Is the problem my CB antenna?

I have a Peterbilt 586 with a pair of 3 foot Firestik I's (fiberglass whip) on the standard mounts near the top of the cab. The SWR reads 1.4 (if I turn the RF power on my Galaxy DX-949 all the way up the SWR will go up to 1.8, but it is rarely above minimum which is about 4.5 watts dead key).

We haul oversized concrete components (walls, decks, etc.) on flatbed 48 to 110 feet long (stretch trailers).

When I talk to my escort(s) my voice comes over loud and clear. When I get about a quarter mile from them in a town I can't hear them anymore. On clear open highway I can only get a half to three quarter of a mile range.

When I switch up to 19 and talk to my fellow truckers I can only talk to the ones right next to me. If there are no trucks near me or if the ones near me have the CB's off (listening to tunes) I am just talking to myself, because all I get is silence (sometimes I get faint chatter from far off radios).

My CB is usually set up with Mic and RF Gain all the way up. The squelch is only up to the until the noise is gone. The ANL and Noise Blanker are on, but the Galaxy Noise Filter is off. I have tried turning the squelch all the way off and turned the RF gain down until the noise goes away, but that also cuts out most of the CB reception as well so I go back to the prior settings.

Is the problem the antennas? The truck's exhaust is exactly 13 feet high and the top of the Firestiks are about 6 inches below that. Would a 4 or 4.5 foot antenna be better?

Have looked at the K-40 4.5 foot adjustable fiberglass whips at the Pilot truck stops where I bought the Firestiks. Is this better or just a waste of another 50 bucks?

 

When I first read about mounting a CB antenna in the mid 70's they said that the best place was in the center of your vehicle. If you mounted it at the back it would be good forward, but weak in the rear. If you mounted it on the right side, the left side would be good reception (somehow using the vehicle itself as a directional. When a trucker mounts CB antennas on either side of their cab it "balances" the reception. So making one of them a dummy will just kill the balance.

Some of the drivers with the same truck our mounting their antenna on a rail behind the sleeper. This gives the "center of the vehicle" approach.

K-40's site said that truck makers use the cheapest coaxial available and it should be replaced with the best you can find.

I think this is what I am going to do. Buy me an 18 foot length of RG-58 A/U type cable and run it to a mount behind the sleeper.

The minimum clearance of an overpass on the Interstates is 16 feet so as long as I keep the height of the antenna below that I should be fine (no, not even thinking about a 102 inch whip