CB RADIO NO SWR READING. PLEASE HELP

It's hard to tell, but I would discontinue use until you are able to get a good reliable meter to check it.

I have one in my truck. Swing by Carrollton texas tonight and I'll check it for you for free!

I also notice you have the wire routed under the bedliner. That's going to chafe that wire pretty quick. You have the right idea but going about it the wrong way. I know it's not sexy, but adel clamps are the best ways to secure wires in an environment where it moves. Here is an example of what is used in the aviation industry:

Gardner Bender 3/8 in. Rubber-Insulated Metal Clamps (2-Pack)-PPR-1500 - The Home Depot

There are other acceptable methods but whatever you do, you don't want your wire going "under" anything. Wires aren't designed for that.

 

On my Silverado pickup, I used a left-hand fender mount. Something like what’s in this link below. I ordered the left-hand fender mount because my AM/FM antenna is on the right fender.

AUC11K - Short Hood Mount Kit for CB Antenna

You just have to order the one that’s made for your year, make, and model of pickup. You can order it with or without the coax.
I know it’s not the ideal spot on the vehicle such as the roof, but it worked just fine for me.

 

Vinny,
Let's start with a few basics.

First off the metal doesn't matter. Your tool box isn't a real problem, but ... well there is room for improvement. If you are good at making things, you can make a good aluminum mount to put the antenna near the top or above the cab, which is what I've done with my pickups. It works good, my mount is actually between the bed and cab on my present pickup because of the huge cap I have on it, I also have another antenna on the cap itself with a piece of roofing aluminum under it but that's not important. The mount you have right now will work, it just isn't in the best place.

Second is that you are getting a reading on the SWR meter which is actually a good thing because you actually talked to someone, but I would not mess with an external meter, I would get someone with an Antenna Analyzer to check the antenna out. I would do this after remounting the antenna.

Third thing that you should understand is that ground wire needs to be stranded or flat braided grounding strap, don't use solid wire. Using solid wire will cause more issues that I won't get into. The bed should be grounded to reduce noise, so should the cab and doors. BUT to create the ground plane that is needed, it isn't hard to create a good ground. Now this gets into my fourth point so read on.

Fourth there is another issue which is really technical, it is called a common mode problem. This is where the coax acts like part of the antenna, which is what we don't want. This is solved by putting a choke on the coax to stop the RF from traveling from the center conductor to the outside conductor of the coax. This can cause problems with transmission, reducing the talking distance and making any effective ground worthless. BUT it is the effective ground we need to focus on, which you need to get that fixed.

Hope this helps.

 

Ridgeline knows his stuff but im thinkin the op is fairly new...So my suggestion is a nice big tri mag and mount tour antenna to that on tour roof.....Alot less work and issue but i suspect you will gain alot from it...
My lil stryker 447hpc2 does great with a sirio mag mount on the roof..

 

I assumed the OP was new to cb radio too, that’s why I was trying to keep it simple for him to understand. I’ve heard more people complain about their antenna’s mounted on a toolbox, verses people who were happy with it. I know the front fender mount loses it’s cool factor as far as looks go, but it works a whole lot better than a tool box mounted antenna does, as far as getting it to work. Plus the front fender mount has a lot less problems to deal with than a toolbox mount.

 

Fender mount makes it more directional to the opposite side its mounted...Rather my ant be ommi directional by being on the roof..

 

I mounted a wilson 5K in the center of the lid of the toolbox. Knowing that it wasn't the "best" location, it was my only option. Bonding and grounding is way more important than most people realize. Ridgeline always gives great ideas and advice. My "learning" came from reading installation on some great ham sites. I may have gone extreme on the wiring that I did for power and grounding but it worked for me. 0 awg power lines and grounds to the frame, bonded every piece of sheet metal on the truck including the exhaust pipe, drug a stainless steel cable to reduce white noise. My swr was 1.1 to 1.2 and could talk 40-60 miles mobile to mobile and close to 100 miles flat out to base stations (not skip). The best compliment when talking skip around the world though is when in the conversation the other end doesn't believe you are mobile and swear you are on a base.