Many people are afraid to punch holes in the roof of their vehicles, or drill holes into the trunk lid. Sometimes the excuse is that it may cause leaks. Well a correctly installed NMO mount will not leak and can hold up to the test of time.
My 1987 Suburban, that had NMO mounts on the roof for most of its life is shown here. Up front is an Antennex UHF Phantom antenna. (2nd antenna, as the first one corroded apart.) Then a black cone shaped satellite phone antenna. And nearest to the camera's point of view, a Laird "whisker" or "coat hanger" antenna. None of these have ever leaked. (The Laird has been replaced a couple of times due to corrosion also.These are cheap from Tessco.)
However, being a 28 year old truck that has lived outside most of its life, the paint was flaking off of the roof and hood. To stop this before corrosion settled in, I used epoxy boat bottom paint. This is the black paint you see on the roof. Makes it very easy to wash now.
NMO antennas can hold up very well, if they are installed correct the first time. It is very likely that the truck is going to fall apart before the antenna mounts do.
My 1987 Suburban, that had NMO mounts on the roof for most of its life is shown here. Up front is an Antennex UHF Phantom antenna. (2nd antenna, as the first one corroded apart.) Then a black cone shaped satellite phone antenna. And nearest to the camera's point of view, a Laird "whisker" or "coat hanger" antenna. None of these have ever leaked. (The Laird has been replaced a couple of times due to corrosion also.These are cheap from Tessco.)
However, being a 28 year old truck that has lived outside most of its life, the paint was flaking off of the roof and hood. To stop this before corrosion settled in, I used epoxy boat bottom paint. This is the black paint you see on the roof. Makes it very easy to wash now.
NMO antennas can hold up very well, if they are installed correct the first time. It is very likely that the truck is going to fall apart before the antenna mounts do.
