CB Radio

[keymastr]

My WAZE app tells me about traffic before I get there and even routes me around it and I listen to podcasts to pass the time. VHF radio has a 70 mile range and would be a better choice if you were looking for a way to communicate in an emergency. CB is about 6 miles if no obstructions so not terribly useful.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by keymastr

My WAZE app tells me about traffic before I get there and even routes me around it and I listen to podcasts to pass the time. VHF radio has a 70 mile range and would be a better choice if you were looking for a way to communicate in an emergency. CB is about 6 miles if no obstructions so not terribly useful.

WAZE is pretty much useless for large rigs, there's even a town in the East that had to block thru traffic using WAZE. I tried it out, deleted the app next day. I always have my CB radio on listening for road conditions/congestion ahead. It has saved me from sitting in stopped interstate traffic many times.

[Montana jim]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

WAZE is pretty much useless for large rigs, there's even a town in the East that had to block thru traffic using WAZE. I tried it out, deleted the app next day. I always have my CB radio on listening for road conditions/congestion ahead. It has saved me from sitting in stopped interstate traffic many times.

What channels do you monitor?

[Hikerdogs]

CB's may be nearly dead, but they are still used on some caravans. When we bought our current motorhome we took the CB out of the old one and stored it in a cabinet. It stayed there over 5 years and I was questioning whether or not to toss it out.

Low and behold we signed up for Winnebago caravan this year and guess what? They still require them for travel day call outs, announcements, and communication between members when on the road.

It's a bit archaic but a relatively cheap form of communication. The only downside is that any coaches newer than about 2004 don't have CB antennas from the factory. I had to purchase an antenna and the hardware to mount it to the fiberglass box.

Since we don't intend to use the CB for anything other than this caravan or possible future caravans everything is on temporary suction cup mounts. Once the caravan is over the CB, the antenna, and all the hardware will go back in the cabinet.

As for others on the road using them, about the only times we heard any chatter were through Indiana and Ohio when traffic slowed to a crawl because of accidents. Other than that there was a defining silence.

[Long Island Mac]

At the Hershey show, Dymamax X3 came with a CB. Kinda surprised me. Haven't used s CB in years!!

[Loggenrock]

Just back from a 3000 mile roadtrip. CB on either 13 (supposed RV channel...) or 19. Twice on this trip alerted me to accidents, even which lane to wiggle into for best route thru. Also posted on back of my rig so others know they could call me if the spotted something wrong.

[TriMoot]

KeyMastr: Well, VHF would probably be a better choice, but I never did like taking test!

HikerDogs: Yes, back when we had an old class C (1978 Dodge) we did a caravan and had a ton of fun throwing synd remarks back and forth between all the trucker chatter. I even remember getting into a pretty deep conversation between someone who was considering suicide. We took it seriously enough that we stopped so we wouldn't get out of range. Really not looking for THAT much entertainment tho.

LongIslandMac: HA! I thought you meant there was a CB model called Dymamax X3! All I could find was a Class C rig!

LoggenRock: See, that's what I was wanting, a CB for and the chit chat is only icing on the cake so to speak. And I like the idea of posting your handle on the back, great idea.

Thanks folks for all the input, I think for the cost and ease of use, I'll go with a CB. Now the fun part which one?

[jrpend]

I've heard trucks a few times on the CB but not very often. I often leave it off because of the noise - squelch peaks. I also think I'm getting a lot of noise from the inverter and the LEDs in the rig.



I probably use it more now to monitor the weather broadcasts.



I will sometimes program in the ham repeaters on the track and if I want a restaurant recommendation I can get one by saying "hello" on a local repeater.



My wife (who is also a ham) and I will use some cheapo handhelds when needed. Ham radio handhelds can be had for under $30.00 a set and can be quite useful.

[Loggenrock]

TriMoot - Bearcat CB for about $30 on amazon. I keep the squelch dialed up pretty high, so can only hear strong signals coming from near me. FYI - I'm also a Ham and monitor .52 all the time. I've had ONE person call me in about 60k miles of travel...

[TriMoot]

Originally Posted by Loggenrock

TriMoot - Bearcat CB for about $30 on amazon. I keep the squelch dialed up pretty high, so can only hear strong signals coming from near me. FYI - I'm also a Ham and monitor .52 all the time. I've had ONE person call me in about 60k miles of travel...

LoggenRock: Thanks for the feedback. I did a search on Amazon for Bearcat but not finding any for $30ish. There's one that got great reviews but it's too much money:Uniden BEARCAT 880 CB Radio

https://goo.gl/YcDcmR

I did find this one:Uniden PRO505XL
https://goo.gl/bDsuaD

Is this the one you had in mind?

TIA

[LSC9901]

This is the one I purchased but it was $29.97 when I bought it.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[TriMoot]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

This is the one I purchased but it was $29.97 when I bought it.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tell you what...I'll buy yours for $29.98..sound good?

Okay, I kind of like the one you bought compared to the other $30 one. I'll check it out more closely and decide.

Suggestion on antennas?

Thanks!

[LSC9901]

I purchased a "Firestik" antenna. Because my bus is totally fiberglass I wanted a "NGP" (no ground plane) antenna. I didn't want any type of roof mount as I didn't want to create a hole in the roof to mount it. What I did do was purchase the side mount and drilled 2 holes just above the drivers side window and then snaked the wiring down the pillar under the plastic cover.

One very important note. Whatever side mount you get make sure it comes with 18' of cable. The one I originally purchased was only about 10' in length which lead to the SWR being way off the scale. Bad SWR results in extremely diminished distance.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/FireStik-4f...1-3&ref=sr_1_3

When you look up the actual antenna be advised they come in different lengths. They all work about the same but just make sure you get a maximum amount above the roof height.

Years back I tried one of those antennas that glues to the outside of a glass window and then there is a part glued on the inside. Reception is OK but transmissions are not real good.

Hope some of this helps.

[Dav L]

I put a new Cobra in my RV last year just as a backup if cellular down and trouble is near. But, listening for a few hours, very little traffic and nothing of interest.

What do the truckers do now - just cell phone? Where's the community in that?
Must get pretty boring.