Cb?

I always take a CB when I go on an out of state road trip.
Nice to have in an emergency, and nice to know what might be ahead of you, from the folks coming the other way.

I picked up a 1977 Midland 40 ch with onboard SWR calibration (arguably THE iconic CB from the era) for $10 at a yard sale in 1989. My 73 Sat came with an RCA 23 ch!!

I agree the language and courtesy on ch 19 has gone WAY downhill.

I'd advise having a pre-agreed upon list of channels to use, that aren't common, and a plan to switch to "the next" channel without broadcasting what that channel is.

Of course you lose the "info" on ch 19 doing that, but it's there if you want it.