Ham (or CB) antenna roof mount options

I know there's a bunch of antenna mount threads but I have a specific question and didn't want to hijack the other threads.

I have my 2m Ham radio installed and the supplied antenna (with magnetic mount) on the roof. It's positioned just a few inches from the passenger side of the truck between the front and rear doors (double cab).

I'm about to add a Thule rack above the front doors.

I'd like to bolt a metal plate to the Thule rack bar and place the magnetic base of the antenna on this plate.

Now my question. Is this kind of mount going to have a big impact on radio range compared to placing the antenna directly on the rood? The metal rack bar is isolated from the roof by the plastic rack feet.

Either way, is placing the antenna near the side of the roof going have a big impact on range compared to putting it closer to the center of the roof?

Thanks

 

It won't make much difference at all, unless you are talking to aircraft a lot and even then won't matter much. Think about how radio waves propagate. I have the half wave antenna on my taco permanent mounted "properly" in the center of the cab, and the two quarter wave antennas on my work truck are magnetic mounts on the side of the cab. There is zero appreciable difference in TX or RX. I use all three radios every day, I am not a casual user. Kind of makes me wish I just got a mag mount for the taco instead of drilling a hole in the roof and going to all that trouble running the cable.

 

What username said. I myself have 4 mag mounts , one in the middle of roof and three across the rear of the roof near the third brake light . They all work fine. Also have oem roof rack around them.

 

Not sure if the antenna would be grounded properly with the plate idea. I had the same dilemma on my truck. Wanted a rack but wasn't willing to get rid of my mag mount. So I made my own rack which let me keep the antenna just pushed back a little farther on the roof.

 

If you are building a mount plate anyway, why not drill and properly install an nmo mount?

 

Because what he said:

I really don't want to drill a hole in my roof personally. Mag mount works wonderfully and makes it possible to switch things up when the time comes.

 

I already have the magnetic mount antenna. Bolting on a simple piece of metal to the rack is trivial. No need for a new antenna, no need to buy a fancy new NMO base.