CB Radio installs on 2nd Gen Tacomas?

MY GOD! A lot more complicated than I thought!

 

Lots of soldering, too. LOTS of soldering! Honestly, soldering iron, heat gun, multi meter, crimping tool, wire cutter, wire stripper, drill, 10mm wrench, Phillips screwdriver, jig saw, bench vice, hole saw, a few drill bits, grinder, sanding station, mill file, and a considerable amount of time. I think that is pretty much it.

 

Including some spare time, I presume...LOL

 

I installed 2 communication antennas, one for CB radio and one for ham radio. For CB, I selected a K40 antenna, and for ham, a Laird NMO mount. Both antennas were mounted through the roof.

I like the roof mount for several reasons. On the roof, the antennas are high off the ground, and not obstructed by any of the metal body. The higher the antenna, the farther the transmitted signal will travel. Also, roof mounted antennas are in the center of the vehicle, yielding the most uniform/even transmission pattern. Using the radio off-road, an omni-directional pattern is preferred. (Over the road trucks, with their dual antennas, prefer a more uni-directional pattern.)

Here's what I installed:

K40



Laird NMO:



On to the installation. First remove the headliner. On these trucks, you start removing the headliner by removing the door sills....


I like to add a backing plate under the thin roof sheet metal. Extra material to carry the load when the antenna hits tree limbs and such.

Backing plates:



I used 1/8" aluminum for the K40 backing plate, and thinner aluminum for the NMO mount. I had to modify the K40 to use the thick plate. Unfortunately, the NMO did not allow for a thicker plate. But, something is better than nothing.

Here's an expanded view of the K40:



I also added Part # 1 - a 1/8" thick rubber washer. Part # 3 needed to be shortened to allow for the plate and washer.

Using a chassis punch, I punched 2 holes in the perfectly good roof:




Assembled:




Now to put the interior back together!

 

Yes, the antenna mounts sandwich the backing plates. I did add a spot of silicon on each end for good measure, but it was not really needed.

For waterproofing, the mounts are watertight. However, I did put a bead of silicon around the hole in the roof.

I've had a K40 in the roof of my truck for over 20 years, and never have I had a leak.

 

Amazing work on these installs! I just didn't have the guts to cut or drill, so i decided on a no-cut, no drill option to mount a Bearcat 980 SSB. Cubby tray under the left panel removed (and stored for recovery), cheap nailing strap from Home Depot/Lowes inserted across inside the opening, with CB bracket bolted to it. This allows for up/down and left/right adjustments too. I like it because it is there when you need it but not a 'feature' when you don't.