Rugged Ridge | Radio Mounting Bracket, CB | 11503.95 | Fits 2007-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK

Bought a Uniden PRO520XL CB radio on Amazon for my 2015 Jeep JKU, and was debating where to install it. This mount is a perfect location. I thought the installation would be simple, then got nervous when I realized that I would need to pop out a portion of the windshield trim. Turns out that the installation was simple. Remove freedom panels, gently pop out the trim just enough to access two bolts, and the rest is simple (printed instructions in the box do the job). The only (very minor) challenge was drilling two holes in the Uniden bracket to line up with the pre-drilled hole set in this bracket. I shared pictures. I also shared pictures of the wiring from the battery, through the firewall and up the trim. Cables not yet connected to battery (red/positive and black/ground). Antenna not yet installed, and coaxial not yet run, so no more pics to share. (Update 1) The other week there was torrential rain, blowing sideways. I have a hardtop on my 2015 Jeep Wrangler JKU. If you have a Jeep Wrangler, you know that water sometimes gets in through the seam on the freedom panels. My Jeep is no exception and I found some water dripping off the sides of the CB radio in the morning. I am fortunate that the vent on my CB is on the underside, and the water didn't get inside. If the vent was on the top or sides, it would likely have damaged the internal circuitry.

I bought this knowing it would rattle a little with my full size VHF radio mounted. It took me a good 3 1/2 hours to install but I took my time and did it right. I removed the center plastic cover and a pillar trim pieces. I removed the side covers on the dash as well. I mounted the mount not quite how the instructions said to. I put the mount behind the bar for the hardtop latch. This sandwiches it tight against the windshield frame and make it much less prone to shaking. I know, I put it right and back after the radio was shaking more! So put it behind the latch bar. Be aware it will make it harder to reinstall the center plastic cover. I ran my wires down the a pillars to hind them and make it look better. I was able to push my cords through some small holes premade in the firewall that were only filled with expanding foam. I ran the coax down the left and the power leads on the right. They then exited the firewall to mount antenna mount and battery. Overall I am happy with the mount and would recommend it. As long as the mount is placed behind the bar it will hold a full size VHF amateur radio with some minor shaking. But it is in a convent place for use so I don't mind it much.

To install: 1. COMPLETELY Remove the plastic liner that sits above the windshield (this is where your hard/soft top latches are located) 2. Locate your footman’s loop (your front hard top sliding retainer slides directly over this. It’s directly in the middle and sits above the rear view mirror) 3. Remove the hex/star bolts to mount the bracket and screw them back in securely. 4. Make sure that you have wired your radio and you know where you want your coaxial cable and the power wires are going to be placed PRIOR to re-attaching the plastic liner. It is recommended to use wire keepers to keep the wires in place. They can be placed inside the plastic liner. 5. Re-attach the plastic liner and begin the process of mounting the radio to the bracket. The rest is pretty self explanatory! Good luck.

I just got it today and mounted it. I still have to get a 2M mobile radio to use with it. My CB radio is one of those that has everything in the handheld mic and so I can still keep it in the armrest. This mount is well designed and if you are looking for a place to mount a regular CB radio, 2M rig or any other type of device in a Jeep JK then this is about the only place that you can do that. It has padding in the areas that is needed to keep any metal to metal noise from occurring. The directions are clear. The directions state that you can also mount your radar detector or GPS receiver on this mount. However, that does not seem to practical for a GPS receiver since it would not have direct access to the sky. The mount is strong and stable and I am sure that it could handle more weight than the average radio. I would recommend this mount to anyone that has a JK for whatever they need to mount. Update: So now that I have actually mounted my 2M (weighs 4lb) radio I have reduced the rating to 4 stars. I think that the concept behind the mounting is still good however the bracket itself needs to be made with a heavier gauge metal. Even going slowly down a smooth street the bracket bounces up and down approx. 1/2 inch. Besides the long term damage that may occur to the bracket it is hard to see the readout and press the buttons while the vehicle is moving. On my first drive with the radio mounted I reduced the cyclic vibration to a reasonable and probably safe amount by inserting a rubber wedge between the bracket and jeep crossbar the bracket is attached to. Long term I may use a nylon strap to pull up the curved outer end of the bracket. I may also take the bracket off and place an extra 90 deg angle bracket on the existing one with some self tapping screws. I will have to experiment to find the best solution. I would still recommend it, but if you are going to mount anything that weighs more than 1 pound then be prepared to beef up the bracket. If the manufacturers read these reviews maybe they will build a heavier weight bracket for something that weighs over 1 lb.

Im not sure what they want me to say about "sheerness" on this review but the bracket is as described srtaight forward it will hold your CB radio above your rearview mirror as you would expect. Seems that there are quite a few pre-drilled holes on this bad boy for multiple mounting positions in relation to forward and backward. I dod however opt to drill my own holes on the side to more neatly tuck my radio closer to the celing to better not block my rearview and just to better keep things out of harms way. Its nice that this does not affect my hard top latch as it stays out of its way nicely. All in all tho I do like the product its pretty solid and the extra loop in the top does a good job of keeping the cords above and out of the way.

I've used this in 2 Jeep JKs now to mount CB / GMRS radios, and I makes for a very nice clean installation. Run the power and antenna cables behind the windshield upper trim and down the A-pillar. Super easy and wiring is invisible. An advantage of being up high is that the radio speaker points down being above your head, making for clear sound. Other mounts which put the radio down low tend to be very muffled and always in the way of legs, knees, etc.

Installed in a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Sport. The CB I am using is the Uniden PRO520XL Pro. While this is a smaller lightweight radio, I feel like this mount can hold triple the weight of the radio I am using. It is very well built, well painted, etc. I tested it on a bumpy trail behind my house and run-down road. I could not notice the mount bouncing at all. The mount took less than 10 minutes to install. This is the perfect location for the radio. It is well high enough away from the movement from the general cab area and any water exposure that might happen when mounted at seat and below level. I was able to route my power and antenna cables through the windshield plastic cover and pillars for a clean install. Very little wire exposure from back of the CB to the windshield cover.

I like this mount as it places my CB up and out of the way but reachable. With that said there are a couple things that could have made this mount better and more secure. 1. If you are using a larger CB (as I am - Cobra 29XL) you will find this mount is not strong enough to keep your CB 100% secure. If the metal used for this mount were just a little thicker or stronger it would have been much better. I ended up placing some dense foam strips between my CB and the top of the windshield frame in the rear of the mount and between my CB and the bottom of the mount in front to keep my CB from bobbling up and down over bumps. Overall it is pretty secure, but this should have been the case out of the box. 2. Implementation on a 2007-2010 JKs (I have a 2008) requires drilling the rivets that hold the center footman loop in place. This isn't terrible, but Rugged Ridge could have provided a better solution than the well nuts and screws provided. I quick stripped the screws trying to get them tight enough to hold the footman loop and CB mount securely in place using the provided well nuts. I ended up picking up some M5x20 allen head screws and tightening them with an allen wrench socket on my 1/4" ratchet. Much tighter than you could ever get with a phillips head screw driver. Even better would have been a couple nut inserts. I read where other folks used nut inserts to good effect instead of the supplied well nuts. For folks with a 2011 or newer JK, appropriately tightening the screws holding the footman loop in place might not be an issue.