One of the great things about Jeep ownership is making it your own. We all have different wants and needs for our Jeeps. When it comes to modifications, the only limit is in our imaginations. Well, maybe our budgets as well. Mounting accessories and electronics in the Jeep JK can be a bit of a problem. Jeep’s efforts to modernize the interior of the Wrangler, combined with a plain lack of space in such a small vehicle, results in a fairly cluttered dash. The lack of a fixed roof just adds to the problem.
Radio communications are maybe not essential but definitely a good idea to have when traveling off-road. In the places our Jeeps can take us, cell-phone coverage can’t always be relied upon. Having radio communications also adds to the fun. It’s always fun to razz that guy in the group (you’re not off-roading alone are you?) who keeps getting stuck. Unless you’re like us, of course, and you’re at the receiving end of said razzing and provide the entertainment for the group. Aside from just being a good idea to have, CB radios are required for trail runs by many clubs and most organized events. From small, self-contained units like Cobra’s 75 WX ST to fullsize units such as the Cobra 29 LX Camo we used here, there is a radio to fit nearly every person’s size and feature requirements. Mounting solutions range from wedging it between the seats, all the way to consoles such as those from Tuffy Security Products. We wanted to try something else.
In our ’11 Jeep Wrangler JK, a Yaesu amateur radio, remote speaker and GPS unit already took up a fair portion of the dash. The future install of a custom dash-top switch panel was going to take up even more space, but we still needed a CB. We did try the Cobra 75 WX ST but missed our fullsized unit. The trick here was working within our budget, which is somewhere between free and ramen noodles.
The rearview mirror, surprisingly enough, is still fully functional. Some silicone material and a piece of aluminum angle was used to mount the ham radio faceplate to the top of the CB, and the speaker for the ham radio was glued to the bottom of the CB with the same silicone, The whole thing is very solid and easy to see from the driver seat.
Everything you need for this project can be found at your local hardware store. We had everything lying around the garage, but the entire project shouldn't cost more than about $10. While we made angle brackets out of aluminum angle, a couple of corner brackets from the hardware store would easily suffice.
We wanted this mount as tight to the windshield frame as possible. The heavy duty Velcro we stuck to the plastic and to the radio helps to resist vibration. Make sure you run on your wiring behind the plastic before bolting the mount up there.
In retrospect, our microphone mounting could have been thought out a lot better. While it's an OK place to have the microphones, they tend to not stay in the clips when the going gets rough as there's just too much weight in the cords. They will be getting moved.
