so ive been running a Diamond NR770HB on a mag mount on my F-150 for about a year now and it works fine honestly but i keep reading that a proper NMO mount through the roof or on the trunk lip is way better for ground plane and SWR. my SWR on 2m is sitting around 1.4-1.5 with the mag mount centered on the roof which i know isnt terrible but im wondering if drilling is actually going to make a meaningful difference or if im chasing a number at this point.

the truck is also my daily driver so im a little gun shy about putting a hole in it. anyone done a lip mount on a newer pickup? i was looking at the Larsen NMO mount that clamps on the rain gutter or trunk edge. worried about water getting in around the cable though.

also for what its worth im mostly doing local 2m/70cm repeater work and some simplex, not like i'm trying to work weak signal or anything. just want a solid reliable setup that doesnt look janky.

I went through this exact debate with my Tacoma a few years back. Ended up drilling a 3/4 inch hole in the roof and putting in a real NMO mount with a good rubber grommet and some self-amalgamating tape. SWR dropped noticeably, went from like 1.6 down to nearly 1.1 on 2m. But honestly for repeater work and local simplex, 1.4-1.5 is not going to hurt you in any practical way. You're not going to suddenly open up repeaters you couldn't hit before.

That said the permanent mount just feels more solid and i dont have to worry about the antenna flying off at highway speeds which happened to a buddy of mine on the interstate. That alone was worth the drill for me. If you go lip mount just use a quality cable with a proper drip loop and seal everything with vulcanizing tape, ive not had any water intrusion issues in three years.

mag mounts are fine for what you're doing tbh. i ran one for like 4 years on a jeep and never had a complaint. the ground plane argument is real in theory but on a full size truck roof you're already pretty close to ideal. the people telling you to drill are not wrong but they're also probably the kind of guys who retorque their lug nuts every oil change lol

if it bugs you look into the through-glass mounts, no drilling and better than mag. not quite as good as NMO through metal but splits the difference pretty well for 2m/70cm use.