Starlink dish mount on Dometic awning brackets

[RoadKingsofGA]

We liked the idea of mounting the Starlink bracket to the roof as we already owned the short mount from when we mounted it to the fascia board of our house.  Mounting to the awning where easy and quick access to install the dish at each campground was our priority. But our 2019 Oliver has a Dometic awning whose bolt pattern is diagonal and the Starlink mounts bolt pattern is vertical. Our solution was to select a 2” wide piece of 4’ stock aluminum at Lowe’s, cut 2 pieces for strength, and drill holes on one end to match Starlink mount and the other end to match the Dometic awning. 

1. We began by measuring the clearance needed for the dish to clear the awning when the dish is in stow mode, and length for the drilling of holes on both end. For our application, that length was ? We also ensured the trailer was level before starting.

2. Next we used cardboard to make a template to cut and drill the hole patterns. I am sure others may find a better way to do this, but we put dark powder on the bolts and then pressed the cardboard to them using a level on the cardboard to ensure it was straight. (We also visually assessed that it appeared perpendicular to the awning). We then pre drilled the holes in the cardboard and did a test run. NOTE: it took us at least 3 cardboard attempts before we got it right!

3. Now we transferred the template to the metal pieces. We actually drilled the awning pattern on one end of the 4’ aluminum piece before we cut the short lengths. This was in case we messed up, we would only lose a short 2” piece rather than our planned 8” lengths. We mounted the long piece to the awning, but the upper hole was slightly off, so we had to wallow that hole slightly larger, but that did not impact securing it.  We cut our length and drilled the Starlink holes. We repeated this process for the second piece. 
 

4. We purchased stainless steel bolts, washers and lock nuts for the Starlink end. So we stacked the 2 aluminum plates and installed. The direction we chose for the Starlink mount was to make it easier to see and plug in the router cable to the dish when we put it up there. NOTE: the awning bolts had been cutoff and threads were damaged so the nuts wouldn’t come off easily on the rear awning bolt set. Thus we had to use the set forward of those. 
 

5. We have traveled at 65mph and it doesn’t seem to move and remains secure. 
 

6. Like others, we bring the 4 legged dish mount/anchor and use it if we are under trees and need to move the dish 50’ away from the camper. We aren’t concerned about theft of the dish as it cannot be used by anyone else. Each dish is specific to the owner’s account.  For interest, I am including a picture of our Husky storage box and how we pack it. We use a Cord-Pro to wrangle the 75’ router cord to prevent tangling. I also notched a Tupperware to protect the cord plug end that goes in the dish. It can be delicate and damaged easily. 
 

7. We current put the cord thru the basement door and plug into the router via the trap door at the bottom of the bedside table (we have twins. The basement door has a notch in the rubber seal where the cord fits and allows us to close and lock the door without pinching the cord. Eventually we plan to convert the satellite port. 
 

Please ask questions, we would be happy to answer. 

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, RoadKingsofGA said:

We aren’t concerned about theft of the dish as it cannot be used by anyone else. Each dish is specific to the owner’s account.

There is a basic flaw in your reasoning, would a casual thief know that? 😉 A cable lock around a fixed object would make me sleep a little easier.

FYI your awning mounts should have holes drilled as indicated by the arrow, later versions have a great big opening there. Otherwise it will trap water and debris and corrode them. Especially if you have not removed that pesky rubber seal…

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[RoadKingsofGA]

52 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

There is a basic flaw in your reasoning, would a casual thief know that? 😉 A cable lock around a fixed object would make me sleep a little easier.

FYI your awning mounts should have holes drilled as indicated by the arrow, later versions have a great big opening there. Otherwise it will trap water and debris and corrode them. Especially if you have not removed that pesky rubber seal…

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

True, we could put a long chain out to the dish stand and put a lock thru the foot of it, should we have to place it far away. But even then, a thief who wants it can cut the chain. Would be a hassle for us to then acquire another, but the bad karma the thief gets is worse. 
We had heard of others removing the rubber piece, but hadn’t heard of drilling holes in the awning mounts! It’s a real pain keeping that area clean and free of debris. I will have to read on forums about this. Like do we have to remove the awning and what is risk of drilling into the fiberglass if the drill bit slips. 

[John E Davies]

31 minutes ago, RoadKingsofGA said:

We had heard of others removing the rubber piece, but hadn’t heard of drilling holes in the awning mounts! It’s a real pain keeping that area clean and free of debris. I will have to read on forums about this. Like do we have to remove the awning and what is risk of drilling into the fiberglass if the drill bit slips. 

You do need to get up on the roof, ideally, on a foam kneeling or camp pad. You should center punch BOTH sides at a location maybe 1/2” above the bottom of the angle, then use a battery powered drill to make a 1/8” pilot hole, it doesn’t matter if it is at a slight angle. Drill from both sides, then go larger, to 3/8” or bigger. By coming in from both sides you intersect in the center of the bracket. You won’t drill into the fiberglass. Maybe somebody who has done this can post a pic. My brackets are simple ells, with no reinforcing at all.

Removing the seal lets rain water pour down, that could be an issue in the South, where you actually have precipitation… ;). But is WAY easier to keep that area clean and tidy, and it looks better too. Especially if you have a black seal.

John Davies

Spokane WA

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[mossemi]

@RoadKingsofGA

Very nice and creative!  And your documentation of the project should be very helpful to others.  But I’m more interested in what may be a bike rack mounted on top of the sewer hose storage area.  Can you elaborate on that project if it is indeed a bike rack mount.

Mossey

[topgun2]

13 minutes ago, mossemi said:

Very nice and creative!  And your documentation of the project should be very helpful to others.  But I’m more interested in what may be a bike rack mounted on top of the sewer hose storage area.  Can you elaborate on that project if it is indeed a bike rack mount.

I agree with Mike - thanks for the post.

I too do not have holes drilled in my awning mounts nor did I remove the "seal".  Yes, keeping this area clean is a bit problematic but I serious do NOT think that it looks bad - in fact, I think it makes this area look a bit more "finished" and it does keep rain from coming down that side of the Ollie.  The washing/keeping it clean is also not really that much of an issue in that I do clean the roof every time I wash Twist anyway.  A strong stream of water and/or an electric power washer easily keeps this area free of "stuff".

Like Mike - I too noticed something that I'd like more information on - the white "hood" over your rearview camera.  How's it working?  What material did you fabricate it out of?  Did you do it "freehand" or with a template or ....?

Thanks!

Bill

[Galway Girl]

Very creative idea. I also ran into the issue of mounting bolts that were offset.

 

in our Domestic awning rail (below),   I drilled and tapped 2 new holes that I installed 2 bolts with thread locker.

The front side of the bracket is flush with the aluminum mounting bracket. 

 

 

[DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:28 AM, topgun2 said:

Like Mike - I too noticed something that I'd like more information on - the white "hood" over your rearview camera.  How's it working?  What material did you fabricate it out of?  Did you do it "freehand" or with a template or ....?

Love the Starlink setup and am proceeding with the same awning mount along with a second form my Cell antenna.

Wondering if there is a post about the camera cover @topgun2 asked about? I find the camera image in daylight less than ideal.

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI said:

Wondering if there is a post about the camera cover @topgun2 asked about? I find the camera image in daylight less than ideal.

I do not recall any thread and/or post about that "hood/cover" on the rear camera.

However, hopefully tomorrow morning I will have a chance to post about the hood/cover that I fabricated for my camera.  Stay tuned.

Bill

[Steve Morris]

16 hours ago, topgun2 said:

However, hopefully tomorrow morning I will have a chance to post about the hood/cover that I fabricated for my camera.  Stay tuned

I'll be curious to see if you shielded the bottom as well. Those three amber running lights make the camera nearly useless at night; especially in the rain.

[topgun2]

33 minutes ago, Steve Morris said:

I'll be curious to see if you shielded the bottom as well.

No, I didn't shield the bottom - I rarely drive at night and have not noticed a problem in the rain.  However, I did notice glare caused by the sun reflecting off the Oliver's white shiny surface.  That cause me to paint the underside of my "hood/cover" with ultra flat black paint.  This plus moving the camera a bit further aft/towards the back of the trailer helped.  

Hopefully in about a half hour or so I'll have a chance to take a couple of pics of the hood/cover and post that under a separate thread.

Bill

[RoadKingsofGA]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:08 AM, mossemi said:

@RoadKingsofGA

Very nice and creative!  And your documentation of the project should be very helpful to others.  But I’m more interested in what may be a bike rack mounted on top of the sewer hose storage area.  Can you elaborate on that project if it is indeed a bike rack mount.

Mossey

Thanks!  I re-read my post and it could use some editorial corrections!  We can't take credit for the bike rack mount.  It was put on by the previous owner to solve the issue of needing a 2" receiver.  It's certainly stable as it's well bolted!  I can add pictures of that if you would like.  I believe it had it custom fabricated and painted or powder coated.  We added O-ring screws at the corners to allow us to tie down gas cans when we carry them.

[mossemi]

2 hours ago, RoadKingsofGA said:

Thanks!  I re-read my post and it could use some editorial corrections!  We can't take credit for the bike rack mount.  It was put on by the previous owner to solve the issue of needing a 2" receiver.  It's certainly stable as it's well bolted!  I can add pictures of that if you would like.  I believe it had it custom fabricated and painted or powder coated.  We added O-ring screws at the corners to allow us to tie down gas cans when we carry them.

Bike racks and Ollie's have been a very popular topic over the years and I don't remember ever seeing your's.  Please add pictures if you could and perhaps you could start a new topic so your Starlink post does not get cluttered with off topic questions.

Mossey

[MAX Burner]

On 6/19/2023 at 6:06 PM, RoadKingsofGA said:

7. We current put the cord thru the basement door and plug into the router via the trap door at the bottom of the bedside table (we have twins. The basement door has a notch in the rubber seal where the cord fits and allows us to close and lock the door without pinching the cord. Eventually we plan to convert the satellite port. 

It's our understanding that the "proprietary" Starlink cord is labeled as such due to their unique cable end connectors (one for the Dishy end and the one for the router end).  But the cord itself is just a regular "4 twisted pair" ethernet cable which makes it easy to cut/splice, add RJ45s, and through-hull connectors.

@RoadKingsofGA - If you're interested in converting your Starlink to a 12vDC powered kit, shoot me a PM and I'll get the particulars to how we converted ours.  It really makes set-up/take-down and operational usage simple and easy when boon docking.  OBTW:  We're using the same red Husky Box for stowage - perfect fit!

Cheers!

[Galway Girl]

An alternate method for Dometic awning is to mark and drill 2 holes farther down the mounting rails.  Then usea thread tap to make threaded holes then bolt on the Starlink holder as shown below. 
 

this creates a low profile for the mount. 
 

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, Galway Girl said:

An alternate method for Dometic awning is to mark and drill 2 holes farther down the mounting rails.  Then use a thread tap to make threaded holes then bolt on the Starlink holder as shown below. This creates a low profile for the mount. 

Agreed, keep the profile low and make it a permanent installation. ethernet cable run and 12VDC as @MAX Burner suggested.

[Geronimo John]

On 6/19/2023 at 4:05 PM, RoadKingsofGA said:

True, we could put a long chain out to the dish stand and put a lock thru the foot of it, should we have to place it far away.

 

Personally I prefer Art's (MaxBurner) security plan:

 

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ARFF WOFFFF Chomp.  Problem gone. 

🙂

GJ