Total Chaos Bed Stiffener CB setup?

Hey guys, sort of new to the whole CB world but I'm trying to mount my antenna to the TC bed stiffener. Was wondering if anyone else is running the same setup and if so, did you have to ground the antenna or is the stiffener already grounded from the bed bolts? Any tips or advice would be a huge help! I ordered a Cobra 75WXST 40-Channel CB Radio, Firestik SS-3H Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Antenna Spring,

$14 18' RG-58A/U Coaxial Cable With Pl-259 Connectors

18' RG-58A/U Coaxial Cable With Pl-259 Connectors, and a

$54 FireStik FS-4BK 4' (r) Ii Fs Series Tunable Tip Cb Antenna - 900 Watts Black

FS-4BK 4' Firestik(r) Ii Fs Series Tunable Tip Cb Antenna - 900 Watts Black. Anything I'm missing? I plan on ordering an SWR meter soon so I can tune the antenna.

 

Bump since everyone is off work now. lol

 

You still need the actual stud, to attach the coax to the spring and an SWR meter to tune it.

$13 FireStik K-4A Stud with Screw-On Coaxial Termination for Antenna Mirror Mounts

https://www.amazon.com/Firestik-K-4...e=UTF8&qid=1503015012&sr=8-2&keywords=cb+stud

$60 ASTATIC PDC1 100 Watt SWR/RF TEST METER W/ Workman 3 foot jumper CX-3-PL-PL

https://www.amazon.com/ASTATIC-PDC1...UTF8&qid=1503015084&sr=8-5&keywords=SWR+METER

Make sure you grind paint off where the antenna will mount, and around the bolt that runs into the bed to get the best contact.

 

Appreciate the links! The antenna didn't come with any nylon insulator washers,

$12 Firestik Nylon Stud Mount Insulators 8 Piece Assortment, NW-1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X3C91W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A1AUFI5NHGNZ61&psc=1 will I need to use one of these at the base of the antenna or will that kill my ground?

 

One of those will come with the stud I linked, and it's a vital component to it working properly. This post is courtesy of @WileECoyote


Just asking and I don't mean to sound like I'm starting a fight/arguement, why do you need to be "sealing the grommet"? It is a plastic type spacer that comes with the lug/bolt assembly that should have come with the CB bolt/lug assembly? Unless, I'm assuming, it got lost somehow and that is the only thing left that you are able to do? IF that is the case, just make sure that the "bolt threaded part, the 'male' part if you will" does NOT come in contact with the "ground part" of the assembly. Here are some pictures that I did that I hope will help?

















I can hardly wait for your results and hope everything goes well with your final setup!!! Btw, ALWAYS check your SWR of your CB/antenna setup if you are able to!!! You could still be TX'ing, but have a pretty HIGH SWR that will eventually destroy your finals in your CB radio (i.e. the finals is the RF amplifier stage of the radios circuit)!!! Your SWR should be 3 and lower... hopefully lower than the 3!!! A SWR of 2 and lower downto around 1.5 is pretty typical, that I know of. My setup happens to be around 1.5-1.7, so I am very content with that setting!!! If you're sitting at a 2 or just above, you should be fine as well. A 3 and ABOVE, I would recommend taking a look at your cable lash-up assembly!!! Hope this all helps in your endeavors!!!

Happy Wheel'n

 

Here's the thread I pulled that from. There's a LOT of good info in there from WileECoyote

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cb-specifics.434871/

 

Thanks so much! Time to start binging that thread haha

 

Good luck!

 

I hope I'm not too late to the party? Here are the hole diameters for the CB lug/bolt assembly as well as the hole for the mount. (see picture)


Just make sure when drilling the hole for the CB lug/bolt assembly that it is a 1/2" because the plastic nylon washer is going to "fit" in that 1/2" hole. (see picture)









Make sure that whatever "bracket" you're hooking your antenna to is GROUNDED to the frame of the truck!!! I hear that some of these beds are "plastic" in many areas so don't assume that it is grounded?! A DVM is your best friend for checking GND!!!
I hope this helps?

@EatSleepTacos I'm very happy that I'm able to help people out with my posts!!!

 

To the OP, if everything is really good, say a 1.5 or better SWR, you SHOULD be able to actually TX 5-6mi. It was a while back, but I was in an "urban setting" (i.e. buildings, trees, power lines, etc) and I was actually making contact with someone approx. 4mi from my position... maybe just over 4mi. I know this simply because of where he was relative to me and it was about that distance... roughly. Another pretty good test was a friend and me were driving opposite directions on the freeway (he had a 3ft magmount and I have a 4ft whip) and we both estimated that we were easily 5-6mi away from each other by the time I couldn't hear him. Definitely 5mi for sure. It was not really "line of sight" either. Anyways, those have been my personal experiences.