Attached is a photo of the antennas mounted on the toolbox. On the sides are Larsen NMO2/70B antennas attached to the lids of the toolbox. In the center is a Larsen NMO50B which is attached to the box.
I really wanted to isolate the radios from the vehicle electrical system as much as possible. By using an auxiliary battery, the radios pull power from the battery rather than the truck. I have no noise problems and the radios stay powered up when I start the vehicle.
W9RXR - my hat is off to you. You have executed your truck's antennas/bed quite exactly how I've been planning mine. Was just at a hamfest this weekend, and could find nothing like this idea - finally another example to work from! That is one seriously nice, albeit seriously spendy, toolbox! Gullwing makes it possible to open w/o removing the whips. The dimple design allows for good mounting of NMO's where diamondplate really does not. Doing a toolbox AND a tonneau is nice - I assume it's a custom Extang?
I tapped into the OEM trailer battery charge circuit which is controlled by a relay in the underhood fuse box. That relay is only energized when the engine is running, so I have no worries about discharging the vehicle's battery when the engine is off. My install in the Ford Expedition that preceded this F-150 would sometimes result in a dead starting battery. That won't happen now.
Did you tap back at the connector, or in the middle of the run somewhere? Fed up through the front box vents? Nice idea for isolation, and depending on where you mounted the radios, possibly shorter runs for power. Certainly a well executed and well considered 1 off install, Robert!
The performance of the antennas is not 100%. I tried to lay out the spacing so the antennas were more than 19" (roughly a quarter wave on 2m) from the cab and from each other. But I'm sure I have some pattern issues. I also need to improve the grounding of the toolbox.
Any antenna setup is a tradeoff, right?!
As for the stake pocket mounts, read the information about Ford F-150s on the Geotool web site very carefully. It sounds like his mounts will work on an F-150, but you gotta jump through some hoops.
I kind of like the idea/look of twin whips in the rear stakes, but to be honest, I think it's asking for vandalism by being so high profile. It's a more clear line of sight, but not as good of a ground plane location...seems just not as clean of a design, I guess.
Would you mind showing off the inside of your toolbox, and also how you've done your radios in the cab? If it's done as professionally as Jim's, (and one can only assume it is) this has developed into a seriously high class install thread, and I'm going to have to up my game plan a bit!