After a wait of more than 8-months our Land Rover Discovery 5 has finally arrived in Australia and almost ready for delivery.

Wiring

We needed to install our GME UHF CB radio, Redarc Elite Pro brake controller, the caravan’s in-car camera screen as well as an Anderson connector to power the van’s fridge while we are on the move. We initially approached ARB in Penrith who promised to forward a quote to do the install on a labour only basis after we had purchased the units from them at one of the recent shows. It never appeared. Land Rover Parramatta instead got the job – they already had the car, they had intimate knowledge of the car’s wiring and it wouldn’t void the warranty. They did an excellent job but at a significant cost.

A word of warning:

If you are going to install a UHF antenna to a Discovery 5 there are very few options for fitment. There is currently no suitable bullbar and the usual underbonnet/wing mount bracket is aluminium and not rigid enough to survive the vibration from Australian roads. A set of motorised flaps sit behind the radiator grill further restricting mount points. One alternative would be to mount the antenna on a roof rack but height restrictions in shopping centres will be an issue with an already very tall car.

Custom Antenna Bracket

Land Rover Parramatta created a very rigid custom bracket for us that fits through the middle of the radiator grill to a central mounting point that is strong enough to handle anywhere the car is likely to go both on and off-road.

Heat-shrink has been applied where the bracket passes through the grill to prevent contact with the grill’s paint finish.

When the antenna needs to be removed a sealing cap made from winding self-amalgamating tape around the thread and top of the socket will provide a dust and watertight seal. The tape will chemically bond to itself forming a semi-rigid cap that can be screwed-off and back on again as required.