Brother has a new 2020 tundra and does not want to drill a hole in the roof, 60K I understand why. Looking for an option in mounting antenna, VHF NMO. Also does not want it on the hood with an L bracket. This one has me stumped. Any ideas would be great.
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2020 Tundra NMO mounting ideas.
- Thread starter P25Radio
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Glass mount antenna
bchappuie
Member
Fender bracket. I have a couple on my PU i don't want holes in.
There's a couple of option for the Tacoma that might be available on the Tundra as well.
I have a bracket that uses the hood bolts to provide an NMO mount. Take a look here: 2005-2015 Tacoma Hood Hinge CB/AUX. Mount
There's other brackets which use the tailgate bolts but I'm not sure if an NMO mount is an option.
The only local fellow I know of with a Tundra drilled his.
I have a bracket that uses the hood bolts to provide an NMO mount. Take a look here: 2005-2015 Tacoma Hood Hinge CB/AUX. Mount
There's other brackets which use the tailgate bolts but I'm not sure if an NMO mount is an option.
The only local fellow I know of with a Tundra drilled his.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Tell him to man-up and drill the hole. Price of the truck doesn't matter. It won't impact resale value and it will do less damage to do it right the first time.
If performance doesn't matter (sounds like it if he doesn't want to drill) then just use a handheld inside the truck.
Seriously, we go through this all the time, NMO mounts don't impact resale value. Scratches/damage from mag mounts, clip on mounts, trunk lip mounts, etc. will cost more in the long run.
I love drilling into virgin metal but not on his truck and I respect his decision. We were thinking square tubing from the front of the bed frame to just above the roof behind the rear window. No glass mount with a 100 watt radio. I even went as far to remove the 3rd brake light lens and make a thin mount bend it in the shape of an "L" and reinstall the 4 screws. But cutting for the lights and the real tight measurements was not worth it. I have seen these a good idea but not for the money,and no tundra mount.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Time to change his mind. I've popped holes in more expensive trucks than that.
As for the tubing mount or mounting off the third brake light, you won't have a suitable ground plane. Yeah, you can use a 1/2 wave antenna...
But what's the point of having a 100 watt radio and then crippling the antenna? Seems like your buddy has his priorities in the wrong order. There's going to be some work needed to run power for the radio, mount the remote head, speakers, mic mount, I guess I don't get the attitude of needing a 100 watt radio but going whimpy when it comes to the antenna.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
And I wouldn't want an antenna down at fender level on the hood running 100 watts. That's a lot of RF right up close to the passengers.
Perhaps one of the Breedlove Pocket mount options will work. A couple buddies use them for HF and or VHF. The HF mount was put into a back corner to give it some distance due to the power. They either painted them, or had them painted to match their trucks.
RFI-EMI-GUY
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Firekite
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100W VHF even assuming only minimal antenna gain puts even an 8’ bed well under the safe limit of RF energy. You’d have to drop it to 35W or less, and it’s a compromised setup without a proper ground plane and who knows what kind of radiation pattern. Just drill the hole in the center of the roof. Do it right the first time.
RFI-EMI-GUY
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$330 clams to avoid drilling into the roof. Save the money and drill the hole. Later you can use a self sealing stem bolt to fill the hole.
I am for drilling a hole, love to drill into virgin roofs.
The vehicle is his not mine, Thumb screws coming out this week, the pain begins!!
The vehicle is his not mine, Thumb screws coming out this week, the pain begins!!
Mounting the radio is easy behind the rear seat, as far as the control head, 03 control head with a magnet on the back of it and a magnet mounted behind the plastic on the dash so no holes. Power is already there from a project that has been installed and fused for a 12v compressor. Tapping off a power junction block the hot side which goes direct to battery and fused 8G wire,ground wire the same but no fuse.
Larsen makes 3rd brake light mounts and Bulletproof diesel. just google 3rd brake light antenna mounts.
Again, others have said it - convince him to either do it right (drill the roof) or don't install the radios. You either get subpar performance, which means you might as well not bother, or you do it right and use the radios to their full potential. Show him this thread if you have to (minus the silly "window mount" comment...those are pathetic antennas, I don't care what anyone says...).
He'll ugly up his truck with a lousy install but won't properly drill and mount the antennas? It's a much cleaner look to do it right and drill...plus, as we all know, the performance is best then.
He'll ugly up his truck with a lousy install but won't properly drill and mount the antennas? It's a much cleaner look to do it right and drill...plus, as we all know, the performance is best then.
sloop
Member
A corner truck bed mount (MFJ-349) works great. If he has a tool box he can mount the antenna to the box, just make sure not to forget to ground the mount properly. Both have worked for me and I didn't have to worry about low ceiling parking decks or tree branches taking out my antenna. BTW I had a Tundra but now downsized to a Nissan Frontier and used the bed mount on both.
sloop
Member
Oops, forgot to mention that I was running a Motorola mounted to the back of the cab with the head mounted on the lower part of the dash above the transmission hump and used a knock-out plug inside the jack area to feed the antenna cable through.
I hear ya but his truck and my radios, VHF XTL5000 are not cheap. Will wait and see.
prcguy
Member
I've got a 2008 Tundra and came close to drilling my NMO roof mount right in the dealers parking lot. I would have if I had my drill because I wanted to play radio on the long drive home from the dealer.
Doing this will not affect the resale value by a penny. It will give the best performance and its not hard to do but you do have to be careful around the air bags around the headliner perimeter. My radios are bolted down under the back seat so running the coax to the rear was very easy. Just do it and enjoy a solid antenna install for the life of the vehicle.
Doing this will not affect the resale value by a penny. It will give the best performance and its not hard to do but you do have to be careful around the air bags around the headliner perimeter. My radios are bolted down under the back seat so running the coax to the rear was very easy. Just do it and enjoy a solid antenna install for the life of the vehicle.
Does your brother like cars? Tell him that installing an XTL5000 and not mounting the antenna on the roof is like pairing a big block V8 with a CVT transmission - tons of power that will be lost because of a horribly inefficient component in the system. I agree with 03msc, show him this thread so he can understand why his decision will have undesirables results. I'll echo what the others have said too; NMO mounts have never affected the resale value of any of my trucks. He did more to harm the resale by driving it off the dealer's lot than drilling a hole for an antenna mount will ever do.
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