Hidden CB Radio Install w/ Antenna in Truck Bed

This is my install for a President Johny CB radio with the antenna routed to the back of the truck bed. Very clean and super simple! Interested in a install breakdown? Hit me up in the comments.

 

Lets see it. Curious where you tapped into power and how you ran the antenna.

 

Looks super good! Let's see more pics...

 

Nice!

 

How did you run the wires?

 

OP hasn't been on since May 2019, hopefully he comes back and shares!

 

So sorry about the extremely delayed response, I didn't have notifications turned on and because I never got any emails I thought nobody cared about the project. But I was wrong!!

I'll first start by saying this project started from being frustrated with UHF hand held radios. I was constantly running out the battery power and always digging to find them before a trip. I wanted something hardwired to the battery and small enough to fit in the center console.

When starting a project like this you have about a million options in terms of basestations and frequencies for your own personal system and I will not go into any of those options. I went with CB because thats what me and my buddy decided on. This is one of the most crucial steps because you want to talk to your crew and not just lonely truckers looking for traffic insight. Plus its cheap. I also wanted to have my antenna in the back of the truck and not on the truck hood. Mainly because I thought it looked cooler but then that also makes the build out a lot more involved in terms of running wires.


List of Materials Purchased:
President Andy CB Radio
Firestick FS CB Antenna- 3’
CB Antenna Stud Mount
Firestik FireRing CB Coax with FME
Heavy Duty CB Antenna Spring
Cali Raised Bed Accessory Mount
Total price shipped: $180

Stuff I already had:
Wire Cover
Fuses


Basic CB Layout:

First step was to remove the driver side seat, and the center console. You want to fully remove the center console so you can install the CB brackets, the CB Radio and all wiring with ease.

You have to cut a hole in the bottom of the console to allow for the antenna wire and power cables. It also allows for the CB radio to sit a little lower in the console box. Also you want to find a good place for your on/off switch and drill that hole also.

Make sure your CB microphone fits with the console box closed. Once everything looks right and fits right mark off the CB brackets and screw them into place with the supplied screws. I just went directly into the plastic. Once the brackets are in, install the entire CB radio making sure to feed the power through holes you created.

Now that your CB is installed into your center console lets start running wires! I started at the back of the truck. Install the Cali Raised Bed Mount and then you want to build out your Firestik and spring. Make sure to follow directions from firestik about the correct order of washers when installing the spring and stud mount.


I didn’t want the coax cable to run through the tailgate opening because I though eventually it would get in the way and wouldn’t look clean. So I removed the driverside brake light and fed the female end of the coax up and through. I re-installed the brake light with a little push to line up the bolt and screw it into place. This might be a controversial step with a lot of readers because there is a slight bit of pinch on the CB coax cable but hey it worked for me.


With the antenna successfully mounted at the back of the truck now you have to cover your coax cable with wire cover and start running it along the frame of the truck. Zip-Tie every couple feet just to make sure everything stays in place.


Under the diver side seat along the bottom of the truck, there is a hole covered with a rubber plug, this is where I ran the coax cable. Instead of removing the rubber plug completely, I used a razor to cut a X in the center of the plug and ran the coax through it. Now that the cable is inside the truck cab run it underneath the carpet and up alongside the emergency brake cable feeding it up into the center sole area.

Be aware of any existing wires when running the coax under the carpet and also keep in mind any pinch points when you reinstall the seat. Once your happy with how the coax is run, its time to run your power and ground wires. Start by the emergency brake, go under the carpet, along the ridge under the seat, pop off the door covers on the floor and run the wire with all the others toward the hood latch.


You might have to cut a little bit of the carpet to make room for your wire. I taped the end of my wires to the end of a wire hanger that I cut and bent as straight as possible. I used that to feed the wires through the rubber firewall.

When you have everything into the engine compartment get the wires to the battery. Your power line gets a fuse and I attached the ground wire to the engine compartment ground. Make sure to use decent electrical tape and zip tie everything out of the way as best as possible.

Now that all your wires are run into the correct places make sure check your power works before putting everything back together. If your power is good, replace the center console making sure to feed all the necessary wires into the pre drilled holes. Plug in the antenna and power cables into the CB. Fit the CB into the brackets and power everything on!

Super clean look and the President Andy CB is super loud so I can hear everything pretty clear with the console closed. I was planning to add an external speaker but because I had a hard time finding a place for it and the CB speaker was really good I went without it. Its also barely noticeable when the antenna is off.

Im pretty happy with how everything turned out. I still have to fine tune everything with a meter but for the most part it works great. I use it off roading with friends, for updates on traffic and also to just listen to the witty banter from the truckers. Hit me up with any questions and I hope this helps.

 

That is a GREAT write up. I love the clean look and how you ran everything. Nicely done!!!!

 

Still need a full shot of the truck