I picked this antenna up from Ford today. I'm pretty sure it's the same one that comes on the trucks with GPS and satellite radio.

I can't figure out what size hole to drill that will let the wire fit through but still be small enough for that metal collar/washer thing to grab the base.

Has anyone installed these on the roof? I've been thinking about it for an hour and I can't figure out a way to make it work.

 

Never seen that before, but my guess is that the end of the wire is removeable from the yellow connector, then you can measure and drill

 

accidental duplicate

 

looks like the washer thing may be designed to sit inside the hole you drill, with the bent ends preventing it from slipping out. if that's the case then you would need to drill a hole large enough for the yellow connector to fit through

edit-looks like the washer may act like an expansion plug, in conjunction with the antenna piece

 

That pink part on the plug looks like a wire crimp, can you pull it out and remove wire from the plug?

 

 

Before I drilled a hole in my truck I'd buy an aftermarket magnetic or 2 sided tape mount and feed the wire through the cargo light.
That's how Best Buy did mine for a stand alone satellite radio module. When I did away with that and self installed a Jensen double DIN unit, I plugged that same antenna in. Sat radio and nav work just fine with it.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking, and it seems like it would work except for the wire. I feel like to make the hole big enough for the wire it would be too big for the washer to grab. Maybe I just need to drill a few test holes in some sheet metal to experiment.

 

Thanks for the picture! Good to see the wire runs through the same hole as the base. Do you have any idea how big that hole is?

And I hope you didn't take that off just for me!

 

No idea on hole size, I googled sirius xm antenna. If it were me, I would go with a diffferent antenna that didin't require drilling holes in the roof of my truck as someone else stated.

 

Kind of a lousy picture because it's early morning and we had frost last night, but maybe it can give an idea of what I was talking about. As stated before, if it were me I would not be drilling a hole in my roof.
Here's an example but you can get them cheaper if you check around online. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/siriusxm...&ref=212&loc=1

 

Thank you guys for the help. Maybe a magnetic antenna is the way to go. I drilled the roof for cab lights a year ago and haven't had any leaks at all so I thought the antenna would be easy!

 

You're a braver man than me to drill your roof!
Glad it worked out for you though.

 

I'd also get a sirius xm antenna that's magnetic and run it through the 3rd brake light area. The wire is thin and small and shouldn't cause any sealing issues.

 

That is a much better quality antenna then any aftermarket stick on, I installed one on my 04 many years ago. I use a step bit for things like this, just drill to the approximate size and enlarge a step at a time until you get to where you need to be. Keep in mind that you may need oem cable(s) to complete the installation.