I'm a'scared...need help

excoastie · Jun 10, 2011

If you ever decide to drill a hole, drill a small pilot hole and then use a properly sized Greenlee Punch to cut a perfect hole. I did it on numerous government vehicles and a couple of my own and never screwed it up. Greenlee punches are great.

Of all the recommendations to date, the Back Rack is my favorite. It give you rear window protection and extra tie-downs when hauling stuff. I have one on my truck and will have them on ever truck I own in the future.

But I recommend taking it off road and getting your first scratch on it early. It’ll stop those butterflies in your stomach as you await your first parking lot ding!

C-pher · Jun 11, 2011

Oh, it's a new (to me) truck. It WAS a work truck to the person ahead of me. It's got A LOT of scratches and dents. I'm not worried about that...I'm just not confy with drilling holes into the truck. I have no reason to say why I am...I just am.

And, I'm worried about having an antenna on the top of the truck. Only because I'll never get into the Parking Garages at many of our hospitals and such. And if I'm always taking the antenna off and on to go to work....then it will just never be on. And if it's never on my truck, then what's the point of putting holes in the thing that aren't going to be used.

Garys · Jun 11, 2011

C-pher said:
Oh, it's a new (to me) truck. It WAS a work truck to the person ahead of me. It's got A LOT of scratches and dents. I'm not worried about that...I'm just not confy with drilling holes into the truck. I have no reason to say why I am...I just am.

And, I'm worried about having an antenna on the top of the truck. Only because I'll never get into the Parking Garages at many of our hospitals and such. And if I'm always taking the antenna off and on to go to work....then it will just never be on. And if it's never on my truck, then what's the point of putting holes in the thing that aren't going to be used.

I've been doing installations in vehicles since the mid 1970s and I still get nervous drilling into roofs or trunks, especially if it's a new vehicle. That's why I'm always careful to check what I'm drilling into, what's under it, measure carefully, mark my hole, use a small pilot drill (unless I'm using an antenna hole saw), etc. Also, if you do drill, be sure to blow the metal filings off, not try to wipe them off. Wiping them will cause damage to the finish. My offer of use of my hole saw is still open if you decide to go that way.

I use a mag mount specifically so I can remove it easily when I have to go into a parking garage.

Finalygotabeltfed · Jun 11, 2011

Stop all the talk of pulling headliners!!! No need to.

I've installed thousands of mobile radios and antenni on every kind of vehicle made from bicycles to barges, trains, trucks, cranes, trailers, boats, ambulances, campers and fire trucks and never once pulled a headliner down in any vehicle.

A small electrical fish tape is all you need along with one of these hole saws which will prevent you from penetrating into the vehicles roof space beyond the outer sheetmetal.

View attachment 18126 This or the M.o.t.o.r.o.l.a. equivalent and an NMO base will more than do the trick for any UHF or VHF antenna.

There is no advantage to using the 3/8ths mount on sheetmetal, it will tear the sheetmetal if enough strain is put on it. They were made for thicker mounting surfaces like truck bodies or off road construction vehicles and provide an adjustable nut to accomodate the thicker metal. For a regular car or pickup body, the NMO will do just fine.

Oh, by the way, DRILL THE HOLE!!!! It will not decrease the value of the vehicle or look any worse than some of the oddball placed satelite radio antenni on many newer vehicles.
If you go to sell the vehicle and remove the antenna, Motorola makes an NMO cap in black plastic that looks great and covers the mount with a gasket to prevent any possible water penetration.

Realtor MA · Jun 12, 2011

Not to worry. If the drill slips help is around the corner;

drgrant · Jun 12, 2011

C-pher said:
And if I'm always taking the antenna off and on to go to work....then it will just never be on. And if it's never on my truck, then what's the point of putting holes in the thing that aren't going to be used.

Unless you plan on doing something completely horrible like using a bumper mount, or one of those glass mounted dummy loads that are like 8 inches long, you will have to take the antennas on and off when going into garages anyways, or you'll at least have to use a tilt over mount on them, or one of those motorized mounts. There are no antennas on the market that can survive being on any car/truck in a typical tight parking garage, at least not any that I would call acceptable for continuous use.

-Mike

DavidC77 · Jun 13, 2011

Hey C-per once you figure out a mount you can get on of these:

http://www.k1cra.com/catalog/product.aspx?productID=1621

I used them all the time when I was big into CB's. It just attachs a post to the mount side and then you attach the other post to the antenna, after that you just slide it on and give it a twist to lock it on. They work great, you just twist the antenna off when going into a parking garage or when you stop somewere and don't want your antenna stolen you just twist it off and store it in your truck.

As far as a mount you can see in that link they have mount that hooks onto your mirror post, or you can mount it like you were showing in the bed pocket and just run the cable in through the cab vent.

I've drilled many an antenna mount, at work and for other people that I know. It's not that bad, you could even use one of these in the back of the cab and it would look good. http://www.k1cra.com/catalog/product.aspx?productID=1436 and then just mount the twist connector to that and you will be all set.

Here's their Home Page: http://www.k1cra.com/

Good Luck and break out the drill [wink]

.

DavidC77 · Jun 13, 2011

I'm a'scared...need help

excoastie

C-pher

Garys

Finalygotabeltfed

Realtor MA

drgrant

DavidC77

DavidC77

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