I need to put a new antenna for my CB, complication is I got a large slide-in camper and the mount for the antenna is good 10ft above the road. From this point up I could use a 4ft whip for an overall height of 14ft that would make me about as high as a tractor-trailer, which could be a problem in some back country roads with low-hung power lines - what would happen is the stainless steel whip touches said power lines? I have no anti-static grounding straps hanging from the truck chassis to the road, so theoretically the truck is insulated from the ground and hitting power lines and such shouldn't be a problem, but is this really the case? Your thoughts on the matter please?

 

If the antenna is flexible you could bend it somewhere near the body or the camper, as they do in some military vehicles. I don't think you'll have any troubles, but i would try to avoid the antenna hitting any charged lines.

Another consideration: do you really need such a tall antenna? maybe you could find a shorter one.

 

3ft and 2ft firestick antennas work really good.

Or like already stated you could bend the whip and secure it like a humvee or something.

 

Oh, bending the antenna would be no problem generally, but I can't be pulling over and messing with it every time I suspect there are power lines or a bridge that are too low... And no, I don't necessarily need such a tall antenna, I've just always been told that to get a good range you want a tall antenna. So a shorter one would good too? Would it be a good idea to have a spring base for the 3ft firestick, so I don't break it in case I do hit something?

 

i think what he means is they keep them bent and tied back all the time, not just when they see something in the way

 

And they still work good? What about how antennas are supposed to sit straight up, you know how semi tractors have their antennas angled forward a bot so when they get on the freeway they get straight up cause of wind resistance?

 

I had a telescoping AM/FM/CB antenna on my old Cascade slide in camper, it had a splitter and did double duty as a CB antenna, worked well. all you had to do was open the hatch above the cab-over bed and reach out and raise or lower it.........as long as you remembered to lower it, never a problem going down the road.

 

Holey smoke batmam , i don't think its a good idea to hit power wires...

 

I've knocked a few down with hay wagons, no biggie.

 

I wouldn't want to follow you !! LOL

 

Could mount the antenna to the mirror.

 

Yes, the longer the antenna, the better the range. But how much range are you really looking to get? Firestick antenna's are very good. I have a- that's one, not two- 3' on my semi and I get about a 5 mile range with it.

The direction an antenna is pointing makes little difference. The only thing about tying it back is that the metal from the camper could cause a little interference. But if you have a good CB with signal interference adjustments [noise blockers, calibration, etc.] that interference can be minimized.

 

Frankly, I prefer not to have anyone following me anyway, unless it's someone I've asked to help out as a chase vehicle. A lot of the roads around here are no winter maintenance goat trails down the side of hills and mountains. I clip far more tree branches and leaning road signs than power lines.

As for the antenna question, to be on topic at least a little... just as there's no replacement for displacement, there's no substitute for a long antenna. The longer the thing is, and the more it sticks up above everything else around it, the better, but that's just one man's opinion.

 

Right, but again there is the fact that I have to pull over, get out of the cab, go in the camper, and mess with the antenna, then on the other side of whatever the obstruction is I gotta do the same thing - I'm not a ham operator or a CB freak, I only use the CB while driving for traffic information and bear spotting - that's why I'm trying to figure out a way to make this work good while on the road without the hassle of messing with it all the time.

Unfortunately no, I cannot do that - my truck is a reg cab so the bed space hangs forward enough to where it's above the windshield too, and even with the wide towing mirrors I have if I mount an antenna there the antenna will be touching camper side very often which I know is very undesirable. If it were a crew-cab truck then you're correct, I'd have the antenna on the mirror and all would be good

I'd be very happy with 5 miles range, with my old 3ft mag-mount I would usually get about 2 miles range so anything over that is an improvement So you suggest a 3ft firestick, and being it's fiberglass even if I catch a power line with it there will be no current flowing to the truck so no danger of electrocution, correct? Would you suggest that I use a spring base for the Firestick, to avoid breaking it in case it catches tree branches?

About the long antenna, say I get a 102" whip and tie it down forward (mount is at the aft end of the camper) but without its tip touching the metal skin, will that work good? What would be a good way of tieing it down, I never really paid attention how the HMMWVs have theirs and there is none of those around here that I can look at.

My CB is just your basic Cobra 19, it has squelch and gain adjustments and that's about it...

 

I got it, mount it to the front bumper. Alot of people who offroad do that and get decent range (3-5 miles).