CB antennas and fifth-wheel trailers

[Radshooter]

Just wondering what you guys recommend for CB antennas while pulling a tall fiver. I know you want to get as much antenna above the trailer as possible, but this trailer tops out at around 12' 8". Ideally, a 102" whip on the roof, but that is not practical for parking buildings and trees. I was wondering what you think about co-phased antennas mounted on the front stake pockets? How tall would they need to be? Firestik has them up to 7' tall. If I went with the co-phased, would they reach AROUND the trailer instead of having to go OVER the trailer?

My other option seems to be a magnet mount on the roof. How tall would it have to be? I hear a lot of good things about the Wilson 1000 and 5000. How tall are they?

This truck is my daily driver, so it would be nice to have the CB all the time for traffic reports, not just while pulling.

Thanks for your input and experiences.....

Steve

 

[Mhannink]

i belive that the reason trucks run cophased is because its can reach around the load and not over it and so they get reception well on both sides. plua ive noticed w/ mine empty the signal comes in clearer

 

[Forrest]

I put a 4' stick high up on the front of the 5th wheel, ran the coax down to a PL-259 @ the plug. Worked great, until we tow'd down to the coast & got into some low hanging trees. Whack whack over & over again ... :-laf ... sure shredded it. Replaced it with a shorter center load, then knocked it off on a pine bow.



I think a short antenna sloped back, like the truckers have on their mirrors, maybe mounted on a lower part of the 5th wheel would survive. Sure works better than on the truck.



I've seen some 102" whips mounted up on the front bumper or on the brush guard, just to get away from the 5th wheel. I've got a 2 meter/7cm antenna mounted on the headache rack right now. It's only a problem in the really low parking garages.

 

[Radshooter]

Thanks guys. I thought about the whip on the front, but the wife vetoed it . Fender mounts are out also, as I don't want them in my line of sight. I really don't want to drill holes in the fiver, or the truck for that matter. That is why I was thinking about the stake pocket mounts. That should clear the fiver even in situations where I have to jackknife the rig getting into parking spots.



At one time the 3rd gens were having paint problems. Would a magnetic antenna on the roof increase my chances of paint problems?



I really am leaning toward the cophased stake mounts both for functionality and looks. How tall do you think they should be? The top of the trailer is roughly 7' above the stake pockets. Do I need the 7' whips? I just worry about hitting on stuff when I am not pulling the trailer.



Thanks again... ...

Steve

 

[Pawpaw]

If you use 4' top-loaded fiberglass antennas (like Firestik), they will be tall enough. About 75% of the antenna (which is really the wire wrapping) is in the top half of the whip.



If you go the stake pocket/cophase route, your antennas don't need to be taller than the trailer, just the truck cab. Since you'll have an antenna on each side of your rig, at least one of them will be able to "see" whoever you're talking to behind you, unless they're very close to your trailer. If that's the case, they're close enough to talk to without antennas!



Bob

 

[Hitec.Redneck]

Co-phased antennas work best in the direction between the two antennas. If you have antennas on each truck mirror, the antennas work best in the front to back, back to front directions. They will have nulls to the side. If you mount antennas in the stake bed holes, you want to get as much of the antenna above the cab as possible. You cant beat a 102" whip, that is a 1/4 wave antenna on the cb band, but the lenght is a problem if you frequent parking garages and such. I would run a wilson magnet mount on the cab of the truck. You can remove it when it is not being used. If your 5th wheel is aluminum you may have a problem with high SWR's because of the antenna will be closer to the trailer when you are driving because the whip will bend back due to the wind.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I know this wouldn't be the best performing setup but is there anything a person could just replace his radio ant with that would do the job for CB/AM/FM?

 

[Bob Cochran]

I read someplace that the co-phased antennas to work properly had to be 8 feet between them. I am sure some learned people here can speak to that. On a diesel tractor with them mounted on the mirrors are 8 feet apart. On the bed stake locations they won't be. While you can probably make something to fit in stake holes and extend to the side of the truck to get 8 feet i think you would be knocking them off!!! Hope somebody will respond to this so your antenna investment is not wasted.

 

[Radshooter]

Thanks for bringing that up Bob. I had heard that also, but on the Firestik website, they state they have mounted the antennas as close as 5 foot apart and still get good results as long as they can "see" each other, and are properly tuned.



I just wonder if they will stick out far enough. If mounted on the stake pockets, they will still lack about a foot each of being past the edges of the trailer.



Steve

 

[Pawpaw]

I read someplace that the co-phased antennas to work properly had to be 8 feet between them. I am sure some learned people here can speak to that. On a diesel tractor with them mounted on the mirrors are 8 feet apart. On the bed stake locations they won't be. While you can probably make something to fit in stake holes and extend to the side of the truck to get 8 feet i think you would be knocking them off!!! Hope somebody will respond to this so your antenna investment is not wasted.

In theory, for the absolute best-of-the-best operation, yes. In the real world, tain't necessarily so. It's more important that the two antennas have an unubstructed view of each other, like they would in the front stake pockets.



Even more inportant is to properly adjust the antennas for the lowest possible SWR.



Bob

 

[RSeymon]

Just wondering what you guys recommend for CB antennas while pulling a tall fiver. I know you want to get as much antenna above the trailer as possible, but this trailer tops out at around 12' 8". Ideally, a 102" whip on the roof, but that is not practical for parking buildings and trees. I was wondering what you think about co-phased antennas mounted on the front stake pockets? How tall would they need to be? Firestik has them up to 7' tall. If I went with the co-phased, would they reach AROUND the trailer instead of having to go OVER the trailer?

My other option seems to be a magnet mount on the roof. How tall would it have to be? I hear a lot of good things about the Wilson 1000 and 5000. How tall are they?

This truck is my daily driver, so it would be nice to have the CB all the time for traffic reports, not just while pulling.

Thanks for your input and experiences.....

Steve

I agree with all of the above, Look at my sig. Get all the traffic and chatter I need both towing and as a daily driver.



JMTCW

 

[mgonske]

I use co-phased antennae in the extended stake mounts from FireStik. Around home, I use two-footers so I can get in the garage; on the road, six-footers. The extended mounts also work with my shell.



#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad

 

[Bob Cochran]

Don't want to steal this posting but a question about tuning. If you make up say a 2 foot lead to go from SWR meter to radio then connect antenna to the SWR meter . Now you balance the SWR between channel 1 and 40 then on channel 19 which i run mostly things shoudl be grand right. Except after removing tghe 2 foot test lead and reconnect the antenna does this not ruin all your effort? Or is it not enough change to make a difference? I am sure one of you guys have an answer for this dummy!!! By the way if you use dual co-phase antennnas does it matter which brand? I guess FireStik works with 5 foot seperation what about other brands? Just want all the facts so someone does not spend the money on a cheaper brand and they not work and should have spend more money to begin with, like we never do that HUH!!! :{



mgonske by the way great setup looks really nice. Oo.

 

[Diesel&Donuts]

For whats its worth, a CB tech at a truck stop shop told me that fiberglass trailers don't interfer with the radios signal from and to the antenna. Don't know if he was pulling my leg or not but thats what he said.

Harold

 

[Pawpaw]

When you se the SWR, the meter can only read what's going on at that point, not 2 feet behind it at the radio. Hook up the SWR meter and adjust the antenna(s) for the lowest SWR. Remove the SWR meter and extra coax and it's all good to go.



If you plan to leave the SWR meter in place, that piece of coax should be 3 feet long (or 6 feet, or 9 feet... ).



Antenna brand always matters. Buy the best you can afford. The same applies to your coax. RF principles don't change between brands, but quality sure does! Bargain basement equipment will usually result in bargain basement performance.



Bob

 

[Pawpaw]

For whats its worth, a CB tech at a truck stop shop told me that fiberglass trailers don't interfer with the radios signal from and to the antenna. Don't know if he was pulling my leg or not but thats what he said.

Harold

He's not pulling your leg. RF travels through fiberglass like it's not even there. The metal structure might interfere, but not as bad as a metal trailer.



Bob