Several have indicated that the handheld GMRS (or even FRS) units would be fine and that was the way I was going to go but I started thinking about it and realized a few things that would be true...for me:I’m not sure which way to go does anyone know if handheld gmsr is okay or does it have to be hard wired like a cb.
1 - I would almost certainly forget them when I headed out.
2 - I would always forget to charge them and I already have 146 devices competing for the limited charging options in my TJ.
3 - It would invariably end up being dropped into the passenger footwell, behind the seats, or (best yet) in the driver's footwell...under the brake pedal.
4 - It would end up face down in one of the aforementioned inconvenient locations so that, 97% of the time, I would only hear "wahwah wah wahwahwah"...followed by muffled laughter.
If you're better about remembering things / keeping track of things / holding onto things / hearing things than I am, a handheld unit would probably be just fine, but I would go with the higher powered GMRS units and stay away from the FRS (limited to .5 watts) ones. The Baofeng UV5R is inexpensive, highly rated, and does 4 - 5 watts. Other Baofeng handhelds such as the BF-F8HP will do the max (for a handheald) of 8 watts but are more expensive.
See this listing for a comparison of the Baofeng models (about 2/3 down the listing) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007H4VT7A/?tag=wranglerorg-20
There are other brands such as Motorola and Midland but they are also Chinese. To buy other than Chinese, if you can afford it, the only option I know of is Yaesu (like the FT-4XR) which are Japanese and really nice stuff.
B.T.W. VOX functionality will likely be completely useless due to high background noise (ex. engine, wind, and suspension creak).
I have decided to go with a wired unit; the "30 watt" AnyTone AT778UV with a UT-72 SMA mag mount antenna and a 6" SMA male to PL-259 (male) adapter cable.