Quoted:
Im so tired of the "cbs suck, ham is better" answer on every CB topic out there.
Versitility of a hand held plugged into a magnetic or permanent mounted antenna in a rig plus the proliferation of CBs makes them cost effective and common place. A person can glean a lot of info and be in contact with a lot of other people over a CB net so if nothing else its a great way to start imo.
I consider CB's as stepping stones to ham radio. It's something to get you in the door. Of course ham is better. There's more quality equipment, much higher power levels, and many more modes of communication then just AM or SSB.
For people that want something to grab and go for point to point communications in a group, FRS is the better option. For ragchewing with the local truckers, cb is a good viable option, but the ham community is more active within vible communication ranges. Besides, any active ham should have at least one cb if nothing else.
EDIT: to answer the question, i would def go with an extrnal antenna. Get a ham friend with an antenna analyzer to tune it for you also. That is, if you're going to use it in a semi permanent or permanent situation like a car or house.