VHF antenna hood mount?

Does anyone know of an "L bracket" style vhf radio antenna bracket that locates an antenna on the outboard side of the hood on a 2nd gen Tacoma? I had one for my 1994 truck but there is now additional bulk in that area which doesn't allow that bracket to work. And no, I am not drilling in the roof and I have a canopy so mounting in the bed or on the rail isn't an option and I think that looks incredibly red neck anyway and is a very poor ground plane.

 

You want this mount and connector if you have a Motorola radio

This mount and connector if you have a Kenwood

Then for an antenna you can go cheap or heavy duty. They are also available in black.

Use tek-screws to mount it to the inside lip of your fender. Trust me, nobody will ever notice holes in that spot if you ever sell the truck.

Forget about using any type of mount like last pictured. It is too close to the body of the truck and will screw up the radiation pattern, that's if you can even get the antenna to tune at all. Plus it's too much RF exposure to your face.

 

Door Ding - Thanks for the tip. I just got my bumpers from Relentless and didn't have a clue Eric did other stuff. This looks to be the best option at this point but until I see one I won't know. But, it does look promising! I am goint to see if he builds them in aluminum, maybe somewhere bewteen 1/8"-3/16".

Barefoot Bandit - The L-bracket type DO NOT work on the new Tacomas. Like I mentioned in my post there is some what looks to be both glue build up as well as I assume a structural bend now in the bodywork where you would mount the L-bracket so they are worthless unless you want to grind on your body which I have intention of doing. If you're talking about the radiation pattern of the outgoing RF signal the Relentless bracket would decrease your outgoing signal to the rear, should have a fabulous signal going forward with a moderate signal to the sides and will not affect the incoming signal in the least in any direction.

Thanks guys

 

I invented the bracket that Relentless sells and never ever had any issues. obviously not as good as a NMO in the middle of the roof, but it does the trick. Much better than on the bed rail. The obstruction of view is minimal. the hood can open all the way. what kind of radio is this for?

 

You really shouldnt recommend antennas or mounts unless you know what kind of radio he is using. Would hate to see someone with limited knowledge try to use one of those antennas for CB or UHF. The first one wouldn't even work on 2m VHF without some Modification.

 

4RunnerSeth,

Thanks for the response. I was thinking the same thing when I read your post. I guess it's the problem with the annonimity of the Internet. I will be using an NMO mount with the bracket probably a full length Maxrad antenna with the thin wire whip and no spring. As for radio. Not sure yet. I don't like ny of the possible mounting locations and WILL NOT be putting it under the radio in that slot or defacing my truck by cutting up anything. I have a couple different Icom's which have been "opened up" as wel as a Bendix King that came out of my wildland truck. I also may just run the antenna and use the antenna as a booster for my handheld BK. Not sure yet. Oh, and it wold be nice if Eric would email back so I could get some answers. Or, could you build one? I need it thin enough to use the NMO style mount, probably out of aluminum. Your thoughts?

 

Did you ever get this antenna mounted? I have a 2014 Tacoma and need to mount my ham and cb antennas.

 

I bought a SS front fender L-bracket at the local radio shop, it was bent to fit the step in the inner edge of the front fender. I was suprised they had a bracket designed for the 2nd gens, but it was a pleasant suprise. I have no idea of the brand or part number, it didn't have any packaging unfortunately.