XM Radio Opinions

OK, so I've been driving enough that I think it's kind of dumb to have XM in my car and not in my truck. I'm getting ready to get a 'new' (to me) truck, and trade in my '06 KW for one that isn't about to roll over a million soon. It'll also be a T600B, and doesn't have a Cat ACERT engine, which is fine for me. I just hope it has a 13 speed too. Anyway, I already have an XM account in my car and the wife's car. Curious if I should stream off my phone, or if I should just buy the little XM box that you see at truck stops and use that, though I'm sure I'd have to pay for a third line if I did that. I'm mostly worried about eating up my data, since I use that to do school work for those times I'm not at home. Also, is there any issues with delays or whatnot when streaming on a phone vs using the XM box? Thoughts?

Check your new truck's radio. The radio in most semi-trucks is Sirius capable. That should work for XM also.

I think the 10 bucks a month for the radio account would be better than phone streaming. Save your data for a movie.

My 'new' truck is an '08 KW with 350k miles, vs the 900+ on my current '06. I doubt it has XM in it.

I could always swap the deck with an XM capable deck and take it with me. My company is pretty cool with things like that.

Maybe I should stream for now until I get situated with the new truck with it's own equipment? That would be fine if I could find a double ended mini RCA (or whatever it is) cable. My current truck for whatever has a mini headunit out of a freightshaker in it. Don't know why.

My 'new' truck is an '08 KW with 350k miles, vs the 900+ on my current '06. I doubt it has XM in it.

I could always swap the deck with an XM capable deck and take it with me. My company is pretty cool with things like that.

Maybe I should stream for now until I get situated with the new truck with it's own equipment? That would be fine if I could find a double ended mini RCA (or whatever it is) cable. My current truck for whatever has a mini headunit out of a freightshaker in it. Don't know why.

My 04 and some of our 00 model kenworths have sirius or xm capable radios already in them. I would think that the 08 would have one standard in it.

Really? hmmm...I'll have to check that out then. I could be wrong there, in which case, I'm set.

Only question for now is then, can I find a cable like the one I mentioned at a Pilot or a Loves? Or am I SOL on that one? I'm about to head out to AL here pretty soon.

Really? hmmm...I'll have to check that out then. I could be wrong there, in which case, I'm set.

Only question for now is then, can I find a cable like the one I mentioned at a Pilot or a Loves? Or am I SOL on that one? I'm about to head out to AL here pretty soon.

Are you talking about a 3 prong RCA like red, yellow, and white Jacks or the single jack like a headphone? If it's the single, you can pick them up at almost any gas station, truck stop, or walmart for under $10 most the time. It's called an auxiliary cord.

Dave is looking for a:

double ended mini RCA (or whatever it is) cable

The cable connecting your audio device (phone, tablet, iPod - if you still have one, etc.) is a 3.5mm Stereo plug/patch cable. Now it's being called a "AUX cable".

When you buy an aux cable, either buy a good one or buy 3, 'cause we kill those suckers on a regular basis.

My service has been really spotty. Not sure if it's my location, or my antenna is going bad. Only had it a couple months, but I get the "check antenna" screen at least 2-4 times a day. I figure it is the antenna, because today it was mostly clear skies and on a flat stretch of I70 in Ohio.....

Jay, I also have been getting the "check antenna" message a lot; it's very frustrating! I got the radio in June. Our shop guy put the antenna on the roof for me, and ran the cord under the dash. The cord got squished where it came back out from under the dash, so I assumed that section was "damaged". I cut the flattened part out, and tried to splice the two pieces together - big mistake - it's like an itty bitty coaxle cable, and the grounding wire is a finely woven net around it. I eventually got it done, plugged into the radio, and still got the bad antenna message. So I bought a new antenna. BUT, still keep getting the message. If I put sideways pressure on the plug where it goes into the radio, it sometimes works. So I am now thinking there is a short inside the receiver. I will be calling to try getting a replacement receiver.