need an antenna suggestion

A top loaded fiberglass antenna (Firestick, Wilson, Francis) seems to work the best, but if you can extend the bottom of the 5000 with a couple of extra shafts to get the loading coil up higher, then they may work fairly well as well.

 

I had a predator on my cascadia and it was okay, couldn't go out far. Different truck and that predator is too big but I got a firestick and it works great

 

Someb
Lied to you. Get the longer shafts and it seems you have the cascade freightliner and are planning to use the mirror mounts. Don't worry all will be well. I have similar antennas and I shoot skip all day with one pill.

 

Oh yea one other thing. They will whistle like hell as you drive so be ready to keep the window closed most times. It's quite frankly annoying to the point of insanity at times.

 

just get a 5' or 5.5' francis and be done with it. you'll spend less than<$25 and talk/listen strong if your cb is set up. the francis is pretuned for 18' of coax so it is install and over with.

i broke my last francis here at the house friday as i hit a limb at the driveway.my dipshoot luck.i installed a wilson trucker 2000 or something like that and already do not like the noise it seems to bring.no i have not set the swr on it and won't as i'll get another francis when i go back out.

 

You'd be better off tuning that wilson. I wouldn't waste my time with a so called pretuned antenna because really, what's it pretuned to? Think about it.

 

The 5.5 foot Francis is the better choice VS the Wilson on this model truck and Francis is one of the most efficient fiberglass antennas ever made. A top loaded Skip Shooter around 6 feet in length worked even better if you read the large amount of experimenting Mike5511 has done on this model truck. Including custom building Wilson shafts 3 feet or longer and the problems of being an unwieldy top heavy antenna. SWR difficulties and poor performance both being problems which in the end did not work all that well. The Wilson design requires a higher current flow at the feedpoint which is contraindicated by trucks with poor ground of higher impedance. Francis is typically tuned in the middle of the band. The operating parameters for the test setup was based upon typical average conditions arrived at through much experimentation. If conditions in application deviate too far it can be tuned.

To raise the resonant frequency remove the cap and cut with a high speed thin disc (avoids cracks which will admit moisture), coat the area with clear Acrylic, glue the cap on. To lower frequency replace the cap with a tunable tip. At least two types have been made over the years. Or buy a cheap Chrome coated plastic antitheft doorlock knob. Drill it, slide up or down and glue in place when you find the position yielding low SWR. They work just as well for under 2 bucks as the more expensive metal tunable tips. Don't underestimate the Francis antenna it is a well tested design.

 

20 years ago a Frances 5x5 was what most of the "freighthaulers" ran. You could hear them coming for miles! (most of them had a little "fire in the wire" as well!)

 

not that over 25 years of driving has anything to do with my knowledge of antennas that work and those that do not,but in my experience i know what works for me. I put lots of thought into whatever i use regarding my citizens band transceiver set up.add to my experience around trucks the fact that i was into cb's when i was a teenager and still have moonraker 4 beams and all the base stations i have aquired over the years.

to sum it up,i run what works for me and has the least amount of time to install and go.it was my fault i broke my francis as it was a tree limb that is in my yard. hype the wilson all you desire to.they are not all that and i only have a couple because i buy radios from drivers needing to sell package deals and i only used it because i broke my francis.tuned or not,that wilson trucker 2000 is a crap antenna and is not worth anywhere near the $49.99 i saw it advertised for at love"s today.heck,i don't consider it as a good back up antenna but it is all i had in the side box for now.

our opinions differ but that is cool.I have tuned it since my last post and it was using an swr meter that is probably older than you! it was not off by much yet still is not a 5.5 francis and the francis costs 50% less.