I have had 2 7800 installed in my suburbans for about 6-7 years. when i was looking to purchase the options at the time were 7800, 8800, 8900. In mid 90s i bought an 8100 which is the org model that developed into the 8800 & 8900. I also had issues with the failure inside the faceplate where several of the buttons failed to work and twice had to send the unit in for repairs. As well in dual watch if I was monitoring a frequency on one side of the unit and transmitting on the other, I often got bad intermod, so between those two issues, i steered away from the 8800 and 8900 going for 2x7800, which gives me independent dual watch. Basically the cpu are in a compartment in the rear wheelwell of the suburban and the control head is mounted in the center console on a gooseneck which position my radio at an alright angle near the heater controls. I'll take a pic of the install once i clean out the junk out of the area!
Once I got the 7800s I loved them, for same reason already mentioned: backlit buttons, the unit is far more ruggedized, volume dials arent as flimsy on the 78 as on the 88/89. The only option i miss is cross-band repeat, I never used it with my 8100, but with the 7800 i could have used it a number of times. I purchased a device on ebay, that allows connection of 2 radios to make a crossband, although I have yet to use it, primarily because as it stands it connects to the radio using the mic connector, requiring the removal of the mics. I want to connect them using the data jack at the rear of the cpu, just havent obtained the cable yet. The advantage of this little unit, is that you can activate it with DTMF code. So if im out on a hike and cant hit a repeater, I can turn on the crossband from the field, if I dont need it I dont have to activate the feature before leaving the truck.
There was thread last week about a cb/ham off shelf unit, answer is no there isnt one available. yes you can transmit on a modified HF but this is not legal and will run you in the range of 800-2000. if space is an issue and still want/need CB, get a cobra 75, this is basically ad 12v powered with external antenna handheld. the entire unit is inside the mic, so you dont have to find room to mount the box.
Nic