so ive been going back and forth on this for a couple weeks now and cant really make up my mind. i have a 2019 tacoma and want to put up a decent dual band antenna for 2m/70cm, mostly for local repeaters and some simplex when im out hiking trails and need comms back to the truck. right now im running one of those mag mounts which honestly works okay but i know its not ideal, i get some feedback through the coax and the swr on 70cm has always been a little sketchy.

the question is whether its actually worth drilling through the roof for a proper NMO mount. ive heard the lip mounts are a decent middle ground but ive also heard they can cause issues with the weatherstripping over time and some guys say the ground plane isnt as good. the truck is still fairly new so im a little hesitant to start drilling holes but i also dont want to deal with a compromised antenna setup forever.

currently looking at either the Tram 1185 or the Diamond MR77 for the antenna itself once i figure out the mounting situation. anybody been down this road before?

drilled my 4runner back in 2017 and never looked back honestly. lip mounts are fine for a temporary thing but the ground plane really is noticeably worse, especially on 70cm where that stuff matters more. i had a hustler lip mount for about 6 months before i finally just bit the bullet and did the NMO through the roof and the difference on receive was pretty obvious, not huge but definitely there.

the tacoma roof is pretty straightforward to do, i helped a buddy do his a while back. just take your time with the drill, use a step bit, and seal it properly with some self-amalgamating tape and you should be fine for years. the MR77 is a solid antenna by the way, ive run one for probably 4 years without any issues, SWR is flat across both bands right out of the box pretty much. the Tram is decent too but i think the Diamond is built a bit better, the connector end especially.

i went with a through-hole NMO on my last two trucks and yeah its the right call if you plan on keeping the vehicle a while. one thing worth mentioning — if you go NMO, run the cable before you commit to a spot because routing it down the A-pillar on some Toyotas can be tight depending on the year. had to fish mine under the headliner which was kind of a pain but once its done its done.

also slightly off topic but if youre doing trails you might want to think about antenna height vs. branches. ive snapped a whip or two on low hanging stuff and now i just use a shorter antenna off road and swap back for the highway. the MR77 is actually pretty resilient but still.