GMRS OR VHF RADIO INSTALL ON GLADIATOR

[David G]

I'm sure a few of you have installed your radios in your gladiator. I just got my Nighthawk a few days ago and haven't had a chance to give this much thought. Anyone here have pictures and installation advice you may want to share?

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[Jeepmonster]

I went with GMRS since everyone else I wheel with use it. I mounted (just Velcro) the main unit under the passenger seat and routed an RJ45 extender to the side of the console, where the mic cable plugs in.

 

[David G]

Nice setup. Thanks for posting. That's the nice thing about the Midland Radios... you can hide the main unit anywhere and control everything from the mic. I have a 25 watt RETEVIS GMRS/VHF that I pulled out of my car when I bought the Gladiator. However, I'll have to place it where I can see the front panel. Were you able to get the wires through the firewall without much of an issue? What kind of range are you getting with that antenna?

 

[Jeepmonster]

After having this radio, I don't think I can ever go back to a regular mic without a display and controls. I really like it. I routed the cable through the firewall on the driver side with a flexible boot. I regularly pick up conversations from at least 10 miles away, with hills/valleys in the way. When wheeling, we're pretty close together (within a few miles) so it's hard to say what kind of range I can really get. I got this type of antenna mostly to avoid brush and branches from snagging.

Here is the boot/grommet I used.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K2285E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Radio Guy]

What kind of range are you looking for, close in trail use or longer range down a hwy or to repeaters? For longer range you might consider a trunk lip mount on top of the hood near the hinges and either a 15" tall UHF 1/2 wave or stacked 5/8 over 5/8 wave for GMRS or for dual band VHF/UHF amateur, MURS and GMRS maybe the Comet 2X4SR antenna. The stubby antenna down below the hood is ok for closer in stuff.

 

[David G]

After having this radio, I don't think I can ever go back to a regular mic without a display and controls. I really like it. I routed the cable through the firewall on the driver side with a flexible boot. I regularly pick up conversations from at least 10 miles away, with hills/valleys in the way. When wheeling, we're pretty close together (within a few miles) so it's hard to say what kind of range I can really get. I got this type of antenna mostly to avoid brush and branches from snagging.

Here is the boot/grommet I used.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K2285E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the feedback and information. Much appreciated.

 

[David G]

What kind of range are you looking for, close in trail use or longer range down a hwy or to repeaters? For longer range you might consider a trunk lip mount on top of the hood near the hinges and either a 15" tall UHF 1/2 wave or stacked 5/8 over 5/8 wave for GMRS or for dual band VHF/UHF amateur, MURS and GMRS maybe the Comet 2X4SR antenna. The stubby antenna down below the hood is ok for closer in stuff.

I don’t have a stubby antenna, so I was curious. I have several antennas for GMRS and VHF/UHF in NMO mobile mount, some dual band and some non ground plane. I had them mount onto a lip mount on the car I just sold, but also use them on my other Ford truck with a lip mount. Now that I have a gladiator, I’m curious to see other setups.

 

[bd100]

Try and find a bracket to get that antenna above the hood. As it is right now it may not be broadcasting sideways as much as it could.

 

[sarguy1941]

I dont have the pictures but I mounted my antenna on the MOPAR light mount behind my SS3 on the right and left hood area. This is the new style.

https://www.mopargenuineparts.com/sku/82215427.html

On the old unit there was room to mount the light further forward then I put the NMO mount behind the light. I run a 1/4" wave UHF black and no one even sees it. I paired it with the Midland MTX275 for my use. My JK has a very similar setup but antenna on a Pillar mount.

 

[GI Grandpa]

I'm sure a few of you have installed your radios in your gladiator. I just got my Nighthawk a few days ago and haven't had a chance to give this much thought. Anyone here have pictures and installation advice you may want to share?

I have my 50 watt Baofeng mounted on a JCR Offroad molle panel.
JcrOffroad: JL/JT Overhead MOLLE Panel | Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator (18+)

 

[kbechtel]

I'm a ham RACES/ ARES operator, so I've got a Yaesu FT-8900. The body is mounted under the seat, and the power is run to a self-resetting fuse under the hood and then to the battery. The speaker is zip-tied to the sound bar behind the driver's side seat. remote head and other dash component holders are BulletProof products. The CR8900 quad-band antenna is mounted on a simple lip mount, that uses the frame as a ground. These photos were taken before the front bumper upgrade last weekend.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I'm sure a few of you have installed your radios in your gladiator. I just got my Nighthawk a few days ago and haven't had a chance to give this much thought. Anyone here have pictures and installation advice you may want to share?

all of em. I need more! 2 radios isn’t enough!

 

[David G]

Wow. Nice setups you guys.

 

[David G]

How'd you guys run the power and antenna wires to the molle panel?

 

[Radio Guy]

Try and find a bracket to get that antenna above the hood. As it is right now it may not be broadcasting sideways as much as it could.

Many trunk lip mounts will fit the hood and no holes needed, there are two setscrews on the underside of the hood lip that holds it on. This places the antenna on top of the hood with a good ground plane. I also removed the plastic side cowl piece that curves down and lined it with 3" wide aluminum tape for more ground plane around the mount. The tape grounds to the two screws on top of the cowl piece mount when its put back on.

I've tried lots of antenna locations on an JT and in my opinion the hood is one of the best and very easy. The drivers side has an access hole right below where the trunk lip mount sits to run the coax right through the firewall and under the dash. The passenger side is much more difficult.

This particular mount is a Laird TMB8U which is very high quality but pricy, I usually get them off eBay when the price drops to around $20. Here is a link to a new one. Some people have complained about the Tram brand lip mount so its good to get a high quality well known brand.

https://www.atlanticradiocorp.com/products/laird-tmb8u-trunk-lid-mount?currency=USD&variant=44486538002606&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&stkn=9fee02560796&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAn9a9BhBtEiwAbKg6ftVicvtnCvTx5Ke61uotihoVHmSOqgQbTqz7ui9Tdmpp6-o6tm7JuBoC15cQAvD_BwE

I have one of these mounts on each side of the hood plus a similar mount on the upper bed wall below the rear window and a super heavy duty mount on the inner side bed wall right behind a wheel well for large HF and other antennas. That's four permanent antenna mounts on my JT and its not enough!

Some key points to remember when mounting antennas is the base of the antenna should never be elevated above the ground plane, the antenna wants to be planted right on the sheet metal otherwise it introduces lots of loss and matching can be a problem. You want adequate ground plane and for UHF/GMRS its not much and a 12" dia circle is perfect. For 2m amateur or MURS a 36" circle of sheet metal is great and for CB much more, like the entire hood is borderline not enough. Upper bed rail edges only provide a minimal amount of ground plane, ok for GMRS but worse for lower frequencies. Placing a mount on the inner upper bed wall makes use of the entire vertical sheet metal on that side and the bed and works well for CB and HF.

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