C.B. Radio

I'll give an example of the importance. View the videos of the massive pile-ups this past winter along the roadways on YouTube. Truck after truck after truck come barreling down the interstates and slides into the back end of these pile-ups. I just shake my head and think "if they had a CB on, they would've been aware well in advance to avoid such a situation. Another circumstance I often see is one truck following another. The driver in the rear cannot see any dangers lurking ahead on the shoulder. Suddenly; the lead driver changes lanes to avoid (move over; it's the law) a policeman with a customer on the side of the road. Now the rear driver is stranded and surprised in the right lane. These are real life situations that can be tragic, but at the same time, they are completely avoidable. As for the tuning of a radio, open the squelch and RF gain all the way. Then back off the squelch until there is no static. This blocks out the weak signals and allows only the strong to be heard.

Oh say it ain't so that CBs are obsolete. That will be one of my first purchases, right up there with a fridge, small portable grill, etc. I know you experienced drivers have heard about "the new breed" of driver. My dad talked about them too but what he considered the new breed was drivers who refused to communicate or help out those who needed help, and simply only looked put for themselves and complained.

Yeah lot's of trash on the radio, but you can turn it down or change the channel. I couldn't imagine being in a truck without one.

An example that I will give is with oversized loads. If you are on a winding 2 lane and just ignore the pilot car telling you to move over for a 16' wide load and you don't have a CB, how are you going to know what is just around the corner? It could be a long load that needs both lanes to make the corner or it could be an overly wide load like the 20' wide load that I encountered. Luckily I had the CB on and the pilot let me know what was coming so I moved way over for him and almost stopped until he got by me.

I witnessed a 23' wide load coming out of the Pilot in Billings where it seemed that no one had a CB and just blew by the pilot car trying to tell them what was coming their way. Took them 20 minutes to get out onto the interstate.

Had someone comment that if the pilots were doing their job then there would be no issue. There is when others ignore the pilot cars, they can not block a lane of traffic legally.

I didn't want to start a new thread so I'll add to this one but was wondering

Why don't truckers use them anymore?

I plan on getting one. How many people on here use one?

What kind do y'all recommend?

What type antenna?

My trainer didn't have a CB in his truck and we made it through just fine so I wasn't sure that I was gonna get one. But the little kid in me won out pretty quick.

Two days after getting it, a truck with one of those massive wind turbine blades stalled out blocking an intersection on a backroad. The intersection was at the top of a hill. His lead car took care of alerting NB traffic and the chase car alerted SB. Kept us all safe as we approached.

My second dock bumo out of training, i was having a hell of a time. After taking a few shots over the radio by experienced guys, i told em it was my second bump, they talked me through the backing over the radio.

One of the best gear investments I've made.

I have to say this post is making me rethink things. I hadn't gotten a cb because so far it just hasn't really seemed necessary enough to bother with. All I ever here is that people are just obnoxious on them, but you may have me convinced that I should look into a cb for my next truck purchase.

Hrynn sez:

All I ever here is that people are just obnoxious on them, but you may have me convinced that I should look into a cb for my next truck purchase.

I'm one of the people who said "they're obnoxious". But CBs do have a very good use - finding out what's up with the traffic. And some businesses use them to communicate with the drivers. It's just way down my priority list.

I always keep it on but turn the gain way down so I only hear transmissions from near my cab. Tonight I had a driver let me know I had no trailer lights (they were working when I pre-tripped I swear). Now I'm sitting in a rest stop in Kansas waiting for a service truck. CB saved me a potential ticket or worse.

Hrynn sez:

All I ever here is that people are just obnoxious on them, but you may have me convinced that I should look into a cb for my next truck purchase.

I'm one of the people who said "they're obnoxious". But CBs do have a very good use - finding out what's up with the traffic. And some businesses use them to communicate with the drivers. It's just way down my priority list.

I always keep it on but turn the gain way down so I only hear transmissions from near my cab. Tonight I had a driver let me know I had no trailer lights (they were working when I pre-tripped I swear). Now I'm sitting in a rest stop in Kansas waiting for a service truck. CB saved me a potential ticket or worse.

I was going to respond with a "what if," to Errol's response, but this works better.

That alone is the main reason I will be getting a CB. Also, if my short term memory serves me correctly, TMC furnishes them in their trucks. They have recently moved to the top of my list.

I've not driven through too many areas where there's been obnoxious people on the radio. Most of what I hear is legit stuff.