2015 tacoma...where to mount cb radio and antenna?

Modern day rigs lack the roomy feel which also sucks for add ons such as a simple cb radio... i want to install a cb but have no friggin idea where to put it..or the damned firestick!.. was thinking on the passenger side of the shifter housing next to the dash.... tbis os going in a 4dr short bed btw.... post some pics if ya could and i have a canopy i take on and off so i was thinking antenna could go on a fender mount under the hood... ideas?? Fire away!

 

Get a Cobra 75 WX ST and this mount: http://www.relentlessfabrication.us...inge-CB-aux-mount/p/14437134/category=3368787

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cb-radio-installs-on-2nd-gen-tacomas.114327
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cb-radio-cobra-29-mod-mount-in-center-console.49635

 

Idk if i like that hood mount...lol... something about blocking the vision just creeps me the hell out.... then again it does look better then the ole fender mount... where did you mount the cb in the cab? Thats my biggest thing..im a bigger built dude eith bigger built friends, was also thinking behind the center consol in the back seat but the seats fold down flat

 

How the heck do you navigate this page to look for threads like that? I looked and looked Nd didnt find anything at all regarding the cb mount or i wouldnt have bothered making this thread...but yes thats what i wanna do...ive never been a fan of soldering or electricity period..but i may know a few ppl that do

 

Mount the CB antenna on the passenger side, you can't even tell it's there. I have a shorty antennax, red CB antenna and an airflow snorkel all on the same side and I can barely just see the snorkel. I only really notice the CB antenna when I want to make a turn and look to the right.

 

I mounted mine right above the rear view mirror. I didn't want to sacrifice any of the storage space in the console or down under the stereo. It's in my build thread. That way it's pretty accessible from both seats and still out of the way. I just take the Mic off whenever I'm not using it. Works for me!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/adams-trail-rig-build.318203/

 

Adamv22 when you mounted that cb radio on the sunglass holder deal what did you put up in the headliner to brace it..i searched craigslist and got me a cobra 29 classic..big bastard right! 2 4' firesticks, pa speaker, all coax cable and splices to run duals, and hood mount brackets... all for only 90 bucks!!!... i was looking through threads and found one where he re wired the cb and separated the face with dials from the brain and had it mounted in the center consol with the brains under the seat...but...i have never soldered before..never been an electricity fan personally... i like the thought of your kinda mount!

 

wow..you got a good deal there...the only thing supporting it in the headliner are few washers on the top side of the headliner... Hmm...thats actually pretty cool..I might disect my CB and see what i can come up with for that lol

 

Have you ever seen a window mount like mentioned up there ^^^? And when running a firestick im going to need a spring...what length of spring ya think would be best?

 

I will be re wiring it for a single antenna mount i think...duals are kinda pointless unless its a big rig with a 50' trailer...not like the ppl running duals for "the look"...lol firm believer of get what ya need and roll with it....

 

I think there is an antenna out there that utilizes the stock location but picks up both CB and FM bands

 

I'm a fan of hiding it in the console:


And I have the antenna on the back:

 

My biggest deal is i need distance...where i hunt and camp is literally in the middle of bumbfu** nowhere... squatch territory for sure.... was going to use the 102" whip but a mount thats sturdy enoufh to handle it is the next problem

 

Cobra 29 classic...

 

if you're looking for the most distance, look into the proper antenna setup then check out this guy http://lesterscustoms.com/products, he provides services to tweak the hell out of these radios for max distance and power.

 

Theres a guy i know that wants to put an amp in to boost signal..idk if im for or against that haha

 

Drill a hole in the roof, install a NMO mount. Use a "1/4 wave base loaded" Larsen NMO-27B antenna. Done and done. Good quality ground plane, nice omnidirectional radiation pattern, and minimal distance between your antenna feedpoint and the radio. Make sure to trim the cable down to size.

I personally am a fan of a remote head installed in one of the two sunglass holders, or on a gooseneck attached to one of the front seat's mounting bolts.

I'll post some pics of my incomplete setup here later today.

Regarding your amp question, a better antenna beats an amp any day. The 27B claims to be a 0dBd antenna, which is good for its size and price. I cannot find any gain figures for a firestik.

Doubling the output power gets you 3dB of gain. Let's assume that a firestik is a -3dBd antenna; the 27B would be just as strong as a firestik being driven by a radio twice as powerful.

Let's say you're running a legal 4 watts and some bozo is using 250 watts into a firestik. They've got just under 18 dB of advantage on you just from power alone. But let's say they're using the cobranded "fireflex" cable... problem is that that's 75 ohm coax and its not really meant for transmitter us. So we've got about 0.3 dB of loss from mismatch and cable loss. Then the problem is that the firestik depends on a groundplane, but the mounts for it dont mount the antenna over the ground plane. As a result your radiation pattern gets whacky, and on top of that your SWR is all wrong, leading to more loss. Basically, a bad antenna setup is going to nickle and dime you down and down, and the radiation pattern you get is going to be unpredictable. Who cares if you ultimately are throwing 200 watts equivalent power to a 30 degree segment off of your driver side window? When you're trying to talk to the folks down the road you could be 15dB down. At that point, you sure are spending a lot of power and introducing a lot of potential RF in your cab to have a setup equivalent to the well installed antenna system.

Also remember that an amp helps others hear you, but it doesn't help you hear others. You generally want to match the output power of your other users, and your pattern that you transmit with matches the pattern that you receive with.

Part of my setup today: https://goo.gl/photos/NJUTgHfQqBhGtEaf7

 

I used the stock bracket n mounted it below the aux input switches. For antitheft when I'm parked i just throw my sweatshirt in front of it.