CB Radio Success!!
 

So, I have recently been driving 3 hours to my office on Monday and 3 hours back on Friday, I decided as a way to kill the time and help my hypermiling I would get a CB.

Well, I got one free from my soon to be father-in-law bought a mag mount antenna to put on my trunk lid next to the rear window, soldered a cigarette lighter adapter to the power cable. This CB is from 1977 antenna and adapter were $40, so far $40 invested and well worth the effort.

I put the antenna in my trunk when I'm not using it so it doesn't disappear, it does add a little drag but it doesn't seem to be too much.

So anyway, on to the success story part, today on my drive back I was drafting off a semi, had been for 5 miles or so, he needed to pass but kept trying to wait for an opening so finally when there was a break in traffic I moved over and flashed my lights, then got on the radio and told him he was all set. He put his blinker on and thanked me on the radio.

A few miles up the road I told him if he needed to move over just throw his blinker on and I'd make him some room, he thanked me and seemed very pleasant.

It was a very nice experience, that and it's funny to listen to the truckers tell each other about the speed traps.

I had a CB installed in my old car for about 4 months. Never once did I hear anybody on there. I guess it all depends where you live.

That's cool to see that it works for you.

I too bought a CB like 12 years ago. Used it to talk to my buddies with CBs but other than that I never heard any activity on it.

Are there certain stations that truckers use?

Truckers run on Channel 19, the rest are pretty much dead unless somebody decides to use them for a business or with buddies. Channel 9 used to be sort of a "public safety" channel of sorts but from what I hear it's not monitored anymore.

Channel 19 still isn't super active, but if there is traffic, a cop, bad drivers you might hear about it on there. Sometimes guys that know each other will chat.

19 is the pre-historic main lobby chatroom. Now days, you can get some information there, but with the influx of a__holes in the trucking industry, it's not likley you'll get anything but people starting trouble and making racket. If you want to get out "over the top" of them, you'll need a "kicker".

Where are you driving ? Usually the only time it's quiet is when it's late or early depending on where you are.

In reality, I keep mine on, but most of the time, I get fed up with the constant racket, and keep it turned down. I let my XM radio keep me sane now. Since slowing down to get better fuel mileage/bonus, I don't need to know where the cops are. With the advent of the GPS unit, I almost don't need it for directions around a backup or into a customer, but it's handy if you want to confirm a truck route. It has bitten me by not having the volume up at times. When I could have known about a backup due to construction or wreck and gone an alt route, I didn't hear about it.

Mainly I use mine to talk to my buddies when I run with one. But again, since driving in fuel saving mode, no one else goes as slow as I do voluntarilly. lol.

edit:
Here's a little help to speed up your quest to sound like a hillbilly truckdriver.

I forgot the best use of a CB: When the truck(s) behind you (if you have your radio on) let you know that there's a "lady" flashing, or showing a lot of leg (also known as, Seat Covers. lmao)

O

Lol, nice, when I was driving I-90 across mass it wasn't too busy, I don't think I get too much range on my little mag mount antenna either, so I can only hear trucks within a couple miles of me which is nice, usually only valid information. I have noticed some trucks keep it turned way down or off if I try to get the Ok to draft off them and they don't acknowledge. The knowing about cops hasn't really been useful since I've been slowing down, but I do try to give the other trucks a heads up if I see something, since they're nice enough to let me draft without much grief it's the lease I can do (trucks in general, the particular truck I'm drafting it doesn't really help)

On a side note, if you must draft a truck, PLEASE make sure that you have your headlights adjusted! lol <--not really. There's nothing more aggrivating that seeing the glow of something behind you, with the occasional right/left headlight popping out blinding us because it's been replaced and not adjusted, or not adjusted down from the factory, or finally, replaced with those god danged halogen (blue) lights and not adjusted down! At least you guys have the courtesy of trying to comunicate what you're doing. If you're doing that, you're probably considerate enough to notice that you're lighting up the trees in the woods when you're driving alone:)

Holy crap, I had the worst experience ever with those stupid blue ones the other day, I had an escalade in traffic get about 6ft from my bumper with those stupid things on and every bump/stop light/acceleration whatever the stupid things were shining over my trunk into my mirrors. (I'm in a civic the stupid headlights shot straight over my trunk)