Fiberglass Tilt Over Mast For Portable Operations

This is the mast setup I normally use for portable radio activations when I can stay near the truck.
Max Gain push up masts: mgs4u.com/fiberglass-push-up-...
Harbor Freight: www.harborfreight.com/hitch-e...
Buddipole: www.buddipole.com/
The trailer tongue jack may be available at Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, Tractor Supply, any place that carries trailer parts.

[@kellyroark2800]

Great demonstration on a trailer hitch mounted antenna mast support system. Great job Guy.

[@brentjohnson6654]

New subscriber here. Nice video. This is what I want to do for pota!
I was looking in the description for how you obtained the mast for $100ish. The telescoping one in the description is much more than that. I am new to the hobby and recently retired from an engineering career. This is an excellent hobby to engage my brain!
Thanks for the video. All the best from north Texas. 73 de KI5HXM

[@ConsumerTeamPete]

LOOKING GOOD GUY!!!

[@FreeStuffGuy916]

That's a pretty slick set up. Question on mounting the tilt mechanism: Can't you just bolt the tilt mechanism directly to the plate without using the long bolts and straps that could bend? I'm going to build one of these set ups for POTA. 73 de N6EF.

[@kc5goi]

Bill, this is one of those questions were I do not recall exactly why I did not to what you are asking. It may have been a case of using what I had in front of me instead of running to Tractor Supply and getting 4 bolts. I am prone to use what I have around me at the time unless there is a compelling reason. I know I did not have short bolts of that diameter in my junk box. Now, the bolts that are with the tongue jack are probably serious overkill. If you do not mind drilling smaller holes you could probably get away with smaller bolts, say 5/16ths or 3/8ths. If you are going to the hardware store for shorter bolts, hey why not go with smaller grade 5 or even grade 8 (if the mast breaks that something else is bad wrong).
I do not see a reason why you could not go directly to the plate. You are correct, the straps do want to bend if you get too happy with the ugga doogas. I was watching the lock nuts when I bolted this all up. I stopped applying torque after the lock washers had become flat. Anything after that is excessive. Coincidently right around that the straps would start to bow. At that point it was loosing clamping force. I am not convinced the metal in the straps is all that strong. We are talking about a Harbor Freight product.

[@kb3tus]

What is that bracket on/near the left side bed rail?

[@kc5goi]

It is an antenna mount I bought off Amazon in 2020. I can not find the same one now. They have one that is in diamond plate. "Pro Trucker Diamond Plate 1/2 Inch Hole Pickup Truck Box Mount for CB Radio Antenna" The one I used is flat aluminum. I used star washers between the bracket and the bed to get a decent ground. I wanted to spread out the load among a larger area than a traditional mount.