I have owned multiple Jeep Wranglers, CJ7’s etc. over my time as Ham. I am not sure I even got an antenna mounted on the first CJ7? Just depended on the handheld most of the time. Oh and the handhelds were a bit bigger back then. There isn’t much metal in the roof (roll bars) so that does not act as any kind of ground plane and I am not cutting a hole in the fiberglass to get it ripped out. Also, the antenna mount must be solid, out of the way, allow for entry into my garage (yea I store mine inside, don’t you?) and “WORK” with minimal SWR.
When I moved to the 99 wrangler I made a bracket to mount that mounted to the frame and had a 3/4 inch pipe welded on a plate and that was resting on the right rear bumper area. It was solid and I tried a mobile HF screwdriver antenna on it for a few years but just wasn’t able to cut the noise on HF.
The VHF/UHF was on a mag mount that set on the front cowling..not a good option as it was sometimes in the line of site but it was what it was.
I put in enough straps and grounding cable that I am sure I added the weight of another person in that jeep but never got the noise out so I used that welded up mount for my higher gain UHF/VHF antenna. It used a CB- Mirror mount clamped on the 3/4 inch pipe. Now granted the pattern was probably really, really weird from that but it worked for me. Actually, I think may times we get way too involved in mobile patterns and worrying about mounting places on vehicles today. My action plan is 1. I has to be solid, 2. It has to be grounded pretty good, 3. It has to work reasonably well and if I have to turn the jeep a different direction then so be it. I have also come to believe that on a mobile you will find that the pattern you calculate is extremely bogus when you are driving down the highway, in town between building, in the mountains, etc. Your pattern is in so much variation in those conditions you can’t possibly assume it is a “good pattern”.
Over the years I have read and viewed a lot of posts, videos and other related materials looking for ideas on how to mount up my radio (VHF/UHF) in a jeep that keeps it out of the way, out of the wet area, secure, yet control wise visible and accessible. I have tried multiple antenna mounts as well. I used the mag mount in the 2014 jeep for awhile but that was not solid and in the way so I did my internet searched and found K0NR. So, I used the K0NR mount for several years, well before I even met Bob.
Now that got it out of the way and I could use a better gain antenna and still get in the garage. the mount is screwed to the fender top, under the hood. See Bob’s post above. But, I found that this mount was not as ‘SOLID” as I desired so I went looking again. I did find the “expensive” option to mount it on the door hinge etc.. but all seemed a bit overpriced. There were an abundance of rear mount methods as well, but hey the grommet hole for cables is under the hood on the drivers side. Otherwise you have to let it come in through the gaskets (leak) or drill a hole (more leaks) etc. Then I found an option. In looking at all the Jeep add-ons I saw these: Light mounts
And they, at that time were about $12 a pair for right and left – I see the prices are up but you get two mounts and they are really solid.
I may have gotten them from another dealer but they are damn solid. the only small issues was they mount hole was 3/8 inch so I had to bore it out to allow for the 1/2 inch+ NMO mount that I had on hand (it runs the coax perpendicular to the bottom of the mount and clamps pretty tight) I then used a NMO to PL259 as the antennas I had were , of course, PL259 mounts. This is my final mount:
The coax runs right in under the cowling, down to the “grommet” hole and in to the cab then under the carpet to the radio mount. Oh the mount, well I opted to not put it in the driver or passenger area and not under the seat where feet and junque tend to collect. I mounted mine behind the driver seat , just behind the roll bar where there was some solid metal and I wouldn’t be punching through to the outside… so the mount is solid too.
Being a remote head radio it works fine back there and I can get to the sd card to reprogram pretty easy as well. all the wires you see are hidden behind the plastic roll cover and then under the carpet and under the seat to the front, except the external speaker. I did mount an external speaker on the roll bar behind my right ear. The one that works.
The remote cable runs up behind the dash works and I did drill a hole under the rubber mat that sits in the dash and pull the head cable up through that to the control head and then put the rubber mat back in to seal it all back up…
I used that really big suction gripper to hold the head but it does have a small piece of Velcro on the bottom that keeps it pretty solid to the dash and it is out of the direct line of site but easy enough to glance over and with in reach for most things. I am not looking down or up but pretty much at the road with a small side glance.
So that is how I mounted everything in a Jeep Wrangler. I do still hit the garage door. It doesn’t catch and that is not a bad bend.
The best part is the mount is solid and the antenna takes it ok, if not I will get another one. I am sure that my pattern is a bit strange but in actual use I hit all the repeaters I want and hear way more where I drive. Out in the open plains it has really good range in the direction I am driving. Not as much behind me. It works well for me.
WD0AJG