Mobile antenna shafts

[2NC995]

Drivers tend to bypass with a “bird perch” mount on an antenna base Screw. Own coax. Now the antenna is literally against the body.

Freighliner not terribly different.

Have to get them high.

I don’t envy drivers operating these new vehicles. I’m a four-wheeler, at least most of the time. So easy to plunk a good antenna on the roof.

I did drag this around town for a while...under 26,000...surely...right???

 

[2NC995]

I want to add...I posted the above very light-hearted...but to be very clear, I’m not believer in skirting any trucking regs.

The image above was a 20k dry weight excavator hauled from one Gov’t contract to the next..done under the state’s “agricultural exemption” (and federal labor regulations).

A very plain misuse of the regs: NOT safe...not Ok. I learned and moved on.

The company still puts dangerous rigs on the road with unqualified drivers like me....keep that in mind when you assume a driver can handle his vehicle.

FWIW.

 

[Slowmover]

I want to add...I posted the above very light-hearted...but to be very clear, I’m not believer in skirting any trucking regs.

The image above was a 20k dry weight excavator hauled from one Gov’t contract to the next..done under the state’s “agricultural exemption” (and federal labor regulations).

A very plain misuse of the regs: NOT safe...not Ok. I learned and moved on.

The company still puts dangerous rigs on the road with unqualified drivers like me....keep that in mind when you assume a driver can handle his vehicle.

FWIW.

I was going to kid you about IN TEXAS they gone pull you over.

Because it’s Chevy. Not a Dodge. Ya!

 

[2NC995]

I was going to kid you about IN TEXAS they gone pull you over.

Because it’s Chevy. Not a Dodge. Ya!

When hauling my equipment...it’s a CUMMINS.

 

[rabbiporkchop]

How will a longer shaft or no shaft relate to the stinger length?

On the roof of a car it should make minimal difference and hanging off the side of a tractor trailer there could be a drastic difference but not for the reasons you might think. You can add 24" of shaft and only might need to subtract a quarter inch of stinger.

 

[Tokin]

Ive been using a 10" shaft on my 102" mag mount for years without an issue.

 

[Slowmover]

Was loading in Toledo yesterday and had a visit with the guy backed in next to me.

Walcott Radio sells SS shafts in 22”, 36” & 44”. This man had one with a Hustler coil and Predator whip atop. The coil cleared the body on his 2019 Cascadia smartly (ProComm adjustable mount). An HP40 General and an install by a guy he said had a fine rep. Up to 22-miles.

Went to the website. Under Antennas, not Mounts.
Wilson shaft nut on each end with 3/8-24 thread

.

 

[Recon]

The Wilson trucker version has a 5 or 10 inch shaft and my Sirio performer has an 8 inch shaft.

But I am trying to find a 17-24 inch shaft.

I don't know weather I am calling it the wrong name or weather 10 inch is the biggest you can buy.

Want to mount the antenna in the stake hole in the bed of my pickup truck but have the coil at or above roof height. But do not want to drill though the roof, and getting ready to lay out 7,000 on a paint job so really don't want to use a mag mount.

29 FEB @ 1857
I may have stumbled across the (almost) perfect antenna combination for my truck.
I modified and used the 22" bottom shaft of the Predator antenna and attached a Stryker SR-2K coil and stinger to the top of the 22" shaft. The shaft is attached to the Breedlove Stake Pocket w/ Quick Release Mount. It looks cleaner and neater than the Predator's 3" coil. Less than 1.5:1 VSWR on all channels on the Stryker 497 on the highest RF power setting. And I did not have to trim the stinger!

 

[Recon]

I both agree & disagree.

I've done just what he said and had great luck, however, as you imply, certain coils tend to prefer a certain height above the sheet metal.

I'd give it a try, and yes they do make 18" shafts - and longer. Hustler makes a 54" folding shaft.
A friend had a Wilson 5K trucker on a 6" shaft on the roof of a Camry and tried out his 18" shaft.
- He had to shorten the whip about 1/2 - 1/3 the additional length of the shaft but it now performs better, at 30 miles he begins to fade where he used to get to only 25 or so miles when I'd start to lose his signal.

29 FEB @ 1903
On one end of the Predator's 22" shaft there is a 3/8"-24 stud that will thread directly into the coil of the SR-2K. I installed a 1/2" - 20 X 2" long threaded stud into the opposite end of the 22" shaft.
I drilled-out the 3/8"-24 threads in the Breedlove Quick Disconnect stub and re-tapped to 1/2"-20 threads.
Installed the Stryker SR-2K coil and stinger into the top of the 22" Predator's shaft. Attached the 22" shaft and Stryker antenna onto the Breedlove Quick Disconnect mount and onto the Breedlove Stake Pocket Mount. The coil of the SR-2K barely clears the roof and I have a maximum of 1.3:1 VSWR on all channels and I did not have to trim the stinger. With my truck in my driveway, I talked (barefoot) to a base station twelve miles from my home. The antenna is installed in the front driver's side stake pocket.

 

[Riverman]

The Wilson trucker version has a 5 or 10 inch shaft and my Sirio performer has an 8 inch shaft.

But I am trying to find a 17-24 inch shaft.

I don't know weather I am calling it the wrong name or weather 10 inch is the biggest you can buy.

Want to mount the antenna in the stake hole in the bed of my pickup truck but have the coil at or above roof height. But do not want to drill though the roof, and getting ready to lay out 7,000 on a paint job so really don't want to use a mag mount.

One of these should work. They come in 11”, 22” and 32”.

https://www.buddipole.com/exanar.html

 

[Recon]

The Wilson trucker version has a 5 or 10 inch shaft and my Sirio performer has an 8 inch shaft.

But I am trying to find a 17-24 inch shaft.

I don't know weather I am calling it the wrong name or weather 10 inch is the biggest you can buy.

Want to mount the antenna in the stake hole in the bed of my pickup truck but have the coil at or above roof height. But do not want to drill though the roof, and getting ready to lay out 7,000 on a paint job so really don't want to use a mag mount.

Predator with a 22" shaft with Breedlove Quick Disconnect and Breedlove Stake Pocket Mount. VSWR: Maximum of 1.3:1 on all 40 CB channels.