Yeah I don't use the CB much, (well not at all yet) just for trips or whatnot, so I'm not too concerned with getting stepped on. I liked the more modern case, bit smaller and didn't look like it came off the shelf in 1970 like a lot of the Cobras. Mostly it's for listening, and if my buddy ever gets one it'll be for wheelin.

I think I'd like to mount it off my Yakima rack on my fiberglass canopy. I'm not too keen on drilling big holes in the sheetmetal. Plus on the rack I could loosen the mount and turn it 90 degrees and lay it flat along the roof for low clearance.

 

I'm pretty much in your boat, except for the wheeling as my 4x2 won't be going too far off road!

 

Don't know what exactly a Yakima rack looks like, but it sounds more like something metal then fiberglass. Most mounts though you would take it as a hassle to loosen and turn. You could look at using a Wilson 1000 roof mount, but mount it to an "L" bracket which you can mount to your rack. In this case, all you will have to do for low clearances is unscrew antenna from mount and put weather cap on. Or you could also look at using wilson 1000 Magnetic mount on roof and still be able to unscrew and replace with weather cap for low clearances.

 

The rack has plastic laminated steel pipes for cross bars, and a mishmash of plastic and metal parts mounting it to the top of my canopy, which is indeed fiberglass, so it wouldn't ground through the rack very well. I have a nice chunk of aluminum for a mirror tube mount, and was considering using that on the rack, then just loosen the two bolts and rotate it to lay flat. The L bracket roof mount idea is something I could do, a buddy works with 3/8" aluminum plate all day and has access to scrap for cheap/free, then it's just a matter of how do you get a decent ground?

 

For a decent ground, It is just like my tractor trailer. It is made mostly of fiberglass to keep it light. I had to run groung wire 8 or 10 awg stranded is good, to my frame to ground the antenna. In your case, I would connect to your mount through one of your bolts you use to secure it and run it down between the cab and bed to the frame and either find an existing screw or bolt to mount to or drill a small hole in metal to mount to. You can do the same with your radio too and help reduce your ground noise and possibly engine noise. (It is not always possible to eliminate engine feedback noise in all radios or in all vehicles.) For the radio, connect ground wire to one of the screws that hold the case of the radio on though instead of the mount, then run it to a good grounding spot close to the radio. The closer to the radio, the better. (Do not ground case in the same spot of the ground wire for the power of the radio. Guaranteed engine feedback)

Most truck stops, you can buy a "L" bracket for mounting for around $7-$9 bucks, if you don't need or want to fabricate one yourself too.

 

Funny thing is I only know of one somewhat decent truck stop in this part of the state, and it's no match for the awesome travel centers down in CA. Do the antennas need to be specific for a fiberglass mount? I've got a glass mast that I'd prefer to use because I've already got it.

And SWR meters... I have a hard time justifying spending $35+ for something I'll use once. Are there any other ways of doing it?

 

Yes your current antenna can work, there are a few differences though. First any antenna mounted on a vehicle cannot excede 13'6" from the ground to the top of the antenna. (DMV law, they can site you for it) As for fiber or steel whip type antenna's, steel whips give you better TX/DX than a fiberglass and they are more flexible without springs for low clearances. Springs also add to your length.

As for setting swr's, your small radio wouldn't really be affected by them not being set, especially with no mods to it. If you want them set though, check around for CB shops in your area. Sometimes you can find them in truck stops. They usually only charge 10-15 bucks to set them for you with there meter. Or you can even catch a truck stop on a weekend when drivers are more likely to be around longer than to refuel and see if one of them will do it for you. (By this time you could already have your system set up and on and ask the drivers over the radio)

First time CBers, I recommend that you just turn your radio on and listen for a week or two b4 you decide to pick the mike up and ask for a break. Many people think using the CB is just like it is on the movies. WAY WRONG. And if you act that way when you first hook it up and key up, YOU are most likely to be IGNORED. Granted there are some people out there on the radio that do act this way all the time, but they are far fewer than the ones that don't.

 

Ah well I don't think I have to worry about the 13.5' law, My dak is stock height and the glass antenna is only 36", so at most that'd be about 10'. WA's low clearance height is 14' currently.

 

28, I'm wondering if I just need a radio like what Horatio has. Honestly, I would hazard to guess that my radio would be 90% for listening, with the 10% of talking only down the road when I feel like I can ask a question without making an *** of myself.

I have some time to think it over. The headache rack will come first either way. I appreciate all of your input though.

 

ok well I got an aluminum bracket for 94+ Ram applications and mounted it on the driver's side fender, just unbolted the rearmost bolt that holds the fender on and used that. I think it was originally assembled upside down, with the antenna pointing at the ground, as I flipped the stud and it actually works great. There might be a little paint loss on the hood/fender, but oh well. I also got a $20 SWR meter just for ****s and giggles because they had one in stock, and a HD spring, and a 48" blue firestik II, because I like blue, and my black one's end is chipped. I also got an 18' pre-terminated lead, which was way long but I didn't want to go too short if I had to mount the antenna out back. So all installed and purty the SWR was 1.25, good enough for government work. It also says I'm Tx at 6 watts, not sure how pathetic that is, but I imagine there are a lot more powerful radios on the road, as the meter does 0-10 or 0-100 watts. I had to use the 0-10 watt setting to get a reading.

Anyway, there's no engine whine, not a trace. It does give me some feedback or something when driving by certain stores and medical clinics though.

Time to pick up another radio for the Ram and get it wired in. Might as well have one in both. And I need to convince my buddy to put one in his truck too.