Antenna Placement 2002 F150

[davidjacobs2012]

I was wondering if anybody could help me with installing an antenna in/on my truck bed.
I'm deciding whether to rig a mirror mount against the front of the bed or get stake hole mounts. I have a spray in bedliner with plastic molding around the top of the bed.
Either way, I have to figure out how to run the antenna cable into the cab. I have plastic molding inside the cab on the floor kind of like the bedliner material. Can anybody help me please?

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[bharvey2]

I own a 1999 F150. I mounted a 2M/70cm, 5/8 wave HAM antenna in one of the stake pockets closest to the cab. I had to fabricate my own fork pocket bracket as the top of the bed rail is angled by about 10-15 degrees. I ran the coax down between the inner and outer walls of the truck bed and through a vent hole I found at the back of the cab between the cab and the bed. No visible or exposed (to damage) coax. While it isn't the best location as far as RF performance goes, it works pretty well.

The vent wasn't easy to see and I'm not sure I would have every noticed it if I wasn't looking for a way to run coax into the cab. I found it easier to see from under the truck than above. I suspect it exists to allow air from the vents and A/C to flow out of the cab. I have a king cab (smaller seats behind the front seats, not the full size crew) so the vent is behind the rear seat. Take a look and see if you have those vents in yours. I suspect you may. You'll have to run bare coax and terminate your own PL259 but it should make for a clean installation.

 

[davidjacobs2012]

We should have the same generation truck. I do have two vents on the rear of the cab. I'll try to look a little more closely at them. Was it easy to run the coax through that vent?

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[bharvey2]

It's been a few years since the installation but I don't recall it being particularly difficult. The vents were partially covered by the seat back so it wasn't so easy to do from inside. I think I ran the coax from the outside into the cab and reached up behind the seat to fish it through. I don't recall if I had to take the back seat out to do it. In my truck the back of the rear seat is stationary and the bottom flips completely over to create a storage deck. I think that in the later models the bottom of the rear seat flips up.

 

[davidjacobs2012]

I don't think I'll have much of a problem. I have a regular cab so I'll have to move the bench seat forward

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[bharvey2]

Yeah, if the vents are there, it should be easier for you. I mounted my radio under the rear seat and ran cables for a remote faceplate and mic. - Fairly common with mobile HAM gear but I've never seen it done with a CB.

Before I found the vent, I was all set to drill a hole in the bottom of the cab and use a rubber grommet. If you have no vent, that would still be a good option for you.

 

[davidjacobs2012]

Okay. Thanks for the quick replies and tips

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[freebird63]

I have a 97 ford f150, I have my 102" SS whip mounted up front between the hood and fender and I also have my 2/440 meter antenna mounted on the other side.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I did a headache rack mount on my 02. Coax went through a plug in the rear of the underside of the cab (allowed it to drip). Easy to get to by just pulling the vinyl flooring out of the drivers corner back a about 4". Didn't have to move the seat, just the utilized the lay forward button on the back of the driver's seat to give me a little room.

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