I'm currently using a mag-mount on the truck fender but the large aluminum camper blocks the rear pattern. Obviously a short antenna on top the camper would be better but how to get the wire into the cab without being a kludge? I hate the idea of just running a wire down the cab-over and then thru mid-air into a truck window.
Is there a trick way, or at least clean way to do this?
Suggestions on antenna? Remember it's already 9-ft up there.
thanx -- Bill
truck/camper antenna
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THUMPER
is the cab over some thing that stays on the truck or is it some thing you take off evey now or than ?
if it is some thing that stasy on the truck you could use a side mount but that would mean you would have to drill some holes one in the truck bed the floor of the camper and one on the side to mount the antenna
here is a link to the mount im talking about
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if it is some thing that stasy on the truck you could use a side mount but that would mean you would have to drill some holes one in the truck bed the floor of the camper and one on the side to mount the antenna
here is a link to the mount im talking about
[Please login or register to view this link]
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wam
Yeah, I kinda need to make it easily removable from the truck.
I suppose I could bring a lead down the outside of the cabover from the roof and tuck under behind the truck rear window. Then a thru the glass piece and on up to the dash area.
Are those thru-the-glass fittings any good, and can I get one with bnc's or some sort of connector so I can easily disconnect when removing the camper?
And what sort of antenna would work well on the roof? It's so high already I occasionally scrape overhead branches. Also I've heard that for some reason aluminum camper roofs make terrible ground planes.
-- Bill
I suppose I could bring a lead down the outside of the cabover from the roof and tuck under behind the truck rear window. Then a thru the glass piece and on up to the dash area.
Are those thru-the-glass fittings any good, and can I get one with bnc's or some sort of connector so I can easily disconnect when removing the camper?
And what sort of antenna would work well on the roof? It's so high already I occasionally scrape overhead branches. Also I've heard that for some reason aluminum camper roofs make terrible ground planes.
-- Bill
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jessejamesdallas
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Mounting/ or trying to mount to the roof of a aluminum camper is a bad idea! Magnets wont stick. Wont be able to get a good ground. And you'll be hitting every tree branch in the neighborhood, and possibly all the stop-lights and low hanging phone lines too!
I would either go with mirror mounts, a fender mount, or bumper mount, or mag mount to the roof of your cab. But would stear-clear of doing anything with the camper!
I would either go with mirror mounts, a fender mount, or bumper mount, or mag mount to the roof of your cab. But would stear-clear of doing anything with the camper!
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
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231
Yea, that can be sort of a tricky one for sure...but doable IMO. Actually, the top is an excellent ground plane/reflector being aluminum. The key is to somehow mount a primary mounting plate or clamp if you have a rack up there. Also running a good #10 or #12 stranded ground wire from the mount. I've done it before, and although alot of work performs pretty well considering.
Here is what I did on my uncle's old motor home...which he had a rack up there. I used a single mirror clamp mount set up and ran #12 stranded wire from the mount bolt to the chassis following the coax lead. For his on the road antenna we went with a base loaded 3' antenna and a super flexible spring. This allowed it to hit things and be really forgiving to it and still allow him reasonable performance on the road. When he parked it, he simply could throw on the mount his better antenna of whatever choice he wanted.
It worked pretty well and I was able to get the SWR's down to about 1.3:1 - 1.5:1 across the 40 channels. Keep in mind though, that the shorter base loads aren't very broad banded and most certainly won't handle much wattage. For a stock radio user though, they are okay...and being so high perform pretty well IMO.
Just another idea to consider. Good luck.
Here is what I did on my uncle's old motor home...which he had a rack up there. I used a single mirror clamp mount set up and ran #12 stranded wire from the mount bolt to the chassis following the coax lead. For his on the road antenna we went with a base loaded 3' antenna and a super flexible spring. This allowed it to hit things and be really forgiving to it and still allow him reasonable performance on the road. When he parked it, he simply could throw on the mount his better antenna of whatever choice he wanted.
It worked pretty well and I was able to get the SWR's down to about 1.3:1 - 1.5:1 across the 40 channels. Keep in mind though, that the shorter base loads aren't very broad banded and most certainly won't handle much wattage. For a stock radio user though, they are okay...and being so high perform pretty well IMO.
Just another idea to consider. Good luck.
