Mounting cb antenna???

[Kash]

Hi all.

New to this forum. Nice to see one for Four Winds

MH is a 2007 Four Winds Magellan model 36Z (bath and a half) purchased new. Chassis is a 2006 Ford with V-10. Has over 10.000 miles on it now.

Anyway, I have a CB in it with a cheap thru-glass antenna. It works but that is all I can say for it.

Want to install a better antenna. Side walls are over 2 inches thick.

What are you guys doing for decent NO GROUND CB antennas on Four Winds MH's?

Thanks

Dick

[justimagination]

Firestik makes a NGP (no ground plane) set up for m/homes. I just installed on on my Fleetwood Southwind recently. Be sure the M-2 side mount is included in the kit. I chose the 4 foot Black Antenna kit. Mount it behind your windshield on the driver side if possible. It would be great if your coach has a Driver's Door, if so, mount it between the door and windshield, also as high as possible for better reception . www.firestik.com Good luck

David G.

[Kash]

Hi David G,

Thanks for the reply.

I wanted to mount a Firestik on the side of the MH rear of the drivers side window. But the problem is my side walls are over 2 inches thick and I am not about to put a big hole in the side wall to get within the lenght of the short mounting studs that are on the Firestik side mounts.

The Magellan does not have or offer a drivers side door. SO. I will try to get the inside cover of the A piller between the windshield and drivers side window off and see if there is a better mounting spot there. But I am not too incouraged as that has a lot of wiring in there and that is also where the mounts for the drivers side outside sun screens are mounted.

Still hoping to find someone with a Four Winds Magellan or Hurricane that has done it.

Dick

[jrd48]

I used a firestik NGP antenna on my rig and it worked out fairly well. It was mounted on my ladder on a spring mount to avoid problems with tree branches and any other low clearance stuff. I used heavy coax (rg8) to run underneath to the front of the rig to avoid major signal loss. With the firestik NGP it is important to use the coax jumper that comes with it and not to shorten it as it is important to the proper operation of the NGP antenna.

[Kash]

Ok Jim,

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately the ladder is not a good option for me. We attend many NHRA and NASCAR races where we park trackside and use the ladder frequently. That would subject the coax and antenna to a lot of mishandling and bumping into.

One other factor is that the roof line of the Magellan is at 12 feet so not much of the antenna will be above the roof line.

Dick

[justimagination]

Dick,
I would use the A pillar since you don't have a driver's door. I used the A pillar on my coach, because it's just in front of the Door, and behind the windshield.
On an earlier thread some time ago, someone mounted through an upper cabinet by making a measurement from a solid 110v wall plate that he got @ the hardware store. He scribed the measurement, went to the center of it and drilled his hole's, upper & lower for mounting flange, and the center hole for the conducter to fit through. What he described next was to cut out around the hole's only enough room to secure the nut's on the inside, as well as the Coax connector. This was a really neat installation, and once finished running the Coax behind the cabinet, he covered it with the flat wall plate. Totally hid out of sight when the cabinet door is closed.
I was luckly on mine since i could mount and attach Coax behinf A pillar trim. Good luck.
David G.

[justimagination]

Dick, I was determined to see your Coach and what you were working with, and found one on RV search. I would mount above the driver's window in the center. I would use the 3ft.version antenna with the M-2 side mount, since your mounting area will be higher than most. What a perfect location, you will have great reception as well as good range, also you should have no problem getting the SWR @ 1.5 or lower. Read their instructions carefully, and I would Solder the end on the Coax, which can be done in the shop, because you don't have to worry about feeding it through a hole. They advise not to roll up the excess Coax in a tight circle, just lay any excess under the dash area. Trust me, once you get it installed, it will look like the factory did it, and you will be pleased with the location as well as the look. Good Luck, and BTW, you got an awesome looking Coach.
David G.

[StevePav]

You can check out these two links for mounts.

http://www.claysradioshop.com/acc_an...s-brackets.htm

and

http://www.truckers-store.com/mounts-accessories/

I just purchased a side-mount from these guys.

Steve

[Dennis Wells]

My walls are also over 2" thick I drilled a hole removed enough foam to install the nut and covered the area with a elect. plate cover with a small hole in the center for the cable to pass though.

[Kash]

Thanks Dave, Steve and Dennis for your input,

I hate finding excuses of why I am unable to do this or that but I have my reasons. I went to the trouble of obtaining, for my personal use only, downsized drawings and spec sheets of both the curbside and roadside aluminum frames for my MH. So I have a very good idea of where the actual 2 by 4 inch extruded aluminum frame wall studs and other structural rails are located.

Looking at pictures of the outside, it looks like there is room to mount above the drivers window. However, the roof is over 4 inches thich with a 4 inch tall aluminum stud all across the top above the window going to the back of the vehicle. There are also small cabinets mounted on the inside above the drivers window. So very difficult area to attempt to mount anything there, in my opinion.

There is a space just behind the drivers side window. That space is 7 inches wide between the rear of the drivers side window and the beginning of the living room slide. That area is reinforced with 2 aluminum wall studs and in my opinion not a good spot to try to mount anything.

I just measured the A piller distance between the rear edge of the front windshield and the front edge of the drivers side window. That is 4 inches wide where on the inside is the 2 by 4 inch aluminum stud with lots of wiring in it and on the outside is a strip right down the middle that covers that junction of the front cap and the side wall. So also not a good place to mount anything.

And for Dave, Yes we really like our MH. This is our 2nd Class A. Bath and a half, washer dryer, central vac, push button everything. And the V-10 with the 6 speed trans is a dream to drive.

If you want, or any one else for that matter, the details on how in FEB of 2007 we paid less than 50% of retail for it, send me a message to wb2raj@aol.com. Long but very interesting story.

Dick

2007 Four Winds Magellan model 36Z