XM Antenna Relocation & Roof Port

I needed to relocate my XM antenna by about 6 inches, so I went up on the roof to pull a little bit of extra coax through. In order to do that, I had to remove the antenna and the steel plate below it. 

I removed the lap sealant with a heat gun and a putty knife, finding that the steel plate had rusted in a few places. It was affixed to the van with 4 self-drilling screws and a thin layer of lap sealant.

After removing the screws and prying the plate up, I found a 3-inch hole in the roof with the XM antenna wire running through it. I also found another 6 inches of wire that I was able to pull through the hole, thus giving me enough slack to relocate the antenna. Success!

I also found a fair amount of rust on the exposed steel that Winnebago left untreated. Based on what I could see, I think that the rust was caused by moisture/condensation from inside the van, rather than water penetrating the lap sealant from the outside. However, unlike Winnebago, I couldn't leave this steel untreated, and the 'port lid' was in poor shape, too. 

Look familiar?

I used sandpaper to clear the rust off, then covered the formerly rusted areas with Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing Compound. I also coated the 'port lid' with a rubberized spray that is used for wheel wells.

Finally, I completely covered the port lid with Dicor Self Leveling Lap Sealant. The one piece that I didn't fix was the self-drilling screws that Winnebago used - - I should have replaced them with slightly larger stainless steel screws, but I was in a hurry and didn't do it. Shame.

27-Oct-2021

WeBoost Antenna Mount

I recently added a WeBoost Drive Reach to our van, and wanted to mount the large roof antenna in a way that would allow me to easily raise & lower it.  Based on recommendations, I decided to use the Rhino Rack Folding Aerial Bracket for mounting the antenna. 

However, when mounted on the crossbars and folded down, the antenna still protruded too much, so I decided to invert the rear crossbar and mount it with a lower profile.

However, the antenna is now lower to the roof, and will bob up & down in the wind, tapping on the roof. To stop this, I created a simple cradle that clasps the antenna stalk. The cradle is a thin bar of aluminum that is bolted to the side rail with a 5/16" x 3/4" carriage bolt and a stop nut. The clasp is a plasticized wire clamp that is easily bent with one hand when I want to open and close it.

07-May-2021