Best antenna

All other things being equal (total physical length, location of loading coil, if any, same mounting position, same feedline, etc.) the choice can be made simply by whether you expect to hit lots of overhead obstructions. If so, then a stainless whip will take the punishment and stay intact. although it is more likely to bend because of the wind drag while you're in motion. which can affect the tuning of the antenna and, in extreme cases, the radiation pattern.

On the other hand, Fibreglas® will stay straight until it hits something solid at speed, at which time you'll now have a Fibreglas® partial antenna the exact same height as the overhead obstruction you just hit, which is now resonant at some higher frequency than what you were originally on. And there will be a small trail of Fibreglas® shrapnel in your path to the rear, or spread out along the top of your trailer. You can also expect the top of the part of the whip remaining on the antenna's original position to somewhat resemble a clump of crabgrass.
Hope that helps,
73

 

i have always been told, a four foot steel whip is the best, bar none

but i know squat about radios

 

I think you mean an 8 foot whip. Very good. But many other types can match it these days.

 

my 4' whip, 18' coax and connex 3300hp gets out 5-12mi

 

I'm a Wilson 2000 fan myself, but have also had good luck with the francis 4 1/2 foot fiberglass.

 

Simple answer steel!

 

I loved my predator 10 k. It was great after breaking 2 tips off the whip (it was a little to high for my preferred mounting location on my truck) I made the switch to the wilson 2000. I am very happy with it. It works well with my tuned up Galaxy and also my slightly tuned cobra 29. I thought the predator was just a little better but maybe that's just because it was about 3 inches higher than the top of my truck/trailer LOL

 

Wilson 2000 on the drivers side mirror bracket on my W900, I used to use dual 5.5 Francis whips on my car hauler, they were great but I like the single Wilson for it's simplicity. I think it works as well anything on the market.

 

A three element beam would do quite nicely; however, that 14'4 underpass may not agree with the 19' reflector element...

Seriously, there is no "best" antenna. Every mobile antenna is a compromise. The 102" whip is regarded as the "best" mobile antenna when properly mounted, but mounting one in these days of plastic bumpers can be a challenge.

Once you start shortening the antenna by adding reactive elements, you lose efficiency. "The more metal in the air, the better" is a good rule of thumb, but that's a generalization. Your specific installation may call for a shorter antenna in a higher mounting place.

Helical antennas, such as the Firestik, are less sensitive to metal nearby than the coils on center loaded antennas such as the Wilson. This proximity effect (the metal detunes the coil) is why some setups need to have the antennas pointed slightly forward... 20-30 degrees or so. (Truckers seem to suffer from the "if some is good, more is better" disorder. I still get a chuckle whenever I see some moron have his antennas 30° up from horizontal. His signal is going everywhere but forward!)

There is a lot of science behind antennas in general, and mobile in particular. A good reference is www.k0bg.com. Yes, it's intended for hams, but the CB band is right below the 10 meter ham band, and everything applies.

Bottom line: Experiment!