CB Radios - What percent of WBCCI members use them

[Richard Vroom]

I am a new WBCCI member and a few of the members I have met use CB radios. Do most Airstreamers have them? Are the prortable units good? What is the best to get? I really do not want to add another radio under my dash.
Richard

[Silvertwinkie]

I think there are plusses and minuses to C.B. Here are only a fraction.....

Plusses:

Neat, fun and might help you in a jam

Minuses:

The odds of getting help are far less than that of a cell phone (ever notice the "dial *xxx" signs all over now). Of course there are rural areas that don't even have touch tone phones, let alone cell....

The '70s are over and the Dukes of Hazzard went off the air over a decade ago (minus syndication)!



Regards,

Eric

[Richard Vroom]

When travelling with a group or trying to communicate with another Airstream along the road, is a CB worthwhile? What is the best. I have a cell phone but I get nailed for $5 to turn it on while travelling in the US. On my last trip in 2 weeks it cost me over $500.
Richard

[Silvertwinkie]

If inter-rig communications is what you are looking for, get one of those hand held Motorolas for $50-$60. I bought a set for my parents. They love it and they do wonders. If you want to talk with the truckers and cover greater distances, get a CB.

You know, depending on the plan you are on, nationwide plans don't hit you for $5 each time you fire the cell up.

Eric

[Tikihut]

I have a CB and would never travel without one. I have had them in all my trucks and have been using them for over 15 years now. Last year a group of us went out west I had car trouble and was able to use the CB to talk to the other people in the group about it. They are great to use when you are in a bad traffic jam. I have had truckers tell me that the brake light did not work. I would never leave home without it. I have a mic only type. with a roof mount antenna mine also has 10 weather bands on it witch sure can come in handy. Mine is a Cobra W75, I paid about $100 for it. JC Whitney's has them. If you are looking for a deal put CB Radio's in your search engine. I know I should not say it but I must Keep on Trucking.
Chris

[markjoandall]

Richard,

I've had the same questions you have about CB's and traveling with other AS'ers. Out of curriosity, I added up the number of entries in the White Mountain Unit, WBCCI and I found 15 members out of 66 total with their CB call sign listed in the directory. I think there are many more members with CB's than these numbers indicate because I've driven past many AS'ers who've waved at me and then I see them pick up their CB mike.

I'm going to be purchasing one soon. It will probably be a protable one that I can take out of my tow vehicle. Of course this is from the same person who's been a member of the WBCCI for over two years and I haven't put on my trailer numbers yet. I still pull a bald AS.

As for the Cell Phone in the States. Next time you visit the States, why don't you stop in a 7 11 a purchase a cell phone with prepaid air time. It's got to be cheaper then $5 to turn on the your Canadian one. imo

[overlander64]

If you are planning to attend any of the larger WBCCI Rallys, and very importantly, the International Rally; a CB Radio is a near requirement to get the daily news about events and scheduling. My '64 Overlander has a CB Radio permanently mounted in the cabinet over the front lounge that connects to the external whip antenna that was part of the International package. I also have a temporary "plug-in" mount CB with external mount magnetic antenna that only sees duty when involved in a WBCCI event. I was never a fan of the CB radio, but find it quite useful for this limited purpose - - I'll take my old 1993 Motoral cellular "bag" phone for handling emergency situations on the road.

Kevin

[Seon]

What I like about the CB's is that you can get informtion about the traffic jam in front of you. It gives you the opportunity to take an alternate route. Also where "Smokey" is parked.

[femuse]

We have a Cobra & have been using a portable el-cheapo Radio Shack too.

Over the years we had:

a trucker in IN warn us about a tire falling apart on the AS, warning of a fallen down highway bridge on I-95 in CT, in time to take another interstate, warning about a load of planks on the roadway in a curve at night. We called truckers who called the police more than once after flat tires or being broken down. Without talking about the numerous avoidance of traffic jams,....
We have in a few occasions been driving 2 vehicles and kept in touch that way.

I don't see how we could do without it, and for that matter how other people can do without.

[Pahaska]

for caravaning to rallys. I have used it twice this year for that purpose.

When solo, I use it to warn me of road conditions ahead. It worth the garbage and bad language. One black night, in pouring rain, I heard a trucker that I knew was a short distance ahead of me say "I think just hit a ladder in the road!". I went dead slow and sure enough, the aluminum extension ladder was across most of both lanes. I had to take to the shoulder to miss it. I then retranmitted the warning to anyone who might have been behind me and got replies.

[davidz71]

While I have not put my CB back in my current truck after the '92 Z71 was wrecked, I've contemplated buying the Cobra unit that has all the controls in the mike area. It looks like it is more compact and wouldn't get in my way. My Cobra 29XLR sits quietly in the closet while I try to make up my mind. I've used CB's in the past to talk to truckers late at night while traveling from TN. to TX. and back. Unfortunately, I've had to use it to try to alert EMS to a wreck involving the fatalities of 3 young people who turned in front of an 18 wheeler late at night. As it turned out, the local police had just received new cars and all the CB's were stashed in the trunk until they could be installed. A base station picked up the call and passed the message to emergency units. Those 3 never knew what hit them and I had to dodge 2 driveshafts left in the middle of the road due to the impact. I've used CB's to talk with friends in several other vehicles while on a multi-car trip and it sure was nice. Sometimes the CB can be annoying but you can always turn the vol. down low. They sure are nice to have and I can definately understand why WBCCI members use them.

[Pahaska]

I have the Cobra with the controls in the mike. It is really great. I use a through-the-glass antenna and I installed the little metal box in my overhead console with the cord poking out the back. When I am using the CB, I drop the cover of the sunglass compartment and hang the mike in the nosepiece notch of the cover. That way, it is right by my ear and I can grab it easily to transmit.

The through-glass antenna has worked exceptionally well. I had better transmit and reception than most of the folks in a recent 14-Airstream caravan.

I posted a photo of my installation some time ago. You might do a search.

[ViewRVs]

My understanding is that Good Sam's has encouraged RV's to use channel 13. WBCCI uses 14. I totally understand using 14 for WBCCI rallys and caravans.

I have never encountered anyone on 14 going down the highway (even Airstreams). I usually put my CB on 13 and sometimes encounter other RV'ers talking.

My suggestion is that ALL RV'ers use 13 when travelling on your own regardless of club membership. CB's have a range of roughly 5 miles. With so few RV's inside that 5 mile range, I don't think it's a big issue.

Ch. 19 is not for those who prefer clean language. We travel with our young kids so 19 is out.

[femuse]

My suggestion is that ALL RV'ers use 13 when travelling on your own

I understand your point if you have children. And even... if you leave the volume low enough so you can catch useful words only, like "accident, pile-up, bear", the sound is garbled enough, it's just background noise, until something meaningful is said.

But this is not a good advice for anybody else. If you are not using channel 19, you can as well listen to the radio.