Chevy Avalanche Antenna Mount

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Turk10mm

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Does anyone have any experience with mounting in an avalanche? I looked around the truck and I can't find any good place for a lip mount to attach except possibly between the plastic rear facia and roof at the back of the cab. But its a pretty small lip.

I dont' want to drill, and I also would prefer not to have any wires visible. If the lip on the rear of the roof would work i believe the thin coax could run down between the plastic and metal cab and then run through the seal in the removable rear glass, but I'm not certain.

Anyone have any ideas or done this previously.

Thanks
 

ridgescan

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I have in the past mounted it on the hood on the driver side with great results. Because of the possible curve of the hood at the windshield side, bending of the steel whip at the base of it to achieve vertical posture of the whip may be necessary. I had to do this and it didn't affect my reception a bit:)
 

Chris-KH2PM

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I have a 2005 Avalanche, and I agree, there aren't any really good options for mounting antennas. In the past with previous vehicles, I have used L-bracket NMO mounts. I always have been reluctant to install an antenna on the roof, which of course requires drilling the sheetmetal, and possibly having a leak and water damage if the seal is compromised somehow. I've seen others in the past have bad leaks on their vehicles!
Another concern of a roof-mount antenna is low clearance, such as parking garages.

With my Avalanche, I ended up giving in and drilling my roof, installing a rubber whip style COMET SBB-1 dual-band antenna. I figured this would help in the event I forgot (and I have a couple of times) to remove the antenna before entering a parking garage. The problem I found with the SBB-1 turned out to be high SWR over 2.0:1 and as high as 3:1, which is not tunable, and poor performance due to it being a 'compromise' antenna. I lived with it for about 2 years and recently decided to try another antenna, the SBB-5 COMET. It has the capability to 'fold-over' near the base, considering you remember to do so. Heheh. Plus it is a VHF 3.0dBi 1⁄2 wave, UHF 5.5dBi 5⁄8 wave antenna with superior performance and performs GREAT on the roof of my Avalanche compared to the SBB-1. The SWR is basically flat where I need it and even out of the typical ham band it is still below 1.7:1. Here is info on the COMET antennas mentioned above. NCG Company::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If you consider installing yours on your roof, it's really easy, once you get past drilling the starter hole! Heheh. I accessed the roof by removing the dome light at the rear of the headliner. Routing the coax is easy too. My radio (Kenwood dual band TM-D700) is mounted under the back seat on the floor so the cable run is farily short and easy to do.

This guy has it figured out though! Check this out..
 

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Turk10mm

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Thanks all. I'd prefer not to mount it on the hood as i can't see how that'll look nice at all. The avalanche mount listed above is for the hood :( Thanks for the offer tho. I'm definitely not drilling. I don't have the juevos to do it.
 

n8emr

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Oct 20, 2005
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I have an 02 AV and have used a magmount on the center rear. To hid the cables losen up the top plastic shell and hide the coax, you can come in low on the cab gate. I have also bult a mount for an HF antenna by replacing one of the rear handholds on the back of the bed. Here is a link to the article on the av fan site.
Chevy Avalanche Fan Club Ham radio antenna Mount projects.


Here are a couple more links.

Chevy Avalanche Fan Club Any Hams Out There?
Chevy Avalanche Fan Club Anyone Done A Ham Radio Installation?

If you want to drill "a little" without an NMO hole then remove the 3rd break light top panel and install
these NMO angle mounts http://www.shultzie.com/agoracart55/picserve.cgi?picserve=/md_NMO_bracket.gif
 

freema22

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Does anyone have any experience with mounting in an avalanche? I looked around the truck and I can't find any good place for a lip mount to attach except possibly between the plastic rear facia and roof at the back of the cab. But its a pretty small lip.

I dont' want to drill, and I also would prefer not to have any wires visible. If the lip on the rear of the roof would work i believe the thin coax could run down between the plastic and metal cab and then run through the seal in the removable rear glass, but I'm not certain.

Anyone have any ideas or done this previously.

Thanks

You don't mention what year you have, but I have found that this mount works fantastic on my Tahoe. It should work for your Avalanche as well. It has a really good factory look. The "CB" antenna mounting stud just unscrews and you can put whatever antenna mount you like in there. Plus, it mounts to an existing hole near the hood hinge. It is as solid as a rock, and looks factory. Check out this link. They have lots of photos of a completed install.

AUGM2L Fender Mount for Chevy Pickups/SUV - Electronics Superstore www.WalcottCB.com

Mike F
 

WA1RB

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Jul 25, 2009
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You don't mention what year you have, but I have found that this mount works fantastic on my Tahoe. It should work for your Avalanche as well. It has a really good factory look. The "CB" antenna mounting stud just unscrews and you can put whatever antenna mount you like in there. Plus, it mounts to an existing hole near the hood hinge. It is as solid as a rock, and looks factory. Check out this link. They have lots of photos of a completed install.

AUGM2L Fender Mount for Chevy Pickups/SUV - Electronics Superstore www.WalcottCB.com

Mike F

I have this same mount on my 2005 Avalanche. I replaced the 3/8x24 stud mount with an NMO mount to accommodate a Diamond 144/440 antenna. It works very well and looks like a factory mount. I am frequently asked for a link to the vendor by other hams who think it looks great. There are a few places around the 'net that sell this mount, all for around the same price. I second freema22's recommendation for this mount.

Cheers!
 

deadringer

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Apr 1, 2009
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I have this same mount on my 2005 Avalanche. I replaced the 3/8x24 stud mount with an NMO mount to accommodate a Diamond 144/440 antenna. It works very well and looks like a factory mount. I am frequently asked for a link to the vendor by other hams who think it looks great. There are a few places around the 'net that sell this mount, all for around the same price. I second freema22's recommendation for this mount.

Cheers!

I have this mount, but I currently have a 3/8x24 studded antenna on it... how hard is it to convert it to NMO? Do you have to re-drill the mount to accept the NMO base? Or is there some adapter for it?

Thanks for any help.
 

whoppo

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Oct 6, 2008
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Southern Maine
I have this mount, but I currently have a 3/8x24 studded antenna on it... how hard is it to convert it to NMO? Do you have to re-drill the mount to accept the NMO base? Or is there some adapter for it?

Thanks for any help.

No re-drilling needed.... you can buy an NMO mount that fits the 3/8 inch hole. I found the one I'm using on ebay for 10 or 15 bucks.

something like this one:

NMO ANTENNA MOUNT WITH COAX 3/8" HOLE FREE NMO CAP - eBay (item 320415968910 end time Sep-23-09 12:17:09 PDT)

Cheers!
 

conrad314

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Jun 25, 2008
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Lake Winnebago, MO

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code3cowboy

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Aug 22, 2006
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CA-CZU
NMO mounts do not leak, they have two gaskets and when installed properly with a little silicon grease, are deluge proof. Running coax through a gasket breaking the seal to get to a mag mount is far from water, dust, critter, and cold proof.
 

FretnFish

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Jun 25, 2011
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Excellent CB Mount for 2004 Avalanche

I used this method to mount a 102" whip antenna on an Avalanche and it was rock solid and you don't need to drill any holes in the truck. Just buy a stainless steel mount like the one available at Walcott called Firestik SS204A Adjustable, SS Vertical Door Jamb Mount. The idea is to mount this bracket using the tailgate post on the passenger side of the truck. You have to remove the tail light which isn't a big deal. Then use a wrench to take the nut off the tail gate stud. Drill a hole in the middle of the 4 holes in the stainless steel plate large enough for the tailgate stud to pass through and place it behind the stud on the tailgate side. Snug up the stud nut but not too tight and close the tailgate very slowly so that the tailgate is closed completely. Tighten the nut on the tail light side so that it stays in place. On my install I had to slightly bend the sheet metal with a Cresent Wrench to allow for clearance of the mounting plate. You can tilt the antenna forward to allow for high speed driving and such. Once you're happy with the antenna position you can tighten down the stud nut so it won't move anymore. I used this for several years and never had a lick of trouble. I routed the coax between the bottom of the tail light and the bumber and there is an opening below the tail light that allows easy access to the underside of the truck. Then route the coax along the fender over to the passenger side rear door and take it to where you need it. Like I said, this worked great with or without the big spring on my 102" whip. I also want to thank everyone that posts here for great ideas on mounting antennas. It helps us all out. :)
 
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