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There are very few people that use CB's these days. IMO the best place to mount one would be the tray on the dash above the radio.
Pull the plastic trim off around the radio and HVAC controls and there are two screws you will need to remove, then carefully lift the tray up
to pop the clips out then it comes right out.
I had my radio mounted in an overhead shelf in my 2001 Ranger (shelf-it), but my '04 Lariat has a sun roof, so there's no room for one. I can probably come up with something custom, but I built this console instead. It's all custom designed and made by me (helps having a machine shop in your garage ). It's made from solid Black Walnut.
It holds my Grant-XL nicely along with a kicker on the side and some marine-type stainless cup holders. I also built-in USB ports and extra 12V plugs. You can buy ready-made 12v to 5v buck convertors for the USB ports, but I just built some myself (electronics is also one of my hobbies).
The red switch you see controls all of the 12V and USB ports. I generally like to put some form or switch or control to kill any extra accessories. Except for the CB... You should ALWAYS run it straight to your battery and never through your OEM wiring. Fuse it too of course.
I also did a custom 10" sub box that replaced the factory sub. I had to raise the back seat up a bit for all of it to fit. Sounds awesome too!
Last edited by stankyjeans; Sep 27, 2020 at 05:32 AM.
There are very few people that use CB's these days. IMO the best place to mount one would be the tray on the dash above the radio.
Pull the plastic trim off around the radio and HVAC controls and there are two screws you will need to remove, then carefully lift the tray up
to pop the clips out then it comes right out.
True, not many use them today, but they are still around. They are one of my oldest hobbies. I still like to repair and mod the hell out of them. And with the recent fires that tore through our towns, guess what type of communications were still working when the fires took out the cell towers?
Yep... My CB's ! I love my Cobra 2000! Loud and proud!
Far as mounting the radio in that dash 'catch-all'.. I was going to originally put mine there. I even made a custom bracket to fit neatly inside of it. The problem that ultimately turned me away is the heat from the sun. As you know, anything on that dash gets cooked. NOT good for a radio, although you can cover it with something I suppose. My Grant-XL and 148 are rather large, so that was another reason I decided not to go with that spot. I also had to find a spot for my amplifier. I have power seats, so there's NO room to stuff it under there.
Unfortunately, our trucks don't offer much in the way for CB mounting. I really loved mine overhead in my Ranger.
If you don't have a sunroof, you can probably come up with a way to mount one up there, but you would most likely have to remove that headliner... and I don't know about you, but I'd rather try to herd feral cats that mess with that headliner!
Last edited by stankyjeans; Sep 27, 2020 at 05:43 AM.
I had my radio mounted in an overhead shelf in my 2001 Ranger (shelf-it), but my '04 Lariat has a sun roof, so there's no room for one. I can probably come up with something custom, but I built this console instead. It's all custom designed and made by me (helps having a machine shop in your garage ). It's made from solid Black Walnut.
It holds my Grant-XL nicely along with a kicker on the side and some marine-type stainless cup holders. I also built-in USB ports and extra 12V plugs. You can buy ready-made 12v to 5v buck convertors for the USB ports, but I just built some myself (electronics is also one of my hobbies).
The red switch you see controls all of the 12V and USB ports. I generally like to put some form or switch or control to kill any extra accessories. Except for the CB... You should ALWAYS run it straight to your battery and never through your OEM wiring. Fuse it too of course.
I also did a custom 10" sub box that replaced the factory sub. I had to raise the back seat up a bit for all of it to fit. Sounds awesome too!
Wow, nice set up ! You should build a few more of those and see if it sells on like ebay. Id buy one for sure.
Ya, not a lot of people use cb's any more but im an old school truck driver and having a cb goes right along with having mud flaps and 2 whip antennas flappin in the wind. Without em a truck isnt a truck.
Wow, nice set up ! You should build a few more of those and see if it sells on like ebay. Id buy one for sure.
Ya, not a lot of people use cb's any more but im an old school truck driver and having a cb goes right along with having mud flaps and 2 whip antennas flappin in the wind. Without em a truck isnt a truck.
**Oh wait, where the hecks ur shifter at ????
I considered making a few more. I might do that after I get some other projects done. These sorts of things are great to keep me busy during the long winters if I'm not messing around with other things.
My truck is automatic, so the shifter is on the steering column. I don't know if I could build one around a floor shifter. Maybe if I had access to one as a guide. The biggest problem is TIME. As you can imagine, it took MANY 'in-out-measure.. trim, measure, trim, cuss, measure' and so on.
Then there's the amplifier. That was an entirely different animal. Because of how the floor is shaped and where the CB was mounted, I couldn't simply make a cutout for the amp and slide it in, (and I wanted it to be 'all in one'). I took the face plate off the amp and put it on the outside of the console. Then extended the controls, wiring and LED's.
I can probably make the console out of aluminum, but nothing beats REAL hardwood and its looks. I had some pieces of the Walnut laying around, so that's what I used. I really like the Cocobolo exotic wood too. Magnificent coloring and hard as steel! Problem is finding pieces large enough without costing as much as your truck! Aromatic Cedar would be neat too, or even some old tongue-n-groove. I sometimes find that stuff when I'm hunting. We have some old trails and collapsed outposts where the settlers came up from the south to settle in Southern Oregon. There's an old Haberdashery deep in one of our canyons with that old tongue-n-groove wood - just sitting and rotting away. Re-purposing that old wood is always fun and you have something (sorta) new with a neat story behind it!
Havre small Uniden mounted overhead in Freightliner I drive ,with all the filth and stupidity don't turn it on much.
Yep... I know what you mean JB. The 11 meter band here is very quiet where I live and I really only use it when I'm out with friends or hunting, etc. Even then we tend to stick to the channels above 40. I sometimes listen to our trucker channels (17 and 19).
It's a good back up to have. I rarely even get skip in. I think it's because of that 11-year sun cycle. I'm not sure. I live at 4500 ft., so you'd think I'd get some decent skip, but I don't.
Oh and THANK YOU for doing what you guys do with your big rigs! Without you, we wouldn't have the supplies we enjoy.
I don't know how you guys drive those big bastards. I certainly don't have the patience for it, especially when you get those dumb-*** drivers that zip in front of you all the time and expect you to stop on a dime!
I considered making a few more. I might do that after I get some other projects done. These sorts of things are great to keep me busy during the long winters if I'm not messing around with other things.
My truck is automatic, so the shifter is on the steering column. I don't know if I could build one around a floor shifter. Maybe if I had access to one as a guide. The biggest problem is TIME. As you can imagine, it took MANY 'in-out-measure.. trim, measure, trim, cuss, measure' and so on.
Then there's the amplifier. That was an entirely different animal. Because of how the floor is shaped and where the CB was mounted, I couldn't simply make a cutout for the amp and slide it in, (and I wanted it to be 'all in one'). I took the face plate off the amp and put it on the outside of the console. Then extended the controls, wiring and LED's.
I can probably make the console out of aluminum, but nothing beats REAL hardwood and its looks. I had some pieces of the Walnut laying around, so that's what I used. I really like the Cocobolo exotic wood too. Magnificent coloring and hard as steel! Problem is finding pieces large enough without costing as much as your truck! Aromatic Cedar would be neat too, or even some old tongue-n-groove. I sometimes find that stuff when I'm hunting. We have some old trails and collapsed outposts where the settlers came up from the south to settle in Southern Oregon. There's an old Haberdashery deep in one of our canyons with that old tongue-n-groove wood - just sitting and rotting away. Re-purposing that old wood is always fun and you have something (sorta) new with a neat story behind it!
Hummm, didnt know they made/have a column shifter "option" . My 'o4 shifter is on the floor console .
). It's made from solid Black Walnut.
