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Have you ever looked at a pickup truck, realized that they still had a normal antenna and wondered why those still exist on trucks? You don’t see cars, or even crossovers with them anymore, but trucks still do.
Pickups have an antenna, instead of the standard glass build antenna for a couple of reasons. Namely being for design, strength of signal, and ease of repair!
1. Styling
Most of the vehicles I am sure you think of that lack an antenna tend to be cars. However pickups instead do have the antenna!
Styling plays a big part in this, as trucks tend to be meant to be more muscular, utilitarian and useful. While cars and SUVs tend to be sleeker, more modern, and design conscious.
Because of this difference, it becomes much more acceptable to have older design cues like antennas, plastic cladding, and smaller displays (until recently of course).
2. Pickups are used in rural areas
It’s rather well known that pickups historically have been used as work trucks, and work trucks tend to be used more regularly in rural areas.
Meanwhile, cars tend to be more used in cities.
Because of this difference in areas, trucks have tended to need more intense antennas that will allow weaker radio signals to still be able to be utilized by the truck.
The bigger an antenna is, the more signal it can pull in! Hence the larger antenna on trucks.
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3. Easier to fix if damaged – easier than glass antenna
Alternative versions of antennas outside of your standard one we are discussing in this article are much more difficult to replace than older versions.
Normal tall antennas are really easy to replace, as it is just the antenna attached to a ball at the bottom. This is something anyone could replace if they wanted to.
Meanwhile on most cars, antennas are either attached to a windshield, or are underneath some plastic bodywork, well beyond what most people would be willing to repair.
When you have a work truck, you want to be able to fix things cheaply, and inexpensively. The older style of antenna thankfully still offers that ability.
Conclusion
So there you have it! If you didn’t know why pickups still have antennas, you do now! I think the major one is styling. Trucks are just very different from a car, and the styling doesn’t require the need for a sleek look.
