Beartracker 885

I have a few here I ordered but haven't tested for my trucks. I heard from one person that he has been working flawless and he loves it.

Let's start with this question - is this your truck or is it a company truck?

Why I ask is if you need to modify your truck, it is better to be yours and not theirs.

Chances are that the antenna system on the truck is multiplexed with the am/fm radio and performs as well as or worse than if you would just hook up a piece of pasta to the coax.

This is a roundabout way to answer your question, seeing that the best solution is to start with a direct coax, leaving the rest of the system intact, and using a good mount with any antenna that you can afford.

So if this is your truck, get a quality coax from a good source (DX engineering) and a good mount (I bought them in bulk, so I don't have a recommendation - another forum member can recommend one).

Once this is done, then it is a matter of checking the system to find out if you need bonding to make the system effective or if it is good enough for you. Most likely, you will need bonding.

 

I’ve had luck with audio king

 

On the scanner side, mine came with a little Tram antenna and I can hear transmissions out past 50 miles.

Nothing special about an antenna for an 885. Whatever CB antenna works for any other radio would work for you. Chasing down a good ground will be your most difficult task.

I personally went with an NGP antenna. It works really well, has ridiculously low SWR, and receives great. It's not cheap by any means, but it's so easy to install. No chasing down grounds and such. Just plug and play, anywhere you can get it to physically fit. It's not going to be a powerhouse, though, if you want to run an amp it can only handle 100w. But that's plenty.