I finally got another Wrangler after a few years of doing without one. I am curious to know what other people have done to mount CB antennas. The 4 door version is a little longer so it might need more cable than the 2 door.

Anyhow I know the spare tire mount is a popular location for no-drill installation. I used this location on my last Jeep and already plan to use it again. But I remember having to run an additional ground wire because the mount is painted and the rear door doesn't have a good connection to ground. If I remember right I think I ran the ground wire up inside the passenger side tail light housing and sanded off some primer in there and used a self drilling screw to connect to the body with a ring terminal.

I am looking for alternate methods to get the antenna grounded for a good SWR. So if you can share what you did (particularly if you used the spare tire mount bracket) it would be useful.

check out this guys thread on how he did it.

jeep install

alex

I'm getting ready to do a write up on how I did my install in my 07 JKU.

I posted a thread a while back asking for antenna locations.  I ended up going with a hood mount using a Diamond K400 mount.  I mounted the antenna (Larsen NMO2/70B) on the driver side.  I just took a quick pic:



I used this Youtube video for how to route the power and antenna cables into the passenger side (Icom IC-2730A mounted under the passenger seat).  The antenna has something like 13 feet of cable, which was enough to run from the driver side to the passenger side, into the interior, down to the floor behind the plastic trim, down to where that section of trim ends, under the passenger seat to the radio, with enough slack that I can move the passenger seat all the way back and forward without pulling on the cable.

I have not grounded my antenna/mount yet.  I checked SWR and the lowest I got was 1.3 on 144 and 1.5 on 440.  I may try running a ground wire from the mount to the ground strap on the hood and check SWR again just to see if there is any difference.  If so, I will then ground the way the instructions recommend.  Now that I think about it, I didn't check continuity or anything, so it may actually be grounded...

The mount I used has a rubber pad on the outside to protect the paint on the hood, and an aluminum strip on the inside to keep the set screws from digging in.  If you need to ground, they recommend trimming the aluminum strip so that the inner two set screws still contact the aluminum strip, but the outer two set screws hit the hood directly.

If you watch the video I linked to above, the guy has the aluminum strip on the outside.  Oops.

I plan on doing a longer, detailed write up soon.

Edit to add - the reason I ended up not going with the spare tire mount is that I have a soft top.  I fold the top down regularly when the weather is nice and it looks like the soft top would be up against the antenna when folded down.  I had considered drilling into the body to install a mount on the passenger side near the rear, but I think the soft top would still hit it on the way up and down, so I decided to mount in the front instead of the rear.

I picked an antenna that didn't need as much of a ground, e.g. something closer to a half wave with a matching network, and used a spare tire mount as is.

I did grind the coating off the mount for the attaching bolts and the antenna connector itself so they got a bare metal ground.

I was considering this. I know Firestick makes a "no ground plane" antenna but you have to buy the entire kit since it's a tuned length of coax with the shield used as a counterpoise.

I think Wilson antennas used to make a 4 foot fiberglass antenna that could use any length of cable but had a separate ring terminal for adding your own ground.

I already have a 4 foot conventional Firestick. The spare tire mount I have is carbon steel and will corrode if I break the powder coating. I am just going to use a big ring terminal and run a grounding strap from the antenna mount to the bolts that go into the tailgate. Also I will need some dielectric grease on the bolts to make sure there is a good connection to the tailgate, and if needed I will run another ground from the tailgate to the tub, but hopefully it will get enough ground through the hinges. (My last one did not.)

Really the spare tire mount is the best location from an aesthetic and convenience standpoint unless you have aftermarket bumpers. But the lack of a solid ground connection complicates things.

I'm about 1/2 thru with the install in her Unlimited. No pics, and I've been to busy to offer much here.  I did buy a "pan" from eBay to mount under the seat for the radio body.  Pics Soo, I hope. FTM400XDR

I should have everything wating at home to do my install when I get back from working 2 weeks in a Texas field office. I just have to decide between radios and mounting locations.  I have a Midland 75-822 which is a CB walkie talkie with a 12V adapter that slides on the bottom where the battery case goes. This adapter also has an SO-239 at the end of the cable so it turns the handheld into a quasi-mobile radio.

My other option is a little compact mobile radio on a footman loop mount above the rearview mirror. If I decide to install a dual band amateur radio instead, I wonder if the tailgate alone will be a good enough counterpoise for the antenna without adding a ground strap to the tub. I might check SWR with a dual band radio and antenna and if it's nice and low, just go the ham route and keep the CB handheld in the glove box. Decisions...

I've got a Kenwood TM-710 in my JKU. I have the front panel mounted above the rearview mirror.



The main body is mounted on the side of the transmission hump.   I thought about putting it under the seat,  but I wasn't sure I'd be able to hear it very well there.



The antenna is on a mount on the edge of the hood on the driver's side.