Shack In The Back
For many years we traveled in a class B RV Van where I had my Icom 7200 mounted in an out of the way place above the hanging locker. This position allowed me to sit comfortably and operate from inside the van. I installed the antenna coax behind the paneling and out to the frame and back to an antenna mount on the rear of the van. The power cable also ran down behind the paneling and out to the side storage locker to the batteries. Although this installation turned out very nice it required me to drill multiple holes to route the coax and power cable.
Earlier this year we decided to sell the van and purchase a truck and trailer to gain more space. We ended up with a very nice Toyota Tundra and 18' travel trailer.

After the purchase I stood admiring the truck and trailer and started looking at how I would install my radio and antenna. My wife looked at me with that look I know so well and said "No holes, in either the truck or trailer".
I am very active in an early morning marine service net called the 'Chubasco Net'. We cater to marine mobile hams on the West coast and Mexican waters. Like I said, it is an early morning net and that makes it a bit difficult, sometimes, to sit out at a picnic table in the weather and close proximity to other campers. I enjoy doing outdoor portable but I normally pick my spots and what weather I will be out in. So, I needed to find a way to do radio, either inside the trailer or the truck.
Knowing I could never be able to install the radio in the trailer without drilling holes for the coax and power cord I opted to concentrate on the truck. The VHF/UHF was easy as I decided to use a mag mount duel band antenna and come through the door seal with the coax. My Kenwood TM-V71A slid down very nicely into the center console and the factory installed power plug inside the console carries enough amperage for the radio. With a coffee cup holder for the radio's face I was set to go for mobile ops. Another plus was the coax and microphone cable fit under the closed console lid without pinching.
The Crewmax cab on the Toyota we bought has a very large back seat and when I sat in it to see just how comfortable it would be for passengers I knew immediately where my new portable shack would be.
When I travel and camp there are a lot of times no cellphone coverage is available, which means no internet. One of my duties with the Chubasco net is to compile marine weather for boaters in Mexican waters. It is all accessible off the internet but when there is no internet I have to download it through Winlink from a site called saildocs.com. This means I have to have a radio that does digital. My IC-7200 has a built in sound card so no external interface to the computer is necessary, making it a great asset when doing portable. My Yaesu FT-891, which is my go to portable radio, does not have the built in sound card so an additional accessory would have had to be bought. Plus, going in and changing menu settings for digital then back to SSB would be a pain so I decided to just take my Icom along when we were traveling with the truck and trailer and designate it as my digital rig, as I also enjoy doing JS8Call.
My Yaesu usually lives in the backpack I use for SOTA and other portable excursions and wanted it along on the camping trips if such an opportunity arose. So, when my idea of a ‘Shack in the Back’ started to materialize I knew it had to be included. It would be for SSB and the Icom for digital and backup, if needed.
My first trip using the ‘Shack In The Back’ worked but some changes had to be made.

No holes were drilled, so the wife was happy. I had a comfortable seat out of the weather, a place for the computer with easy reach to the radios, so I was happy. But, and it was a big but, the setup and breakdown took a while and the rats nest of wires and cables in the back was horrendous. I needed to come up with a self-contained box that contained everything with just a DC input plug, SO-239 for an antenna and an input for 110v for a power supply if it was available. That way I could set up and break down easily. Especially if we wanted to use the truck to go into town or take a tour of the area we were in.
Here’s what I came up with. Some would call it a Go-Box but I call it my ‘Shack In The Back


I have my IC-7200 with its ever present LDG-IT-100 tuner, the FT-891, an ATU-100 tuner for it, a MFJ-4230MV power supply, a Diamond antenna switch to change radios, a power switch to change from 12v in to power supply voltage. All wires and cables are inside the box. No more rats nest in the back. Plug and play.
My antenna of choice is an EFHW cut for 40 meters and although I don’t need a tuner with this antenna but I like having them as the Hamstick I use when there is not enough real estate to deploy the EFHW is so narrow banded it is nice to have a tuner. Also, I carry wire and an unun for a random wire antenna which needs a tuner. It would be nice if the IC-7200 and FT-891 had internal tuners but they don’t so I keep the tuners close.
Looking forward to many more sojourns and contacts with the ‘Shack In The Back’.
73,
Steve, k7ofg.