Aftermarket Antenna/Cable

[Pitbull]

Hi guys, we just bought a 2016 Escape 19 Classic. The previous owners didn't choose to have it TV ready. So no antenna or cable hook up. Has anyone added any of these to their rigs? I'm a little unsure of drilling into the fiberglass. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

 

[AKCamper]

Hi guys, we just bought a 2016 Escape 19 Classic. The previous owners didn't choose to have it TV ready. So no antenna or cable hook up. Has anyone added any of these to their rigs? I'm a little unsure of drilling into the fiberglass. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

We bought our 2016 19 Escape with TV ready. A cable hookup wouldn’t be too hard to do. We actually have found that we really don’t have time for TV anyway so I haven’t even bought or mounted one. I really don’t think I would mount an antenna on the roof though. Rbryan4 did that and I think he said he wouldn’t do that if he were ordering a trailer again.

 

[rbryan4]

I really don’t think I would mount an antenna on the roof though. Rbryan4 did that and I think he said he wouldn’t do that if he were ordering a trailer again.

That's right, I wouldn't. We find we don't watch alot of TV when camping anyway, and when we do we can usually stream it for better content than OTA. Without the Jack antenna up front, I'd have room for a second 160W panel if I ever decided to upgrade my solar.

I'd just go with Cable ready and be done with it. In the case of a 2nd owner trailer without it, the addition of an external coax jack and interior receptacle would be a pretty easy mod. The hole needed in the fiberglass to mount a jack with a flip cover is very small -maybe less than 1/4".

 

[Ron in BC]

So no antenna or cable hook up. Has anyone added any of these to their rigs? I'm a little unsure of drilling into the fiberglass. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

Several of us have added our own. I used to use a 4 bay antenna but now I've switched to an Jack antenna for OTA. Mine's mounted on a pole on the rear bumper. Mike Lewis has has on an extendable pole and carries the antenna at about rear window height. I use a 2 piece pole and stow the antenna while underway. The power wire and the cable enter the trailer underneath. No visible holes.

Ron

 

[Mike Lewis]

I have a Comet-NCG CP-45 radio antenna mast that I bought from Ham Radio Outlet:

https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007757

I had a welding shop make a mount for it that I bolted to my trailer's rear bumper. I bolted a King Jack TV antenna head to the mast and added a safety wire in case the King Jack's mounting bracket breaks (it has shown no sign of metal fatigue so far). I feed the line through my power cord hatch when I'm parked. I also have a VHF/UHF ham radio antenna on the mast. The mast has been on the trailer since late 2014 and has traveled all over the country without problems.

Look at Ham Radio Outlet's website and type "mast" in their search engine. You'll see all sorts of interesting stuff. I may have to replace mine with something taller and uglier.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Ron-- How did you bring the antenna line into your trailer? Did you drill a hole on the underside?

 

[elongest]

I use this. Note, it is smaller than other Furrion jacks. It also comes in black.
Eddie
https://www.amazon.com/Furrion-FTVI...TF8&qid=1516975707&sr=1-4&keywords=furrion+tv

 

[Mike Lewis]

I should elaborate a bit about the King Jack antenna mounted permanently to the antenna pole while traveling. If you do this, do it at your own risk. The antenna came with two brackets, one for mounting on the King Jack base and one for a mast. But the instructions said to not leave the antenna mounted to the mast while traveling in the RV. I'm not sure why, but perhaps there were concerns with the mast mounting bracket's durability. That's why I added the safety wire as a precaution. As of today my antenna is still firmly bolted to the mast and I don't see a problem.

To be extra safe, though, you might want to do what Ron in BC does: remove the antenna/mast combination while towing.

 

[vermilye]

While I have antennas all over my trailer, I'm probably not the person to recommend a TV antenna since I don't watch TV. That said, here at Quartzsite, the most popular pole mounted antenna I've seen throughout the area is this one. The link is to a motorized one from Walmart, however the same antenna is sold by many, including, of course, Amazon.

 

[Ron in BC]

Ron-- How did you bring the antenna line into your trailer? Did you drill a hole on the underside?

Pretty much the same way ETI brings in various items. I looked in the hatch area and under the trailer. I wanted a location that was "under" but not where it would come up and be exposed to being hit by stored objects. I saw a mounting bolt just after the f/g ended its curve and used it as a reference point and drilled up close to it. So the cables and wires are "under" but come up not in the way of anything.

Ron

 

[War Eagle]

In addition to the low-spot weep holes, our 2017 21' has a few other holes up through the bottom that were probably used during molding or construction that have been plugged (it's the dark round area in the photo below; shot from the driver side rear corner looking up;1/2" diameter?; I drilled a small hole through the center of it just to make sure I knew where it came out on the inside). I've been tempted to remove a plug and run a 120V AC power cord up through it just to run a dehumidifier from shore power without having to energize the whole EMS system. I haven't done it yet, but I still might one day. But my point is, you could easily run a TV cable up through that same hole. Probably want to leave a section of cable in the hole and seal around it.

 

[Ron in BC]

I've been tempted to remove a plug and run a 120V AC power cord up through it just to run a dehumidifier from shore power without having to energize the whole EMS system.

I did that so that I could run my 100 watt light bulb heater all winter while the whole system was shut down. I brought an extension cord up from underneath near where the 7 pin connection etc. also enters from underneath. The hole is a light snug fit. When travelling I pull the cord in until the plug is up under the trailer. It's always available for use. I prefer to selectively charge my batteries and not have the whole trailer "live" all the time.

Ron