Just kicking around an idea

[TenSleep]

Any and all help on this subject would be greatly appreciated, though I've done a lot of CB/Ham installs, I've never done one like this.

I'm a full timer in a 25' travel trailer since I travel a lot for work. Both of my pickups have radios installed, but I'm one that loves to sit in a shack and work the skip when it's rolling in. There lies my only problem, figuring out the best antenna solution for a trailer that has to be able to move and isn't a full base type antenna.

In the past when I was living in an apartment, I would make a dipole out of two mobile antennas and run it off of my balcony, for what it was it worked generally well. I've ran wire antennas, even made my own to experiment with. I'm however stumped trying to figure out how to mount, and what I should run on this brand new trailer. Being as I have 12V power in here already, and I have a good spot for my radio, I'm going with a mobile mounted in the entertainment center, because well, it is entertainment after all.

I've thought about the Maco BA-1, however too long for what I'm looking for. I refuse to run the little 3' no ground antennas, I'll be pushing a "little" power at some point in the near future.

Coax I have covered as I am a former tower climber for AM/FM broadcasters, I've got around 200' of LDF4-50A set aside to use on this project, and all the N type connectors I could ever dream of needing to convert the entire rig over as well. It's just the antenna, with so many ideas it's difficult to decide which option would be best. If I were staying in one place for more than a month at a time, I would run a pushup pole with a nice base antenna on it, but most of the parks I pull into aren't too friendly about large antennas from what I've seen. With all this said, and sorry about the rambling, if anyone has any input, please feel free to help a guy out! Stealthy installs that have the ability to talk locally as well as work skip when the conditions are right is my end goal, preferably something other than wire antennas and somewhat of a lower profile. In case anyone needs info on the trailer itself, I got a killer deal on a Puma 25RBSS, so unfortunately it's not a metal body trailer.

[MDYoungblood]

I had co-phased 102" whips on my Terry travel trailer (28ft), I used standard mirror mounts and screwed them to the camper sides, one on the right back corner (because of the awning) and one on the front left, I used "quick connects" on the antennas so it was just a 1/4 turn and they were removed. The hard part was fishing the coax thru the camper's ceiling. They did rather well at shooting skip, had a Gray 300 amp and a E.F. Johnson 4740 radio (still have both but the camper is history) both hooked up to the 12v system wired directly to the batteries.

3's

Greg

[Scipio Kid]

There are several pivot mounts that would allow you to lay your antenna down while traveling and quickly set it back up once stationary. I'd suggest a 102" whip right in the middle of your trailer roof. The trailer park neighbors won't even notice it. I installed one (without the pivot) on an old trailer I use as a radio shack out in the desert. I only put it up to communicate around a several acre site and farther out into the surrounding valley. But since day one, the thing has been unbelievable. I can get out 30-40 miles barefoot and skip all over the country, Mexico and Canada and that's only on AM, never had a side band out there. I think the aluminum roof of the trailer is the key factor in it's efficiency ... one heck of a ground plane. You said your trailer isn't full of metal but I'll bet stringing some insulated copper wires from the antenna mount to the corners of your trailer would make a great ground plane and you could leave them there permanently.

[443 Arizona]

i am considering an antener system on my 32'er also.
i thought of a whip on a 20' pipe/tube, on a pivot bracket, so that it will lay down and basically fit right up next to the raingutter.
a canti-lever mount,(pivot point about 2' from end and then another little mount to hold the end in position) that would give it stability.
a custom made ant. would be feasible and easily attached-detached.
i think a ground wire could be run pretty easily too. give it that extra uumph.
camo paint , an off-white-ish blue, that'll get the trailer park queens to like'n it.

alot of these traveltrailer guys are sporting flagpoles,,,, it wouldn't be to hard to imagine an antenna on top of that.
if you wanna get totally overboard in the game, just mount a crank-up that welds to your bumper, can fold it over too if needed.
i have seen a picture of that, looked like a 30' + ,was on a jobsite office trailer.
you could put an official looking sign on it "satellite scratcher #443"