International LT

I’m out of the two LTs I was in. Bad drivetrains. Now in a brand new ‘shaker. Lucky me. Better drivetrain (Detroit with Auto-12), but the usual worst-in-industry ride & steeting.

Antenna for CB buried somewhere. Anyone know of an antenna mount for the latest Freightliner?

 

Hey guys, 2018 LT 73inch Condo, pulling Vans and Reefers. Brand new Bearcat 980 SSB, Stock Twin Mirror Mounts, Wired the power and ground to the factory pigtail myself, using as little wire as possible and tight connections. With the stock antenna's, everything passed on the Bearcat's internal diagnostics, but the SWR was in the 2.8 range, and send/receive was terrible. Switched to 4ft francis hotrods on the mirrors, much better send and receive, good clarity, people say i'm coming across clear, not sure how far tho. SWR is still 2.4-2.6 tho (passing all the Bearcats Diagnostics), trimmed the antenna's 1/4 inch to see if that would do anything, no real change. Factory Coax doesn't seem to be pinched or coiled, from the area's I've been able to access it. I tightened up the antenna mounts a bit, nothing crazy tho, no change. One guy in the company said he is running dual 4ft firestiks (with tune-able tip) on an identical truck with a Cobra 29LX and his SWR is 1.4 across all channels.

No chargers or other electronics plugged in, when I test the SWR. Only other thing that happens, when I beep the small horn on the steering wheel, sometimes I get a hit of static on the CB.

Any suggestions on getting this SWR down?

 

Just wanted to update, I got the 4ft firesik 2's, with tune able tips. That was the hot ticket! My CB range and clarity is amazing now, and the SWR is down to 1.2-1.6 across all channels. Its the same on 1 and 40, and the clarity is unreal. I also double checked the factory coax, wiring, ground and mounts; everything seems good. I still get static when I beep the small horn, but other than that, everything is working great.

So if you have a mirror mount international LT, I highly recommend the 4ft firestik 2's!

 

Who would ever purchase a pos from the company who fooked everyone with the max force?
This pos company should have 0 sales...but their is always a cheap ####### saving their asd.

 

I can only drive, what the company gives me I was hoping to get a 579 with this X15 power train, but this is what I got. I agree on the Maxxforce thing tho, 100%

 

Glad the Firestiks worked on your rig. It takes patience and determination to get rewards. Thanks for passing it on to others!

 

I just got issued a new 18 Prostar LT with the dual antennas behind the cab. Got my Uniden 980 put in and running at 1.5 on SWR with factory antennas. If I switch them out for 4ft or 5ft firesticks will that help with the reflection? I pull dry vans only.

 

That's what I did and currently run (980 SSB 4ft firesticks with tune-able tips) 1.0 on all channels with Dry van, 1.2 with Reefers. I turned the tune-able tips in 1/8th of a turn, and haven't touched them in 6 months. I had Francis 4.5ft hot rods, and they were worse than stock in this behind the cab configuration; but work great mirror mounted.

 

See my experience above.

One of our guys is running an all stock system with a good sounding Connex 4600 in an LT like the one I was in. But we’re now pulling tankers. I can talk to him as we pass, then he fades rapidly just before the three-mile mark (I’m now in a new model Cascadia with twin 7’ Skipshooters and ten miles is otherwise easy).

I’ve urged to try the Pro-Comms I had on mine. We’ll see.