they make "marine style cb's" basically water proof...water proofing is a concern..but can be delt with..a top of the line connex is not an idea for this type of application..a cheap radioshack radio could be easily replaced...durability..i am a truck driver in the dump truck industry..not as harsh as a quad's typical day but rough none the less...for about $99 bucks you can get a Cobra 25 or a cobra 29..they can be tuned up to get out quite far..but considering they are on a quad a couple miles probably would work..99% of your radio's performance is the antenna..with the 102in steel whip i mentioned earlier...you would have a great combo..rugged too...if you got a spring mount for it it would even help the durability of the mount in case of an accident..so..roughly $100 bucks(less if your not afraid of ebay or a used one from a cbshop) for a radio...$20 bucks for the antenna...and $20-$40 for any mounts or odds and ends...and a bit of patience..you could have a rig that could last a long time..and should for that matter...spring mount....typical mount....some of the various cobra radios....102 whip....plus coax...this should give you some ideas..dont be afraid to look around.. I KNOW there are cheaper cobras out there and other brands that could work..good luck...
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Also many people still do use cb radios...because they are still cheap..yes the hand held walkie talkies are cheap but the durribility is still in question.. alot of my friends went with the cheaper(less than $100 dollar) ones and are not having good luck with the duribility. Yes Ill admitt CB's are kind of out dated in the fact that cellphone and all these other two way radios are concerned..dont be fooled into thinking they are outdated..many new models are coming out..much more durrible than yesteryear and with much better audio quality..yes it is true that 4-5 watts is leagal limits on them..you can get them boosted...from just a simple "peek and tweek" to a full 50 watt mod done to them...there are options..without going out and spending high dollars on linears or amps...with a cb..you are not limited to 3-7 channels(i know some probably have more now)offered by some walke ralkies..you get 40 on mostcbs now plus some have upper and lower side band..with more money invested you can increase that greatly...lots of options..all deppends on what you are willing to spend..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

one question are you on the radio alot? would there be limited use? you could make a cb mounted in a toolboxand mount a external speaker to it also. i know you should be able to get a waterproof external speaker for sure. if you do something with a cb a few things to make sure of. you can mount antenna anywhere even through plastic as long as you run a separate wire to the base of the antenna to get ground to it from frame or battery ground. also on thing to look for this is a must get a coax cable with stranded center. solid one will break from vibration of the wheeler.

 

yea well ive got a 24 ft fiberglass imax 2000 mounted on a 45 ft pole on the side of my house which i am on a hill. ive also got a galaxy saturn 960 channel base hooked to it. get a setup like that and u could talkt o your buddies in the woods 100 miles away. i can already talk around the u.s. on a good night. and about your question, your best off getting a strong mobile and a strong antenna on your jeep and give the atv ers a good handheld and the other jeepers set them up with a mobile each. i have a bunch of moblies if u wanna buy some for cheap real cheap. cb's is kinda my other hobby other than atv's.

 

I can relate to that post
I used to have a huge mast on my house with a nice starduster antenna hooked to a nice base unit with a linear.
Used to talk to people in Chicago from Connecticut on a stormy night. They can be fun....

 

yes, the stardusters were a nice antenna. but never get the imitations. the only thing about them is after a while the top of the antenna will bend. and also, u gotta be careful with them linear amps, i totally wrecked my old radio from cranking up a linear to high. so then i got the galaxy which is such a nice radio.

 

[quote]
Originally posted by: TruckCentral
they make "marine style cb's" basically water proof...water proofing is a concern..but can be delt with..a top of the line connex is not an idea for this type of application.q]

I was using the Connex and Galaxy as examples of the amount of power they can send out, the distance they can travel. No where in that message did I say that these kinds of radios would be ideal. Because soon as the radio gets wet your screwed like $400. Besides they were intended to be mounted inside the cab of a Big Truck. Yeah, if your gonna use a non-water-impact resistant radio go get a cheap Uniden cheaper than the Cobra, the Cobra definately isn't gonna stand to the first splash of liquid because of it's speaker holes. You can also get a little antenna that screws into the radio and elbows upward about 5inches, that's not gonna look like a flag pole on your quad.

 

all this discusion..did we help? or are you still wonderin what to do?........good luck...

 

What do you think about listening to music while trail riding ? I just love that ,and until now I have ridden on street only .

 

Thanks for all the replies, I'm thinking about going with the helmet mounted external speaker, with either a good handheld or a conventional cb. Ya'll have been real helpful.