Good evening everyone. I would like to hook up my CB radio in my 2004 Ford Ranger Extended Cab. Can you tell me the best place to hook up the red power wire (im thinking main fuse box) and if so , how are you connecting it to the fuse box or whereever ??? spade terminal ??? , also where to run the ground wire to ??? Any info. and pics on this subject would be greatly apppreciated. Thanks.

 

You can use a fuse tap for the fuse panel on the side of the dash, that would be the easiest. Or run a cable right from the battery to the cab interior to a fuse box for other interior accessories.

 

I ran a wire for my CB straight from the battery to the CB. I have a separate fuse closer to the battery as well as what came with the CB just to make sure I have no issues.

 

Thanks Guys, I think I will run a wire straight from the battery to the CB with and inline fuse close to the battery. Now im thinking where im going to enter the cab with my coaxial wire for the antenna ?? im either going to run a magnetic antenna on the roof , or mount a 5 ft. whip on the rear bumper ? i have a cap on my Ranger so im limited where to mount the antenna. Any ideas where to enter the cab with the coaxial ??

 

I drilled a hole into the top of my third brake light to run power wires for a light bar and siliconed the opening to be water proof. If you don't want to drill into the sheet metal for a roof install this is basically your only option. Otherwise you can enter the cab from the bottom, you'll find quite a few grommets you can run the coax through already, but this requires pulling up the carpet.

 

I have always used Wilson mag mounts on the top of my cab. The coaxial antennae wire runs through the back sliding window. I just lay it in the upper, left side and close the window. It is a snug fit but works very well.

I like to take it off when I am not off-road, so I don't want a permanent mounted antennae. I can run either CB or Ham but use Ham most of the time now.

I connected the power wire to the battery side of the fuse box under the hood. It is like being attached directly to the battery but easier to connect and closer to the firewall. The radio has its own in-line fuse. I have the radio chassis and ground wire grounded to the metal under the dash. It works great.

Here is where I mounted mine.

 

Parking brake cable grommet usually has enough room to fit antenna wire in, where it comes in on drivers side firewall, have a look
If it looks good run antenna wire down back side of cab and under cab to parking brake cable

Throttle cable in firewall has a large plastic "grommet" which is part of the cable, but it can be drilled out or side notched, but never tried that for antenna wire just regular wires
Picture here: https://www.ranger-forums.com/attach...ps1a4af118.jpg

3rd brake light housing sounds good, you could install a plug in for antenna there, pointing down, run a permanent wire from there to CB inside cab

 

Thanks again Guys for all your info. and help on this issue. thanks IN2 Fx4 for the pic. of your mounting location. I like that. what size gauge wire do you recommend using for positive and negative wires ? Also love to see some pics of your truck and line-x bed IN2 Fx4. Thanks Guys.

 

This is a "Time Warp" back to the 1960s~1970s!
Do truckers & cops use CBs anymore?
Could install an 8Track player to go along with this CB.

 

Yep ! Back to the Future . They say history repeats itself.

 

I put a CB in my Ranger back in 2012 or so. I rarely hear chatter on it aside from channel 6 and the super bowl shenanigans. I upgraded my CB in 2018 and bought one with the weather function so it actually gets used every once in awhile. People these days don't understand CBs, and they definitely don't understand how to set SWR. All it takes is one fried Radio and people give up. I did my research long before I ever keyed the mic.

 

Does anyone else have any more pictures of mounting locations? Bonus points if its down low in the cab of the automatic with that center tray under the dash. Mine is an 08 xlt and I cant seem to find any photos around of mounting locations.

 

I know this doesn't help exactly, but it at least shows where I have my mic mounted. I've had the radio mounted in a few different places, but always had the mic in the same location. I believe I had a Cobra 25 mounted below the dash for a short time (where the ashtray mounts, but the ashtray was removed) but then upgraded to a full length console and moved it to where my Cobra 29 is now.

 

After a lot of deliberation I finally bought a smaller unit, the Uniden pro505xl or whatever it's called, and mounted it sideways under the dash using some self tappers and a prayer I didn't hit any wires. Took inspiration from Fordzilla80 and mounted my mic between the airbag hole and the plastic radio/vent cover. It fits just right. Now I just have to figure out where I want my antenna. No small feat with the camper shell covering most normal locations😂

keywords: cb mount mounting location locations

 

The best spot for a CB antenna, at least for transmission and receiving, is center of the roof of the cab, But if you park in a garage or carport, it gets inconvenient having to take it off all the time.

 

that's what I keep hearing. I'm considering a 4ft fiberglass on the front bumper or bullbar I'm ordering. It's between that and a mount over the taillight.