CB antenna options, possible toolbox mount?

I am considering getting a CB, mostly for shits and giggles, a cheap (possibly yard sale or thrift shop) unit.

I've read lots of threads on the subject, but have several of questions. Some come from wanting to think about my own future set up and some from general curiosity. Any thoughts or information would be appreciated!

I would rather not have a very long antenna. I'd rather have something a little less obvious. From what I've read, most of the performance of a CB happens through the antenna. The best of radios will suck with a bad antenna, and an average unit can perform well with a properly configured quality antenna.

I am thinking I'd rather use a mag mount. Or something not permanent for now in case I decide to ditch it. So, on to the questions:

What is the minimum useful length for an antenna mounted on the cab roof? I see that there are ones that are as short as about 2 foot. Is it possible to get decent range with such a short antenna? My understanding is, there is simply no substitute for height, right?

If I get a longer antenna, like a "little wil", could I mount that on my tool box behind the cab? I know since the toolbox is aluminum I'll have to put a little steel plate or something on the box of the magnet and ground the box electrically, no big deal.

Will the range or "shape" of the radio field be severely impacted because of the cab being close? That seems the main negative people call out for mounting *right* behind the cab on the front of the bed, but I was hoping being a few feet back on the tool box would mitigate that.

I figure the overall height (top) of the short whip antenna mounted on the toolbox would probably be about the same as the two foot shorty antenna on the cab roof, so I wonder if there is an advantage?

I see the Wilson's and firesticks seem well regarded, what about k-40? I see they have mag mounts with easily detachable antennas (quick disconnects). I could see that or a firestick with quick disconnect being useful.

Why on earth are there not more CB's that scan channels, and in this age more that can scan other bands and transmit on frs/cb (& possibly Ham) only? I intend to get my Ham tech cert sometime in the next couple years and would be interested in running scan, ham bands, and cb but wouldn't want my truck to look like the bridge of the uss enterprise. It seems like there should be more "combo units" but I see very few. Is this because Ham units can often be tuned to cb and frs/gmrs frequencies anyway??

Obviously I don't know a ton about radio. Thanks in advance, and happy holidays!

 

I didn't want a big antenna sticking up because I park in a parking garage at work. My current 3 foot antenna hits the garage ceiling.... So I got a power folding mount. It mounts to the bed rails and I can lower it flat when parking.

Mag mounts can scratch the paint, so I stay away from those.

 

I had to trace down your posts on it. I admit, that diamond power folding antenna is incredibly bad ass! It's outside of my "trying things out on the cheap" budget plan but I've bookmarked the site that you posted about buying it from for future consideration if I decide I really want to keep the CB installed or just toss it under the back seat for emergencies.

Good note on the paint but I'd just use some clear vinyl, and my truck is a 10 yr old truck anyway so its got its share of dents dings and scratches already. That's not much of a concern for me personally.

 

Ah, well if it's a older truck a mag mount could be fine. Though I still don't trust them, I've used them for years and never had them fall off, but it's always a worry.

Tomorrow I can try to get you some pictures of my install. Its not a cheap install, but the only thing you see inside the cab is the handset and it's detatchable with a rj45 jack (network cable), and the antenna folds so it can hide. I think I've spent about $350-400 on it.