Anyone have any advice on replacing my stock antenna with a shorter one on an 18F150 Platinum?

 

You're gonna lose reception no matter what. I did it strictly for looks, but I use Spotify 100% of the time. If you have satellite radio or Spotify/Pandora, I say go for it.

 

Cool, thanks but what about the navigation system? Doesn’t the navigation system use that antenna as well?

 

I'm pretty sure it just uses GPS along with built-in/downloaded maps. The whip antenna on the hood is only for radio. Not sure where the GPS antenna is located, maybe in the Sirius antenna housing?

 

I got a slightly shorter one to clear my garage door. Factory one is 3X", this one is 27"

 

The stock whip only supports the radio. I really didn't lose anything going to a shorty. I had two different sizes I tried and still got my two or three radio stations I sometimes use on FM so I didn't really lose anything. I expected I would but it didn't come to be. I use Sirrius Radio most of the time but sometimes a local sports radio station on FM and a local Bluegrass station also on FM and a few times a local PBS radio station out of Spindale NC which is often a challenge but no worse now than before, I still get them all as good as I always did so I run the shortest of the two. Its about 6 inches and the other one is about 12 inches.They both work well. The really short one claims to be carwash safe. The longer one claims it in one add but then sends you a slip of paper that retracts that.

I did it for running through the car wash. I do however have to remove my CB antenna but its on the drivers side with a quick connect.

This is the smallest one I got, and the one I am using now...

 

I purchased the 5” shorty from AmericanTrucks which says billet but it’s been painted with very very low grade paint. I had markings on mine from package abrasion and used alcohol to clean - thinking it had a better coating. It only removed the shiny part of the paint.... using my different cutting and polishing compounds I was able to restore the shine but I was rather disappointed at the quality.

That being said you will significantly lose reception with going to a smaller antenna. 31” is the optimal length for a non-powered passive antenna. Why stock are so long. If you live within the city you won’t have an issue with the stronger stations.

The GPS antenna is the shark fin on the roof. That is also where your SAT radio antenna is. So swapping to a smaller radio antenna will only impact your FM/AM radio reception.

 

The one I use is a shorty. It looks cool, but is not very functional. Radio station transmission strength plays a big role in it too. I can still get clear signal from large stations ~25+ miles away, but struggle with smaller local stations when I drive the same distance away. Form over function for this one. I'd imagine ones that are only slightly shorter than stock should perform pretty well, but there will be a loss. No way around that.

 

x2 on the 27". I think was from antennamastsrus on amazon. I cut the one on my last vehicle by a few inches, went through the trouble to re-twist the wire, glue the stupid ball back on, it was just an ***-ache. The 27" from amazon works perfect and doesnt hit the garage door. I see no difference in reception between it and the stock one.

 

I saw that one and keep forgetting to go out and measure the stock...I think its maybe 31"? I want to still be a hair above the shark fin to use the whip as an early warning when in parking decks. Does the 27 still do that?