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toolbox antenna mounting

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Old 12-24-2008
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toolbox antenna mounting

k im buying a low pro toolbox and would like to see pics of where people relocated the cb antennas. antennae? lol. right now mine is right in the way of the box and want some ideas as where to move it. id prefer not to put it on the rear bumper, i just dont like that look for some reason. pics please
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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no no no no cb antenna mouted to toolbox.
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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^ yeash i knoooo i wanna see how its done =]

isnt youres on ure hood anyways? lol
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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id mount mine either on the side of the box or on that tailgate/taillight mount thing some people on here have
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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AHH I KNOW!!! i want to see pics ! lol i know i know i know lol i just would like to SEE it LMAO
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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i know i know. i've had it in a few dfferent places...

alon mount(between the bed and tailgate)(no pics)

mirror mounts mounted on the box itsself(HORRIBLE location due to improper grounding of the antenna). The only way to properly ground an antenna to the toolbox is putting a ground strap from each corner of the toolbox to the bed using self tappers....straps must be the same length.

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Right now i'm running a Super Duty fender mount....fits the angles of the ranger perfectly. I shortened mine up about 3/4" though...so i mounted it crooked. lol. I highly sugest the style coax i'm usng...the stranded and crimped style...none of this screw on bs. IF you get a mount that has a seperate bolt for the ground, dont use it. Ground the coax directly to the bracket and the antenna stud itsself. In my pic, i replaced the phillips head with a stainless allen head and put a nut on the bottom to fill that ugly hole that wasn't being used.

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Ive heard good things involving ball mounts mounted directly to the body...but i wasn't willing to cut holes in my truck. lol.

The best location by far has been my current fender mount. The problems with the others was the antenna. you can have a $50 base model cb and a good antenna setup and still outperform a BADASS $200 peaked and tuned 29ltd with an improperly setup antenna. it's all about the antenna bro. My biggest hold up was the antenna with the other setups...iwas being out perfomed by cheap junk...now i get out like a mother!

good luck with what you choose.
 

Last edited by Fx4wannabe01; 12-24-2008 at 01:55 PM.
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Old 12-24-2008
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hmm, i didnt even know you had to mess with grounding your antenna. have any more info on that?
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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i like the alon mount the best
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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ground ground ground ground is key!! to a good performing system.


read my post again...i added more
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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hmm, that may be part of my problem then, ive got pictures of my mount uplaoding, give me a second and ill have them up
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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Old 12-24-2008
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yep....i vote youve got bad grounding. no bare metal for the bracket to gound to. self tappers are even better just because of the tesion of the threads and making contact with bare metal.



anyway...on with where you're going to be relocating....what are you thinking? imo...alot has to do with what style you're going for as well.
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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id like it to be pretty close to where it is now. i could probaly use that same mounting piece and just put it on the side of the box....
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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Definitely need to ground it. Grounding your box isn't a big deal. I'd use the bolts that screw the factory front tie-down points to the bed. Two ~10ga wires should be plenty..
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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okay then like conecting the grounded wire to the mount?
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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What I'd see it is to bolt/rivet the mount to the box, then ground the box.
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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Originally Posted by Goodysgotacuda
Definitely need to ground it. Grounding your box isn't a big deal. I'd use the bolts that screw the factory front tie-down points to the bed. Two ~10ga wires should be plenty..
tried it...unsuccessfull..... horrible results...it was better though
 
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Wire from the mount straight to ground? Maybe too much interference from the box??
 
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wire from the backside of the mount(in the box), 10ga, then used the same bolts as what holds the box to the bed. THEN routed that wire through a hole in the box going to the front hook mount. I kept it all internally/hidden.
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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Okay I have a mount somewhat like the fender mount except it goes in the stake hole pocket. Now I can run a ground just like what Shane has. If I can get a decent picture of it tonight before I pull out of the garage at work I will take a picture to help explain. Plus you can use this mount under a tonneo or toolbox in one way or another. So Shane making my own Coax cable is the way you suggest? Don't buy the premade stuff?
 
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I'm running a premade one...i just had to crimp on the ring terminals. There's two styles out there: screw on(i dont know the proper name R134? idk) and crimp on(like what i've got). There's a certain way to mount the stud, washers, lock washer, isolators, ring terminals, etc. Crimp on is suggested by all cb shops.
 
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Old 12-24-2008
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Heres my setup. A piece of steel to strengthen the front rail and some scrap angle.
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^^^^^^^i like tht idea!^^^^^^^^^^
 
  #24  
Old 12-25-2008
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hey shane what brand is your toolbox? i found one on craigslist for 50 bucks and would like to look up the specs and stuff. i also found the kobalt (lowe's) low pro about 10 miles from me on craigs for 150 bucks, probally go with the 50 one tho.
 
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Old 12-25-2008
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I got the same set up as Shane, but I think I need to ground the antenna to something as now I don't have very good reception, also it's not the ideal location for the ground plane.

I'm gonna ground it and see if it does any better, I really like this mount and location so I hope I can get it figured out so I don't have to move it.

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