2016 Axis outdoor tv connection

[vkb]

Today, we had RV Repair visit our unit for the infamous battery/electrical problem we have.
He crawled under the coach below the refrigerator. While there, he noticed the connectors for hdmi, etc for the outdoor tv (located in the storage box below the TV) ON THE BACKSIDE of this installation...these connectors are not protected from the elements. He recommended we cover this area with a plastic box or rubber .. sealed and screwed to the box (use small/short screws to they will not stick out into the storage box)
THESE WIRES AS SHOWN IN MY PHOTO, ARE NOT PROTECTED AT ALL.
He explained that if these wires are left unprotected..they will corrode from water, road salt, etc...and could, possibly, short out the electrical system.

I am attaching a photo of the exposed, backside of the TV connectors.

[aa9zz]

Is this the normal factory installation, was it just left from a late Friday installation or did your dealer "borrow" something else from the unit?

Phil

[vkb]

Originally Posted by aa9zz

Is this the normal factory installation, was it just left from a late Friday installation or did your dealer "borrow" something else from the unit?

Phil

Not sure...but just emailed photo to Terry at Thor Warranty..and requested the cover for this install, ... if it exists !! Might as well send it along with the Battery Disconnect !!

[bevedfelker]

Never looked under mine. Wonder if this is the typical installation?

[JamieGeek]

Our unit doesn't have an outside TV.

Is this picture really exposed to the road from below? At a show the one unit I saw with an outside TV the connectors in the storage area were at the top of the storage area and thus wouldn't be visible from below the camper?

[vkb]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Our unit doesn't have an outside TV.

Is this picture really exposed to the road from below? At a show the one unit I saw with an outside TV the connectors in the storage area were at the top of the storage area and thus wouldn't be visible from below the camper?

Jamie...I did not look at it Friday, as our RV guy offered to scoot under it again and shoot the photo for me...but, he, definately, did not move anything to get this shot .. Saturday, Ron or I will take a look at it to see what we can do to fix it. Our RV guy was not trying to sell us anything...he just happened to see it when searching for wire leads regarding our battery/electrical problem.

[DocMike]

VKB,

Yikes, as has been joked at before by others on this Forum "it would appear your unit was fabricated after a long 4 day weekend or the last one out shop Friday at quitting time".

Sorry to see what all you are having to go thru with the actual cause of your earlier electrical "problem".

After reading your post on the external TV I went out and took the following a few pictures of what leads into our comparment where the TV wiring enters. I have what looks like the same mess you have...but you really have to search for it to see it.

The install was just a big hole cut into the back top right corner of the storage bay, a piece of particle board "cut to fit" and all the wires and plugs hooked up. I have got to come up with a fix for that!

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1458389575
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1458389575
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/ima...attach/jpg.gif

Doc

[vkb]

Originally Posted by DocMike

VKB,

Yikes, as has been joked at before by others on this Forum "it would appear your unit was fabricated after a long 4 day weekend or the last one out shop Friday at quitting time".

Sorry to see what all you are having to go thru with the actual cause of your earlier electrical "problem".

After reading your post on the external TV I went out and took the following a few pictures of what leads into our comparment where the TV wiring enters. I have what looks like the same mess you have...but you really have to search for it to see it.

The install was just a big hole cut into the back top right corner of the storage bay, a piece of particle board "cut to fit" and all the wires and plugs hooked up. I have got to come up with a fix for that!

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1458389575
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1458389575
http://www.thorforums.com/forums/ima...attach/jpg.gif

Doc

Doc .. thanks for posting the improved photos of the TV connection...
There is, definately, an easy fix to protect those items...but, we should not have to do it ! Apparently, there are thousands of units out there with the same application .. You fellas who are retired military...Ron was AF Hydraulics ..
He kept aircraft in the air ... he knows quality control .. from the ground up !!

[vkb]

another thought..give credit where due...visiting with my IT nephew...he reminded me that in that cluster for the outdoor tv..the hdmi and rca jacks do not carry any current...however, we do have the electrical outlet for any peripherals. And...all of that is attached to particle board and we all know what happens to particle board when it gets wet !!

[Oneilkeys]

I'm glad I don't have an outside TV on my new Axis. I turned the one in my Vegas on exactly once in two years. We are not great TV watchers.

[bevedfelker]

I was an scfr maint officer in AF. Commanded two different maint sqs and was a Logistics Group Commander. My guys would never wire something like those pictures and leave everything exposed. In earlier posts there were comments about making splices with any color wire handy. I've had technicians re-wire hundreds of aircraft. They'd match wire gauge, color, and label the new wire lengths with the same wire ID code. With thousands of miles in an acft (mine were B-52s and KC-135s) it would be impossible if it could not be identified from connection point or connector to its termination point. Also before I was commissioned I was a missile maintenance technician and one task I'll never forget was rewiring a power umbilical connector with 460 individual pins. Imagine if we would not have been able to identify where every one of those wire went.

[DocMike]

Ed,

The two parrellel wires running "above" the other wires are bare copper ground wires. I am not sure what the fat gray cable goes to (very little movement, seems quite secure) nor do I know what is hiding within the black slinky encased cables.

It started raining a bit ago so the ground is wet and to get in there and look around one must be in intimate contact with the ground!!! I'll also disconnet from shore power when I go back.

Doc

[vkb]

We have cold weather this weekend with rain and snow. Ron will take a closer look at the situation tomorrow. Our coach came with the outdoor tv...something I doubt we will use much. When camping, we watch the early morning news and that is about all.

[DocMike]

VKB,

We'll watch the news or a movie from outside at night (Really like Pixar's "UP" movie; one of the reasons we got our RV before retirement, just incase). I wired our outdoor TV to a micro fanless computer that is set up over the sink on the top shelf and is hooked up to both the outdoor and main room TVs. With a wireless keyboard I can access either TV as a monitor when we park for the night or are on genny power.

I'd hate to shortout the setup because of water getting up on the exposed wires in the storage bay. I am working on a cardboard cutout of a patch needed then I will look at fabricating one out of fiberglass or maybe try to track down a 3-D printer.

Doc

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by DocMike

I'd hate to shortout the setup because of water getting up on the exposed wires in the storage bay. I am working on a cardboard cutout of a patch needed then I will look at fabricating one out of fiberglass or maybe try to track down a 3-D printer.

Staples offers 3D printing services, upload your design and go pick it up at a Staples:
Staples 3D Printing

Question, though: How many miles do you have on your Vegas? How often have you driven in rain, snow, etc.? I ask because your picture looks clean.

Also note that HDMI, and the RCA jack connectors have an outer shield that protects the internal signal wires from interference and dirt, moisture, etc. I would suspect that the wires are fine as is and had you never noticed this you wouldn't ever notice a problem with the signals.

I think the only real issue you'd have over time is that particle board absorbing moisture and completely falling apart. That or some critter finding the cables yummy

[DocMike]

Jamie,

Shoot, we just lost our local Staples last month.

We are just at 4000 miles since May2015. Have driven in rain, not brave enough for snow.

Funny you mentioned critters. At the local Legion Post I am on the Building and Grounds crew and for some strange reason the squirrles get into the AC unit on the roof and chew thru the 12V wires but never the 220 lines (probably only do that once).

I too am concerned about the custom fitted particle board, I hope it only found limited exterior use in the build of my RV.

Doc

[Oneilkeys]

A friend of mine had his RV destroyed by rats. They built a nest in his engine compartment and ate the wires. It cost him thousands of dollars @ $100 per hour to get it fixed. He parked it in a field belonging to his homeowners park. A second friend found a rat in his motor home in his front yard. (We live on the water and have coconut trees - two breeding grounds for rats.) It had apparently gotten in thru a hole the manufacturer left running cables. (Who would believe they would ever do that!) I leave rat poison around my RV when I leave for any length of time.

[Dvan]

Originally Posted by DocMike

Jamie,

Shoot, we just lost our local Staples last month.

We are just at 4000 miles since May2015. Have driven in rain, not brave enough for snow.

Funny you mentioned critters. At the local Legion Post I am on the Building and Grounds crew and for some strange reason the squirrles get into the AC unit on the roof and chew thru the 12V wires but never the 220 lines (probably only do that once).

I too am concerned about the custom fitted particle board, I hope it only found limited exterior use in the build of my RV.

Doc

That isn't particle board, it's OSB. I hate to be the one to break the news to you you, but your entire coach will likely be sheeted with it. It's pretty much the standard of the home building industry these days. Obviously it's under the protection of your roof, walls, floor etc, but you are correct to assume that it shouldn't get wet (too much anyway). Simply guarding it from any splash back that might happen will be sufficient. As a home builder, I see this stuff get wet continuously throughout the building process, and it does just fine, but in situations where a roof leak or something similar is infiltrating it constantly, it doesn't last long.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Dvan

That isn't particle board, it's OSB. I hate to be the one to break the news to you you, but your entire coach will likely be sheeted with it. It's pretty much the standard of the home building industry these days. Obviously it's under the protection of your roof, walls, floor etc, but you are correct to assume that it shouldn't get wet (too much anyway). Simply guarding it from any splash back that might happen will be sufficient. As a home builder, I see this stuff get wet continuously throughout the building process, and it does just fine, but in situations where a roof leak or something similar is infiltrating it constantly, it doesn't last long.

Not the entire coach--that would be way too heavy.

Thor has published how the Vegas/Axis units are constructed, and only the flooring uses OSB:

Clipped from a copy of my Axis brochure.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by DocMike

Jamie,

Shoot, we just lost our local Staples last month.

You could also search to see if there are any local "Maker Spaces" near you. Those usually have the equipment and people necessary for fabricating something like what you want to do.