So after about three weekends of messing around I think I finally have my mobile install dialed in. Running a Yaesu FT-7900R in my 2016 Tacoma and man, the amount of second-guessing I did on antenna placement was ridiculous. Ended up going with a NMO mount through the roof rather than a mag mount because I was tired of the cable flopping around every time I went through a car wash.

The hardest part honestly was running the power leads. I know everyone says run them straight to the battery and fuse them close to the battery, and yeah yeah I know, but actually fishing those wires through the firewall grommet in a modern truck is a total pain. Spent like an hour with a coat hanger before I found a usable spot.

Audio is way better than I expected. Hit a repeater about 35 miles out last night on just 25 watts, which felt pretty good. Anyway if anybody else is doing a Tacoma install and has questions happy to share what I figured out the hard way.

Nice work getting that sorted. The firewall grommet thing on newer trucks is genuinely awful, Toyota and a few others have gotten real stingy with accessible pass-throughs. I ended up using a rubber body grommet I added myself on my 4Runner install, drill a small hole, add your own grommet, done. Feels a little sketchy the first time you drill into the firewall but it holds up fine.

One thing id suggest if you havent already — check your SWR at a few spots along your route, not just in your driveway. Had a buddy whos NMO install looked great parked but he was getting weird readings on the highway and turns out the cable was running too close to some metal bracket and causing issues. Probably nothing with your setup but worth a quick check.

35 miles on 25w that's pretty solid honestly. what repeater you hitting? i'm in a similar area and always looking for good links to try. also what antenna did you go with, i'm still running a mag mount on my car and keep telling myself i'll do a proper install but... yeah.