opinions please

[digglesworth]

So I'm thinking about changing my cb mount again. I'm considering mount it to the Thorparts rear bumper and going from a 3' to a 5' antenna. It'll extend about 8-10" above my unloaded rack. I'll move it inward a couple inches so it'll sit where the tape measure is. Thatll get more of the antenna behind the truck and outta the wind. A 4' in this spot now goes crazy on the hwy. With the spring it's all over the place. And for whatever reason, I couldn't get the 4' tuned to acceptable ratios. Someone said there was too much deflection off the roof. The longer antenna should increase range and be able to get the swrs fine tuned since it'll extend above everything. But this does require me to drill a hole in my Thorparts bumper. I'm on my 3rd antenna location so I hope I like it. What do you guys think?

 

[chaos254]

Have you thought about behind the spare tire? I went with a 3 ft everhardt tiger (super flex) so i wouldnt have to worry about branches, etc. Im over 1.5 ft above the roof

 

[benlaud87]

That's the exact setup I have for my spare tire carrier. Got a really good tune with an swr meter using that setup. My antenna was a 4' firestik 2

 

[alrock]

Too much deflection off the roof? That would be not enough - the antenna uses the roof surface plane and when it is below the roof line you'll have problems. It's line of sight transmission.

Chaos, I had my antenna there for a good while. I can show you the rubbed off paint at the top of the door for proof! I never got the performance that I wanted in that spot so I ended up moving it to the roof.

 

[digglesworth]

My first spot was on the spare tire carrier. It was ok til I flipped the carrier over for a little more clearance (another story). The gap between the tire and door changed when I did that. The antenna wouldn't fit between there anymore. Moved it to a tubing mount on my taillight guard. I was afraid of catching it on something and ripping the guard off so I made a bracket and it sits where I have it now. I tried the 4' where it is now and I ran out of adjustment on the screw. It wasn't long enough. I put the 3' that was already tuned for location 2 back on and haven't checked it since. It may be off again but I haven't used my cb much lately. The last trip I went on, no one had cbs (which sucked)... I liked location 2 the most and it worked the best there. The proposed location mimics that but uses a longer antenna and a more secure mounting location.

 

[digglesworth]

My first spot was on the spare tire carrier. It was ok til I flipped the carrier over for a little more clearance (another story). The gap between the tire and door changed when I did that. The antenna wouldn't fit between there anymore. Moved it to a tubing mount on my taillight guard. I was afraid of catching it on something and ripping the guard off so I made a bracket and it sits where I have it now. I tried the 4' where it is now and I ran out of adjustment on the screw. It wasn't long enough. I put the 3' that was already tuned for location 2 back on and haven't checked it since. It may be off again but I haven't used my cb much lately. The last trip I went on, no one had cbs (which sucked)... I liked location 2 the most and it worked the best there. The proposed location mimics that but uses a longer antenna and a more secure mounting location.

 

[chad]

my friend had a problem with his whipping around to much so we just took some 550 cord and made some limitations on how much it can move around. on mine the way it sets with the gas can rack, its about perfect, doesnt whip around and just high enough to clear rood rack and tuned great.

 

[rsc]

I would use a longer antenna for the increased range and clarity, hard mounting it to the bumper without a spring. The longer antenna flexes well and when the wind gets a hold on it it will really shake and dance around if mounted on a spring (which also lengthens the antenna's signal length). The 5' Firestick by itself won't bend as much as a 3' on a spring but it will bend 30-40 degres which should be quite enough there.

Just drill a hole in that pretty bumper already!

 

[SolidusJ]

my friend had a problem with his whipping around to much so we just took some 550 cord and made some limitations on how much it can move around. on mine the way it sets with the gas can rack, its about perfect, doesnt whip around and just high enough to clear rood rack and tuned great.

I love that stuff.


If it helps any I love my setup.

 

[digglesworth]

my friend had a problem with his whipping around to much so we just took some 550 cord and made some limitations on how much it can move around. on mine moving it in y it sets with the gas can rack, its about perfect, doesnt whip around and just high enough to clear rood rack and tuned great.

I have the same bracket I made on the passenger side for an orv flag. I had to do the same thing with limits last time I used it. I think I'll solve the whipping problem moving it in a couple inches and not using the spring. It should be close enough to everything to not be a huge snag hazard so I think I'll be ok without the spring. But I can always add it back on.

 

[zackcrum]

Maybe try mouning it behind the bolt for the d ring. Like sandwhiching it between tat and the bumper?