mounting a 102 SS whip on spare tire bracket

[klutch dust]

I have a spare tire bracket mount on my Jeep. I have a 102"ss whip for that spot. The kit came with a piece that mounts to the bracket then the antenna screws into that. After reading most all posts about whips my question is this.
How should the antenna be mounted to this bracket? I've read about springs, grounding, swr's. As a newby I am lost. i don't even know what a duckplucker is...

[Lost Ram]

If your Jeep has a steel body it should not be to much of a problem. As far as how to mount it is the question? It has to be in a spot where it will accept a fastener (bolt/nut in most cases). Sometimes a hole needs to be drilled as well. The mount should be in a location on the bracket that gets the antenna away from the body as much as possible. You also need to check and see if the bracket is grounded. It will not work properly if the bracket is not grounded. Most 102" whips have about a 1.5 SWR if a good ground is present and your coax is in good shape. Decide on an ideal solid location, check it for ground, be sure to get good coax, ask questions if are not sure, install it, then let us know how it went. If you can get a SWR meter it assures that the installation went right, If not double check ground and connections. Its pretty hard to mess up SWR on a 102" whip install.

[kurtis1971]

i found that adding a ground strap from antenna to body helps a lot on jeeps

[231]

I have a spare tire bracket mount on my Jeep. I have a 102"ss whip for that spot. The kit came with a piece that mounts to the bracket then the antenna screws into that. After reading most all posts about whips my question is this.
How should the antenna be mounted to this bracket? I've read about springs, grounding, swr's. As a newby I am lost. i don't even know what a duckplucker is...

There are many kits that attach to the factory spare tire bracket. Which one do you have, does it attach to the bolts on the tailgate or to the bracket itself? Any images of the kit? What year/model of Jeep?

Not all 102" whip installations require a spring. My truck is one of them. My TJ on the other hand needed it. But I like using them anyway for offroad use. The antenna will see plenty of slamming against stuff and they help absorb at least some of the impact of that. And make no mistake, you can in fact break the 3/8 x 24 male connector off of the 102" whip. Granted it takes a real wallop for that to happen, but it can. So I'd get it all installed like you want it then check the standing wave. You'll know soon enough whether or not your installation needs a spring. If you have a hard top with rear defrost, pretty likely even that won't add enough length to the antenna to accommodate for the reflection. If it's a soft top only, then it can go either way. You'll just have to wait and see.

[klutch dust]

It's an 08 Jk and the bracket bolts to the tire mounting bracket using the existing holes. yes it does have a hard top with a rear defroster. Most trips to the desert and the top is off but not always. So what are my options concerning the mounting. With the fiberglass roof that's out. They offer a mount that replaces the left rear liscence plate frame but might as well go to the steel bumper if that is the case..no?

[likes2grill]

I mounted mine to the spare tire bump stop. Seems to work okay there with a ground strap to the frame. Just leave enough length for flexing on those big rocks.

[klutch dust]

I mounted mine to the spare tire bump stop. Seems to work okay there with a ground strap to the frame. Just leave enough length for flexing on those big rocks.

No problem mounting it wherever, my concern is to get the maximum distance and performance out of the radio.You may read my post concerning the antenna for my aluminum trailer, after upgrading and buying new equipment I want to do it right. I know where the on off button is, that's about it.

[231]

It's an 08 Jk and the bracket bolts to the tire mounting bracket using the existing holes. yes it does have a hard top with a rear defroster. Most trips to the desert and the top is off but not always. So what are my options concerning the mounting. With the fiberglass roof that's out. They offer a mount that replaces the left rear liscence plate frame but might as well go to the steel bumper if that is the case..no?

You are right klutch. I saw those and that just doesn't make any sense to me. It looks like the bracket you have might be okay though as it's several inches away from the defroster. Looks like that's about all anyone offers, too. What I'm not clear on is why nobody has made a mount to go behind the tail lights yet? I'd almost bet one of the TeraFlex brackets could be made to work and keep the antenna way from the rear window while getting the antenna mostly above the tub. But I've not looked close enough at a JK's rear lights to see how they bolt on? Might be worth a look see.

Either way, you'll want to run a secondary ground strap from the mount to the tub/chassis. The connection point on the chassis should be shiney metal. I like using a good strong stainless self tapping screw myself. Almost always a good counterpoise connection is a problem. Guys will use tub or existing frame bolts thinking that's enough. Usually those have some sort of coating on them that keeps the good quality RF ground from occurring. So keep that in mind.

That's a drag though. The mounts I saw for the JK are either right up against the spare (almost) or down low.