What kind of antenna should I put on my travel trailer?

[wilhelm]

I've looked at other threads here about external antennas, I I just get more confused.  My purpose of buying some 5R's was my wife.  When we go camping up in the Adirondacks, many places have no cell service, and she like to take hikes by herself. ( My back limits the amount of walking I can do)  I'd like to mount an antenna to the trailer roof so I can keep one of the HT's inside the trailer and have the best possible ability for her to tell me she's lost.  Ok, not lost, just not willing to come back yet.

On here I's seeing all these things that are way past my knowledge: ground plane, MRO (?) 1/4 wave, and several more.  Then there's talk about trimming, cable length, tuning...

Is there something out there that will do what i need, something to mount on the roof, some kind of cable that will allow me to pick up the radio, and a way to remind her to turn it on?

[wilhelm]

Well, just spent some time on youtube with NotaRubicon (forget what he calls himself on here), and now I know what a ground plane is!  NMO?  shucks, that was easy.  and the Midland MXTA26, just great for GMRS!  kidphc, the slim jim type antenna, does this need to be oriented vertical, or strung out horiz. do it?  Thank you for your input, I do believe somewhere in the future I will get a higher wattage mobile, but will take baby steps for now.  The reason is, my wife is very smart, loving, in great shape... but new technology and her are like oil and water.  Just getting her to even carry the radio will be difficult.  I'll try the cookie sheet, MXTA26 placed on top of the trailer and do some testing.

[kidphc]

Me personally. I would mount a harbor freight telescoping flag pole to the trailer side, it extends 25 feet.

Then mount something like Fong jpole to the top lmr400 flex co-ax. Have a patch pass through into the trailer with a jumper coax to a mobile radio ( lets me have extra power if needed) in an ammo can, make so I can disconnect outside of the trailer for storage. As well as, have extra spooled cable for when I disconnect the and connect extra cable outside and move the ammo can outside. Power would be provided by something like a jackery aux power supply. That way I am not tethered to the trailer. Could even use an rt95 repeater in this kinda setup extending some range.

Point of this setup is to get the antenna as high up as possible.

Frankly, I just sling a slimjim roll up into a tree and get something of the same effect.

Have you thought about something like a meshtastic or garmin reach? Might be cheaper although it is not voice.

Going to depend on range, terrain, and budget. Ht to ht (realistically max a couple of miles through vegetation) is not going to go far. VHF service like MURS might get further. If you had a repeater where the antenna was 100 feet up different story.

You didn't mention what the TT (travel trailer) is nor other specifics.

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[nokones]

I'm kinda curious how would a repeater extend the range between the trailer base station and the hiker?

[SteveShannon]

53 minutes ago, nokones said:

I'm kinda curious how would a repeater extend the range between the trailer base station and the hiker?

It sounded like he and she might both be outside of the trailer with their handheld radios and he wants to be able to reach her.

[kidphc]

It sounded like he and she might both be outside of the trailer with their handheld radios and he wants to be able to reach her.

He/she didn't mention anything about a repeater. But it was on those lines of thoughts. I mean when we camp, although I want to be in the trailer next to a radio. That rarely happens. Gotta cook, tend to fires or sit outside with the brew and mellow.

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[SteveShannon]

32 minutes ago, kidphc said:

He/she didn't mention anything about a repeater. But it was on those lines of thoughts. I mean when we camp, although I want to be in the trailer next to a radio. That rarely happens. Gotta cook, tend to fires or sit outside with the brew and mellow.

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You’re right.  He has back problems that limit the distance he can walk so he stays close to the RV.  He wants to put up an antenna on the RV connected to his handheld and wondered what kind of antenna and cable to use. 
A Midland MXTA26 antenna and magnetic mount to a steel cookie sheet on the top of the RV would be simple, but connecting with a cable might be a hindrance. 
This would be a good use of a Retevis RT97s repeater.

[TDM827]

You mentioned the Adirondacks. Probably the most important factor is the terrain. If your wife hikes behind a tall hill or mountain side opposite of you, or the trailer, its possible no  reasonable antenna height or type will work on simplex, non-repeated channels. When I say reasonable I mean about a 20' or less collapsible mast. In other words is there a line of sight between her and you, the receiving radio antenna?

If there is no line of sight you would need to determine if an antenna mast can elevate your antenna high enough to clear the hill / mountain (line of sight obstruction). If you can't get your antenna high enough, a portable repeater set atop the hill may work, allowing you both to reach each other. Retevis and Midland make portable repeaters and you can find reviews here and on You Tube. Since you didn't ask about repeaters I will leave it at that. 

On the other hand, if the terrain where you hike has low hills or is fairly flat, the MXTA26  on a cookie sheet set atop your trailer as mentioned by Sshannon may fit the bill. Kidphc's recommendation of an extendable mast is a solid one also.

Unfortunately it's going to be hard for anyone to provide a fairly accurate recommendation if we don't know the relative heights between you / trailer and where your wife will be hiking.        

[wilhelm]

My thought was to have a handheld inside the trailer with an antenna on top, I would assume that a longer antenna would help, and I figured if it was on top of the trailer I'm getting an extra 10 foot elevation.  I realize that it's still line of sight, but any advantage I could get.  Even if I'm outside the trailer, I usually am no further than 10-15 feet away, so with volume up I would hear it. Why use a handheld?  Because somehow I ended up with 3 of them, I'm basically cheap.  And, the amount of time I would use the mobile in the trailer would only be to monitor her.   

I've looked for repeaters up there, nada.  When we leave next month for NC, I will def be mapping them out for where we camp down there.

One phone app I've found is alltrails dot com, very handy!  You can do a search in the area you're going to be in, and it shows trails that others have already gps'd (is that a word?) and saved.  Gives you distance, how hard a trail, elevation changes etc..  You can download the trail map that they saved to the phone, and then it will use your phone's gps to track you.  Never thought about it, but even with no cell service, the gps is still working.

[kidphc]

My thought was to have a handheld inside the trailer with an antenna on top, I would assume that a longer antenna would help, and I figured if it was on top of the trailer I'm getting an extra 10 foot elevation.  I realize that it's still line of sight, but any advantage I could get.  Even if I'm outside the trailer, I usually am no further than 10-15 feet away, so with volume up I would hear it. Why use a handheld?  Because somehow I ended up with 3 of them, I'm basically cheap.  And, the amount of time I would use the mobile in the trailer would only be to monitor her.   
I've looked for repeaters up there, nada.  When we leave next month for NC, I will def be mapping them out for where we camp down there.
One phone app I've found is alltrails dot com, very handy!  You can do a search in the area you're going to be in, and it shows trails that others have already gps'd (is that a word?) and saved.  Gives you distance, how hard a trail, elevation changes etc..  You can download the trail map that they saved to the phone, and then it will use your phone's gps to track you.  Never thought about it, but even with no cell service, the gps is still working.

Certainly better than just an HT inside of a trailer.

Although, 5 watts is a bit low. Anytone 779uv/db20g are like $80-90. Tiny, can run off a cigarette lighter poet and 20watts to boot.

Food for thought. From my house to about 3/4 of a mile to a shopping center (through trees and past houses hill top to hill top) hts can not make it. But the db20g/at779uv at 20w with a roll up slim jim, n9tax gmrs, (inside the house inside of pvc wiring track) makes it clearly to the ht back and forth. The antenna tip is about 20-30 feet off the ground in the kitchen attrium.

Most cellphone will use sat for gps and augmented cellular towers to make it more accurate. The newer phones seem to rely mostly on the cellular location services. Part of the reason I suggested something like a garmin inreach. Short text messages regardless of cellular data. Small and compact with the availability of larger units with maps. If there are questions ask mmarc, he uses them for offroading.

All trail app is nice.

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[OffRoaderX]

1 minute ago, wilhelm said:

...just spent some time on youtube with NotaRubicon (forget what he calls himself on here)...

"The Queen of GMRS"

[kidphc]

No a repeater would not help at all. That’s not what what repeaters do.  Now if husband went south and wife went north then yes a repeater would help. But a repeater does zero good from point a to point b.   Sounds like you need to research and understand repeaters. They do not extend your transmission range at all.  They take your transmission and “repeat” it from a (usually) higher place with a (usually) better more wattage radio and better antenna.   

Think I overcomplicated things by mentioning a repeater.

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[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, kidphc said:

Think I overcomplicated things by mentioning a repeater.

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Don't beat yourself up.  Although a repeater wouldn't increase range compared to an external antenna, it would be more convenient if he wants to move around while talking on the radio because he could just carry a handheld without being tethered by a piece of coax running to the antenna. 

[TDM827]

21 hours ago, wilhelm said:

Is there something out there that will do what i need, something to mount on the roof, some kind of cable that will allow me to pick up the radio, and a way to remind her to turn it on?

At the risk of introducing more equipment. If you really need to have reliable contact with your wife in almost any terrain, and gain some peace of mind, just go with a Garmin In Reach and one of the more inexpensive monthly subscriptions. You could contort yourself and wallet into endlessly seeking a GMRS set up for many applications, or listen to the HAM gurus and gamble on one of HAM bands providing more coverage. Just my opinion, but perhaps simple is best.     

[smdmpgmrs]

Flag pole buddy ladder mount, PVC pipe painted, mounted GMRS antenna. Works fantastic!

 

[MSnow]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:24 PM, wilhelm said:

I've looked at other threads here about external antennas, I I just get more confused.  My purpose of buying some 5R's was my wife.  When we go camping up in the Adirondacks, many places have no cell service, and she like to take hikes by herself. ( My back limits the amount of walking I can do)  I'd like to mount an antenna to the trailer roof so I can keep one of the HT's inside the trailer and have the best possible ability for her to tell me she's lost.  Ok, not lost, just not willing to come back yet.

On here I's seeing all these things that are way past my knowledge: ground plane, MRO (?) 1/4 wave, and several more.  Then there's talk about trimming, cable length, tuning...

Is there something out there that will do what i need, something to mount on the roof, some kind of cable that will allow me to pick up the radio, and a way to remind her to turn it on?

On my Grand Design 5th wheel there is a ladder on the back. So I bought a flagpole to put on the ladder from camping world, here is a link. https://www.campingworld.com/pyramid-led-whips-flagpole-kit-and-camp-locator-with-bluetooth-control-122892.html

I wasn't real happy with the way it mounts so I added some arma-flex rubber around the ladder before attaching the flag pole mount, and it made it more sturdy and protected. You can get the arma-flex or pipe wrap from home depot.

Then I use the Retevis antenna that came with my RT-97S portable repeater from them on the top of the flag pole, it also came with 50ft of coaxial. I think this is the antenna that came with it. https://www.retevis.com/ma09-high-gain-gmrs-omni-directional-base-antenna-us 

So far its ok, I didn't want to get the fancier Flag poles due to price, but it might be better after having this one for a little bit now. The higher priced ones have an attachments at the top and bottom of the ladders which i feel would be more secure. We haven't gotten into high winds yet with this one to really see if its needed. 

[WRDJ205]

You might be able to do something with a long painter’s pole.  I’m using a 24’ one with a j-pole antenna (putting that basketball base to good use).  
 

 

This was only a proof of concept test but it definitely helped me get better distance.  

[WRDJ205]

I also should add that the GM-5RH punching above its weight in power output per the Surecom meter.  

[tweiss3]

How far out does your wife hike in the mountains? As much as I would love to say "radio is exactly what you need", if she goes over the peak or out too far, radio isn't going to help without some infrastructure beyond what you setup. If you really are in a place where there is no cell service at camp and hiking, you will probably be better off using something like Garmin Inreach (you can message between devices and track each other). There is a subscription cost, but it's the only way to guarantee you two can communicate. 

If it's not very mountainous, or you are ok with large deadspots, I agree with the above. Get the largest push up mast you are comfortable with and stick an antenna on top. 25-40 feet will get plenty of range. You can also use a trailer hitch mast mount, then the only trick is some guy lines to keep it stable. 

[Lscott]

While not mounted on a travel trailer it is a portable antenna and mast system.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/257-portable-mast-antenna-system/

This is compact enough to pack in the back of a small SUV.

[LeoG]

On 5/5/2024 at 2:13 PM, OffRoaderX said:

"The Queen of GMRS"

Think he meant here.  But you are the queen of GMRS!

OffRoaderX

 

I have the Midland MXTA26 and the Nagoya UT-72G and the Midland is a far better antenna for range.

[bshort]

On 5/5/2024 at 11:19 AM, WRXP381 said:

No a repeater would not help at all. That’s not what what repeaters do.  Now if husband went south and wife went north then yes a repeater would help. But a repeater does zero good from point a to point b.   Sounds like you need to research and understand repeaters. They do not extend your transmission range at all.  They take your transmission and “repeat” it from a (usually) higher place with a (usually) better more wattage radio and better antenna.   

  

[GreggInFL]

On 6/18/2024 at 10:00 PM, WRDJ205 said:

I also should add that the GM-5RH punching above its weight in power output per the Surecom meter.  

I just picked up a couple of these.  How much power are you seeing?

[LeoG]

Really depends on how you look at it.  I have some 5W HTs that can go about 1-2 miles in my area because of hills and trees.  I have a repeater 17 miles away that I can reliably hit and talk with my families towns away from me.  As the crow flies 5-20 miles.  The signal is traveling much farther than from point A to B.

And like you said if you were on opposite sides of the repeater in simplex you can't communicate but with the repeater you can.  So you can double the range of the simplex or more in reality with the repeater between you at 180º straight line transmission.

But if you have a 20w simplex and a 20 watt repeater and you are next to the repeater you aren't going to have much more distance advantage other than the repeater is likely to have an antenna that is higher up.  That alone can give an advantage.

If you have a 5 watt HT and a mobile RT97S which is also 5 watts using an antenna on top of the vehicle you will likely see little to no advantage in distance if you are near the repeater talking to someone away.  But just like the 180º scenario you can double your distance if it's between you.

[WRDJ205]

34 minutes ago, GreggInFL said:

How much power are you seeing?

Per the meter, i frequently see 8-9W.  The higher number is with ta Midland ghost and the lower is with the long rubber duck. 

Edited June 22 by WRDJ205
Changed values and added pics

[Guest]

5 hours ago, nokones said:

I'm kinda curious how would a repeater extend the range between the trailer base station and the hiker?

No a repeater would not help at all. That’s not what what repeaters do.  Now if husband went south and wife went north then yes a repeater would help. But a repeater does zero good from point a to point b.   Sounds like you need to research and understand repeaters. They do not extend your transmission range at all.  They take your transmission and “repeat” it from a (usually) higher place with a (usually) better more wattage radio and better antenna.