Communicating on the road

[Bob Perry]

Do any Monty owners have radios in their TV to talk with each other while traveling? And, if you do, what make of radio do you use? I'm not sure if there is a need or not. People have told me no one uses CB's any more. I do have a Spot Connect but it is strictly for emergancies.
Thanks for your input in advance...
Bob

[Lee F.]

When we travel with others we use the small hand held radios sold in sporting goods stores. Mine are Midland and cost about $50.00 for two. They work great as long as we're within around a half mile or less of each other. It's nice to be able to communicate with each other.

[Jolu]

We took a trip with some friends back in Sept. and they had a pair of Cobra radios. We used them for a bit. They were handy if you were close to each other. If you got separated a little they did not work very well.
If you had a good set they might come in hand if you were traveling with others. In our case they became a bother and we just used our cell phones.
Joe

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

We are currently doing just this, running with Ontario friends who have a limited amount of cell $$ phone. So, we use a handheld CB. Good if close, no good if not close.

So, since we all know where our final destination of the day is, if one gets separated, we have agreed to just meet at the final of the day.

It's a plan!

[bw2]

When we travel with friends we all have CB radios. We talk a lot to help kill time during the drives. I also find it helpful if and when we run into a traffic issue. It has assisted in hearing what is happening and it has given us a good detour from listening to others.

[richfaa]

Lots of people use CB radios.We also use the family radios.We prefer the CB as it has better range and reports road conditions as well as weather radio.

[Rondo]

We use the handheld walkies with a 20-30 mile range--Cobra's-(IF you are not in a hilly area) when traveling with others. They do have a problem of breaking up or becoming garbled if conditions are not right. I have a CB but have not put it in the new TV since really have no place to mount it unless I want it under my seat then there's the idea of running the coax out of the cab and up to the magnetic antenna. May see what I can do before heading to Q but that will be one of the last things on my list of many projects before leaving in a little over 6 weeks or so..got to many other things to get done or buy before that!

[brooksider]

I use a CB as well as the friends we travel with and some times there are five of us. It is still important to have a meeting place arranged for the end of the day to meet up. Sometimes we may travel a different route and therefore be out of range. If your cell phone dies or no coverage you generly can reach someone on the CB and can request that they. Weather alerts are a bonus as well as some traffic reports.
Joe

[Steve and Susie]

Having been an over the road Super Oversized Semi driver I always have a CD on when on the road. As I said when the post was put on with the huge pile up in Texas, I like to know whats down the road, before I'm in the middle of it. I use a Cobra with power pack so can get out a ways and find out whats going on. Happy Trails, Steve

[DQDick]

Since we don't go out of the country and the folks we've traveled with so far have newer trucks, we use the thru the radio cell phone function to communicate.

[DonandJudy_12]

I am predujusted [sp?] in favor of the CB method of communicating while traveling because channel 19 is like the old telephone "party line"- You can hear what others are saying about road and traffic conditions as well as weather conditions- It's true that some of the language can be offensive and vulgar but we all have the option to hit the off switch- On one occassion, I40 was shut down due to an accident but we were able to use our CB to find an alternate route around the blocked portion of the big road- Incidentally, we led a convoy of the big rigs on the detour- It was really neat to see headlights in the rear view mirrors as far as terrain allowed- JMHO- Don

[Ren]

quote:Originally posted by Bob Perry

Do any Monty owners have radios in their TV to talk with each other while traveling? And, if you do, what make of radio do you use? I'm not sure if there is a need or not. People have told me no one uses CB's any more. I do have a Spot Connect but it is strictly for emergancies.
Thanks for your input in advance...
Bob

Yep. Galaxy 959 and a 5 or 6 foot (cant remember) firestik antenna, mounted in the stakehole in the bed. Got it from www.copper.com.

Mine was a refurb 959, I ordered it with a peak and tune and it gets out wonderfully. They currently have a Galaxy 979 in their refurb section. Spend the 20 bucks for the peak and tune.

Galaxy 979
http://www.copper.com/cart/product_i...oducts_id=1966
here is the stake hole mount.
http://gijoesradioelectronics.com/sc...?idproduct=613
and you'll need some co-ax to run into the cab. I recommend the one end of the co-ax to screw off and on so it will be easier to run it into the cab of your truck.
http://gijoesradioelectronics.com/sc...?idproduct=914
I also have a power mic... which is probably one item you dont need. But I wanted a little higher quality Mic mainly because I hate talking to guys that sound like they are talking through a mud puddle.
http://gijoesradioelectronics.com/sc...idproduct=1308


You could do a magnet antenna mount, but for me it wasn't an acceptable long term solution.

I also agree on the party line comments. We were traveling this weekend and we took a detour because of chatter up ahead of an accident, and a few miles of congestion, probably saved us lots of travel time.

There are quite a few more options other than the A-typical Cobra and Midland radios, so take a little time and see whats out there.