radio installation

[prairieboy]

Hi Folks: As a new owner (17B last weekend and yes, we did go camping to try it out..in a torrential rain here on Vancouver Island), I want to install my own radio. I don't wish to put a hole through my new fiberglass, so I'm wondering if anyone has installed an inside aerial and still had good reception?

[gbaglo]

If it works in the house it should work fine in the trailer. The problem is finding something worth listening to, especially in rural BC. I have a Sirius satellite radio which docks in the car and in a compact speaker system in the trailer. There are probably 150 channels ( maybe more ). I pretty much stick to CBC, Willie's Place ( country ), a '50s pop station and a channel that plays old radio shows like The Shadow. The antennae is on a 25' wire so you can stick it wherever for best reception. In the car it is fixed to the dash. With the trailer I run the wire out a window and put the antennae itself on the open rock cover or propane tanks ( somewhere that it can see the satellites ).

[GoCougsKev]

What type of antenna is installed in the Escapes that are equipped with the optional CD/DVD/Radio and is it internal to the trailer or external?

[prairieboy]

Thanks. Running a 25 foot wire outside doesn't appeal to me. And a good question, I don't know what the factory radio uses for an aerial. Perhaps I wasn't clear. A standard 12 volt car radio using just am/fm, the aerial is usually outside the cab on the fender or roof. I'm looking for an alternative to drilling through to the outside and wondering if anyone has tried mounting the aerial inside, and how is your reception?

[Jim Bennett]

I think (though not positive) that the stereo installed by Escape just uses an internal antenna. As long as I can get reception in my tow vehicle, I have had no issue getting the same in the trailer.

pb, I have not seen an external antenna on a cars fender for many, many years now. Most have a wire run in the windshield.

[GaryH]

You could try using a simple dipole inside the trailer & hide it in the cabinets. Another, if you had to use an outside vertical antenna, is to mount it on your trailer hitch frame & run the wire up to the bath vent, into the vent & out through a new hole inside the bathroom. If your going to do this, get a unit that plays cd's & mp3's also, it'll increase your listening pleasure 'way out there'!

[52 chev]

We have the factory CD/DVD/Radio in our 19, It has a short wire running out of the back as an antenna. Reception seems as good as an external antenna.

It occured to me that marine stores carry antennas and they are installed through the fiberglass. I installed my own radar on the roof of my boat four years ago, and a second VHF radio - though the fiberglass. There are fitting they have that totally seal the hole. You can imagine how bad it would be if salt water were to enter the boat's interior. I thin that you could safely install an AM/FM antenna if it was designed for marine use.