Nice Truck.
What can I say? I just sometimes enjoy looking at videos of sweet lifted trucks.
Been Looking at CB Radios
Thinking of installing a CB Radio on my truck in the next couple of weeks, should the weather get nice.
This springtime I plan to install a CB Radio on my truck, partially for emergencies but mostly so I can hear what the Big Rigs are talking about on the highway and chat with others who have CBs. I often see trucks on the back roads with CB antennas, and it would be fun to be in communication with them.
Citizen Band radios have somewhat fallen out of popularity, for common use, due to cellphones and their need for long antennas, but a lot of off-road groups and truckers still use them, and it would be fun to hear what people are talking about on the open road, especially on long road trips.
It turns out CB radios aren’t that expensive, but I want to get something that is a good quality, offer years of reliable service, and will last. I am looking at the ever popular Cobra 29 LTD Classic, or actually probably the same model with the WX option, so I can get weather stations on it.
I could get a cheaper, high-tech digital one (like the Cobra 29 LX or a Uniden Digital Radio), but I’d rather have something that is more likely to be reliable in a dusty, dirty truck I take up to the woods. I don’t like dinky switches that appear on the high-tech radios.
Unless I can find a better solution, I will probably be stuck mounting the antenna on the hood rail. Which sucks, but with the cap and the kayak on the roof, other mounting points are difficult. I want to be able to remove the antenna with ease, so I will get a quick release, so I can still go through relatively low-clearance locations.
The top of the antenna will probably be around 9 feet from the ground (with a 4 ft antenna on the hood plus height for quick release and spring), once my truck is lifted later this spring (the hood will be about 4′ 8″ from the ground when lifted — it’s 4′ now). Been busy measuring things.
The DEC says forest preserve roads have a clearance of 9-10 feet on average, so I shouldn’t hit too many things. I also checked and saw that a clearance of 9 feet is good for most roads — except maybe the Southern State Parkway, where one bridge has an actual clearance of 8’6″ on the outer lanes. Worst comes to worst, the spring on the antenna will save it, or the $25 antenna will have to be replaced.
Washed My Truck on Sunday
After going out to my parents for Sunday dinner, every two weeks, I like to wash my truck at the neighborhood car wash. This time it seemed to come out better without leaving a big “scratch” made out of wax on my truck. Not that’s a big deal, but the first time I saw it, I kind of freaked out, as my truck barely fits in the car wash as it is, especially with the cap on it. I think when I lift my truck, I won’t be able to use that car was, as my truck will be too high on its roof-line.
Will She Turn Over?
How well will the two isolated batteries preform with the recent cold weather and no starts in a week.
On Monday at 9:30 PM, I took my truck to the car wash just down the street. The temperature Monday evening was 12 degrees. I parked said truck on Monday, and haven’t started it up since. I didn’t unplug the batteries or do anything but turn off the engine.
What is the odds it will start with ease this morning, which is 8 degrees out, assuming I can get the doors open? This past week the maximum temperature has 21 degrees on Saturday. Working to my advantage is I have two isolated batteries under the hood, that should in theory put out 1,200 cold cranking amps out to an engine that requires roughly 500 amps to start.
