I have taken a few road trips the largest one had well over 400 Mustangs. We found that the hand helds were not that great. The best results were with a regular CB and even a magnetic mount antenea worked the best. I just went over to Apollo Comunications on 43 ave and Northern and bought a new antenea. They also fine tuned my radio and tuned my antenea. Did you read the reviews on the radio shack hand helds you were looking at? One was complaining of a poor reception of less than a mile. My CB can pick up the truck drivers on the highway from my house. I was listening to them talk about a girl in a car travelling west on I-10 at 75th ave. I was at 59th and Peoria at the time. If the car at the back of your pack has a mechanical issue and has to stop quickly and no one sees this this car could be well out for radio range in less than a minute. If any thing talk to the radio experts before you make your decision.