Is It Time To Ditch The Big Antennas On GM Trucks?
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Vehicle styling is a subjective matter, but one particular element has started to irk us more and more here at the GM Authority offices: antennas. While many car and SUV models have ditched the conventional antenna, GM trucks – such as the all-new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Silverado HD along with the GMC GMC Sierra 1500 and GMC Sierra HD – all still feature traditional rod-shaped units, formally called monopole antennas.
2019 Silverado with monopole removed
Notice the big, 90s-era monopole mounted just behind the front fender of each truck. Well, no – not on each truck. The monopole is absent in some of the photos because GM staged these pictures with the antennas removed, to make them more photogenic.
There’s also a second, aerodynamic antenna on the roof – also known as the roof fin – just aft of the windshield, and that one is clearly visible in all of these pics.
2019 Silverado Custom with monopole present
So, what’s the deal with the dual antenna setup? Well, it’s actually not all that uncommon. In fact, almost every vehicle on the road has multiple ways of receiving wireless signals, but few still use a traditional monopole like the Silverado and Sierra.
To start, the monopole is only capable of receiving AM and FM radio signals. While the two GM trucks retain the monopole to pick up AM and FM waves, many modern vehicles integrate the antennas into the rear windshield. You’ll notice these antennas, along with the defroster, as subtle black or copper-colored lines on the glass.
2020 GMC Sierra HD with monopole antenna present
Modern vehicles also typically include cellular (like OnStar and other telematics systems), GPS and satellite radio receivers, and two GM trucks are no exception to that. The receivers for more advanced communication technologies reside within the roof fin. Some models, such as the Chevrolet Sonic, even combine the roof fin with a short monopole, resulting in a single assembly that’s as elegant as a standalone fin and glass-mounted antennas.
So if there are sleeker options out there, why does GM retain the separate monopole for AM/FM reception on these trucks? Well, it might be due to simplicity. The glass-mounted antennas aren’t serviceable if they’re damaged, making it necessary to replace the entire rear glass assembly. By contrast, a monopole is essentially a wire wrapped around a metal or plastic rod, and it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to replace. In fact, plenty of Silverado and Sierra owners choose to fit aftermarket monopoles that are shorter or more appealing from an aesthetics standpoint than the original one.
2020 GMC Sierra HD with monopole removed
Then again, the back glass of the two GM trucks already includes embedded defrost wires, so it couldn’t be much harder to also embed AM/FM antennas there. The more likely reason for the monopole is cost: it’s simply less expensive to continue using a monopole than it is to embed the AM/FM antennas into the fin or into the rear glass.
In the automotive sector, every nickel, dime, and dollar counts, and it’s highly likely that retaining the monopole allows GM to save a few dollars per unit, which adds up big if you consider that the Detroit-based automaker sells several hundred-thousand full-size pickup trucks every year. It’s also worth considering that the Silverado and Sierra’s crosstown rivals, the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500, also use monopole AM/FM receivers. That said a monopole is so 1990s, and many of us here at GM Authority would gladly pay the nominal price difference for a more integrated and invisible solution.
What say you, dear reader? Vote in the poll and share your opinion in the comments.
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There are issue with the current GM trucks.
This isn’t one of them.
This doesn’t matter.
It’s a great indicator of roof clearance
If the antenna clears a height warning sign for something like a parking garage, then the roof will clear no problem.
It was time to do so 8 years ago HaHa
On my 09 Sierra and my 18 both antennas were removed and never out back on. FM radio sucks imo. I only listen to xm or Bluetooth from my phone. For my 18 I pulled it off in the dealer lot before I drove away because I hate the look of them so much.
Keep it. The big tall “old school” antenna on my 2010 Chevy Cobalt still picks up far-away stations better than my 2018 Colorado with the little shark fin antenna. Nothing can replace sheer size for capturing radio waves well when you live out in the woods and have hills. My Cobalt will keep a radio station all the way to work on my commute, while my Colorado with the small antenna drops the station halfway, no joke.
Absolutely. Jonny is right. My vehicle has a shark fin, and in Louisville, KY the radio reception continually fluctuates even when tuning to WHAS 840, a 50,000 watt station located in Louisville.
Never had any reception problems with my former 1998 Chevy Blazer vehicle.
Wasn’t the old rule that a mast antenna 31″ tall is best for radio reception ? To me those shark fins look goofier than a mast. We had windshield antenna years ago. Why were they discintinued? Was it bad reception?
I listen almost exclusively to SXM. I pulled my monopole quite some time ago. Personally, my question is, “If you have access to commercial-free radio, why on earth would you want to stay in the banal dj chatter era?”
I’m on a tight budget; I don’t want to pay for my radio, and I like the local news and info I get from FM.
Go the route of the Trans Am. Windshield antenna
I know we have it pretty cushy here in the good ole U.S.A.
But still……. I think you’re making a mountain out of a monopole!
If not for the fact that the Avalanche configuration is much better suited for my needs and my 07 Avalanche still looks and runs great!…. I’d buy that beautiful truck in a heartbeat!
Monopole and all!
I don’t care. I don’t listen to my radio, I have better conversations with myself than the chatter on the air now.
The 73-87 GM trucks had the antenna in the windshield. Also not having a rear window antenna is do to the window being straight up and down. It needs to have some angle, that why it works in cars. At least that’s how I understood it, I could be wrong.
I wonder if it has to do with the fact that many Chevy pickups end up with racks in the back that may interfere with a rear glass mounted antenna?
I’ve had windshield, power and monopole antennas on vehicles over the years. AM/FM reception is superior with power and monopole antenna types.
I also prefer FM band stations over satellite ones, especially for traffic, news, weather. Occasionally I will stream a favorite out-of-town station via Bluetooth, mobile phone to truck audio…..and it’s free!
I was always under the impression that the monopoles work better for radio reception.
I have the monopole on my truck and my wife does not on her Equinox. I get far superior reception on radio stations than she does. I can get most stations for up to 30-40 miles further than she can in her car without distortion.
But seriously the only time i think about my antenna is when I am entering a car wash or it hits something in a parking garage.
Yeah while we’re at it let’s shave the door handles, mirrors and french the headlights. The antenna picks up better reception especially in mountainous areas. Also the replacement cost of the rear window is substantial vs a standard window. Many of us that use a truck to haul large things in the bed have broken the rear window. With that said, a quick disconnect would be the preffered alternative. Those with OCD that are that anal retentive can remove it and hide it, and the rest of us that run across these idiots can remove it and antenna whip the crap out them.
I have wondered for quite a while why pickups still sport the mast antenna. This helps a little. But technology being what it is, it’s time to ditch them. Says a lot that they remove it for photos! I’d ask GM to toss the old column shifter while they’re at it, $70k and I get an old fashioned work truck shifter? No thanks…at least offer an alternative in the higher-trim trucks.
I find it crazy how on the most profitable vehicle they tend to cheap out the most…see entire interior for example.
Maybe those are the reasons it’s the most profitable vehicle as you say.
Prob just the way us redneck dudes think, but it’s a TRUCK! If you want “pretty” , buy a Lincoln……
I posted this a long time ago. Boy did I get torn a new one. Haha
The large GM monopole antennas pick up signals much better than the window embedded antennas. why switch to something that is inferior?
My 1986 Silverado has it in the front windshield an to say they are saving so much money by not putting it in glass is just saying they are cheap if they stop being so cheap maybe they can sell more trucks