My 2nd Gen CB Install | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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My 2nd Gen CB Install

It's been a while since I posted, but as you will see soon, I have been busy. I wanted to put a CB in the 2nd gen and after some research, I finally completed the install. First I would like to say that it's a shame that no stores carry CBs in stock anymore. It was like pulling teeth trying to find one in store and every clerk I asked gave me the weirdest looks. Finally I gave up and ordered online. Picked up a RoadPro 48" antenna and a Uniden Pro505XL CB and waited anxiously for it to arrive. This gave me time to figure out where it was going.

The antenna was easy since it came with a rail mount. I clamped the antenna to my basket rack and was on my way. I admittedly got a little lazy with my wiring and instead of running it above the headliner, I ran it above the visors. Still hidden though.









Looks good enough in my opinion. Installed the CB where the center message center is/was in between the visors. I removed the swing down piece and my CB mounting bracket fit right into the space, and I was able to use the existing screws to mount it in place. I did have to make extension pieces to make my CB fit though, as there wasn't enough clearance height wise. That was no big deal as I had some scrap metal straps laying around. Mounting went easy. Wiring was equally as easy. I simply repeated what I did for the CB coaxial cable and ran the wires above the visors and down the inside of the pillar to the fuse panel. Wired it into one of the fuses that is on only when the Explorer is running. Badda Bing Badda Boom! Installed and looks very slick and sounds good too. First transmission I heard was some guy singing Happy Birthday. Haha.









A job well done if I do say so myself. I like where it's mounted and I didn't have to drill any holes in the roof/ceiling. I do possibly need to caulk where I penetrates through the weather stripping on the passenger side. Not positive but probably will just in case.
 






Looks good. Where did you run the ground down to for the antenna mount? Have you tested out the performance yet?
 






Thanks. I ran the antenna ground about halfway down the pillar between the passenger front and rear door. I sanded down the paint (about the size of a quarter) to make a solid ground and screwed down the ground terminal. It's right about the height of the door handles or so. You can see it in the 3rd picture, it just runs down that pillar about half way down. It's not beautiful but it's not noticeable when the doors are closed. Plus it was easy enough to do.
 






Edit: I definitely need to seal the weather stripping where I ran the wires through on the passenger side door. We got snow yesterday and as I was driving today, I had a small waterfall coming from there.

Moral of the story is don't cut corners. If you think you should seal something, do it. At least I didn't run it though the driver side.
 






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