They work fine on the trail. The issue is they are not mounted and end up slipping out of reach when you need them most.

As for spotting with a CB, people I have wheeled with use hand and arm signals.

True. my spotters are using hand signals and talking directly to me.

I have had spotters, or a better term scout, run ahead and per-scout obstacles.

Hey Gerdo,
is it better to have a single or dual antenna?
I bought a dual but now I am thinking of trying to exchange it for a single
any opinions?

For better 360* reception/transmitting, the antenna either needs to be ~1' above the top of the rig. This usually isn't hard to do on our vehicles. Semi trucks use dual antennas because they are usually no higher than the truck. Also R/T is reduced with an antenna shorter than 4'. I have a single antenna and it works great. Most of what I use (and most wheelers) our CBs for is on trail communications. Even with major obstacles, I can R/T a few miles. I have R/T ~15 miles when the conditions were right.

For what we do, One is typically fine.

Not trying to throw another iorn in the fire, but our club uses handheld radios like you get at Walmart, etc. Many of us are never that far appart where we wheel and they seem to work fine. We used to ask for CBs but no one had/has them. I have one, but need to get it installed, its been a number of years since I had one in my vehicles.
When I had one before I grew tired of having it on on the highway and truckers cussing each other or other crap, that I could live without.
I still want to get my HAM but dont really know many people who have one.

It is usually better to have a single antenna. What happens when you have dual antennas without the proper seperation you end up creating a directional signal. You usually need 8' of seperation which is what semi's have and even then end up with directional signal from the wave patterns.

Handhelds are fine but they are usually lower powered and as mentioned can slip out of reach. Also the better handhelds will cost around $100 and you can get a few nice vehicle mount CB's for $40-$70(Cobra 18, Cobra 19, Uniden 510, Uniden 520 are some)

I have spotted through my mirror before on the CB. Examples would be if someone needs to move their line a few inches and is backing up can tell them what is behind them. However almost always spot outside vehicle with hand arm signals voice commands. Another good example is a steep incline with steep or blind drop. You can radio ahead asking for trail direction after cresting or if you are lead radio back. " As you crest it will drop slight passenger" or similar.

Two great points.

So true. I have done some simple spotting from my drivers seat and CB.

Some long harder and with limited sight (trail drops of at the top) It's great to be able to radio ahead and see if the trail is clear. I see this more often on trails that are found in Moab and snowy hills.

Whatever works. The key is being able to communicate with each other. I suppose it just depends on the group.

I recently got a extra CB radio as a loaner. You can pick up used CBs for pretty cheap. Match that with a cig lighter adapter and a magnetic antenna you can install the CB in about a minute. It may not be the best setup but it will work for short distances.

When you place your antenna you also have to figure in if it is a base loaded or top loaded antenna. If you are using a base loaded antenna you will want the entire antenna above the vehicle for it to work its best. With a top loaded (most fiber glass ones) you only want to have a foot or two above the vehicle.

Mind if I have a turn on the soapbox?

I can see your point if a having CB became a law requiring that everyone gets a CB installed before setting a tire on a trail. Thankfully it's not that way and we all have the freedom to decide from many groups to go wheeling with. Most don't require CBs and there's nothing wrong with that but to say that it's crazy to require it is going a bit extreme.

If wheeling means driving down a dirt road to enjoy the scenery then I agree it's really not that important. Some groups however include rock crawling, shelf roads, washouts, off camber, and steep grades on nearly all of their trail runs. Some of these trails truly mean death if you drive off an edge on accident. The core group that I go wheeling with is one of those groups that requires CBs and it's for our safety as well as the new person's. It's often not possible to stop someone from making a mistake in time if you don't have a CB.

Try yelling at a driver from 5 rigs back in a case of something simple like he's about to back into a tree. If you are the kind of person that wheels with the window down in the winter, you have a set of pipes loud enough to reach him, he also likes to ride with his windows down in the freezing temps, and he makes his passengers stay quiet in case he needs to hear someone then sure, just keep within earshot and the problem is solved. No need to spend $70 on a brand new handheld CB radio to prevent hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage.

I suppose you could just honk too. Maybe have the group learn some Morse code (which is free) so you can differentiate between "Hold up I have to pee", "Hang on, my rig is making a funny noise lemme check it out", "My bad, that first horn honk was me hitting the horn button on accident", "Wait up, now my girlfriend has to pee again" or of course the all important "Stop you bone head, you are going to smash into that rock you can't see."

At the risk of sounding like a jerk (I am sometimes, sorry about that!), when I go wheeling, I get tired of getting in and out of my rig over and over to tell people that are unfamiliar with the trail, snow pack, obstacle, what's going on, etc. Admittedly (but not proudly) sometimes I'll let people just roll on through a section in hopes that they won't damage their rig on an obstacle I'm familiar with. I could get out but I'm fat and lazy and of the opinion that if you are too broke to buy a CB then you are in the wrong hobby. Try origami, that's just the cost of some paper and you'll never need a CB. It's almost ironic that the people that often need the CB the most are the ones that are newest to wheeling.

I'm with ya that a first time wheeler should not be required to get a CB the first time out on a trail. Thankfully they're not unless they want to go wheeling with a group that requires a CB but how many groups have that requirement? There's RM4x4 and....? hmmm I don't know of anyone else.

I respect that you think it's crazy to require a CB but I sure don't agree with that statement. If you were to call me crazy, or ugly, or crazy ugly, that would make a lot more sense. I couldn't argue those.

Couple of us are actually getting into HAM soon we hope! Any suggestions on mobile best value HAM?

I can't remember where I saw it, but someone recommended the following as a simple, entry-level CB setup.

Amazon.com: Midland 75-822 40 Channel CB-Way Radio: Electronics

Amazon.com: Cobra HG A 1500 Base-Load Medium Magnet Mount 300W CB Antenna: GPS & Navigation

I was getting ready to buy this, but noticed that Amazon recommended an extra adapter that apparently some people buy along with these pieces.

Amazon.com: Cobra HA-BNC CB Adapter: Car Electronics

Is this extra adapter necessary for this setup? Lastly, I can't see where it indicates how long the cables are. Will this setup be long enough to mount on the roof and run to the center console area?

Thanks!

Correct me if I'm wrong guys which I might be but my antenna didn't come with a cable. That's what that connector piece is for, to connect to coaxial to the antenna. What's confusing is the pic shows a small piece of cable attached to the antenna. I'd try going to manufacturer's site and see if they have the specs on the cable.

Looks like the cable is included, but I don't know enough about connectors to know if the adapter is still required.

https://www.cobra.com/detail/hg-a150...-31-inches.cfm

If you and the others haven't done so already, check out ARRL's licensing web page.

Ham gear tends to cost more than CB and like anything, you pay your money and take your chances. That said, are you looking for just 2m/70cm (where most hams start) or do you want HF as well? I've had several different 2m70cm rigs and my favorite is the Yaesu FT-8800R. For HF and 2m/70cm I use an ICOM IC-7000.

Antennas is a whole world to itself. The important thing is keep it mounted high and as close to the center of the roof as possible. For 2m/70cm, you can get by with a simple mag mount to start with and then if you really get into ham radio invest in a high gain antenna. HF antennas are hard to do right for mobile because the are big. Most common is a screwdriver antenna mounted on the rear bumper.

Dont forget, that HAMs do cost more than CBs, and that getting a license/testing is another cost, that most dont think about, for that reason, most would rather just do a CB, and IIRC you are required to license a CB, at no cost, though about 99.9% of people do not, lol
another thing to think about, CBs have about a 5 mile range, give or take, and a HAM radio with repeaters can have a range that will reach across states, please someone correct me if Im wrong, I dont know much about HAMs, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn laast night lol