Need advice on purchases please and thanks ahead

CB - a cobra, something simple and not with a lot of bells and whistles. DON'T let anyone touch it. Focus on an antenna later when you get into a truck.

Nav unit - GARMIN, remember that you most likely used a Garmin nav unit in the army. They are ... the best. The military trusts them, you can too. I've got two of them, the newest one is a DEZL 760. I've had Garmin for years and they never let me down. By the way two things that come to mind, no nav unit is perfect, there are things that are buggy with any maps and the second

Bluetooth - I have a Blue Parrot headset, B250 XT. I got this for two reasons, one is it is rugged, the other is I can replace the battery in it. My other BT headsets I could not. This is four years old and been beaten up but keeps working.

Good luck with your training.

 

CB: Cobra 19. Tiny thing, does what you need, costs $32 at Wally World. Twice that at the local truck stop.

GPS: Does your truck have a Qualcomm? If not, one of the Garmin Dezl truck GPSes is what I would go with, mainly because I've been using Garmins since I bought a GPS 12XL in 1997, and am comfortable with how to use them. To be honest, there is very little difference in the actual mapping between the units; the feature set is what differentiates them.

Bluetooth: BlueParrott B250XT+. The noise cancellation on these is astounding. I can drive with my window down with a small increase in background noise. A friend of mine rides his bicycle using one, and I can't tell he's riding, even at 30 MPH. This is the headset that most of the truckers you see wearing a headset are using.

 

I say rand McNally and buy an atlas if you can't afford both get the atlas first it is the best tool you can have in a truck I like their GPS because it is keyed to their Atlas and nobody buys anything but rand McNally when it cones to an atlas

 

gotta have the atlas!!!!


i like the smaller Rand Mcnally gps 520 or something about 250-300 bucks
Blue Parrot xt headset $80 - 90
i like Cobra 29's find a cb shop that has a used 25 or 29 thats been tuned and good coax and good fiberglass antenna 35 bucks or so for 4 ft francis and cable.... not great but good and reliable. Nicer antenna later

 

Everyone has differing opinions on what is "best".
I use a Rand McNally 520 and it's never steered me wrong (yet), but also have the road atlas right next to me on the floor, opened to whatever state I'm in.
CB....I have a Galaxy 33hp, but you can get a cheap Cobra for $30 or so.
Bluetooth I don't use because I don't talk on the phone while driving.

Whatever you choose, look online for best prices, like Amazon.com

 

Don't buy a Cobra 19. Buy a used 25 or 29, or the Uniden equivalent, that a good shop has gone thru and will give you a little warranty on. Shouldn't cost more than $50, maybe less. The problem is finding a good shop. There are some in TN, but I forget where. They have been mentioned on this board so I'm sure somebody will jump in and tell you where. Yes I know where you can get a great used radio like I mentioned, but unless you come thru NW Arkansas and pick it up, the shipping now days will make it almost expensive as a new one. It is better to buy a good used quality radio than a cheap new one you will quickly become dissatisfied with. IMHO

I use the Blue Parrot. It is the best headset I've ever owned. The only improvement they could make to it is to make it indestructible!

 

The Cobra 19 are very poor junk CB radios. And DO NOT BUY RADIO SHACK! Like Mike 5511 Cobra 25 or 29 work well. Uniden 66, 68, 76, or 78's are good starter units. You can find a Cobra 29 for under $100. You list your location as Cleveland. You do have a Pilot Travel Center, I-75, Exit 20, 281 Pleasant Grove Road, Cleveland TN. Sometimes they have specials. Or buy radio online.

 

I would have to go with the Cobra 25 or 29 for a CB for starting out, as for GPS my company has the Rand McNally TND 760's in all 300 of our trucks, but I had the TND 520 before we went with the 760s. And, as for the bluetooth I would go with whatever tickles ya so long as it is noise canceling that is a must in a truck.

On a side note, I highly suggest that you get your self an Atlas. GPS is not always right that is most often why you see videos of trucks striking bridges on youtube. And even an atlas isnt 100% right but between the two you should be pretty close. Also the GPS doesnt always take you the best route so having the atlas to compare routes is a must.

Good luck in training though.