A unique spot for your CB Radio

My buddy (2nd Gen Access Cab) and both I purchased CB's for trail talk and fell down the deep, dark hole of where the heck we should mount them. After talking with our local CB guy, we decided to go with Cobra 29LX CB's. It's an awesome radio, but the downside to it is that it's by no means small. We tried fitting in our center consoles, glove boxes, random cubbies, etc. I even considered separating the body from the faceplate and soldering in extensions...

Anyways, we came to the conclusion that the only real places we could mount them were on the side of the center console or back of the center console. We were pretty unexcited because it was either in a spot where us or a passenger could get slam a knee into it while getting in/out of the truck or in an accident, or it was out of reach, until we decided to look up... literally



We ended up going with removing the dome light and putting it there! And honestly, we couldn't be happier. It's out of the way for ALL passengers, away from airbags, and doesn't block the rearview mirror. The best part is if I decided to remove it, you can simply put the dome light back and it looks like nothing was ever there! There was no cutting of the headliner for either install on my 3rd gen or his 3nd gen taco. All we had to do was fit two screws through the metal roof support and hang them down for the CB bracket.

As for working the CB in this location, I'll admit it took a little time to adjust to. We pretty much only use the CB's while road tripping together, and I occasionally listen to people for road closure info while driving through the mountains (it saved me from a long long wait in traffic once already!). From where it's located, I can duck down and check my channel in my review so I don't need to turn around or look down by my knees. Yes, everything in the display is backwards in my mirror, but like I said you get adjusted to it. I eventually memorized all the squelch/gain/dynamic/volume/etc buttons too.



Lastly, and my personal favorite, is how we set up our microphones when using them. The driver and passenger both have easy access, and just like the radio, it's incredibly easy to install and easy to reach.

All we did was wrap a loose zip-tie around the backside of the rearview mirror clipped a CB Gear Keeper that we picked up at Walmart, which is basically a retractable lanyard like many people use for ID cards. It allows you to grab the mic, talk s*** to your buddy when he's being an idiot, and simply just let go and it'll retract right back into place.

What does TW think? Eventually, I'm going to wire in some LED lights to replace the dome light, but due to unforeseen circumstances (pure laziness), I've yet to get that done

 

That's quite the interesting mounting location. Not my cup of tea, but definitely unique. Does the cord sway back and forth while offroading and smack you in the face/head/shoulders?

I ended up going with a smaller form factor CB and stashed it in my center console after I was unable to find a mounting location I liked for a larger one. I leave it on 24/7 and have the mic cable ran under the whole center console and comes out near the front cup holder and clips directly onto my Hondo garage vent mount.

 

If I had a smaller CB, that was definitely the route I was going to take. And thankfully no neither my buddy nor I have been smacked by it haha. Most of the droop is in front of you and with our newer setups, the cables aren't very stretched out either. We considered running a mic line to somewhere on the dash but this has been working great for us thus far

 

Great. As long as its working good for you guys, that's all that matters! You should tune your CBs if you haven't yet already. There is an SWR meter on Amazon you can get for like $20.

 

I have never seen one mounted there before, and it really isn't my cup of tea, but if it works for you!

I would have purchased a unit where all controls are on the mic, and hide the cb body under my seat.