What antenna?

Get yourself a red wilson 2000 with a 10 inch bottom shaft. Oh and make sure you have a good mount for it.

 

Well since that truck comes with a factory Cophased coax setup. It is set to run two antennas. You will have to get two matching antennas. You need to get antennas that are long enough so that more then half of the antenna is above the roof line.

But first I would get the current system checked to be sure it is in working order. Most competent radio shops near the truck stops can check this out for you. Once you know that everything is in proper working order then you can switch to different antennas.

I have found that some of the fiberglass antennas work well on trucks such as yours. Reason being as you can not really get a stainless whip type that gets enough of the antenna above the roof line without taking out small aircraft. Were the firberglass style have most of the loading/coiling towards the top of the antenna. There for it would not need to be 5 ft tall to get most of it above the roofline.

One thing to note, lately there has been a huge amount of skip lately, This has been causing a huge amount of noise/static on alot of radios. Many people have been dialing back their RF gain or squelch to get rid of this noise. This will cause them to not hear you as well at a distance. If it is someone you know and are running with then go through the channels and find a quieter channel. You may get heard just fine then. It has been kind of a problem around here too. People can usually hear me for 20 miles but lately they have their radios dialed back to were 2 mile transmissions are difficult.

 

+1

get some new coax also and make sure the antenna has a good ground..

 

If you are limited to a truckstop and have limited funds, you are limiting yourself to what is available. I would ask around to find a CB shop nearby because they will most likely have a better selection of antennas for less cost.

Okay, If you are stuck with what is available at the truckstop, I would look for a 5 foot Firestick. Either a KW 5 that you cut to tune or a FS 5 that has the adjustable screw on the top [underneath the tip] that slides a rod inside the antenna for tuning. Since you probably will not find a 5 foot Firestick, it was worth a try, I would settle on a 4 1/2 foot CB-25 Francis. No tuning is required for that antenna. Usually about $30 per antenna.

 

I run the Wilson 2000 and love it. I've also ran the firestick, francis, ect and theres no comparison. Wilson 2000 all the way.
my.02

 

your right there across from the Walcot radio shop go across the street and talk to the guys in there and see what the got that fits your budget. They are about the best in the country for my money as far as haveing about all you would need and how to set it up.

 

i have the cobra 29 ltd classic peaked and tuned. was having the same problem you are changed my coax made sure i have a good ground and picked up and external swr meter dont trust your cb's meter cb meter said 1:3 checked with external was actually 3:0 now it is 1:3 and working great.