Sirius XM and new Hawk install issues?

[Durango]

So we bought the 2012 Ram 2500 and had a new Hawk installed on it. A huge investment but too many of you told me if you had it to do over again you would just jump in and spend the money to do it right the first time- so I did! (Now I'm dealing with a bit of buyer's remorse but overall everything is good!)

So here's the problem. We drove the brand new Ram 1200 miles to the install and the factory installed Sirius XM satellite radio worked perfectly. We left it two weeks with the Four Wheel Camper dealer and after picking it up on the way home the satellite part of the sound system doesn't work- just mostly says, "Acquiring satellite" for 5- to 10 minutes, then will pick up some music for a few minutes and then cut out and repeat the process. Very frustrating.

So even before I call the Dodge dealer and the FWC dealer I assume I'm going to run into a game of finger pointing. Have any of you folks had issues with your satellite radio service after installing a popup camper?Thanks for any advice before I call those involved.

Steve

 

[Drainbung]

Antenna?

Congratulations on both purchases.

Where is the Sirius/XM antenna located on your truck? It sounds like the Hawk is blocking the signal. I'm looking at the same problem on my Tacoma.

 

[pods8]

My 2007 dodge 2500 has the sirius antenna at the very back of the cab roof in the middle, a truck camper will most certainly shield it. Satellite reception is line of sight and can be blocked which is what you are seeing. Did you inquire with either dodge or FWC that you desired your satellite radio to work with a truck camper? If so they should have informed you of the likely conflict of interest, if you did mention it to dodge and they didn't say anything I'd put it on them to relocate your antenna since they knew your intended purpose and didn't speak up. If you never mentioned it then its just something you overlooked/didn't know about.

You'd need to relocate the antenna to have it function with the truck camper. I run an antenna on the dash of my commuter car and the receives just fine.

P.S. Gas or diesel? How'd you do on MPGs with and without the new camper?

 

[Durango]

My 2007 dodge 2500 has the sirius antenna at the very back of the cab roof in the middle, a truck camper will most certainly shield it. Satellite reception is line of sight and can be blocked which is what you are seeing. Did you inquire with either dodge or FWC that you desired your satellite radio to work with a truck camper? If so they should have informed you of the likely conflict of interest, if you did mention it to dodge and they didn't say anything I'd put it on them to relocate your antenna since they knew your intended purpose and didn't speak up. If you never mentioned it then its just something you overlooked/didn't know about.

You'd need to relocate the antenna to have it function with the truck camper. I run an antenna on the dash of my commuter car and the receives just fine.

P.S. Gas or diesel? How'd you do on MPGs with and without the new camper?

Bummer on the antenna- I didn't even think about so I guess the buck stops with me! So HOW did you "relocate" the antenna and where did you get one?

Steve

PS We went with the Hemi due to low anticipated yearly mileage and my wife hates the smell of diesel. On our way from Spokane to Denver running empty and babying the gas pedal we averaged 16-17 mpg highway. After picking up the camper in Denver to Durango over 5 passes and with the water tanks full and around 400# baggage on board the clock showed 14.4 mpg. True, I was nursing it but was fairly happy with the mileage.

They say as the engine "breaks in" the mileage may improve- does anyone know when that magic number is arrived at?

 

[pods8]

Off hand I'm not sure if the dodge antenna is part of the normal radio harness or if its just a separate plug on the back of the radio. If its a separate plug you should be able to get another antenna (might be dodge specific) and plug that one instead with it mounted elsewhere. Look around online for info, talk to dodge, or even a car audio shop about it. I'd pursue just adding a new antenna on the dash or such over trying to actually relocate the original.


That sounds decent, I swapped to a 2007 2500 with hemi at the end of the year but haven't rolled around with a camper on it at all yet. Not sure what the new engines are supposed to be getting mpg wise when broke in. I've heard the torque profile is better though.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Your antenna should "generally" have open access to the sky. I've seen some centered above the windshield on the roof (that's where mine is) or even attached to the hood area much like a CB or 2m antenna or GPS puck set-up. The wire is easily hidden/routed along and underneath the windshield gasket into the cab and behind the dash if you choose the roof location. If you're not comfortable with the install any local stereo shop should be able to sell and install for you this small disk antenna. Good luck. :sombrero: And...pics of your rig and camper are required!

 

[Redline]

Sorry to read about this, I would be bummed if my satellite radio stopped working with my FWC mounted. My Tundra's antenna is on the front of the roof, lucky me and/or good design by Toyota. I don't like how Sirius runs their business, but I like satellite radio very much.

Your MPG sounds very good, you are obviously driving it well. I wouldn't expect much better... the whole when it breaks in thing is much less relevant than it was many years ago. Most new engines 'seat' and wear-in very quickly. Keep driving like you have to continue reaping the MPG rewards.

And yes, pictures are required!

Cheers,

James

 

[mhiscox]

Two thoughts on this . . .

First, not only is the reception line of sight, but the transmissions are directional. We have an antenna of the rear shelf of a sedan and get much better reception headed north on I-5 than on the return trip because the satellite is to the south of us and the car itself blocks the signal when southbound. Top of the vehicle is best.

Also, if you have an auxiliary input jack, you may find it easier and as cost effective to buy a separate satellite receiver and play it through the existing head end. On my EarthRoamer Jeep, the cabin blocks the radio (and the GPS) antenna. Sirius XM sells stand alone radios (sometimes quite cheaply; there was a free one available a few weeks back) and they are widely available from other sources. And beyond not having to mess with your truck, there's an advantage to this "portable" approach in that one subscription will serve for many vehicles. You can buy separate antennas for not much money, wire them into each vehicle, and then move the receiver from vehicle to vehicle.

I use the XM Snap radio, which just plugs into a power outlet:



and antennas bought off of eBay.

This is a kludge, of course, but it allows me to pay for one subscription for the daily driver and then move the radio to the trucks when I'm going on a trip, as well as letting me do my own antenna placement.

That said, though, you can likely find a suitable external antenna for your truck off of the internett, but you may or may not find it easy to deconstruct your truck enough to wire it in.

 

[pods8]

That said, though, you can likely find a suitable external antenna for your truck off of the internett, but you may or may not find it easy to deconstruct your truck enough to wire it in.

I was looking at a wiring routing diagram, it looks like the antenna plugs in behind the glove box area, might not be too bad to get to.



Edit: Just went and looked, looking up under the dash with the glove box open the antenna plug is plainly visible (single wire yellow plug going into that box). I can personally get my hand in there, everyone might not be able to though. If you get another antenna with compatible plug you should be able to just plug it in here from wherever you mount it.

 

[crazyeyez]

i ran into this problem on my Canyon when i installed the roof rack and the lights on the rack. if the truck was facing one way (example North) i'd get crapy or no reception. if truck was facing (example) south, great reception. took a while of researching to figure out. finally, i tore into it and found out i was able to just stretch the oem cable out for it to reach to the top of the roof rack. the cord was long enough. i just wrapped it in electrical tape, then wire loom and more tape. then lots of RTV to seal it all up. now the XM works like the rack was never there.