Antenna placement on newer Kenworth T680

[KaydoKaylen]

I just bought my very first new radio. For my budget and features I needed I went with a Anytone 6666!
I bought 18ft of 50ohm coax and a swr meter with jumper.

What I need to know is..
The T680s are unlike my old truck a KW T660
They have breakaway plastic mirrors. The antenna has no real ground. I've seen videos online to run grounding straps from the antenna plate on the mirror to the cab. Problem is, this is a lease truck.. and I know my company won't approve of me removing the mirror and body panel. This is required to install new coax and grounding straps.

They won't even change a headlight bulb, they were made to take it in to have that serviced since it is a lease.

I have 2 'grab bars" on the rear of the daycab which hold up my airlines and other things. They are metal assuming stainless or aluminum.. they look riveted to the rear of cab. My question is, is this 2020-2021 KW T680 cab made of metal?

Will placing my antenna onto that grab bar be sufficient enough for good RF ground? If searched online everywhere and can't figure out what the cab is made of. If it's not metal I guess I would have to revert to doing the mirror job while away from work so I'm not seen.. not to keen on trying that lol

Any ideas or insight would be greatly appreciated!!!

Wish me luck to having my first purchased cb..
I've drove OTR for years and ran my grandpa's old Cobra 25 with a K-40 antenna and could talk for miles. This new truck came with stock coax and dog doo doo for antennas.. really want to set this up correctly so I can talk loud clear and proud.

73s 127 Southern Kentucky!

 

[9C1Driver]

The truck should have a "factory" location by the mirror for an antenna. Does it have an antenna right now? The problem with mounting an antenna behind the cab is the SWR will suck and you won't get out very well. I did find some videos on youtube.
The antenna system is the most important part.

 

[KaydoKaylen]

The truck should have a "factory" location by the mirror for an antenna. Does it have an antenna right now? The problem with mounting an antenna behind the cab is the SWR will suck and you won't get out very well. I did find some videos on youtube.
The antenna system is the most important part.

It does have factory location and antenna. Please actually read my post to see my questions.

 

[KaydoKaylen]

The truck should have a "factory" location by the mirror for an antenna. Does it have an antenna right now? The problem with mounting an antenna behind the cab is the SWR will suck and you won't get out very well. I did find some videos on youtube.
The antenna system is the most important part.

The second video would work but wires hanging everywhere looks bad IMHO. I have a daycab will a grab bar. Two actually one and top and bottom. If the cab is metal I can the antenna above the roof as I have no ferring. I can't remove the mirror to do the correct install. Idk which to chose

 

[Dr_DX]

It appears the day cab has rivets. I doubt a fiberglass cab would have those. I believe that Kenworth is making them out of Aluminum to conserve weight. A Magnet will confirm that. Also see some paint scraped off around the 2 bolts to the left of the top grab bar.

I would say get a 90 degree mount that will clamp around the top bar and use a top loaded fiberglass whip as long as you can and still not hit things with it. Mount the antenna farthest away from the cab.

Good Luck

 

[KaydoKaylen]

It appears the day cab has rivets. I doubt a fiberglass cab would have those. I believe that Kenworth is making them out of Aluminum to conserve weight. A Magnet will confirm that. Also see some paint scraped off around the 2 bolts to the left of the top grab bar.

I would say get a 90 degree mount that will clamp around the top bar and use a top loaded fiberglass whip as long as you can and still not hit things with it. Mount the antenna farthest away from the cab.

Good Luck

I took off the top bar today today Sand the cab down to bare metal. It wasn't rivets it was bolts. What I didn't realize was, the bar has a gasket behind it and sticky substance. I sanded it off to bare metal. The cab itself doesn't set flat and flush to the bar. The hole for the bolts have little lips on the. Like inserts that been put into the cab and the bolts go into them. The gaskets kept the bars from wiggling. I sanded the paint off the inserts and they seem to be aluminum.. they ARE metal as I took a flat head to it and it made a bur... So I got the inserts as clean as possible and the rear of the bar. Hopefully it will be a good ground. I have a antenna that has coils near the bottom, assuming it's a middle loaded antenna. If I have issues with it I will try a different antenna. All of the antenna will be raised above the cab, because the bar is only 3 or so inches below the top of roof. I will update pictures with install ASAP. I just got my radio, coax and swr meter in the mail today. Thank you for your thoughts my friend.