverado 3500HD DRW
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  10. #10
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Interesting you mention the cable between the base and LNB. It was kind of smashed between the base and styrofoam when I opened the box. I thought at the time that didn't look good. It clearly wasn't packed right. t'm not sure if that's the problem but I'll look at it more closely today. If that is the problem, I hope it's something that can be replaced without removing the dish from the roof. If I have to do that, I will NOT be a happy camper!
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

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