CB/Ham Antenna Mounting on 2018 F350 w/ tonneau

[BigDaveZJ]

I've got a 2018 F350 Crew Cab Short Box on the way, and while it won't be my primary Expo vehicle, I want full comms capability in the truck.
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My plan is a Retrax or similar tonneau cover: https://www.retrax.com/p-36464-retraxpro-mx.html
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When I'm towing, this is really a non-issue as the tonneau cover will have to be in the open position, exposing the bed, which is the easiest spot to mount an antenna. I want the ability to have 2 antennas even with the tonneau closed though, and installed in a clean manner that looks good on a brand new $70k truck.
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I'm struggling with where to put the antennas so I'm reaching out for ideas. I was thinking I might be able to mount them to the top of the box that contains the tonneau when its rolled up. Any other ideas?

 

[Tex68w]

Maybe a bracket that mounts on the backside of the bed between the cab, or a bracket somewhere around the cowling on the drivers side similar to the factory antenna? If you will be running an aftermarket front bumper, maybe somewhere up front? You can always run a temporary magnetic mount to use when towing too.

 

[ckupq]

Can you be any more vague? What CB antenna? What frequency Ham? What type of HAM antenna? Are you going to have anything that might block your signal or are these just strictly for looks?

FWIW I got a 2M/440 whip on top of my sierra and its fine for the application, if it gets hit, it falls over but not much causes it to fall. I've thought recently about attaching a CB antenna to it, but that would probably be a front fender lip mount.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

I was thinking about a bracket between the bed and the cab. Not sure how much room is there on the new trucks though. It would work on my 7.3, but I feel like the gap between bed and cab is smaller now.

If I could somehow mount the antenna inside the stake pocket that might work. Somehow feed the antenna line up through it, attach the antenna to some type of plate that sandwiches around the bed rail or something.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

Not the cleanest, but may work for the CB: https://www.ebay.com/i/202042626526?chn=ps

 

[DaveInDenver]

Hank Breedlove makes some of the stoutest mounts for antennas out there and they are beautiful examples of machining to-boot.

Lip:
https://www.breedlovemounts.com/front-bed-rail-bracket.html

Stake pocket:
https://www.breedlovemounts.com/stake-pocket-brackets.html

 

[Buliwyf]

Doesn't the bed cover pretty much wipe out any bed rail mounts? Maybe you could bolt a 90 degree plate to the front of the bed, that folds up, back, and over the cover.

I'm adding a 90 degree plate to the boxlink plate to mount my antenna. Maybe, I'm on the fence whether or not I want to billy up a brand new truck when these radios are mostly obsolete.

 

[BigDaveZJ]

The Retrax covers have little cutouts that allow access to the stake pockets. I've spent a lot of time already on the Breedlove site and had somehow missed these mounts: https://www.breedlovemounts.com/ezn-stake-pocket-bracket.html

That's exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

 

[Tex68w]

Wow, those Breedlovemounts are the tits!

 

[DaveInDenver]

Wow, those Breedlovemounts are the tits!

He's a great machinist. Not the cheapest mounts but they are top notch and stout. Flex is *not* a problem. They are actually intended in many cases to hold up large ham antennas for HF, bug catcher, screwdrivers, etc. So CB antennas aren't going to stress them in the least.