I have a satellite dome to adorn StaRV II, mounting of which should be straightforward. The associated cables, however, have to snake their way to the compartment above the drivers windshield, and so I need to remove the front headliner section.

It seems snag-free, by removing the trim strip on the joiner then remove the screws.

So my question is, can I expect the headliner to be a friction/slip fit above the cabinets? '94 28' Breakaway.

1 job I haven't done yet

I think you might be right on how it fits. I'll be putting in a sat system shortly too and would like to know as well.

You first!

Rusty, if you're right, I'll be installing a roof fan in the bedroom sooner than I thought.

Sheesh - howcum I get to be the trailblazer? Has no one pulled a headliner before?

Well, today I investigated the Mysteries of Headliner Removal. What I'd hoped would be a one-hour job will take "a bit" longer.

I removed the rubber trim from the joiner strip, then removed that. The headliner is secured at the joint by small screws, that aren't easy to get to, buried behind the vinyl and the insulation. There appear to be about 4 on each side.

It's obvious that on my coach that two side cabinets will have to be removed, as will the fascia holding the control panel above the door.

I did notice limber holes in the framing (seen from the ceiling light recess), so it's possible (but not at all easy) that a wire could be snaked forward to the front overhead compartments. When I return from the July voyage, I'll try that, as the feed from the satellite dome will enter just aft of the ceiling light.

There was also about 1/8" of clearance between the wood and the frame member there should be only one frame ahead of that...before the compartments.

Here is what was done on our Newell. When the prior owner installed an automatic satellite antenna over the rear bed room, rather than snack thru the headliner, they ran a 3/4" pvc pipe from the rear of the coach to the front and then down into the front cabinet. Made for a clean and unobtrusive install. You don't know its up there unless are on the roof snooping around.

That approach has a lot of merit - while my dome has its connections at the rear, there's room to run some PVC around to the front to above the receiver compartment.

Hi Rusty,
I just added a new sat. dome to the roof of our 33' Barth and all the cables ran down through the hole in the roof for mounting of the dome. Then the dome was mounted and all sealed up and it looks factory and all cables come out in the upper storage area above the driver. I also wired in an auxillary sat. connection for my portable dish.
Darrell and Jeannie Moore

Thanks, but mine (KVH TracVision R5) has no mounting hole for the dome - just three feet to be secured to the roof. The cable exits to the rear of the dome, not the bottom. It can be made to exit to the front, but I'd still have a run to make.