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And another CB antenna install ...

Apocalanche

Apocalanche

Full Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2013
Messages
118
Location
Nebraska
So my previous antenna mount setup put my Avy over 10' tall. I didn't like it as I would clip things with the antennas.

I decided to make a more permanent mount lower in the sail panels. I took the antenna bracket (no modifications needed) and bolted it directly to the sheet metal behind the inside of the sails. I cut a little rectangle out of the sail panel itself for the bracket to slide though. Everything lined up perfectly. The bracket was thin enough to tuck between the metal and plastic. The top of the bracket sticks far enough through the plastic and allow the antenna to be mounted properly. Reduced my SWRs and lowered my height clearance.

Personally, I think this is about as OEM of a look as one can get on the Avy! Should I ever decide to remove the CB, I can bolt chevy emblems over the rectangle cut outs and be good to go!



Antennas are about 16 inches farther apart.


Hang over the side of the cab for better reception and out of the way of the bed.


Coaxial goes behind the sails plastic right behind the rain gutter and before the saddlebag lid.


Closer view. I trimmed the plastic perfectly!


The bracket bolted to the sheet metal sail


Rectangle cut out of plastic sail - to perfection!


Ran the coaxial through the sheetmetal above the midgate glass - and used a rubber grommet.


Hooking the tape inside the opening of the saddlebag, the far corner of the bracket is 16?"


Top of the bracket is 4?" off the bottom of the rain gutter floor


The "top" of the rectable cut into the plastic is about 3" from the bottom "lip/ledge"


I left about 8 inches of coaxial to form the loop up to the bracket.
 
Thanks guys!

All in all, it took me about 3 hours - including forethought - but most of which was deciding whether I really wanted to cut into the sail panels - and what I would do if I screwed up or no longer wanted a CB. I decided on this as a band-aid or post CB option. It will cover the rectangle hole in the sail panel perfectly, and still look clean.

The recommended length of co-phase coaxial is 18' (for best SWR). Luckily I had mounted the body of my CB under my center console - which is exactly where the coaxial ended with nothing to spare. The cable might reach under the drivers side dash if you want to hang your CB under your steering wheel - but that is just an educated guess.


If I had it to do over again, I'd do it exactly the same way.

If you anyone is serious about doing this and want more pics, measurements, or info just let me know.
 
Beautifully done.  Been looking for a spot to mount my six-footer, absolutely hate the hood mounts and my rear bumper spot is by no means ideal.  Might go the route you went, thanks for the idea  (y)
 
Thank you.

I've been thinking about making the rectangle slots in the plastic sail panels a bit larger. Right now it is an absolute fit - a piece of paper could not fit between the bracket and plastic on any of the sides. This gives me concern as I don't know what the thermal expansion of this plastic is. If it expands by 1/32 of an inch, it would cause warpage or stress cracks in the corners. I would think that the rest of the plastic mounting would absorb this, but, not sure.

I'll have to see if I can find a rubber grommet that I could use.
 
I either want to do mine like this or do them in the triangle pieces next to the saddle bags and the tailgate. would look cool I think. gonna go with some either 4 foot or 6 foot ones on each side. gonna get the LED ones that light up. Gonna get white or amber ones
 
09chevyavy said:
I either want to do mine like this or do them in the triangle pieces next to the saddle bags and the tailgate. would look cool I think. gonna go with some either 4 foot or 6 foot ones on each side. gonna get the LED ones that light up. Gonna get white or amber ones
Click to expand...

I put a 12ft HF whip behind the saddle bags. replaced the triangle grab handles.

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,106575.0.html
 
I know this is an old thread, but can you tell me what the antennas and mounts are? Brand and Height?
 
I will point out that you will want your antennae totally perpendicular to the ground for best reception.
Angled will likely be very directional and have reduced range unless you get lucky. 

You want to insure you ground to a solid body panel if at all possible because the bigger and more solid your ground plane the better off you are for range.

And lastly, be very careful of how you do the grommet to the interior. If there is ANY space around the grommet opening you can get water intrusion into the interior. This can be fixed by wrapping electrical tape around your wire until it is a tight fit through the grommet and use silicon around the hole you pass it through. Or just silicon the hole the grommet fits into and the wiring to insure water can't get in. Water WILL get behind your sail panels...

Also make sure you paint or primer any bare metal to prevent rusting.

Love the first pictured setup. If the second one would have been totally vertical then I would give that 5 *'s too...
 
A question on CBs.....do truckers still use them? I have a handheld and I have tried numerous times on the road to pick up truckers but never hear anything. It would be nice to know what is going on ahead on the interstate when traffic comes to a crawl.
 
I have a handheld also I never heard much chatter on it either.
 
Where,s Didit when you need him?  He could answer this question.
 
Granted the CB chatter ain't what it used to be, mostly because a lot of companies have banned the driver from using it, something about a distraction or sumthin. Most have it on, kind of like me, and rarely use it, if its dark where one can't be seen (aka the truck driver) there is more chatter and stupid conversations, lol.  With all the new drivers out there they see it as a useless expense because they are texting on facebook, getting directions from their phone etc etc.  10-4

Didit
 
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