2010 Freightliner Cascadia antenna solutions

i got a buddy who drives for a well known company in the usa'' he drives a brand new cascadia he has been having a lot of problems with swr...... he is just using a cobra but does have an export radio i shall recommend this site to him maybe he can shoot some question's

 

I have a 2012 Cascadia F.P.O.S! (Frtlnr Piece Of ######). And I have a Connex 3300HP installed. Barely fits in the hole. Already had to have work done because of the highest SWR readings I've seen on a trk in 14 years. I have looked at the brackets offered by Iowa80 and am considering a Monkey Made antenna. I am prepared to rip that entire trk apart to get the cables right.

 

14yrs ?

 

I have a 2011 and was told to mount a Wilson 2000 on the bracket that holds the spring for the air lines. Then run an 18 cable down and zip tie it to the air lines under the cab then up through the door molding and behind the dash. Relatively easy and doesn't require a special bracket.

 

Only one problem,its a poor to nonexistent ground location
Cab assemblies are not actually grounded like some think.
Pull back the back wall panel and you will see how that bar is connected to the sleeper wall.

Fix:
Ground strap mount/bar to frame,ground straps are pretty cheap
and you would be surprised how easy they are to find(if you look)

 

Same problem here with a 2012... SWR 2:1 ... So I took my K40 Coil antenna and put it in a mount on the bar in the back that the the Air lines/Pig tail slide on on the back of the cab... SWR is about 1:2 to 1 ... Running a Stryker 497 into it... Beyond that forget it... I ran a Texas Star Sweet 16 with no problems in my long hood Peterbilt.. In this truck it is useless and I hate the plastic piece of junk.

 

It is the plastic trucks. It interferes with EVERYTHING!!!! Best I have ever gotten on a T2000 (very similar construction to the Cascadia) was 1.25SWR. When I had the 379 it was not a problem. I bet if the trucks were aluminum instead of composite (fiberglass counts) the SWR's would not be a problem.

But an aluminum skinned truck would be a few more $$$$.

 

This is one of the many reasons I will not consider the Cascadia or similar style of truck, regardless of OEM. Of course that makes my choices rather slim. I like all the aerodynamics, but the designs are for fleet use. Not only cb installation, but just doing normal driver stuff like cleaning a windshield, changing a fuel filter in cold weather, etc can be a real problem with these new designs. Oh well, welcome to the future of trucking.

 

The 2011 Cascadia I just inherited has the factory XM radio. I've switched my subscription from my old truck to the new unit and XM has sent the signal. The radio's LED dispaly says "check antenna" as there's no reception. I get the AM / FM signals, though.

Any idea why I can't get the XM to work? I don't need a separate antenna I don't think like I used to with the dash-mounted streamer unit I used to use.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

This is what I have come up with also. I can get a good SWR with a 5.5ft Francis, but I have to lean it so far forward it kills the signal. I've got a Wilson 2000 to try, but I need a longer shaft than the one I have now. Bonding would also help, but I slip seat so that's out.

Good post for those who have assigned/or own their trucks! I have found good SWR in some Freighliners with stock hardware, but they still won't TX/RX much more than a half mile. I'm trying to get our company to just quit spending the money on antennas and coax and just order the trucks with a "bird perch" and let the driver set up the CB system.