I have been researching a solution as to how and where to mount the control head without damaging the interior. After some trial and error, decided on the mount depicted by the included pictures. I used a 3" diameter X 4 1/2" length piece of aluminum and milled it to 2 15/16" diameter and tapered it down to 2". At the top, I drilled a 1/4" hole and threaded it for the control head mounting screw. The 2 15/16" diameter fits perfect in the coffee cup holder and the rubber coffee cup sleeve this mount slides into creates more than enough friction to hold the mount in place. In fact it takes quite some time to take the mount out after much work. I attemped to use the Lido mount, wood and other coffee cup holder sized items and they just did not look good or had difficulty supporting the weight of this somewhat heavy Kenwood TS 480 AT control head. I will post additional pictures of where the control and power wires are ran and of the actual radio/antenna/speaker mounting.

 

Thanks Carl! Thank you for your service! The auxiliary diesel fuel tank is made by Aluminum Tank Industries (ATI) out of Winterhaven, Florida. These guys make a flawless product and the customer service is nothing short of spectacular! The installation took just short of an hour and it is a very clean and efficient installation.

 

It was a an honor to serve; thank you.

I really like your HAM radio setup. You have given me an idea for my computer. Thanks much.

 

Awesome HAM setup. Been thinking about doing a setup in my truck. Right now I have a CB setup on a ram mount but I have been debating getting my license and switching over to the HAM side. Do you have any pictures on your antenna mount/mounts?

BTW that is a beautiful truck. I love the headache rack.

ON EDIT: I re-read the post and look forward to your upcoming install pictures.

 

Included are some more ham radio installation pictures of the antenna assembly, speaker and main radio unit. Now that everything is in place, all I need to do is run the coax, control, microphone, antenna ground and power wiring. The main radio unit is mounted on a 3/4" piece of plywood using the factory mounts and I used industrial velcro under the plywood to hold this in place to the underseat storage tray. The antenna is a Chameleon multiband model V2L with an aluminum mount I made that is bolted to my toolbox. I will be grounding the toolbox to my truck frame when I do the wiring. In addition, I will be using between 15' to 25' of RG-8X because of an RF coax choke that will be mounted directly below the antenna. You can see this in the picture where I used a piece of PVC pipe for the RF choke and made a support for it directly below the antenna. Approximately 10' of the coax with 7 turns around the PVC pipe should be used for the RF choke. Pictures will follow of the fisished product. Hope all of these pictures help you with installation ideas!

 

Very nice work.

 

Thanks! I am doing the wiring in the next few weeks. In addition, I will be installing two bed flood lights and a clear lens amber LED work light all to be installed with mounting brackets to the Magnum headache rack. Of course pictures will follow!

 

nice truck! little short on the bed !( I am a long bed guy)

 

Thanks Scarey1!

 

Is that the TS-480SAT with the built in antenna tuner?

 

That is what it looks like to me. A very spendy rig to have in a truck. I would worry about having it in there if it were me with my luck!

On another note: I did not realize the body on that unit is so big!

 

Hello, yes it is Sir!

 

Included are pictures of the aluminum mounting plates I had made then powder coated that will be used to mount the two bed flood lights and the warning light. In addition, I included pictures of the headache rack light mock-up. Wiring for everything will be done on November 4 and pictures should be posted that day of the finished product. I have had some friends comment that they are not fans of the two bed lights. I don't think the light assembly looks bad for a wanna be work truck, even thought it will be used primarily to haul my Airstream RV. What do you think of the setup and any suggestions? It is pretty basic and I believe will be functional.

 

Definitely looks sharp. When I saw your headache rack photos, I started jonesing for the same thing. But, I regained my composure after a while.

 

Thanks Parnass! The headache rack is made by Magnum Industries that I believe only makes aluminum racks. The price was right, aluminum and lights was the big selling point for me. I believe they have a bunch of videos about the racks on YouTube!