Ok so I have never owned a CB before or really used one other then a handheld for off-roading. I would like to mount a CB in my Jeep JK Unlimited. My questions are if I say I have a $400 budget to put a CB and antenna plus any wiring together what would you recommend.

I run my tailgate with a tramp stamp and my spare when it goes with me sits on top of a gobi rack. My mounting options for the antenna are a 1 1/2 inch hole in my Poison Spyder rear bumper on the passenger side about even with the tail light. Or attached somehow with a short antenna to my Gobi roof rack probably on the rear passenger side somewhere.

For a head unit I was thinking maybe the Bearcat 980 or a ranger. Anyone have opinions or options with either one of those. I was thinking a new mic and it should work fine.

Im very open to suggestions or help as Im doing this all but reading and guessing using just what sounds right to me from a principle standpoint. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

I went to a local CB/HAM store, which is no longer there, and
got expert advice. 1. Buy the best, the difference between
low cost and high cost is very little compared to the thousands
spent on the Jeep upgrades, $400 should do it. 2. Buy the
same brand and type most others in the group you go wheeling
with, the CB's just work better. 3. Getting the antenna to be
right is critical, take the time to tune. 4. The cable from the
CB to the antenna should not be shortened or wrapped up,
spread it out randomly from front to back, under seats and
under carpeting. Followed his advice, mine works great.

 

I have a Kargo Master Rack, and have an antenna (with a spring) on top, placed on a mount i made from a Home Depot bracket. And I installed the radio on the passenger side of the center console. Works perfect!
Had it checked today at a local cb shop, with SWR as low as 1.1
Let me know if you need pics

 

By the way.. $400 is more than you need to spend.
But if you want to spend more on a radio, get it tuned up to 25 or 50watt..

 

I've been happy with an Arizona Rocky Road antenna mount. I went cheap on the radio and got the Uniden 520XL and mounted it on the passenger side of the center console. For me it was mostly driven by where to mount it and the Uniden was nice and small. All told I was out about $200 after the antenna, radio, radio mount, SWR meter, etc.

 

The most important part is to get the antenna set up and tuned right. Any average radio can transmit, its just a decision of what extra bells and whistles you want it to do.

 

All CB radios are FCC regulated at 4 watts of output power. That being said the main differences in radio brands and models are features (bells and whistles). For a Jeep you typically want something compact as space is at a premium already. I have had great success with the Uniden Pro series radios.

As far as antennas go I like the FireStik antennas with the tunable tips. These make for easy adjustment while setting up your radio system and getting the SWR dialed in. You want your antenna to be as long as practically possible. For example, I started with a 48" antenna but was catching all sorts of tree limbs and broke a couple antennas. I went to a 36" antenna and no longer have these issues but my performance suffered. So it is a trade off...for me it was OK because I only use the CB on the trail and just need to talk with the guys in my group.

The antenna mount and location is pretty important. Many guys find that the tailgate mounts are easy to install but hard to tune up due to poor ground conditions. There are lots of options here...take your time and select a mount that makes the most sense for you.

You could easily get away with a $200 budget.

 

Spend the extra cash and get good equipment. $400 you could have a fully built in system and have a handheld as a backup or secondary CB for when you are out of the vehicle. My personal setup is a Cobra 29, 5' firestik II (tunable tip) and arizona rocky road mount to mount the Cobra to.

 

I'm about 200 into my set up at the moment, all inclusive. Cobra 29wxst, Wilson whip, coax, a pillar antenna mount and external speaker. Looking at selling my 29 for 100+ shipping if you at interested as I'm going with a 75wxst.

 

Thanks for all of the replys guys. My biggest issue I think really is where to put the dang antenna. I mean I can try to find something with a large base like a Firestick antenna with a spring base to mount in the bumper or the other option I was thinking was a short maybe 12 inch antenna attached to the roof rack up on top. What do you think would offer better performance?