579 Peterbilt CB Installation

Out of tankers and now pulling dry van. Assigned truck is a 2016 579 with MX13 PACCAR and Eaton Ultrashift. Saw 8.3-mpg yesterday from Memphis to Dallas. Nicest interior of any truck ever assigned to me. Fridge, inverter and Sat radio. And a great ride (big reason for change).

Uses Smart Air battery-powered AC unit. I’ll be carrying my Norcold refrigerator/freezer as a freezer. (Truck has more batteries than I’ve ever seen before; luckily has a shore power connection).

Truck has single CB antenna on riveted plate high up on sleeper back. Doesn’t clear spoiler.

Haven’t taken a look for fuse panel yet (power), and radio rig will ride on passenger seat (two joined TAC COMM TRC2 Radio Carriers).

Haven’t seen any antenna mounts past a curb mirror unit.

Got home last night and have a few days to get the truck set up besides renewing Haz-Mat, TWIC, new medical, etc.

Research hasn’t revealed anything in the way of an optimal antenna system.

Anyone?

 

Believe I’ll first try the OEM sleeper mount with a slightly taller antenna. (Need to measure plate height). Run coax up under bunk access (per contributors Bad Influence and Mack E6) with pre-existing holes.

Radio rig will be on passenger seat (for now; would prefer similar to a seat bolt tall laptop stand) so I’ll just take coax along floor the rest of the way.

As this truck already has 350k miles, I don’t expect to be in it past one year.

How well is anyone getting out with a sleeper-back mount and a van? My thread from early this year on an International LT with dual antennas at same was that it was okay “forward”, but quickly lost contact “behind”.

 

I’ve seen the mount.

I don’t have a vertical bar as contributor Bad Influence does in pics on his 579 thread. Has a Predator mounted up.

I asked a mod to transfer that thread to this subforum. BI did nice work and wrote excellent descriptions.

 

Looks like the back-of-sleeper mount will almost allow a 5’ antenna. So I’ll try my (1997) 5’ Wilson Silver Load.

Bought a pair of them and my Uniden PC76 to put on the Deaton, Inc Freightliner FLD I was driving (flatbed, mainly steel) while at the T/A just north of St Louis in Illinois. (Alton?)

Had to run slightly out of route a month later near home to get Clays Radio (Robert) near x370 IH20 in TX out west of Fort Worth to tune it all up. Antennas done while under the infamous metal shed. (Which is still there; they’ve moved to San Antonio).

Man, was I proud. Had just started driving, and finally had enough money.

Broke off one 5 years later backing down an alley in Ballinger, TX delivering floor tile to a hardware store. Another FLD.

Nothing but compliments on that system.

 

New to vans. Thinking this antenna height is pushing my luck too far.