Does any one know of a good aftermarket radio antenna? I hate it when I go through a touch less car wash and it is the only thing that keeps getting smacked around.

 

it won't hurt it, they can take a beating, that said you should avoid those car washes and take it to a wand wash, someone on here has already lost the paint on his roof from being to close to the jets even tho he fits under the max hight sign!

 

Have you checked if you can unscrew it? We take off the antenna on our GMC 1500 when it goes through the car wash.

Otherwise, I would not worry as, unlike power antennas, they are made to be very flexible.

 

Or just cut it down and put a new cap on top like heat shrink, inheard of someone doing that, personally I would prefer A better radio signal over it banging around in a car wash

 

AutoZone special. Faux carbon fiber 13 bucks. Reception perfect.

 

I can confirm the antenna is a pain with a normal size garage door. Its several inches too high and pretty damn stiff. So now I have to get out and unscrew the thing every time I want to pull into the garage to clean, vacuum, mess around. I put a small 3/8 wrench in the glove box for antenna duty but would love finding a shorter antenna. I don't subscribe to hacking the top off.

 

[QUOTE=fidel.medrano;16744707] AutoZone special. Faux carbon fiber 13 bucks. Reception perfect. [/QUOTDo you happen to know the part number?

 

There are a bunch of different shorter antennas listed on Amazon with varying reviews about the quality and many are said to whistle in the wind. Almost all have some reports of worse reception which would only matter to those of us who travel or live farther away from the city centers. If there is something specific I want to listen to I often find the station's live webcast and bluetooth the show from my phone.

 

 

im forgetful sometimes and use the antenna as an early warning system that I might tear off my cab when I move 2' further. Haha.

That said, I stream all my music from phone and don't use the radio, so if I had a better "don't be an idiot" warning indicator, I'd ditch the antenna.

 

I kinda want to cut mine down to 1/2inch above highest cab point, kinda like whiskers on a cat, if it come in contact with anything don't go in there lol

 

Keep in mind that the length is a function of the frequency it picks up (1/4 of the wavelength). If you shorten it, you will degrade FM reception, especially for the lower channels (near 88.1 MHz vs 107.9 MHz). If you don't use FM, you can just remove it.

 

[QUOTE=Bat4x4;16744771]HaHA...Keep posting. Someone will see it

 

Fidel.medrano... could you please tell me how hard/easy it was to get the factory antenna off?? Just twist off or do I need tools or are there any tricks I should be aware of Picking up my truck tomorrow and have a stubby antenna ready to put on. My first Ford so I'm not familiar with them in any way. Thanks!

 

Update: I purchased a 17" antenna from Auto Zone which easily clears my garage door by a few inches. I'll run that around town and save my factory antenna which I'll install if I'm heading out on a long trip!