Do i need to get a cb?

Some perspective is in order here. To the OP, no you do not need a CB right away. Now, the big question. Why would anyone not avail themselves of all the options available to do a job? Sure, a new driver will not be able to buy everything that is useful early on, but targeting some pay over to buying stuff over time is a good idea. Everyone can use a CB, smart phone, GPS routing, deluxe road atlas, and even a small laptop with broadband service. The latter one is sure not necessary, but it makes up for what the other stuff has limited capability of doing. Lots of tools available nowadays. This is one of the primary reasons I disagree with some folks when they say they prefer the "good 'ol days" of trucking. The job was a lot tougher then. I like being lazy now. No one absolutely "needs" all of these things, but once they do, they wonder why they did without them for so long. And they compliment each other. For instance, a GPS may do ok in routing, but it cannot give you the satellite view of, say, a customer area so that you can pre-determine a safe place to park for the evening before a morning delivery. That is where a smart phone or a laptop can help. And you may not be able to get good information at 1AM on the CB about the area you are going to. One can make the job soooooo much better if they use all the technology they can afford. A smart phone or laptop, you can have apps and use the browser to check state DOT maps and find road construction, weather related problems, etc when doing your route planning and then avoid them. That would have been so nice 20-30 years ago.

And the CB is a good place to start....cheap. A decent CB, a decent Antenna, etc all total cumulatively to less than $100. You do not need to broadcast to Sweden.

 

It's illegal to be checking your smartphone while driving .

 

My first CB was the cheapest Radio Shack unit (1996), and I had had that thing for some time prior to trucking! Worked for what I needed it to do for several years. Hit Craigslist....you can find a cheapie unit on there I'm sure.

 

Ok, Rick, where in my post did I mention anything about checking it while driving? Ever hear of a concept called "pulling over"? How about rest areas or an off ramp to stop and check? Sure you have, so don't get rediculous here. Everyone knows here that you do not check a smart phone going down the road in a commercial vehicle. Now some do, to be sure. But I am not interested in a multi thousand dollar fine and a rack of CSA points. I believe, if you would re-read my post, that I said "route planning". A good driver does that before they even start. Not doing it going down the road.

 

Well how many times do you pull over to check updates on your phone ? A lot can happen between phone checks .

 

Personally, when i go trucking , I take 3 important things , CB radio/ antenna, Tool box , Pistola, after that add briefcase , clothing , sleeping bag and pillow....

at the moment the company rock truck i drive has no cb anntenna on it ... its a royal pain in the ### not having that to talk to the other trucks or loader operator....

invest the money in a good radio, and a high quality antenna.... this part is important as a cheap antenna will give you lousy performance , the radio is only as good as the antenna.... i preferr a 4 foot full wave whip antenna..... buy a good radio and it will last you alot of years. i have two that i bought back in 84 and they put out 25 watts solo and still work great.... they are unidens. Cobra is an excellent radio also i had one on my boat in alaska and it could talk a couple hundred miles on the water....


this new cobra 29 blue tooth radio sounds great , puts your cell phone thru the radio speakers... cool idea....

 

I've had mine since shortly after they came out, a few years ago. I like it. I hate things stuck on my head, looking like I should be asking people if they would like fries with that.

 

Ok, I can see folks want to go down the yellow brick road to Oz. Of course you can't stay abreast of every situation, every detail, every minute of the day. The whole reason for good route planning, at the BEGINNING of the run, is to drastically reduce the chance you run into a delay or detour. And no, one does not pull over every 20 miles and check things. But, they can when they do stop for something, or if they get a gut feeling that they ought to check things. In between those times, the CB, and the AM/FM radio also, will have to do. I see common sense is in short supply today.

 

Oh, Lord...."I ain't go no panties on" in quad stereo. I'll just take a bullet to the face, thank you!

 

Not through the stereo speakers, the cb speaker, or cb external speaker.