I've been driving with a lot of tractor trailers lately and was remembering a road trip in my cousins chevy- 350ci, we talked to truckers about their loads and their trucks and stuff (cousin got an associates degree in diesel mechanics) on his CB. When we weren't talking to them, it was fun to listen to.

My question is, what would it cost to put a decent CB in my truck? Maybe pushin 2 miles power- 3 tops if it doesn't cost tthat much. Throw me a number, and how many hours of labor (1st time around, but with help of FTE) you think and I'll see if I can afford to set aside the money and time to do so.

Thanks,

Matt

 

It's easy to install a cb into your vehicle. If you have anywhere around $200, you can put a sweet CB in your truck. To get one, if you live anywhere near the Ohio Valley area, I might suggest a really good CB shop to get you going. Even if you dont live anywhere near there, you can pretty much search on the internet or check along any interstate highway for CB shops. Its called "Buffalos CB Shop" in Dallas Pike, WV. They have good prices, and I'm really good friends with the owner there. He will get you a good CB with awesome range, (my friend was using his CB 20 miles away from the CB shop, and was talking to the guy at the shop that sold it to him), he will also supply you with all cables, antenna mounts, whip antennas, and any other wiring you may need to get the job done. Have fun with your CB!

-Dan

 

i put a cb in my 96 f150, i bought it at the iowa 80 truck stop. its cobra brand x something or other.

it cost 75 bucks, i also bought two wip anntenas and wireing for 35 bucks. the cb radio takes not even an hour to hook up. it has a powerwire with fuse that i ran off the positive battery post, and a negative-ground wire that i grounded it to a bolt for the hood latch.

all i did was drill a tiny hole through the fire wall, my truck has an auto trans so i punched the hole through the little plate that covers the hole were the clutch pedal would be.

i mounted my cb inside of the ashtray, i bought another ashtray assembly at the junkyard, i cut the inside of the ashtray out, i cut a big square hole in the front of the ashtray for the cb to come through.

i mounted the wip antennas right behind the cab on the bed rails, i ran them down between the bed and the cab. on my extended cab there was a rubber plug in the bottom of the floor at the back of the cab, i drilled a hole through the plug and ran the antenna wires through it, i then siliconed around the wires to make them weather tight again. i ran the antenna wires under my floor mats up to the front of the cab. and pluged it into the cb

finally i cut the power and ground wires about 6 inches after they come out of the back of the cb, i striped the wires and crimped on a couple of quick dissconects one for the power wire and one for the ground wire.

now if i need to remove the cb i slide the ashtray all the way out, unplug the quick disconnects, unplug the antenna, and the cb is unhooked. i can then pop the factory ashtray back in and no one will ever know. of course take the wips off to.

the best place to pick up a cb is at a truck stop if you've got one around, most of the radios come with a crappy magnet anntena that you stick on the truck somewhere.

with my radio [the cheapest one they had] and my anntenas i can get a strong signal off of interstate 80 untill i get about about 6-8 miles in to davenport.

 

The most important thing with any 2-way radio is to get your antennas matched to the radio. If they aren't you'll burn the finals out of the radio and end up with a paper weight.

 

awesome. Just to make sure, the long floppy antennas are called whip antennas. right?

I guess I'll look around online, and find somewhere near here where I can pick something up and get my hands on it. I may be a teenager from the "computer era" but I just don't trust things until I've gotten my hands on them and used them. thanks!

 

i'm currently adding a CB to my truck. what kind of coax should i use? RG58, RG59, or RG8?

 

You should be able to get a whole system for under $100. I can install one in less then an hr. Actually I could have you up & transmitting in about 2 Min. Got an extra radio with cig plug & mag mount ant.

 

if you buy whips, MAKE SURE you dont buy firestik. the ruber caps on the top turn solid in the winter time, break off, and water can get inside of your antenna therefore RUINING your cb by a short circuit. if you want a good brand of whips, buy Frances.

-dan

 

anybody on here have a heater for sale ? to put behind the cd. would like to get some more range in the hills. u old school guys no what im talking about....

 

Rebuildit, you're talking about a device known as a linear. They are illegal.... Anything over 5 watts transmitting power is illegal without a license. If you're caught with it it's big bucks.

 

I have the Cobra 29WX. Dang nice radio. Built in SWR, 40 Channel, PA, etc.

The SWR's is what you have to do to tune your Antennas. When you key the Mic, you want the SWR Reading to be on 1.5. Never higher then 2.5 or you will toast your CB.

On a 40 Channel CB, put it on around channel 20. This is a good mid range. On channel 1, you will get the lowest SWR, and 40 the Highest.

Twin Antennas are the hardest to match. Make sure they are grounded real good as reception is through the ground. Also do not block the Antenna with the Truck Cab as you will not be able to transmit forward of you for any distance.

To adjust your Antenna(s) for a Fiberglass whip, there is a plastic cap that comes off the end. Pull up the wire, and clip no more then a 1/4 of an inch at a time. For all other none fiberglass antennas, there should be a Allen head set bolt that allows you to adjust the insert up and down to tune it. For solid steel whips, you have to clip the coax cable. Every 16 inches will bring it in and out of the 1.5 range. Check the SWR, see how far off you are, then calculate how much to clip, then re-solder. One key things is coax length. Never go less then 8 feet in length on Coax. It may work, but it will screw up your radio in the long run. They are designed for a specific resistance.

10-4, we will be 10-10 on the side.

 

Getting to be rare as hen Teeth. Got a 1000w, but just like my gun, you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

 

Actually you want to get it as close to 1:1 as possible, and then NEVER higher than 1.5.

 

Ebay and yahoo auctions have them pretty regular. I picked up a TS DX350HD for $100.

I also know of a place online to buy them new at decent prices PM me with you e-mail address and I can let you know. It is a also an excellent site to get CB radio info on. They can help you with any question you have.

 

Dual antenna's are hard to set up especially on a pickup cause the truck in not wide enough to get the right distance betwen the two. Alot of people will just run a second antenna for looks. No connection to it. The best performing ant. will be a 102" ss whip with a 6" heavy-duty spring.