So I finally picked up a used Yaesu FTM-400 and I want to get it properly installed in my F-150 before the next club net. Ive done a handheld for years but this is my first real mobile setup and I dont want to mess it up right out of the gate.

My plan is to run the power leads directly to the battery with an inline fuse, which I think is the right way to do it. The radio is going in the center console area kind of between the seats. The part I'm not sure about is the antenna situation. I was thinking about a NMO mount on the roof but my wife is not thrilled about drilling a hole in a relatively new truck. Are the lip mounts actually decent or am I going to take a big hit on performance? I've heard mixed things. Also wondering about cable routing — do most people go through the firewall or find another way in.

Any tips from people who've done this before would be really appreciated, especially if you've had good or bad experience with those no-drill mount options.

the power lead to battery is definitely the right call, just make sure you fuse it close to the battery end, like within a foot or so. i've seen people put the fuse right at the radio and that kind of defeats the purpose if something goes wrong in the run.

on the antenna thing, i get the wife situation completely. i ran a lip mount on my jeep for about a year before i finally gave in and did the NMO. honestly the lip mount wasnt terrible for local stuff, getting into repeaters, that kind of thing. but you will notice a difference especially if you ever do any simplex or if the repeater is more than 20-30 miles out. the cable also tends to get pinched over time with lip mounts which is annoying. for the firewall, most trucks have a rubber grommet somewhere you can poke through without drilling anything, worth looking around with a flashlight before you assume you need to drill.

I did almost the exact same install on a Ram 1500 last spring. Ended up going with a mag mount temporarily just to figure out where I actually wanted the antenna before committing to anything permanent. Ran it for like 3 months that way and it worked fine for everyday use. eventually bit the bullet and did the NMO through the roof and yeah its noticeably better but honestly for getting on the local repeater the mag mount was totally fine in the meantime. just something to consider if you want to get on the air sooner while you figure out the permanent solution.