XM satellite placement

historyteacher

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So I just ordered a Pioneer AVIC Z120BT and an XM satellite antenna. I was wondering if ya'll could help me out with the placement of the antenna. I was thinking on top of the tailgate, as I don't have a spoiler, but I'm not sure about running it all the way to the front of the truck to the receiver. I know I've seen some right above the driver or passenger side too.
Pluses, minuses, other advice?
I'm hoping that with the Crutchfield instructions it'll be a pretty simple install.
 
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Maybe keep it in the front- on the roof but the left-front corner. That way, you don't have to run a long line. Mine is a flat antenna so very low profile.
 
Great link, thanks.
Someone on another board posted the PDF for the factory install, and it looks pretty time consuming. I may call around to ask how much it would be to just have a shop put in the radio and XM stuff.
 
Wow, my Sirius antenna is tiny. It is smaller than a matchbox so no issues wherever I mount it. I did let my subscription lapse though so if I renew, they may make me buy a huge sharkfin. :)
 
I just ordered the Pioneer XM one and it has the little black square antenna, not the sharkfin, which I'm kind of glad about. I don't have a spoiler, so if I put it right in the middle, it shouldn't be noticeable unless standing on the back bumper.
 
here was mine but now I have a 7" pioneer touchscreen with built in XM

IMG_0959.jpg~original
 
I mounted my antenna centered above the tailgate and ran the wire down the drivers side. With my spoiler you cant see the antenna at all plus the wire is totally hidden inside the vehicle. Running the wire is easy just tuck it into cracks and dont be afraid to pull interior plastic panels.
 
Yeah, I'm worried about breaking some stupid plastic piece, which is why I'm leaning a little more towards having it professionally installed.

I mounted my antenna centered above the tailgate and ran the wire down the drivers side. With my spoiler you cant see the antenna at all plus the wire is totally hidden inside the vehicle. Running the wire is easy just tuck it into cracks and dont be afraid to pull interior plastic panels.
 
Yeah, I'm worried about breaking some stupid plastic piece, which is why I'm leaning a little more towards having it professionally installed.

Dont be afraid, they have plenty of threads about taking apart the interior. Very easy to do. I have taken apart all of my dashboard within 25 minutes MAX
 
Dude its easy . I mounted mine just forward of the rear brake light on the roof . Remove both sill plates on the pass side , in my case and the rest is common sense tucking in here and there .
My Sirius box is mounted under my console . Good luck , Sat radio kicks ass man ! Especially for camping way back in the woods .
 
I realize this is a pretty old thread. Lots of folks find these posts helpful though, and I thought it would be good to share an XM antenna install I just made. I recently purchased an '04 4runner that has a spoiler over the back glass. I was able to remove the spoiler easily (open back door, remove two screws covered by plastic plugs, then slide the spoiler DOWN).

Once the spoiler was off (I say off, but it is still connected via a wire to the brake light), I extended the size of the opening so I could get an antenna in there. The spoiler is either fiberglass or some sort of plastic and it's very hard to cut. I ended up using a dremmel tool to cut it (those round flat cutting disks).

Now I was concerned about having an antenna rattle around inside the spoiler. Thought about blowing in some expanding foam, but backed off that idea. Then I realized that I could take some JB weld (the epoxy kind where you mix two ingrediants) and a couple of large washers (cost 20 cents apiece). With this, I glued the washers to the inside of the spoiler. The XM antenna magnets hold the antenna to the washers and there is no rattle of any kind.

Then I fished the xm antenna connector down the raceway for brake light wiring. Note" there is a gromment that exists for the brake wire where it enters the 4 runner. This grommet is covered by the spoiler, so compromising it's water tightness doesn't look to be much of an issue.

Once the cable was inside under the roof covering, it was easy to run it to the radio. Very clean and totally hidden. Hope this helps someone - the washers and jb weld are key.
 
I just put mine clear down in the corner of the dash where you can't see it from inside and can barely see it from the outside.

In my old S60 R, I actually mounted it inside the trunk where it was totally hidden and it worked just fine.
 

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