# Truck to Truck Communication



## J.R. Services (Aug 15, 2009)

What's the best form of communication to use between trucks. CB's? What's the range on CB's? Long Range Walkie Talkies? Cells? Worth buying another line? Thanks


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## Deco (Nov 14, 2009)

we use nextel. it works . you ?


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## Lawn Enforcer (Mar 20, 2006)

I use CB's, but that is all within 2 miles in a small town. On the open road, I've had up to 12 miles on the open road with a $35 Cobra CB and dual 3ft whips, but in a crowded metro area, interference can become an issue. If you choose CB's, make sure you use a channel not used by others to avoid conflict and confusion.


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## Premier (Nov 20, 2007)

we use cb's in the trucks/loaders when we are close enough other wise we use cell phones, i just kick the guys a couple of bucks each month for there cell bills and require that they have one to use for work. this year i am going to try some motorola hand held 2 ways for our sidewalk crews i think they will work good on our bigger commercial properties. they are rated for 35 miles CLS, im assuming it will be way less in the city.


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## Superior L & L (Oct 6, 2006)

We use morse code with our horns


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## AC2717 (Jun 20, 2009)

They have a couple of hand held walkie talkies that have a range of at least a mile out there now. I know Bass Pro has them, I was looking at them the other day, had some good reviews


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## JeffNY (Dec 19, 2005)

I have some moto 2 ways, they go about 1 mile. thats it. Im not sure how the company gets away with putting 30-40 miles on the packaging. That won't even work if you can SEE the other person 30 miles away.

I'd like CB's, but I don't want to be that guy with a 5' whip on my roof.


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## Italiano67 (Feb 16, 2005)

Superior L & L;881928 said:


> We use morse code with our horns


LOL. Good one.


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## mcwlandscaping (Sep 8, 2005)

My other driver and I both have blackberrys with bluetooth headsets, should work well.


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## Italiano67 (Feb 16, 2005)

i have the Jawbone bluetooth which is supposed to be one of the best and all I hear is complaining from the other callers about not hearing me talk. unless there is no background noise they are nt the best. However I use it snowblowing mainly to catch incoming calls that normally I would not notice.My new 2500HD has the bluetooth built in which I will give a try this winter.


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## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

Breaker, breaker..... Our CB's work pretty good, but we're all within a few miles of one another. So really with any device, it just depends on distance and how much you wanna pay.
10-4


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## J.R. Services (Aug 15, 2009)

how about one of these http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2526812 with a 48" whip? Farthest apart my trucks are going to be is 6.5 mi.


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## Mid-Ohio Scaper (Aug 17, 2008)

J.R. Services;882036 said:


> how about one of these http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2526812 with a 48" whip? Farthest apart my trucks are going to be is 6.5 mi.


Never used that one. I have one of these http://cobra.com/products/mobile-cb-radios/18-wx-st-ii-with-soundtracker-and-noaa-weather 
I bought this one for the NOAA weather radio feature.
It's a cobra, so it's gotta be good.

One more thing..... Get your CB tuned, it's like $15 or so and well worth it.


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## GatorDL55 (Jan 18, 2008)

Get a CB and if you need further distance, just go on ebay and get a foot warmer (amplifier).


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## BMWSTUD25 (Aug 21, 2008)

Superior L & L;881928 said:


> We use morse code with our horns


HAHA :laughing::laughing:


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

we do like the police, we pull up to the other drivers window


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## hydro_37 (Sep 10, 2006)

Cells work best for us.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Superior L & L;881928 said:


> We use morse code with our horns


:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## Premier (Nov 20, 2007)

1olddogtwo;882161 said:


> we do like the police, we pull up to the other drivers window


sounds like county workers to me, if the trucks are not moving im not making money :realmad: plus why drive around till you figure out where the other truck is that you need to talk to sounds like more wasted money to me.


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

Breaker 1-9...Nextels seem to be the way to go..10-4 Good Buddy...


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## Cassy (Aug 10, 2006)

cell phones, work wonders especially with a wireless headset


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## ontario026 (Dec 22, 2008)

Tin cans with a string between them.... luckily I'm by myself, talking to myself..... If I had a second truck, I'd have to investigate other options.....

Matthew


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## Mackman (Nov 3, 2009)

CB and nextel


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## J.R. Services (Aug 15, 2009)

Sprint has completly phased out nextel in this area so looks like cb


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## lawn king (Nov 21, 2004)

Nextel here, we have used them for years.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

1olddogtwo;882161 said:


> we do like the police, we pull up to the other drivers window


LOL you plow in the chicagoland area too I see


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Superior L & L;881928 said:


> We use morse code with our horns


LMAO :laughing::laughing:


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

I tried using cell's but trying to plow, trying to dial just got to be a pita! Plus not everyone has BlueTooth. I think cb's are the way to go, I'm just going to use some Cobra hand helds for some smaller areas when it first starts to snow so I can tell them when,what and where. If I need to talk to someone across town then I just call.


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## paradise1229 (Jan 5, 2009)

GatorDL55;882054 said:


> Get a CB and if you need further distance, just go on ebay and get a foot warmer (amplifier).


How much do those go for?


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## cplmac (Nov 25, 2009)

The handheld two ways will get you a mile or two, the CB's will get you 3-5 miles at absolute best. You can use a foot warmer, but it is illegal. Nextel is probably the best way or you can have police/fire band radio installed and set up, that will get you 40 miles or however large you area's repeater tower coverage is. My off-season job's truck radios work from the southern tip of Wisconsin to the Western border of Indiana but there are dead areas in there depending on where the towers are. This is an expensive alternative though, I would just use Nextel or the Verizon equivalent.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

cplmac;883395 said:


> You can use a foot warmer, but it is illegal.
> 
> Nextel is probably the best way or you can have police/fire band radio installed and set up, that will get you 40 miles or however large you area's repeater tower coverage is.


Uhhh, having a police\fire band radio wouldn't be illegal?


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## shott8283 (Feb 17, 2008)

Mark Oomkes;883400 said:


> Uhhh, having a police\fire band radio wouldn't be illegal?


no, not necessarily, as long as you pay for the FCC lic. and then get a radio operators lic. (how ever you state runs it)

youll just bum off the public safety repeater with your own freq..

VERY VERY expensive...

he is talking about have the style of radio that public safety uses, not actually talking on there freqs and talk groups..


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## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

I run UHF radios (mobile and portable units) in every truck, tractor and skid steer, and portables on every shoveler, and a base at the office. I had the PTT cell phones and the real radios beat them hands down. I am however getting all the guys cell phones from the verizon field force manager.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

shott8283;883920 said:


> no, not necessarily, as long as you pay for the FCC lic. and then get a radio operators lic. (how ever you state runs it)
> 
> youll just bum off the public safety repeater with your own freq..
> 
> ...


But he didn't say that.

What he should have said is get a UHF, VHF or 800 Mhz radio system, get a license for a freq, and then get it set up with someone to rent tower\repeater space.


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## jlouki01 (Sep 21, 2006)

Nextel's. They have a nice tone at the end of the conversation so we usually throw in a ksssss over after every communication for fun. 

They are rock solid we use the i576. Battery life is easy a week with heavy use.

We tried the Verizon force manager and didn't like it or their two service. Battery life was horrific. I'm talking 1 hour... 2 if you are lucky. 

The GPS service I use is Xora. It allows guys to clock into jobs, track them up to 5 minutes, store history for 30 days etc. Snaps in perfectly with a nextel unit and only costs me 19.ish per phone.

If you don't want the contractual commitment of Sprint / nextel grab a pile of old Nextels off craigslist and connect them on Boost Mobiles pay as you go. I want to say 2 way only is 30.00 / month. They are a pre-paid front end to Nextel / Sprint.


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## the new boss 92 (Nov 29, 2008)

cb's or take a break and make the 3 minuet call


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## merrimacmill (Apr 18, 2007)

jlouki01;884767 said:


> Nextel's. They have a nice tone at the end of the conversation so we usually throw in a ksssss over after every communication for fun.
> 
> They are rock solid we use the i576. Battery life is easy a week with heavy use.
> 
> ...


I just went out and got all new verizon phones (gave up my iPhone :crying: ) for all the guys with the push to talk and the field force manager. I'm loving it so far, the field force manager gives so many different ways to track, schedule, and manage our employees. they all punch in on the phone now, track fuel usage, maintenance, job times and costs, etc. Its great.


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

dont all cell phones have speaker phone, i know that wont help you with dialing, but most phones have speed dial or voice dial.. or you could get bt or a headset, or if your realy old and dont know what a cell phone or phone in a bag is, you could yell!


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## fernalddude (Feb 15, 2004)

Moto ht-1000 and Icon in all my rigs plus to many cells sometimes iam on 2 cells and cross chat on the radios all at once


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## MSS Mow (Mar 19, 2006)

Can someone explain the difference between a CB radio and a VHF radio? They both look the same, seem to do the same function.


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## Cassy (Aug 10, 2006)

ajslands;923504 said:


> or if your realy old and dont know what a cell phone or phone in a bag is, you could yell!


you mean like this:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/20833/the-simpsons-cletus?c=49:56

:laughing:


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## born2farm (Dec 24, 2007)

We use nextels and also have what we call our farm radios in every truck which are just Motorolla two channel (cant remember if there vhf or uhf) radios. Downside is we have to pay for the channel rights but we use them year round farming (one in every piece of equipment with a cab)


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## ondirtymax (Dec 22, 2008)

Can someone explain the difference between a CB radio and a VHF radio? They both look the same, seem to do the same function. 
Yesterday 05:11 AM 


CB radios work on the am band and vhf/uhf radios work on the fm band. You know how you get better reception from an fm radio station than an am radio station? same principle. you will have to pay for licensing fees to have a frequency assigned to you, but then nobody else will be on it neither, not to say guys with scanners can't listen in, just can't talk to you, so don't be having radio sex with g/f! The vhf radios are also ALOT more expensive than a CB........but far superior reception and transmit, roughly 10 miles on a simplex system or up to a 100 mikle radius on a repeater system........$$$$$$$$:crying:


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## cleansweep007 (Oct 21, 2008)

We mostly use Cell's. Seems to be the best for us and our subs.


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## MSS Mow (Mar 19, 2006)

ondirtymax;925052 said:


> Can someone explain the difference between a CB radio and a VHF radio? They both look the same, seem to do the same function.
> Yesterday 05:11 AM
> 
> CB radios work on the am band and vhf/uhf radios work on the fm band. You know how you get better reception from an fm radio station than an am radio station? same principle. you will have to pay for licensing fees to have a frequency assigned to you, but then nobody else will be on it neither, not to say guys with scanners can't listen in, just can't talk to you, so don't be having radio sex with g/f! The vhf radios are also ALOT more expensive than a CB........but far superior reception and transmit, roughly 10 miles on a simplex system or up to a 100 mikle radius on a repeater system........$$$$$$$$:crying:


Thanks for the info. My father has a VHF on his boat, but it seems that most people in vehicles/trucks run CB's. I just never understood why. To have a freqency assigned, you are talking CB's right?


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## Brad3403 (Sep 8, 2008)

I thought about using radios instead of cell phones but thought this scenario would make it more of a pain in the [email protected]@. You're plowing a p/lot with "Bob", you need Bob to come over with the skid steer and move a pile for you, you say "hey Bob, come over here and move this pile for me", the other 11 guys that are out working at other lots didn't hear clear enough who was called so everyone gets on the radio saying "what?". I just figured there would be less confusion by using cell phones.


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## JeffNY (Dec 19, 2005)

Santa just brought us radios for our trucks. Cobra 29 with weather, bluetooth, and nightwatch, and the other with just nightwatch. Picked up little wil's for antennas, I'll let you know in a few days how they work


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## downtoearthnh (Jan 16, 2009)

Am I the only one in the world who texts the other 3 trucks, and if necessary use the mobile to mobile free verizon service?


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## MSS Mow (Mar 19, 2006)

texting takes way too long, and is perhaps the most dangerous to do while driving down the road.


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## downtoearthnh (Jan 16, 2009)

Oops, not done while driving, and usually just a few words. Sorry


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## MSS Mow (Mar 19, 2006)

You'd be surprised how many people text while driving. I didn't mean to say you were though. sorry. 

Texting can work in a pinch, for a one line comment. But most of us don't have the time to stop long enough to communicate to our other truck (s) what we need. It would take too long to explain directions to a particular house or find out what the other guy has gotten completed if texting. Texting is not good for conversation I guess is what I'm trying to say, where as a radio would be.


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## tuna (Nov 2, 2002)

JeffNY;926579 said:


> Santa just brought us radios for our trucks. Cobra 29 with weather, bluetooth, and nightwatch, and the other with just nightwatch. Picked up little wil's for antennas, I'll let you know in a few days how they work


I have have had the same Little Wil on 5 trucks now ,it is 13 years old and still works great.


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