Okay How many RV'ers here use CB-Radio's?

The first time I used a CB was back in the 80's traveling to Florida in a Hi-Top van I asked for a radio check and a trucker answered and asked what I was hauling, I told him 3 kids and a wife, he laughed and we talked for hrs and kept me from falling a sleep in the middle of the night. My MH came with an old Cobra, and when I went to Alaska in 2006 with another Rver we used it to communicate about the road condition animals along the Hiway etc. He was a full-timer and had a Copilot nav system so I just followed him. Much of the areas we traveled through had no cell service especially through Canada where there were also roaming charges at the time so it was useful. Also the truckers alerted me several times of accidents and alternate routes to take. Having said all that if I bought another MH I would not buy a new CB for it because I really like the RV Copilot and Waze app's, but if it came with it I would keep it because you need cell service for Waze to work.

BackOfThePack wrote:

2000-mile trip quiet? Late morning departure and driving over the weekend are almost a guarantee of hearing little the farther one gets from the US Northeast.

I was on the West Coast (I-5 mostly) and did most of the driving from 8am-noon to avoid having to run the house A/C to stay cool in the 95+ heat. Did all the long drives on weekdays too. Saw plenty of trucks, but heard little chatter on the radio.

rlw999 wrote:

rlw999 wrote:
As soon as I figure out where to mount an antenna without drilling a hole in the side of my Class C, I'll install a CB for an upcoming road trip. I just ordered a hood mount that I think will work well. I won't use the CB all the time, but am looking forward to having it for long freeway drives.

Sooooo... got my antenna and CB hooked up for my long 2000 mile trip.

Turned out to not be worth it, few truck drivers were talking at all, I asked for a radio check a few times just to be sure it was working since I so rarely heard anyone else. The one time I heard someone report an accident ahead, I already knew about it from Google Maps.

Oh well, it was worth the experiment, but now I think I'll just keep the CB in a storage compartment along with a mag-mount antenna in case I ever get stranded where there's no cell service.

Most of the chatter on AM-19 will be pre-dawn until about 1100 local. If not in a metro area (see map: Mega-Regions of the USA) understand that truckers have already done the hard work of the day: get to the receiver AND THEN to the next shipper. The last few hours of the day don’t/won’t elicit much pass-the-time-of-day talk.

In every part of the USA it’s the local bulk haulers who dominate AM-19. Guys home every night and weekends. Trying to get their several loads DONE. Once they’re off -air at 1500 or so, expect quiet.

An Rv’er who starts driving at 0930 and continues past 1600 has slotted himself into the hours PAST what is generally busiest.

In the Mega Region map (population density) there’s exception to the above as regional delivery is also prominent. Guys also looking to be home nightly, or several nights per week before the weekend. Tend to hail friends and others.

70-mph speed limits PLUS big trucks difficult to get a good ground plane are natural discouragement to drivers. One, can’t run 70, and, Two, hard to get a CB system worth beans in a plastic truck.

2000-mile trip quiet? Late morning departure and driving over the weekend are almost a guarantee of hearing little the farther one gets from the US Northeast.

Not all talk is on AM-19. I’ve run a scanner constantly searching the rest of the Elrvrn Meter band and “found” plenty in some regions NOT on 19.

It’s a tool without a replacement while on-road. Commercial Carriers Road Atlas and a Garmin big truck spec GPS are what I use. WAZE and Google maps are only useful for knowing where NOT to go.

Unless you believe that running up into a crowd on the road you’d avoid while walking is a good idea. (Trapped, with no exit).

I’ll be on my way around those problems.

Good luck

.

rlw999 wrote:
As soon as I figure out where to mount an antenna without drilling a hole in the side of my Class C, I'll install a CB for an upcoming road trip. I just ordered a hood mount that I think will work well. I won't use the CB all the time, but am looking forward to having it for long freeway drives.

Sooooo... got my antenna and CB hooked up for my long 2000 mile trip.

Turned out to not be worth it, few truck drivers were talking at all, I asked for a radio check a few times just to be sure it was working since I so rarely heard anyone else. The one time I heard someone report an accident ahead, I already knew about it from Google Maps.

Oh well, it was worth the experiment, but now I think I'll just keep the CB in a storage compartment along with a mag-mount antenna in case I ever get stranded where there's no cell service.

Back in the 70's, I used to have an SBE Sideband number in the car, and a Siltronix 1011-D at home. The Siltronix was a HAM radio I had modified to work on CB frequencies... it had a VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator) and I used a D-104 mic. For a while there, I enjoyed meeting people, chatting, etc., although, of course, once kids got onto the channel, it soon became messy... Since I, and many of my friends, had VFO's, when there were kids messing up the channel, we'd go in between channels (where a click, click channel changer on a typical CB was 10 KC's apart, fixed) and after a few minutes of normal conversation, the kids would leave, because they couldn't find the channel we were on to complain!

Sjm9911 wrote:
My dad swore by them in the 80s. Its not the 80s anymore. The cell phone has replaced it. I didnt think anyone used them anymore.

So who do you call to ask about the condition of a pass in a snowstorm ? The truckers coming the other way just climbed up it, they know.

Who do you call to tell the driver of the truck you are following that you'd like to pass ?

My dad swore by them in the 80s. Its not the 80s anymore. The cell phone has replaced it. I didnt think anyone used them anymore.

rexlion wrote:
I had been looking at the Baofeng UV-5R.

I have UV-5Rs and use them on GMRS and FRS. They work great. Nobody has arrested me.

About 50% of truckers still run CBs. The air is usually dead quiet. Around cities it can be noisy.

When there is bad weather or traffic issues or I have a roadside issue, I want to communicate with the people on the road I'm on. And the best device for that is a CB radio. Extremely handy, even if you only use it once a year.

FRS/GMRS radios, especially the UV-5R variety are very handy around campsites, especially with kids or when there is no cell service. I usually pack a couple when we go into the back country. If the group needs to split or someone gets hurt you can keep track of each other. 90% of the time they stay in the pack.

My super C on a Freightliner chassis came with a Cobra CB. Changed the antenna to a no ground plane and it seems to work pretty good

Just installed a new 40 Watt Midland GMRS radio, after receiving my license first. The 1/4 wave antennas are only about 6 inches tall. So far I really like it and should come in handy when we caravan with friends.

My dad swore by CB radio. It's saved him a few times, like the time he had a flat tire in the trailer and didn't know it, a passing truck driver told him. And the other time one of his tow chains was loose and dangling, a truck driver saw the light show from the sparking chain on pavement and told him about it.

He was a former truck driver himself and was very comfortable talking with other truckers.

As soon as I figure out where to mount an antenna without drilling a hole in the side of my Class C, I'll install a CB for an upcoming road trip. I just ordered a hood mount that I think will work well. I won't use the CB all the time, but am looking forward to having it for long freeway drives.