CB antenna for 2015 F 150

[Farmer Dan]

I went to my local CB shop today to find an antenna for my aluminum body F 150. He's been at the CB / ham radio thing for many years. But - he had nothing for this application!! What have others with 2015 F 150s done or used??

Dan

[jdalrymple]

Why is an aluminum body any different than any other, so far as a two way radio antenna is concerned ?


Regards,


JD

[Farmer Dan]

The magnet mount I have won't work. A hood / fender mount is not available apparently.

Dan

[KJRitchie]

Maybe you can rig a CB antenna to a suction cub mount.

Kelvin

[Farmer Dan]

Kelvin, that's a good idea. I asked my guru about adhering a small piece of thin steel to the roof for the mag mount to stick to. He said that interrupts the flow of electrons and won't work. I suspect a suction cup may be the same. But it's certainly a great question to ask him!! Thanks for the idea.

Dan

[jdalrymple]

I must disagree with the "flow of electrons" theory. Aluminum is a conductor, just like most metals.


An Airstream trailer is proof of that.


Magnetic antennas are a compromise to wanting an antenna but not wanting holes.


Look at a Larsen MNO27B with an standard NMO angle bracket.



Best Regards,

JD

[cwf]

If you epoxy a steel plate under the roof, the magnet will stick.

I plan to permanently mount one when I am able to travel again..

[bigfoot390]

He is full of bull. If you are concerned the do a window mount on the back no electrons that would matter to a CB radio need to flow through your truck body.

[Jekerrville]

Simple solution. Suction cup base and center loaded active element 1/8 wave antenna. Place in center of roof. Take care to route the transmission cable to rear of roof to limit "slapping" when you are driving down the road and the wind is blowing. Be sure to use a Standing Wave Ratio meter to cut active element to proper SWR of less than 1:3 ratio and you are on the air!

Happy trails,

[ridgewalker]

Do you have a cap over your bed? If it is fiberglass, install a marine CB antenna. They have a built in ground plane.
No cap? Install dual trucker antennas along the top of the bed behind the cab, one at each corner.

[Farmer Dan]

Ridgewalker,
I will install an ARE fiberglass lid. I had not thought about a marine CB antenna. Thanks for that idea. Another idea is to install a steel plate on top of the lid using bolts through the lid. This would hold my mag mount antenna. Then run a ground wire inside the lid from the attaching bolts to the truck box, etc.

Dan

[ridgewalker]

Farmer Dan, sounds like a good solution.

[Farmer Dan]

I should have mentioned that cwf, Channing, explained how to complete the install on the lid so that the CB would work. Thanks, cwf.

Dan

[slowmover]

Stake pocket mount from Breedlove Machine. A top load antenna like a 5' Wilson Silver Load or equivalent Everhardt.

[Coolg112]

If you're looking for mounting options for aluminum trucks I have developed some round discs with 3M tape on one side that you stick to your truck / big rig . They come in 3.5 inch diameter and 5 inch diameter . For the top of an aluminum truck you still get great groundplane the 3M tape I use is heavy duty auto bonding tape once the disc is applied you should wait 24 hours till tape bonds correctly I sell these for $18 Canadian each
If you'd like to contact me for more info & pictures send me an email anytime Gandres@commgroup.com
403-588-3030

[Coolg112]

Originally Posted by Coolg112

If you're looking for mounting options for aluminum trucks I have developed some round discs with 3M tape on one side that you stick to your truck / big rig . They come in 3.5 inch diameter and 5 inch diameter . For the top of an aluminum truck you still get great groundplane the 3M tape I use is heavy duty auto bonding tape once the disc is applied you should wait 24 hours till tape bonds correctly I sell these for $18 Canadian each
If you'd like to contact me for more info & pictures send me an email anytime Gandres@commgroup.com
403-588-3030

grant Andres

[bugdoc]

[QUOTE=jdalrymple;1682318]I must disagree with the "flow of electrons" theory. Aluminum is a conductor, just like most metals.


An Airstream trailer is proof of that.

Magnetic antennas are a compromise to wanting an antenna but not wanting holes.

Look at a Larsen MNO27B with an standard NMO angle bracket.

Based on my experience and others, I highly recommend you stay away from Larson Electronics LLC. A number of us who have purchased AL F150 trucks have had nothing but poor service, overpriced products and a return policy that in the end will cost you a considerable amount of money. There are many other options to solving the antenna problem. In retrospect I should have tried before considering anything from Larson.

Doc

[j.pearce4580]

I too am trying to figure out how to mount an antenna to a 2018 aluminum Ford p/u. Current ideas and products used would be appreciated. Thanks to all.

[1StreamDream]

I have an F-250, but the aluminum body problem is the same. I started with sticking some pretty powerful magnets to the bottom side of the roof skin (accessed via the 3rd brake light opening), but they were not strong enough magnetically to hold the CB antenna in place at highway speed, so I don't think a steel plate alone would be adequate. Others mentioned a bad experience with Larsen electronics LLC but that is what I ended up with ... it is a formed metal plate that aligns perfectly (for my case anyway) with the shape of the roofline and 3rd brake light, I have it mounted permanently and then only place the CB antenna up there when I am traveling with the trailer. It has worked ok for me, I will say that I am not impressed with the range in distance of my CB solution, but it does work, and it does what I want it to do (helps me monitor traffic in bad situations, construction, accidents, temp road closures, etc. ). I don't know if my lack of range is the antenna, the CB itself, the aluminum skin vehicle, but most likely it is some combination of all 3 of those factors. This is the specific version I got, they make plates for a wide range of models and years. https://www.larsonelectronics.com/pr...Y5MDUx0&rank=1