Car Wash and OEM Antenna

[mazeppa]

I occasionally use an automatic non-touchless carwash (never on a newer nice vehicle), and the attendant will remove the antenna if you want, I remove it myself and replace when done.

Now to get off topic, old man blabbering on . . . . . . ....
When my grandkids when younger I told them the non-touchless carwash was a "spook house", it was very funny, they would scream and laugh and have the best time for just going to a car wash. They would always request to go through the "spook house" whenever they saw that carwash, no matter who they were with.

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[PyrPatriot]

Problem solved

 

[khokhonutt]

I'v all ways removed mine before going through, i carry a 4" metric speed wrench just for it in glove box

Same here. I went the opposite of many and replaced the stock antenna with a CB antenna and signal combiner. This way I didn't have to add a separate antenna to use both the CB and radio. That said, I've been in the habit of removing my antenna for a long time, before any auto car wash. So having a wrench handy to remove, toss in the back seat, then install is a fairly painless solution IMHO.

 

[steve68]

Installed stubby's on both my rigs JT/JKU, too much movement, and I don't listen to the radio,

and no car washes, not a fan!

 

[Jake]

Mine is about 3 inches short and gets fantastic reception. And when I take it to the car wash(truck beauty parlor) I don’t even think of taking it off.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The very best solution is to never use any auto car wash since they abuse the vehicle and can't do nearly as good a job as a human can.
Never saw a whip/brush/mop system yet that reached everything and did a good job, let alone didn't abuse the paint.
The body shop I use cringes at the very mention of automatic car washes.

No vehicle of mine will ever be taken through one unless it's just a quickie touchless system to get the salt and sand off when it's just too cold or I'm in a hurry. Sorry, I won't pay for a machine to take wips to my stuff and thrash it with the grit of the last car through.
In decent weather when my gas powered pressure washer isn't put away for the winter it will be done at home with my own more gentle auto detergent and hand cleaning.

 

[WXman]

Stubby antennas suck and they also are plastic so they tend to break off at the base, especially in cold weather. Ask me how I know. And let me tell you, removing what's left of the stud from the mount can be a pain. Never again.

I haven't had an issue at the car wash with a factory antenna ever. But, quickly removing it first does seem like a cheap insurance policy.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Same here. I went the opposite of many and replaced the stock antenna with a CB antenna and signal combiner. This way I didn't have to add a separate antenna to use both the CB and radio. That said, I've been in the habit of removing my antenna for a long time, before any auto car wash. So having a wrench handy to remove, toss in the back seat, then install is a fairly painless solution IMHO.

Cool to see! I just got the same setup with a 2' Firestik delivered yesterday. Still no CB (F&*K Fry's Electronics by the way - don't ever do business with them), but I figured I could at least hook the rest up. Mine is a Sting Grey to boot.

Anything goofy with the installation? I imagine it would be straight forward.

 

[khokhonutt]

Cool to see! I just got the same setup with a 2' Firestik delivered yesterday. Still no CB (F&*K Fry's Electronics by the way - don't ever do business with them), but I figured I could at least hook the rest up. Mine is a Sting Grey to boot.

Anything goofy with the installation? I imagine it would be straight forward.

So, I'm not sure what parts you plan on using, but I went with the Rugged Ridge antenna kit, to get the combiner, mount and wiring. I read, though, that their piece that went from the antenna to the truck (makes a 90 degree turn from the antenna base) is delicate and can break easily. With that in mind, I used a Firestik Firering instead at the base of the antenna.

Also most likely overkill, but I ran a ground wire to the base, to ensure I didn't have SWR issues when tuning the CB. It was also a bit of a pain disconnecting the FM antenna at the firewall.

As others have said, I don't use FM much, but I do like to have that option. I'm also planning to install a Ham radio, so it was important to me to minimize the number of antennas. In the end, I'm sure I spent a little more money than if I'd sourced the parts separately, but I'm very happy with the clean install and the functionality.

 

[spazzyfry123]

So, I'm not sure what parts you plan on using, but I went with the Rugged Ridge antenna kit, to get the combiner, mount and wiring. I read, though, that their piece that went from the antenna to the truck (makes a 90 degree turn from the antenna base) is delicate and can break easily. With that in mind, I used a Firestik Firering instead at the base of the antenna.

Also most likely overkill, but I ran a ground wire to the base, to ensure I didn't have SWR issues when tuning the CB. It was also a bit of a pain disconnecting the FM antenna at the firewall.

As others have said, I don't use FM much, but I do like to have that option. I'm also planning to install a Ham radio, so it was important to me to minimize the number of antennas. In the end, I'm sure I spent a little more money than if I'd sourced the parts separately, but I'm very happy with the clean install and the functionality.

Yep, I also got the Rugged Ridge kit. I would have liked to have sourced some of the items separately, but I wasn't able to find a mount for the antenna on its own; only within the kit that has everything. A bit more expensive than I would have liked considering what you get, but I'm also on the minimal antenna train and forced to get this kit short of fabbing up something myself. I also see you got new hardware which I will probably do myself. Do you recall the thread and length? I may opt for button heads.

I was going to start digging into it today, but the weather isn't compliant. Hope to tear it apart tomorrow!

 

[spazzyfry123]

So, I'm not sure what parts you plan on using, but I went with the Rugged Ridge antenna kit, to get the combiner, mount and wiring. I read, though, that their piece that went from the antenna to the truck (makes a 90 degree turn from the antenna base) is delicate and can break easily. With that in mind, I used a Firestik Firering instead at the base of the antenna.

Also most likely overkill, but I ran a ground wire to the base, to ensure I didn't have SWR issues when tuning the CB. It was also a bit of a pain disconnecting the FM antenna at the firewall.

As others have said, I don't use FM much, but I do like to have that option. I'm also planning to install a Ham radio, so it was important to me to minimize the number of antennas. In the end, I'm sure I spent a little more money than if I'd sourced the parts separately, but I'm very happy with the clean install and the functionality.

So I gotta know. How did you get the OEM antenna through the firewall? The 90 degree brace right at the grommet is a bear. Short of breaking the thing... how??

 

[MarkO]

Mine is about 3 inches short and gets fantastic reception. And when I take it to the car wash(truck beauty parlor) I don’t even think of taking it off.

Brand? I bought an AntennaX, and it destroyed radio reception (in the middle of Los Angeles). Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[khokhonutt]

So I gotta know. How did you get the OEM antenna through the firewall? The 90 degree brace right at the grommet is a bear. Short of breaking the thing... how??

The antenna? Or the original cable that runs into the Jeep? I'll be honest I don't 100% remember, but I believe I disconnected the antenna from the connector inside the Jeep (that I remember being a bear for me to get at). Then I think I had to tug to get the grommet (the one inside the firewall) from the outside to get it to come loose. I think at that point I pulled it out, but I wouldn't rule out clipping the wire.

 

[Incommando]

Here is a stubby with decent reviews (although I haven’t tried it):
https://www.quadratec.com/products/13008_1002_14.htm#

 

[spazzyfry123]

The antenna? Or the original cable that runs into the Jeep? I'll be honest I don't 100% remember, but I believe I disconnected the antenna from the connector inside the Jeep (that I remember being a bear for me to get at). Then I think I had to tug to get the grommet (the one inside the firewall) from the outside to get it to come loose. I think at that point I pulled it out, but I wouldn't rule out clipping the wire.

The grommet ended up being the culprit. HOLY COW trying to get that thing back in.

Where did you end up grounding the multiplexor?

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