Aftermarket sharkfin antenna that’s lower than OEM?

[Angrylawman]

I did some searching first, but couldn’t find exactly what I’m looking for. My apologies if I overlooked something.

I have a 2017 Platinum. I have a somewhat unique situation. I have a motorized stacked parking garage. I had been parking my Explorer on the upper platform, but I just noticed some rust damage on the platform that weakened it making it too risky to keep parking my Explorer on it. The lower platform is fine, but doesn’t have much clearance. Long story short, my OEM sharkfin antenna is about 1/2 too tall to allow me to reverse park in my garage. It hits the upper platform. I can park nose in with no problem, but reversing out again is an adventure due to limited space in the alleyway behind my garage. It’s even more of an adventure than it needs to be due to an intermittent reverse camera issue I’m having (that’s worth a whole other thread).

I saw some threads regarding the visual garage sharkfin antenna, but their site doesn’t list height specs.

Does anyone know of any alternatives that are smaller than the OEM part?

Cheers.

 

[Querys]

Maybe the Edge Antenna is a bit smaller?
You should stick with OEM Antenna, if possible, because they are optimized for the Ford Entertainment System.

 

[fjc2]

I recently put one of these stubby 4" antennas on my Explorer, so that the antenna wouldn't hit the garage door when I lifted my vehicle. Took all of 30 seconds to unscrew the stock antenna and screw this one on.
Seems to work just as well as the stock antenna in my limited testing.

Edit: Sorry, I missed that you have a newer model that came with a sharkfin antenna - my apologies!

 

[ljcorby]

Maybe the Edge Antenna is a bit smaller?
You should stick with OEM Antenna, if possible, because they are optimized for the Ford Entertainment System.

I have a Visual Garage color matched sharkfin antenna on my 2013 XLT. The radio reception is actually better in my opinion. The Navigation and Sirius radio use the OEM already installed antenna's in the car. The sharkfin antenna did not change that. I would recommend.

 

[Querys]

He has a 2017 this comes already with a Shark Fin antenna. This is not comparable to 2011-2015 because they have a different Antenna design.

 

[ljcorby]

He has a 2017 this comes already with a Shark Fin antenna. This is not comparable to 2011-2015 because they have a different Antenna design.

Got it thanks. Missed that part. Apologies.

 

[peterk9]

I have a Visual Garage color matched sharkfin antenna on my 2013 XLT. The radio reception is actually better in my opinion. The Navigation and Sirius radio use the OEM already installed antenna's in the car. The sharkfin antenna did not change that. I would recommend.

What is the height of it? That is the OP's issue. His is 1/2" too high. The OEM is 2 3/4" high.

Peter

 

[ljcorby]

Well, it's currently raining hard here in the Northeast, so I just found this on their web site. Hope this helps. If the rain stops I can go out and try to get an exact measurement.

What are the dimensions of the VG Shark Fin Antennas?

The VG Shark Fin Antenna is approximately 6.5”L x 4.25” x 2.5”H and the Mark II VG Shark Fin Antenna is approximately 6.5”L x 3.75”W x 2.5”H. Please note that these are only the footprint dimensions and that the curved surfaces affect the overall look as well. Here are some pictures that compare the overall shape of our shark fin antennas.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Angrylawman.
I'm guessing that issue is with the tires properly inflated.
.
Peter

 

[Angrylawman]

Well, it's currently raining hard here in the Northeast, so I just found this on their web site. Hope this helps. If the rain stops I can go out and try to get an exact measurement.

What are the dimensions of the VG Shark Fin Antennas?

The VG Shark Fin Antenna is approximately 6.5”L x 4.25” x 2.5”H and the Mark II VG Shark Fin Antenna is approximately 6.5”L x 3.75”W x 2.5”H. Please note that these are only the footprint dimensions and that the curved surfaces affect the overall look as well. Here are some pictures that compare the overall shape of our shark fin antennas.

Thanks for this! I'll give it a try. 1/4" difference and a tiny bit of air out of my tires may make all the difference. Even after I fix my garage lift it would be nice to keep the Explorer on the bottom rack to be able to park my motorcycle on top of it.

Thanks to everyone else for your suggestions as well.

 

[Angrylawman]

Welcome to the Forum Angrylawman.
I'm guessing that issue is with the tires properly inflated.
.
Peter

Thanks for the welcome, and also for the reminder. I haven't checked my tire inflation since my last service. Sometimes they over inflate and if they under inflated, I guess I need more than an extra 1/2" of clearance.