weird question
 

I'm not really a "CB Guy" but we used to do the motorhome thing and having a CB was pretty useful at times.

We're in MI, so boating is definitely part time, and the only time I'd have any use for a CB is when we're hauling the boat, so I don't really want to permanently mount the radio and antenna to the truck.

I know I could do a magnetic mount on the truck, but then the cord is dangling and it looks like exactly what it is - an afterthought.

If I mount the antenna on the trailer (gooseneck) and connect the antenna cable where I connect the trailer wiring, will that work ? Or is there too much cable ? Is the antenna too far from the head unit ?

There's a ton of cranial horsepower on here and everyone knows "stock sucks" so it just has to be tinkered with; has anyone tried this?

And yes, I'm aware this would typically be an "off season" discussion type question, but our boat isn't back from a refit yet, summer just got here and it's almost July, and the whole damn coast is either flooded or close to it so I'm hoping for a pass :)

If I can't get a pass I'll buy the first round when we bump into each other on the water.

Cheers & thanks

s

My dads dually has an antenna mounted to the back window...its totally stick on and somehow passes the signal through the glass and you can unscrew the antenna when not in use and you can barely see it on the window....the signal wasn't as strong as a normal magnet mount or whatever but then again he put it on in the late 90's so I'm sure technology has advanced since then lol just a thought

Back in high school when my friends and i all had CB's in our trucks i had one mounted in my room running off a 12v transformer and a good 40' of cable running up to the chimney of the house with a magnet mount sitting on top of the chimney cap :) worked just fine. From what i remember from back in those days you just want to make sure the antenna is tuned in so its properly transmitting and receiving signals or can you can overload the circuitry and fry things out. And for what ever reason i seem to remember something about the length of antenna cable to be divisible by three for optimum service??? not sure if that's true or im mixing something else up from when i used to work at Motorola :D

How about a handheld unit?

You should definitely be able to do that. Especially since you have a gooseneck so you can mount the antenna high.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the input.

I hate to admit a handheld unit never occurred to me.

In my defense, we have a handheld VHF in our small boat & the darn thing is never where I want it, when I want it.

Used to run a couple hand-held CB's at work for visitors to throw in a vehicle (we run a lot of one-way haul roads and have CB's in every vehicle. Were all but useless greater than 500' away, just too low of power.

Magnetic antennas are decent until the wire gets pinched in door and grounds out, then useless.

Best I've had has been hard-mounted K-40 fiberglass tuneable tip antennas mounted on truck tool box with a quick disconnect mount. Mount is just a quarter-turn setup and antenna comes right off when not in use.

As far as radios go, Uniden and Cobra are same company and same electronic inside the case, and neither last long in commercial environment. I bought a Galaxy for $140 off amazon and absolutely love it here 3 years of daily use later. Extremely clear audio transmitting and receiving right out of the box. for only about 50% extra cost of a Uniden/Cobra that is well worth it. Galaxy does make a couple cheaper small form radios as well with same power.

Good luck finding anyone who can install and actually tune the radio properly unless you live close to a big truck stop area. All the older car audio guys with test benches are all but extinct and none of the younger guys even cared to learn.

Theres a guy down at 76th st and 131 that does all of our radios.