So, company finally traded in the aging '07 Colorado for a shiny new '16 F150 XLT 4x4. Totally awesome, loving the huge gain in space and power from the inline-5 Colorado. However... the damned thing's all aluminum, and the door is shaped just differently enough to render our SECO GPS door mounts useless. That means no mag mounts, no door mounts, and no way to keep the GPS outside of the vehicle & maintain initialization when moving. Has anyone else run into this issue, and if so, what kind of solutions have you come up with? The first thing to come to my mind was some kind of suction cup QD mounts for the roof, but if anyone's invented them, I'm having a helluva time finding them.
Maybe this is my calling to switch careers and jump into an untouched accessory market for these newfangled aluminum work trucks.
I can relate. At Thanksgiving dinner I was surprised to see that a magnet wouldn't stick to the door on my son's new "stainless steel" refrigerator. Must've been the magnet.....:(
I keep it on the pole and just stick it out the rolled down window. Not a great solution but it works. If you trying to shoot topo using the truck, not such a great solution.
Receiver hitch rack, I have one in the garage I would like to get rid of.
SHG
paden cash, post: 401320, member: 20 wrote: I can relate. At Thanksgiving dinner I was surprised to see that a magnet wouldn't stick to the door on my son's new "stainless steel" refrigerator. Must've been the magnet.....:(
Most stainless is non-magnetic, though some are magnetic.
You'll just have to invent a magnet for aluminum. 😉 I have an aluminum cap on my truck with a lightweight ladder rack on top. I clamped a short piece of an old rod to one of the uprights. That plus a quick disconnect gets the job done.
Rub salt all over it. And bubble gum. Now, a magnet will stick!
Make a mount from the pump style of suction cups. Have plenty of redundancy, because an accident would be bad .. They are very strong and I have one that we have used for the last 20 years and it still works great. Ours was a commercial offering though. https://www.grainger.com/product/2MDE8?gclid=CjwKEAiAyO_BBRDOgM-K8MGWpmYSJACePQ9CP9isbsz9nWTsPeZaVdAM6jdE0gAK1FgfIqfCgPQJERoCGy_w_wcB&cm_mmc=PPC:GOOGLEPLAA-_-Material%20Handling-_-Lifting%20Magnets%20and%20Suction%20Cup%20Lifters-_-2MDE8&AL!2966!3!51835085277!!!g!82129004637!&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!51835085277!!!g!82129004637!&ef_id=WBEDewAAAYgPfIgZ:20161128180659:s
You can try to put a magnet inside of the Cab for the other magnet to hold on to, or add a headache rack to the rear window and mount it to that. or just weld a screw to the roof.
Mr. PoorPDOP,
I can appreciate the concern with keeping the antenna outside the vehicle while moving. Initialization was often tough to achieve with my older stuff.
Have you considered something other than physically attaching the holder or bracket to the vehicle body? Hows about a trailer hitch mount?
I have a smallish vehicle and stuffing, even a collapsable rod, inside of it is tough anyway. I had a receiver/holder made that would accomodate the carbon fiber rods I had traditionally used for this purpose. It is out of the way and I can open and close the tailgate with no problem. I don't have any pics nearby, but I will post one when I get a chance.
As things have evolved. I use that device less and less now that I don't concern myself with maintaining lock with either my own radio or an RTN since I've been able to set the unit to 5 hz., making initialization a non-issue. I still use this unit it if I have the bipod attached to the rod for more than a few shots.
JA, PLS SoCal
Aftermarket 2" trailer hitch receiver, just the small one with the tabs. Bolt it to the frame, just behind the cab, and then have a receiver tube fabricated to stick out beyond the bed, and hold the pole right next to the truck. Pull the pin and take it out when not in use.
But really, the new gear, fixes so fast, just put in the passenger seat and go.
Jim Frame, post: 401325, member: 10 wrote: Most stainless is non-magnetic, though some are magnetic.
Depends on whether it's ferritic or austenitic stainless steel. If you're of a higher mental caliber than myself you can read about the molecular compositions:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-dont-magnets-work-on/
As for me, it still doesn't explain why a magnet won't stick to something called "steel" .
toivo1037, post: 401339, member: 973 wrote: Aftermarket 2" trailer hitch receiver, just the small one with the tabs. Bolt it to the frame, just behind the cab, and then have a receiver tube fabricated to stick out beyond the bed, and hold the pole right next to the truck. Pull the pin and take it out when not in use.
But really, the new gear, fixes so fast, just put in the passenger seat and go.
I was thinking he wanted it to be fixed so he could drive around and topo a road, but I agree the new networks connect fast, I always put it in the back seat and, by the time I get the range pole back together I am fixed.
I'm ashamed of you all, that I'm number 14 in this thread and the first to recommend Duct Tape.
Jim Frame, post: 401325, member: 10 wrote: Most stainless is non-magnetic, though some are magnetic.
If I recall from my days working in the foundry business, stainless is only magnetic when it is composed of an inferior alloy.
I like the idea of a front bumper or front receiver mount that I could keep my eye on.
Shelby H. Griggs PLS, post: 401324, member: 335 wrote: Receiver hitch rack, I have one in the garage I would like to get rid of.
SHG
Photos?
How much $ to have it shipped to me?
Brad Ott, post: 401350, member: 197 wrote: Photos?
How much $ to have it shipped to me?
You beat me to it!
PoorPDOP, post: 401354, member: 8412 wrote: You beat me to it!
Actually, it seems like he offered it to you first.
I made a mount that spanned between the two truck boxes, that worked very well; on my latest truck I decided not to do that and now I put it on the 4 wheeler mount when I need a receiver on the truck.
If you have truck tool boxes I would drill into them and make a mount that way.