Where are you guys mounting your radios in the cab? Im looking for ideas. Also, what brand of radio and why? Lastly, what type of antenna and why?
Thanks in advance

I'll step up and be the nice guy.....Please search. You will find DAYS worth of reading material that covers all your questions and more.

Search function if your going with just a basic cb there's a few spots others have put them
for just your trail run set ups.

Now if your looking for a monster set up so you can reach and talk to base units for when you need HELP, and nobody's around for days. Give me a nudge and I could help for that.

It's not that I don't like you questions, in fact they are very good questions. In fact I had the exact same questions and took the time to search and found more info than I could handle. My statement about being the nice guy was me trying to guide you to the search function where I know you would find quick answers to your questions before someone much less subtle than me tells you to search in a much more abrupt manner.

add this to your google search subject line

without the " marks "site:www.toyota-4runner.org"

beats the heck out of the built in search system

When it comes to the CB I run a Cobra 29. It is a real CB and can be worked on, tuned, and can reach out there. When you get the little guys no matter what brand you will be limited. I run my 29 with no kicker and can talk ever bit of 15 miles pretty easy depending on the conditions. If I turn the kicker on I can get easy 50 miles on it if I'm a hill top or flat land. It is all in how it is tuned and if the radio is aligned correctly. If you are looking to buy one don't get it from amazon etc etc.... Find a CB shop and get one from there. You will be much happier, I know I was. They set it up for me also.

When it comes to antennas, there are many options. Really it depends on what you are going to use it for and how far you want to talk. I ran a Penetrate Style bottom load with a flat copper wire. Needless to say I can hear WAY more than I can talk to. Hope this helps out. PM me if you have more questions

Blue

I use a Midland 75-822 because it doesn't have to be mounted. The 75-822 is a convertible hand held unit. You basically slide the battery compartment off and in it's place you slide a "pigtail" (which is included with the unit) that has a 12v plug and an antenna connector. Works just as good as any decent CB will as long as you've got a good antenna mounted high on the vehicle. I use a mag mount and stick it in the center of the roof for the best ground plane.

As far as "reaching out" goes, if you really need that capability the best way to go is 2m VHF. I have a 2m unit that was mounted in my 3rd gen but I haven't gotten around to mounting it in my '07 yet. Many VHF mobile (vehicle mounted) units can push out 50 watts (compared to 5 max on a CB) and VHF can also connect to repeaters which are all over the place. They're not super user-friendly, but they can be managed.

You do have to have a license but it's not hard to get one.

Same one I use.. Works pretty good..

Heres my setup



I use a Midland CB because it's cheap, compact, and works for what I need it to do. The CB is held in place with Velcro. You'll need to buy a CB wire right-angle adapter from your local radioshack. I also purchased a right-angle adapter for my PA speaker. Run you wires through the unused port next to the AUX port.
PL-259 Inline Right-Angle Adapter - Radioshack
The console opens and shuts without touching. You'll need to purchase and solder the elbow for the mic with this setup. Here's what I used:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


A buddy recommended a Comet mount for the antenna. I ended up using the Comet RS730


I then finished it off with a Firestik antenna.


Fernando

what amp are you running?

And if anyone is thinking of running a kicker, or like a Connex 4600 like I have, you better have like a Wilson 5000 antenna or better to run off of it, or you will fry your radio/kicker

Looking into that Midland as well. Which antenna did you pair it up with?

I think it was something like a K40, mag-mount, about 32" long, which I usually put in the center of the roof about a 6" in front of the luggage rack. Seems to work real well in the desert.

Eventually I'd like to have a permanent mount but my dilemma is that I park in a garage. Center-roof mount with top of the whip nearly 10' off the ground seems to offer the best performance, whereas a permanent mount either on the rear hatch or on the hood would, it seems to me, offer a worse ground plane as well as a lower antenna height.

Best compromise would probably be something like a removable NMO mount in the center of the roof, that way I could hard wire everything, get the SWR down to a decent level, and still park in the garage by just removing the antenna when I don't need it.

But then I think to myself "how many antennas do I want up there?" Sooner or later I'll put my 2m mobile in the 4runner and honestly, if I'm going to spend $$ on an antenna, it makes more sense to spend money on the 2m antenna than on the CB.

BTW the Midland also has NOAA WX radio on it, which is a nice feature to have. Once you get out in the sticks you usually can't get a station but if you are near a highway you often can.

Well at this second nothing. My old Palomar took a dump. I have a Texas star 500 I'm putting in next. I can't wait to see what that dude will do...

Blue

Reach out and touch somebody.
Had a Palomar 200/400/600 when I used to cross country driving.