RV Roof Drilling & Wiring – Tips For Leak Free Success
When we purchased our 2015 Entegra Aspire we were new to the RV game and were not ready to take on a project as scary as drilling holes in our RV roof. We turned to our dealership to have ethernet wires run from our entertainment center in the coach to our RV roof to connect our WifiRanger wireless antenna. It turns out that turning to the experts isn’t always a great idea. After we got our sea legs a bit and spoke to other RV’ers we realized that the way the wires were sealed was not ideal. While self-leveling roof sealant is great stuff, relying on it solely to waterproof a bare wire coming through your RV roof isn’t a great idea at least not if you’re looking for a longterm solution.
In this video we remove the shoddy work and install a surface mount waterproof PVC conduit box that will not only be much more reliable and weatherproof but also a place where we can run additional wires to the inside of our coach should we need to in the future. This method can be used to run wires for solar, ethernet, cable tv, satellite and just about anything else you can think of!
Materials List
- 4″x4″x2″ Weatherproof Junction Box – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zscLw6 or Home Depot Link: Here
- Titanium Step Bit Set – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zr1xIh
- Cat 5e QuickPort Terminations – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xQ8PDq
- 18″ Wire-Pull Drill Bit for Drilling Roof – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QWlXQ7
- Cable Gland Assortment – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zr1Rqt
- EternaClean RV Roof Solvent/Cleaner – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xFfh0R
- Dicor Roof Sealant – Amazon: (4pack white: https://amzn.to/2zs2YGs) (single white: https://amzn.to/2xNyInD)
- Super Flex Self Leveling Sealant Black – Camping World Link
- Cat5e/Cat6 Termination Ends – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zrJdyL
- Dielectric Grease – Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zqXpbd – Home Depot Pump
Tools List
- Excellent Roof Putty Knife – Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2N1esEj
- Ethernet Termination Tool: Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2DrQ92V
Interested in learning how to terminate ethernet cable?
Checkout this video on how to do it!
Thank you! I’ll take a screwdriver with me and open one up. I bet the gasket was inside.
Where did you find your cable glands? In particular, do you think they would allow SMA and RP-SMA connectors to pass through while still tightening down enough to get the cable?
Fortuitous timing. I was just planning a similar project to redo my antenna wires. I had looked a that box at Home Depot, but was a little concerned since there was no gasket with the top. I could make one, but wasn’t sure it was necessary.
Are you concerned about that or are you confident the lid is water tight enough?
Hey Tim, the box we used definitely has a rubber gasket so perhaps the one you found at home depot was a different part number without? Ours not only had the gasket but also ensures the screws that secure the top are on the outside of the gasket (i’ve seen them made where the screw holes create a seal issue but not with this box). I also like this box as we picked up a couple spare boxes so that we can just swap the top (and gasket) in a year or two if it shows signs of wearing out.
Great video Eric!
The link for the termination of the ethernet cables is great… have done it a few times but always takes me a long time to terminate the RJ connectors and get the wires aligned right. I will keep my day job! LOL
thanks!
Preston