F150 Antenna Mount Ideas

kk4vmm · Sep 28, 2014

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for ideas on mounting a dual band antenna on my new F150 Supercrew I purchased yesterday. On my Tacoma I had before this truck, a Tacomaworld forum member fabricated a powder coated antenna mount that used existing bolts on the tailgate area. Prior to that, I used a firestik vertical surface mount in the same area, but it began rusting the metal on my truck. I don't want to go that route again.

Here's my dilemma. I don't like fender mounts for the hood area. I'd drill the hole for a NMO mount, but only have about 4 inches of clearance between my roof and the garage door when parking it inside. Taking it on and off every day or folding it over isn't practical. I don't have stake hole pockets on the bed rails on this truck.

Anyone know of custom tailgate mounts for the F150 like I had on my tacoma? Other ideas? I was looking at the Comet B-10 NMO antenna (12" tall), but don't know how it would fair hitting the garage door 4 inches up every day.

Thanks in advance!

AK9R · Sep 28, 2014

Actually, your truck does have stake pockets. On the F-150 SCrews, they are hidden under the black plastic cap that's on top of the bed sides.

GeoTool used to make antenna mounts for stake pockets, but they seem to be on a hiatus.

Though you don't care for front fender lip mounts, that may be your only solution. Here's a listing for an NMO mount that attaches to one of the screws that holds the front fender:

http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/ford-f150-2009-2014-ford-expedition-2009-2014-4092.html

I have a 2011 F-150 XLT SCrew 4WD. I installed a cross-bed tool box and mounted my antennas to the box lids.

kk4vmm · Sep 28, 2014

Thanks for the reply! Are you familiar with the Comet B-10 NMO antenna? I'm wondering how long the solid piece that holds the whip is and how flexible the whip is. If it could take smacking the garage door and bend without damaging anything, NMO on the roof would work for me.

kk4vmm · Sep 28, 2014

One more question, W9BU.

Would it be possible to use a base loaded Larsen antenna, designed for 11 meters? The reason I ask is this. If it's base loaded, wouldn't that mean the whip could be extra short to achieve 1/4 wave 2 meter antenna (which would also work as 3/4 wave on 440)? Is there a way to calculate how many inches of antenna the base load accounts for?

Thanks!

AK9R · Sep 28, 2014

I think I owned a Comet B-10 NMO for a while. It was on a luggage rack mount on a Ford Explorer. One trip into the home garage with a forgetful driver (me) and that was the end of that B-10. It's fairly stiff. The tapered area snapped in two.

The base loading coils on Larsen, and other base loaded antennas, are tuned for their intended frequency. You might be able to cut down the whip on a Larsen NMO27 and get it to resonate on 2m, but it might not be very efficient or sufficiently broad banded.

A quarter-wave whip for 2m is roughly 19 inches long. The Larsen NMOQ is pretty flexible and can take a lot of beating.

All that said, I'd still look at the fender mount I mentioned. I know a guy who drives a Chevy Avalanche. He parks it in his garage at home and in an underground parking garage at work. He has antennas similar to the Comet SBB-5 on both front fenders (he has two radios in the truck). The antennas work fine, don't have clearance problems, and he doesn't have to get out of the truck to fold them down.

ofd8001 · Sep 28, 2014

Noting that you don't like fender mounts, let me offer that I use them with good results. My antenna options were quite limited however on my '13 supercrew. I have a moon roof and park in the garage at home, so a roof mount was out. Also I have a fiberglass bed cover, so fender mounts were about the only choice. As much as I enjoy amateur radio and scanning, drilling holes in a then new vehicle wasn't an option.

On the left side I have one fender mount for my amateur radio antenna and on the right I have a fender mount for the scanner antenna.

I don't have any reception/transmission issues.

kk4vmm · Sep 29, 2014

Thanks guys! I appreciate the helpful info! Yeah, I've heard good things about the performance of fender mounts, I just personally don't care for the look of an antenna on each side of my hood (fm radio on one side and ham on the other). Looks like I may not have a choice at this point. Thanks again!

bharvey2 · Sep 29, 2014

I have a 99 F150. I mounted a Diamond NR 770 antenna in a home made stake pocket mount. I used LMR 240 flex to my radio mounted under the rear seat (It's a king cab) I also had a concern about roof mounted antenna clearance and was getting tired of removing the mag mount. It doesn't provide an ideal solution given that substandard RF ground but it is at least as good as the 1/4 wave mag mount on the roof. Plus, now I only need to remove it when going through the car wash or if I'm in an area that might be prone to vehicle vandalism or people with "sticky" fingers. It's been doing well for that last year and a half or so.

kk4vmm · Sep 29, 2014

ofd8001 said:
Noting that you don't like fender mounts, let me offer that I use them with good results. My antenna options were quite limited however on my '13 supercrew. I have a moon roof and park in the garage at home, so a roof mount was out. Also I have a fiberglass bed cover, so fender mounts were about the only choice. As much as I enjoy amateur radio and scanning, drilling holes in a then new vehicle wasn't an option.

On the left side I have one fender mount for my amateur radio antenna and on the right I have a fender mount for the scanner antenna.

I don't have any reception/transmission issues.

Would you happen to have a pic of your mounted antennas?

Thanks again to everyone for the responses and assistance!

ofd8001 · Sep 29, 2014

Yes. The passenger side is the scanner antennna. Had to do some bending on the mast. There is an angle on the fender mount bracket so the antenna on the driver side is level, but when you use the mount on the right, the angle is off. Not too noticeable though.

The other picture is where the GPS puck is on the dashboard. The wire for it runs under the tray on the dashboard. The scanner and amateur radio are in the center console for security and appearance purposes.

kk4vmm · Sep 29, 2014

ofd8001 said:
Yes. The passenger side is the scanner antennna. Had to do some bending on the mast. There is an angle on the fender mount bracket so the antenna on the driver side is level, but when you use the mount on the right, the angle is off. Not too noticeable though.

The other picture is where the GPS puck is on the dashboard. The wire for it runs under the tray on the dashboard. The scanner and amateur radio are in the center console for security and appearance purposes.

Thanks! Where did you pick up that bracket? Does it use existing bolts on the truck?

ofd8001 · Sep 29, 2014

I got the brackets from Pro-fit. I think Pro-fit doesn't sell them retail any longer, but you can get them from the place noted in Post 2 above.

Very simple install using an existing bolt on the fender. Took longer to find the right wrench than it did to install them.

NoCoFire · Oct 9, 2014

Maybe you have already made your installation but here is my install on a 07. The radio configurations have changed since then but the mount on my passenger side did hold a B10 NMO for a couple of years. I have the same garage issues and always hold my breath when I have to leave and the snow has piled up against the door. I always go slow where I estimate my light bar is located - and listen for the sound of it being destroyed by the header. so far so good. Good luck to you.

http://forums.radioreference.com/pictures-your-shack-mobile-setup/199900-2007-f150.html

F150 Antenna Mount Ideas

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