Routing Cb Antenna

[Longhunter]

Need some help routing the CB antenna on my 2009 Chevy Crew Cab LT. Want to mount the ant. using a bedrail or stake hole mount. Looks like I could run it through some kind of vent hole in the rear of the cab, but can't find the outlet on the inside of the cab behind the rear seats.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

John

 

Longhunter

[peterarch]

For when i installed my foglight and taillight strobes. I mounted the strobe pack under the back seat and drilled a 1 inch hole on the angled part of the floor of the cab just inside the kickplate near the door frame and ran the strobe wires along the frame rails of the truck. I will try to get pictures tomorrow, and then I painted over the edges of the hole to prevent rust, ran the wires and siliconed the hole. That may be the best route. Im not sure of any other accesses in the cab that you can run an antenna wire through. Of course a 1 inch hole would be overkill for a cb antenna cable.

[hockeypro1411]

For when i installed my foglight and taillight strobes. I mounted the strobe pack under the back seat and drilled a 1 inch hole on the angled part of the floor of the cab just inside the kickplate near the door frame and ran the strobe wires along the frame rails of the truck. I will try to get pictures tomorrow, and then I painted over the edges of the hole to prevent rust, ran the wires and siliconed the hole. That may be the best route. Im not sure of any other accesses in the cab that you can run an antenna wire through. Of course a 1 inch hole would be overkill for a cb antenna cable.

 

Might not be too much overkill. Assuming he's using store-bought CB coax, the connectors can sometimes be quite large.

[c4cruiser]

I have read about different schools of thought regarding the length of coax cable that should be run and I think it's based on the wave length. IIRC, 18' or 9" are the acceptable lengths to use. Maybe not a big deal but as long as the antenna is tuned for the lowest SWR, I think that cable length may not be a big deal.

 

For routing from the bed, why not run the cable along the frame, going up the firewall and into the cab? There are enough rubber plugs on the firewall that you should be easily able to punch a small hole and push the cable thru where it can end near where the radio will be mounted. That way you won't have to deal with cable under the carpet or removing trim.

 

CB coax cable can be purchased either with connectors at both ends or in bulk. It's a simple job to install the connectors. At the antenna end, most antennas only require a ring terminal for the center lead and grounding the copper sheath to metal. The radio connector is easily installed by trimming the layers of cable to specific lengths and some connectors are just twist-on. Any local Radio Shack or even a Best Buy will have cable and connectors.

[Mazer18]

Hey LongHunter. Welcome to the forum.

 

I used to run a stake hole mount on my GMT-900. I did just what you mentioned and ran the coax right through the "vent hole" in the rear of the cab. There's one on both the passenger's side and driver's side of the cab. There will be a rubber flap covering the hole which you lift up and feed your coax through.

 

The opening on my Regular Cab was directly behind the seats. On your Crew Cab I would imagine it is directly behind your outer rear seats There is a recess in the body metal and an opening in the carpet material. Reach your hand through that opening and toward the sides of the cab. You should be able to feel around in there and find the vent opening and pull your coax through.

 

Let me know how it works out. If you have any trouble I'll try to get you a few pictures to help out.

[pwall]

I would appreciate the pictures if you can.

I will be putting an antenna on my truck in the next week or so, and I've been wondering how to route the coax.

This thread couldn't have been posted at a better time..... ;)

 

Thanks!

[hockeypro1411]

On my GMT-800 regular cab, I had to pull the plastic piece off the back wall to access the vent. After that, I ran it behind all the trim pieces, under the door sill, above the pedals, and into my CB that's mounted under the dash.

 

The problem with running the coax through the firewall is that you should try to keep it out of the engine compartment as much as possible. The engine will create noise and interference with the radio. Of course that can be fixed with a ground loop isolator, but that's needless if you stay out of the engine bay.

[Grebbler]

I have always had to drill a hole in my PU's. Since I ran ball or pl-259 mounts I had a cut end to snake with.

 

I would get a line on the drain hole and drill a matching hole in the cab about 1 inch from the rear wall. I used a 5/16 bit for rg-58 cable and sealed it. If I needed a bigger hole for an end or some power wires, I used a 3/4 or 7/8 bit and used a blank grommet and put sealer in the outer groove of the grommet. I could then make a tight hole as needed. It's much easier to seal a grommet than get a big glob of silicone to stay in place in a big hole while it sets.

 

And yes, for best performance, use a length of cable that falls on a 1/4 wavelength null point.

 

27 MHZ radio is known as the 11 meter band as in an 11 meter long sine wave. 11 meters = 36.0892 feet

Divide that by 4 and you get 9.0223 feet.

 

Don't pull that cable tight and don't seal the drain hole unless you have a bed topper or cap. Leave a hanging U bend to allow for body flex, better bed drainage and the U makes a nice drip edge. If you are concerned about the edge of the hole abrading the cable, wrap a few layers of good PVC tape, like Scotch 33+, onto the cable for a few inches either side of the hole.

 

I use cable guides that have a good exterior grade sticky tape to keep the cable neat in the bed and under the rails.

 

Just some thoughts...

 

Ed

[Mazer18]

Pics inbound....10 minutes.

[kennethlf3]

I had a 99 and I ran my coax through the hole in the fire wall where the steering column goes through. (which is what I've done on other trucks too, But I haven't ran my coax in my 08 yet. I always mount my cb on the floor in the center and make it look nice so you don't see cords running everwhere. I also mounted another radio under my seat in my 99 and there was a little metal plug that I pulled out and ran a coax through and then siliconed the hole. Never any problems with either of these methods.

[Mazer18]

OK I took a few pictures. Hopefully they will be good enough to guide you guys into the area.

 

This picture is taken from standing in my bed looking down into the gap between the bed and the cab on the driver's side. You can barely make out the vent in this picture. It is pressed against the cab just to the right of center in the picture. There is also a vent in on the passenger's side in the same location.

 

Here is another picture for reference. You can again barely see the vent in the center of the picture between the cab and bed gap. Look on your truck. You will see a vertical running strip of rubber and just beyond it is the vent.

 

This picture is taken laying underneath the truck looking up to where the bed and cab meet. That piece against the cab there is the vent. WATCH YOUR EYES. Dirt will fall if you touch anything. Wear safety glasses if you have to.

 

Now that we've located the vent from the outside you can move to the inside.

 

 

This picture is taken just standing in the doorway with the seat pulled forward. There is an opening in the carpet that allows you to access the vent. You can see the opening in the area between my hitch pin and seat belt buckle.

 

Better view of the opening.

 

Now reach in and up at approximately a 40 degree angle I would guess. You should be able to find the vent holes.

 

 

 

 

What I did was get my antenna(s) set up and get the coax connected to the antenna. Then feed the coax into the vent hole as best you can. Then reach from inside the cab through the carpet opening, grab the coax, and pull the rest of the way through. It can be done with one person but may be easier with two.

 

I had been running dual stake hole mounted whips with one live and one dummy for looks. Whatever you do, make sure you secure your coax. I couldn't get my radio working one day and upon inspection found that my coax had dropped down and rubbed the driveshaft almost the whole way through. Duct tape or zip ties are your friend.

 

I hope this post is somewhat comprehendable and helps you guys get set-up. If not let me know and I'll keep trying to help you. I know these pictures aren't exactly the best. Good Luck!

[Bruins04]

I mounted my antennas on the mirrors

Wire comes up from the bottom of the mirrors & then into the cab.

[adamantiumbullet]

hello there.. i just came across this thread because i was also looking for another site to get truck antennas. i am looking to compare price lists. any help would be appreciated. thanks.