LR3 antenna location

[GORM]

Can anyone direct me to the best place to mount a CB antenna on the LR3? I do not have a roof rack nor the solid steel front or rear aftermarket bumpers. I will eventually get the frontline roof rack. I am seeing posts about using a NGP (non ground plane) marine antenna - wondering if that is the best option given the amount of aluminum on my vehicle.

I would prefer some kind of permanent mount that I can add the antenna to when needed versus magnetic mount that has to be force through the rear window opening.

Would still like to know what most are using on the LR3 and that may sway my opinion.

 

[4x4junkie]

Aluminum is just as good of a ground plane as steel (infact, it's probably a better ground plane, as aluminum has greater conductivity than steel). The caveat is you just can't stick magnetic-mount antennas to it (which you said you preferred not to use anyway).

Some here have mentioned using NMO mounts thru the roof, which I cannot disagree at all with as far as performance goes. 3/8" stud mounts ("ball mounts", etc) exist as well (which offers more options for antennas), though their quality sometimes can be variable (Hustler was always a good brand, not sure if they're still around... been out of the loop for a bit). If you have a roof rack in the cards though, I would say go ahead and bite the bullet to get that out of the way first. There are a variety of different mounts available that will work to mount an antenna to the rack (provided the rack is metal and is of significant size or is well-grounded... again, it being aluminum or steel won't matter as far as it working as a counterpoise for your antenna ground). I suggest avoid a non-ground-plane type CB antenna though, I've yet to see one that works even half as well as any standard antenna that is at least 5' tall.

 

[AlbanyTom]

options

I agree with the above, and would add this - it depends on how well you want the antenna to work vs. what how you want it to look.

some options:

NMO in the roof, base loaded antenna w/ wire whip.

3/8 ball mount on the rear quarter panel w/ 102" steel whip. Looks old or redneck, but there's a reason you'll see something like this option on military vehicles - it works, probably best performance, and it's rugged.

clamp mount ("trunk mount) but on the hood, with either short (2-3' or so) hamstick type antenna or base loaded w/ steel whip. Hamstick type is a helical loaded fiberglass antenna. I don't think they have any advantage to a base loaded design, except maybe better power handling, and they're probably easier to find. Disadvantage is that they're easier to damage than a steel whip, and easier to damage the truck where they mount if you hit something.

Some kind of off the shelf or custom mount to come out of the area between the rear hatch and the truck.

Wait until you add a tire carrier, rear bumper, or roof rack, and mount it there.

I'd probably take the last option, because it would probably look best and be easy and reliable. And I'd probably use a 3/8" mount on a piece of 1/4" or so plate with a hamstick, because it would work just about as well as a base loaded antenna, look better IMO, and would be easier to find. The mount would be strong enough to support a 1/4 wave whip if I ever wanted to do that.

But what I'm sure I would do is what I did with my new truck. Put an NMO right in the middle of the roof, and put a 2m antenna on it.

 

[nwoods]

I put mine out the back, routing the wire through the spare rubber gromment on the driver's side rear tail light, but I do NOT recommend this location. It effectively masks a significant portion of your antenna from any signals originating in front of the vehicle.

However, the small panel of roof between the glass roof and the tailgate is sheet metal, and thus magnetic, perfect for a mag mount antenna base.
For a lighter weight 2M Ham antenna, a clamp on mount to the edge of the tail gate glass worked great for me. Not the best picture, but you can see both antenna's here:

 

[JimBiram]

The diamond trunk mount works great on the edge of the upper tailgate with a dual band nmo. It is adjustable so you can tilt it backwards in brushy conditions to minimize breakage from trees...and if you get a 5/8 wave antenna, ground plane doesn't matter.


Every Day is a Good Day Surfing...Some are just Better Than Others

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[AlbanyTom]

Jim means 5/8 wave 2m ham...a 5/8 wave CB antenna would be like 17 feet long or something. But if that mount works well on the LR3, you could either get an NMO antenna tuned for CB (there is a thread on this), or an NMO-3/8 adapter, and use a 3' or so fiberglass CB antenna, with a spring. I wouldn't use it without a small spring, or you risk tearing up your taillight if you hit something.

A disadvantage is that it's so close to the metal rear corner of the truck, but unless you put something up top, or on the hood, that's tough to avoid with most SUV's. Run short copper wire from the ground of the antenna mount to somewhere close on the body of the truck, and I think that would be a decent setup.