Who all carry a CB Radio in your Born Free?

[stevek]

I have a brand new CB and was wondering if it was worth installing in my Born Free?
Or is this just "old school"?
If so, what about the antenna?
I see those antenna brackets that attached to the edge of the engine hood.
Are these pretty good? Whats the best antenna?
Thanks..

[thestoloffs]

If you're on a caravan trip, it's essential, especially in Alaska where cellphone coverage is spotty.

During normal travels, listening to Channel 19 with the volume turned down may occasionally give you an alert to traffic tie-ups -- if you can stand to have one ear cocked and ignore the bulk of the trucker conversations.

Born Free mounts the antenna on the hood because it's one of the few areas of metal that will supply a semi-ground plane. If you try to mount on the roof, you'll need to mount a metal plate on top of the fiberglass to form an equivalent ground plane.

The only other option is to use a NGP (No Ground Plane) antenna, which uses a special coaxial cable to serve as the ground plane. They can be a bit tricky to wire up; if that's the way you want to go, you might try a CB shop at a nearby truck stop. (They're also a good place to get feedback on antenna manufacturers -- too many to discuss here.)

[jjhepkin]

our born free came with the CB radio installed.
in the 3 years we have owned it, have used the cb radio maybe 2-3 times when we were in bumper to bumper traffic and couldn't see what was causing the delay.
so on average, one time per year; not sure usage would justify expense of buying and installing.

john hepkin

[whemme]

Here is a link on this forum to a thread about CB antenna installation on Born Free coaches that contains information that might be of interest to you: http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... sc&start=0

The range of mine is about 5 miles with the antenna installation in my coach as shown is some of the photos I posted in the above thread.

I don't really use mine much but it is nice for caravanning. A trucker once drove up along side me in the other lane on I-80 holding his CB mic so I could see it. I switched to the trucker's channel and he advised me of the interstate being closed ahead due to an accident. So, I followed him off the interstate at the next exit. The interstate was blocked for almost 3-1/2 hours and I would have been caught up in that blockage if it were not for that trucker and the fact that I did have a CB installed.

[bcope01]

I have stored a handheld portable CB radio in one of my covey holes for 10 years thinking I may need it some time. Since I have never needed it, I guess I better pull it out and check out the batteries. They are probably growing acidic fuzz by now, yikes!

Bill

[Mike Astley]

I put mine in originally as it was required for a caravan. Recent caravans I have been on have only required FMRS radios.

The "about once a year" average usage is right..just use it when in a major traffic jam to find out what's going on and listening for options.

Mine also has a weather radio built in and I use that often to hear what's happening when the weather turns bad.

[stevek]

I was wondering about the FMRS radios. I have a pair of these too.
I also have a pair of older Portable CB radios I got free from the Bank.
Remember the days when the Bank would give you free stuff?
So radios must be old.
But still work... not sure of "distance".
Thanks for all the input.

[ewagman]

I like Waze on my phone better than using a CB, much less intrusive. It has automatically re-routed me around traffic issues numerous times, as well as alerting one of revenue raising locations. The amount of data it uses is quite small.

[Brent]

I must be a contrarian but when traveling I use the CB at some time each day. Most often to see what is causing a bumper to bumper problem.

[TheBizMan]

I carried and used a CB for two years while traveling. I found the I could only get out to about 1/2 mile and I didn't like that, so I got my ham license. Now I can get out 50 + miles. This works great when traveling with my son in his motorhome. We usually are about 1-2 miles apart and can always make contact.

[truenorth]

Everyone should have a CB for when the cell towers go down in a natural (or other) disaster. Just my humble opinion.

Besides, they are cool and you can listen to truckers chat about pretty much nothing.

So I do recommend having an "offline" means of communication that is somewhat 'off the grid' (or at least just needs the RV power to listen to).

My 3 cents.