WeBoost Cell Booster Install

I'm hitting the home stretch on my WeBoost Cell Phone Booster install and thought it was time to write something up. I still have to work on the internal receiver as the proof-of-concept 3D print holder is good but isn't quite there.

I use my bed cover regularly, so I wasn't in a place I wanted to through a bed rack on yet. I also don't have the need for a roof rack yet, so my external antenna options for mounting was limited. I looked at going the ditch light bracket mount option along with a couple other options, but in the end, I chose to make my own.

The challenge was that I wanted something that would go under the Tonneau Cover because I didn't want to drill into it or the bed. I started with a steel bracket from a local store and just beat the hell out of it and tapped one end for a bolt clamp. I ran it that way for a few weeks before running the cables permanently just to test things. I did get a lot of wind wobble, but that was due to the loose clamp on the bed rail because of the temporary setup.


Once I had proved it out, I bought a piece of bar stock aluminum and put it into the vice. Then heated it up and bent it where I needed the bends. I then drilled and tapped the holes for the bolt clamps (I added a second one and found it was much tighter). I also decided to utilize the mounting bracket that came with the kit. I am pretty satisfied with the results. The bed cover still seals great, the bracket is fairly stable, and the bed cover can still be opened all the way.



Once the mount was figured out I went about the final wiring. I chose to come down the front of the bed and then come into the cab through one of the rubber grommets. I've seen people go through the rear cab vents, but to get there it required a whole lot of disassembly and internal wiring. It was much easier to get it where it needed to be on the outside of the truck. As I wanted the unit mounted under the passenger seat, I mounted the antenna and ran the cables up the passenger side.

I started with making a drip loop for moisture and found a nice frame hole to tie to right where it needed to be.


Once I made it past the cab mount, there was already a bundle of wiring running along the frame so I attached to that all the way up to the grommet.



I cut a slit in the rubber grommet and entered the cab right near the under side of the passenger seat. Going in here, allowed me to pull the inside trim and just run the cable under the carpeting to exit at the HVAC vent under that seat.


I wound up the extra cable and hid it under the carpet only exposing what I needed to reach the WeBoost unit. I also mounted the WeBoost unit in the best place available in my opinion. I am not getting the full heat and air blowing on the unit by offsetting it, and it fits right inside the chair frame rail. it also allowed easy access to getting the power and internal wiring into the trim of the console.


Under the cupholders, I ran the wiring and tied the extra cable out of the way of anything that was moving by following wiring that was already in place from the factory. Keep in mind that I'm taking you through this from the WeBoost device, but the cable must be run the opposite direction if you are going to utilize the WeBoost 12v socket like I did.

#1: Came inside the trim without cutting anything.
#2: ran under the shift linkage attaching to factory wiring to ensure no interference.
#3: Coiled the extra cable up and tied it to existing wiring that avoided the emergency brake mechanism.
#4: Attached the cable to the mount for the USB in the console to keep it out of the way of any moving parts.
#5: Routed the wiring under the console to come into the already existing holes under the felt pad.



I then made a slit in the felt base of the console and had the wire come up through that. The end result is a very clean install of the power adapter that allows for the use of the console, the ability to turn the device on and off easily and also the ability to unplug and use the power point for other things if needed.



For the internal antenna wiring, I came into the center console in the place as the power cable (See #1 above). I then ran it up the side of the trim till I got to the dash. Currently I have the cable running up the side of the glove box and then along the top of the trim to my 3D printed phone mount.


I took my previous phone mount and added a bracket to hold the interior receiver. I am still working this part out as my thoughts on this solution are mixed. I want to hide the cables obviously. I also the antenna as close to the phone as I can without being intrusive. Lastly, I don't want to permanently mount the receiver at the dash because if I end up camping or anything, I'd like to be able to move it closer to where we might be outside of the truck. Right now it looks a bit of a mess, but I have proven the phone mounting concept and just need to figure out the wiring portion for the permanent install.



I will be installing a USB plug on top of the dash so that I don't have a cable running down to the bottom of the dash to clean that up, so I'll probably run the antenna cable inside the dash at that point and figure out a better way to mount the excess wiring. For now though, this is working fantastically.

As I am removing the chrome I will also more than likely paint the bracket to black so that it doesn't shine so much.

 

Nicely done. I have one of these in my small teardrop camper for better cell reception when
out in the boonies, and it does improve signal quite well.

 

I SO need to get this done, have had mine in a box for over a year waiting to be installed...

/sad

 

has anyone used this north of the border

 

I'm waiting to pull the trigger on this one

 

Do you ask because you think the law maybe different there or do you think the cellular system is somehow different north of the border?

 

New problem: aluminum bracket broke in half from the wind and vibration of the antenna. Back to the drawing board I guess.

 

I want know how much of a difference it makes…. Please report back, thanks !

 

I switched to Rhino-Back Folding Aerial Bracket after my rammount broke. Which aluminum bracket were you using ?

 

I had made my own. There should be pictures in the original post.

 

If anyone duplicates this, remove the plug (yes, it can be removed) and make a hole. Many cheap tools besides a razor.

 

Awesome write-up. Nice detail, pictures and numbered arrows. Thanks for all that effort. Very helpful.

 

I just finished installing mine today as a matter of fact. FWIW - Mounted to rearmost portion of my Sherpa rack on the Rhino Rack folding antenna mount (well worth the $$ IMO). I used only one of the posts and no spring - didn't use any loctite either, but can always add later -seems pretty solid without. Ran the wire behind the side of the rack using magnets ...down the passenger window through the passenger firewall. Barely had enough wire to reach the box under passenger seat - another foot would have been nice. Receiver is mounted on the lower back right side of arm rest (not sure if that's the best location, but it's discrete and within the 3 feet). The power plug is run up under the shifter tunnel and pops out just below the cigarette lighter. Pretty tidy out of the box and really can't tell it's there. Might hard wire it eventually.

 

"...Springs are added to antennas to provide stress relief to both the antenna and the antenna mount in wind and in situations when obstacles such as tree limbs are likely to be struck by the antenna."