CB For Slip Seat

I was wondering if there are any slip seaters out there that can advise me on a cb radio set up. I run team and am almost always in a Freightliner Cascadia. The tractors we are in have a metal platform on the dash with a strap to hold a radio along with an antenna wire. I don't know if they actually have an antenna though. On the route that I have, we get home every other day, have about 16 hours off, then head back out in a different truck. I've thought about a handheld to simplify things, but those have a very limited range and nay not do well. As for the area I travel, it is I-40 from NM to CA most of the way. We run to LA and back 3 times a week from Albuquerque. Any input?

Hopefully the truck has a built in antenna.. I know mine does. It works okay but not stellar. Just good enough for traffic or accident updates.

That is the part I am unsure of. I have looked all over the truck and haven't found an antenna anywhere. I suppose it could be hidden.

Cascadia's from the last several years have a built-in antenna hidden internally in the roof. As Susan stated, they work but have limited range. You can go with a mirror mounted bird perch with your own antenna and coax ran through the door to your radio. But that would mean having to unbolt / rebolt the perch every day. Small hassle but better range. Be warned however that mirror mounted antennas on cascadia's tend to have SWR issues. That's why you see many antennas angled forward. It helps with the SWRs. Experiment and test your placement.

I'd get a regular radio and use the built-in antenna. You'll want to check the SWR each time you put the radio in. You can get a mile to a mile and a half or so with the built-in antenna hidden in the roof of the Cascadia which in my view is dandy.

I was wondering if there are any slip seaters out there that can advise me on a cb radio set up. I run team and am almost always in a Freightliner Cascadia. The tractors we are in have a metal platform on the dash with a strap to hold a radio along with an antenna wire. I don't know if they actually have an antenna though. On the route that I have, we get home every other day, have about 16 hours off, then head back out in a different truck. I've thought about a handheld to simplify things, but those have a very limited range and nay not do well. As for the area I travel, it is I-40 from NM to CA most of the way. We run to LA and back 3 times a week from Albuquerque. Any input?

I think I am going to get a decent radio that I can try it out with, not top of the line or bottom of the barrel. I was talking to another driver today and he showed me his setup. He uses. a vise-grip mount and his own antenna for better results. His mount looked custom made since it had the cb antenna along with one for xm on a plate welded to the locking pliers. He gad the cobra 29. Seemed pretty happy with it. Thanks for all the advice.

You can buy the vise-grip antenna mounts on amazon very inexpensively, and I used to see them at truck stops.