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When we took delivery of one of these, since we are in the radar upfitting field, we first had to find a reasonable method of mounting a radar on the curved dashboard of the Utility. Unlike the sedan which has a flat dash and mounts are already available for it, the Utility's curved dash posed a bit of a problem. We found a solution by modifying a 2012 Charger dash bracket (Stalker brand) which clamps the radar and front antenna between the defroster duct work and the front lip of the dash securely with a solid steel, adjustable strap. The modifications involved making a couple of pointed teeth in the defroster end of the bracket to bite into the plastic vents and reforming the other metal parts of the bracket to permit the radar and antenna to rest securely on the top of the dash without bouncing around while in motion. It works quite well and doesn't require any holes to be drilled. It would've been nice if Ford had considered providing a couple of attachment screws like we all got used to in the Crown Vic.
For mounting the rear antenna however, some issues are yet to be resolved. Traditional mounting techniques call for attaching an inverted antenna bracket through the headliner to metal body work underneath the head liner but in the case of the Utility, that appears to be less than ideal. I have since investigated the third seat driver's side seat belt attachment point that isn't used in this model as it offers access to actual body metal where a seat belt would normally be attached in the conventional Explorer models equipped with a third seat. The issues we face however are fabricating a bracket with sufficient rigidity to minimize the vibration that the rear antenna would experience when the vehicle is in motion.
If anyone has thoughts on this subject, I would welcome your input. With increasing frequency we are being asked to come up with a solution by many agencies in our area so we are scrambling to meet those requests.
For mounting the rear antenna however, some issues are yet to be resolved. Traditional mounting techniques call for attaching an inverted antenna bracket through the headliner to metal body work underneath the head liner but in the case of the Utility, that appears to be less than ideal. I have since investigated the third seat driver's side seat belt attachment point that isn't used in this model as it offers access to actual body metal where a seat belt would normally be attached in the conventional Explorer models equipped with a third seat. The issues we face however are fabricating a bracket with sufficient rigidity to minimize the vibration that the rear antenna would experience when the vehicle is in motion.
If anyone has thoughts on this subject, I would welcome your input. With increasing frequency we are being asked to come up with a solution by many agencies in our area so we are scrambling to meet those requests.
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