CB Radio install location in 2020 Ram 3500

[Baruffic]

I have a 2020 full size 3500 ram dually limited, the one with the big screen in the dash.

I use it to tow a 5th wheel and have decided it’s time to put a CB radio in it. To keep up with traffic and weather as we are driving around. Wondering if anyone has found a good place to install it. Lots of pictures I have found on google are not very clean installs. Wondering if anyone has had or done a clean install. Not a lot of free room.

 

[jsalbre]

I don’t know if you’ve used a CB lately, but it’s pretty much all just noise, profanity, and people holding an open mic to a radio station these days.

 

[wrvond]

I don’t know if you’ve used a CB lately, but it’s pretty much all just noise, profanity, and people holding an open mic to a radio station these days.

I agree with this. You'll also get better information off your phone or Waze than you will the Children's Band radio.
However, if you really want one, Cobra makes one with the controls in the handset. You could mount the radio under a seat, or similar, and hang the hand control on the dash or similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Cobra-All-Ro...ocphy=1027028&hvtargid=pla-2281435178778&th=1

 

[Baruffic]

I don’t know if you’ve used a CB lately, but it’s pretty much all just noise, profanity, and people holding an open mic to a radio station these days.

Actually I haven't ever used one. We drive in some areas with no service and thought that would be a good way to get assistance if we needed it and or if there was major accidents or weather. Sounds like truck drivers don't use them so much anymore? Appreciate the input.

 

[VTski4x4]

Put a HAM/GMRS radio in - opens up a lot of options. GMRS license is a joke - HAM is pretty easy too.

 

[jsalbre]

Actually I haven't ever used one. We drive in some areas with no service and thought that would be a good way to get assistance if we needed it and or if there was major accidents or weather. Sounds like truck drivers don't use them so much anymore? Appreciate the input.

Most truck drivers these days spend their time on bluetooth headsets and hours long phone calls.

Put a HAM/GMRS radio in - opens up a lot of options. GMRS license is a joke - HAM is pretty easy too.

GMRS licensing is literally just pay for it and it's yours (though you are expected to know the rules). You won't find much chatter about road conditions on GMRS though. It's mostly used by groups traveling together. Ham licensing is pretty easy, but you're even less likely to find random local chatter there.

 

[Shawn686]

The only reason I still have a cb in my truck is I have not been able to find a HAM or GMRS radio that will do NOAA weather alerts and I like the PA for messing around. Yes I know many HAM and GMRS will receive NOAA, I mean will alarm when an alert is sent even if the radio is off or not on the weather channels.

This is my gehetto install, I just used pine board and friction fit it under the jump seat. Probably doesn't help many, as the jump seats setup is not very prevalent. The tape on the anytone is my makeshift sun shade lol

 

[Combatgrunt]

I have a 2500 I mounted it along the side of my right leg into the center counsel

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

CB radio is nothing more than a novelty at this point.

You can hear a bunch of chatter even without a tuned antenna but you can only broadcast about line-of-sight so you may as well holler at them. Even if you tune your antenna and modify your radio (illegally) to broadcast more than 4 watts you’re still talking to nobody.

 

[Baruffic]

The only reason I still have a cb in my truck is I have not been able to find a HAM or GMRS radio that will do NOAA weather alerts and I like the PA for messing around. Yes I know many HAM and GMRS will receive NOAA, I mean will alarm when an alert is sent even if the radio is off or not on the weather channels.

This is my gehetto install, I just used pine board and friction fit it under the jump seat. Probably doesn't help many, as the jump seats setup is not very prevalent. The tape on the anytone is my makeshift sun shade lol



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Thanks much, this is super helpful. Based on the information I got off the thread I am leaning towards a portable unit. Midland GXT 67 Pro, checks all the boxes you are talking about. It has both NOAA and GMRS and doesn't require an install, charges off the USB in the car. Its only 5W but it appears that it can also hit repeater sites, which should do exactly what I need.

​

 

[jsalbre]

The only reason I still have a cb in my truck is I have not been able to find a HAM or GMRS radio that will do NOAA weather alerts and I like the PA for messing around. Yes I know many HAM and GMRS will receive NOAA, I mean will alarm when an alert is sent even if the radio is off or not on the weather channels.

This is my gehetto install, I just used pine board and friction fit it under the jump seat. Probably doesn't help many, as the jump seats setup is not very prevalent. The tape on the anytone is my makeshift sun shade lol



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I certainly wouldn’t recommend a radio this expensive just for weather alerts, but my Icom ID5100A supports them.

 

[oledirteh]

you would be better suited to pick up a hand held baofeng off amazon. if you feel sporty, rugged radio

 

[Shawn686]

I also definitely recommend buying a cheap radio first to see what features you like/need/use before dropping big cash on one. And those midland ones are crazy pricey

Shawn

 

[Riz!]

Put a HAM/GMRS radio in - opens up a lot of options. GMRS license is a joke - HAM is pretty easy too.

I want to agree with this

My dad is big into HAM and he installed a ham/gmrs in his truck. He programmed a bunch of local repeaters and has made test connections over 3 hours away with gmrs and really far with ham. His household HAM antenna is like 50 feet tall and no BS he has made contacts in russia, south america and austrailia. That range isnt gonna happen with a vehicle mounted system but its better than nothing. They are probably more useful for vehicle to vehicle when on road trips with more than one car than they are summonsing emergency help. The one difference with CB is that state police and highway patrols still monitor CB

I was recently looking at the midland MXT575 micromobile. Seems great and has 50w of power

 

[jsalbre]

I want to agree with this

My dad is big into HAM and he installed a ham/gmrs in his truck. He programmed a bunch of local repeaters and has made test connections over 3 hours away with gmrs and really far with ham. His household HAM antenna is like 50 feet tall and no BS he has made contacts in russia, south america and austrailia. That range isnt gonna happen with a vehicle mounted system but its better than nothing. They are probably more useful for vehicle to vehicle when on road trips with more than one car than they are summonsing emergency help. The one difference with CB is that state police and highway patrols still monitor CB

I was recently looking at the midland MXT575 micromobile. Seems great and has 50w of power

The MXT575 is one of the most overpriced radios on the market. Having 50w output is great, but no one you're going to talk to with a GMRS is going to have that kind of power, so they'll hear you but you won't hear them. Just buy the lower wattage one for half the price, or buy any other name brand GMRS radio.

 

[ThreeBearsHD]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but CB radios are essential for anyone that goes into the mountains around here during the week.

Why? Because in the Pacific Northwest, logging and timber harvesting is one of the largest industries and pretty much anywhere you go in the mountains, there will be log trucks coming down the mountain with a load of logs, or headed back up to get a load of logs. And they will be going as fast as they can in order to get the maximum number of loads in for the day.

We are talking 80k lbs. of semi barreling down a winding dirt road with nothing but blind corners and taking up most of the narrow road.

This is one of the wider and better roads in the mountains around here...



I came around the corner at about 30mph and barely had enough room to stop. Now imagine a logging truck coming around the next corner at 35mph and taking up almost the entire road.

You will not win against this...

So, how does a CB radio become essential?

Because if you have ever gone onto a mountain road in this part of the US, you will see something spray-painted on a tree that says something like "CB 7" or "CB 3". That is telling you what channel to turn your CB radio to.

Then, every mile, you will see a number spray painted on a tree.

That is the mile marker for that road. So, as you drive up the road, you know roughly where you are. This is where the CB radio comes into play. The log truck drivers are coming down the mountain and will announce on their CBs, set to the specific channel for that road, what mile marker they just passed. That lets another log truck coming up the road know that they need to find a spot to pull over to let the other truck go by. It also lets other vehicles on that road know that they need to slow down and pull over.

For example, if I am in my pickup and took a Wednesday off to go huckleberry picking in the woods, I turn onto a road heading into the woods and see "CB 4" spray -painted onto a tree trunk immediately after turning onto the new road, I would then turn on my CB radio and tune it to channel 4. I would then pay attention to the mile markers as I drove, and should be announcing my position every mile. For instance, since I turned off the main road, and am now headed "up" into the mountains, I would say this when passing by a tree with a 3 painted on it... "Red Ram pickup headed up at mile 3". That would let anyone else coming down that road know where I am and to pull over or slow down.

If I then heard a few moments later... "Log truck coming down at mile 4", then I would know that I have to find a safe spot to pull over ASAP to let the truck go by. The driver of that truck would also be slowing down and looking for a wide spot.

Just last week, I was headed up a road to go huckleberry picking and nearly got into a head-on collision with some moron in a Subaru going too fast on a narrow mountain road with no CB to let others know where they were. Old guys like me who grew up in these mountains know the importance of CB radios. Not many of us educated and experienced folks left yet all of the log trucks still have them and use them daily.

So that is why a CB Radio is essential in this part of the US.

When I lived in AZ, I remember getting stuck in traffic on the I-17 in my Mustang. Traffic was backed up for miles. I decided to walk to the semi behind me and ask what he has heard on his CB regarding what is going on. When I got to the truck, the driver was a Sikh with a turban and said in very broken English that he did not have a CB radio and only listened to Sirius XM. Weird.

So I walked the other way to the semi a couple of vehicles in front of me hoping that the driver would have a CB radio and had heard what was going on. Nope, that truck driver was Serbian and he also managed to communicate through broken English that he had no CB radio and only listened to Sirius XM.

That was an eye-opener as to how much things have changed the past twenty years in America. And it also validates previous posters responses saying that a CB is nearly useless in most of America in terms of gathering important information as so many trucking jobs are being filled by immigrants who barely speak the language and barely can drive a truck.

 

[kvp]

 

[Davidbt]

My 2021 1500 Big Horn had the center console. I wanted to install a cb and GMRS. I found a Overland company on the East Coast that specializes in mounts. They have a mount that you use the existing forward bolt on side of the console. I put my Midland MXT275 in the map pocket next to me, and and had a MNO antenna mount on the passenger door when I was traveling with other people. I would usually just hand them a cheap Baufeng that I programmed for gmrs and frs. I finally got my QT-80 powered up in my 2024 2500 6.4 and the antenna dialed in.

 

[Ballbearing]

Around my area none of the police monitor CB channels anymore, and haven’t for many years.

Definitely looks like it’s needed in the PNW though.

 

[Keeper79]

We use them for work everyday, work for a mining company so to communicate to haulers and equipment operators on the site. Can look into stuff like Bullet Mount systems that mount onto the little cubby spot on your dash. A lot of people are going to them to avoid screwing into the plastic dash or panels. I have mine mounted on the center console jump seat folded down on an F250. Removed the headrest and attached the mounting bracket two the remaining adjustment spots in the seat. I don't like anything on my dash, no hat, piece of paper or anything so I don't use one. Passing people with their dash covered in crap makes my eye twitch.

As said earlier, most truck drivers don't talk anymore and you will hear a lot of constant bickering and BS from people looking for attention in their basement. In the last 10 years I have heard zero talk on the radio when traffic gets jammed up on the highways. Truckers just dont really talk anymore to each other. I use Waze all the time to see what is going on and try to avoid areas jammed up.