Lscott

I've had it.  WSAA635 is on my ignore list lol

Yes, that is the point behind the certification process.  Not that the transmitter is perfect, but any imperfections will not cause harm due to meeting level/performance requirements.
  
 
No.  Amateur Radio equipment does not require type acceptance.  It is an experimental classification and people build/create their own technologies, as well as some commercial OTC options.  The requirement of type acceptance would contradict the nature of the service.
 
Also, amateur radio licensees are tested and expected to know the rules, limits and guidelines to prevent interference with other services.  In fact, there are several parts of the spectrum that Hams use, where they are not even the primary users.  We share space with DOD and Emergency Services (as well as other commercial and gov space) and are expected to not only not cause interference, but yield to the primary when they are present.
  
 
After decades or running tests on radios for CB, GMRS and Amateur Radio, I can 100% say that amateur equipment is not as clean as many think.  Most of the GMRS equipment I have tested is far cleaner than most Amaeur equipment I have tested on the same frequencies.  And, while I am a huge fan of Yaesu, owning an FT65 as well as a FT3D and several mobiles, Yaesu is actually one of the worst offenders of dirty transmitters that I have seen.  Much worse than even the most inexpensive BTech type approved GMRS radios.

You should care. It has nothing to do with Ham radio.  The main reason type accepting is even a thing is because there are emergency frequencies adjacent to GMRS, and at harmonic frequencies. Type approved radios have been tested and confirmed to not cause harmful interference on those emergency frequencies. Others have not.
 
I know I wouldn't want to be responsible for loss of life or property because I didn't buy an appropriate radio. 
 
Also, you don't have a GMRS Operator License. You have a GMRS Station License that is only valid while operating a type-approved station. If you are not using a GMRS radio certified for use by the FCC, you are in violation of rules and the license is not valid for those communications.  This opens you up to criminal liability if harmful interference does occur. 

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

You're entitled to your opinion, but public disregard for the FCC rules is discouraged on this forum.

It is asymmetric.  Read the regulations. Although the regulations prohibit certifying a radio for GMRS that can be easily converted to a ham radio, they do not prohibit a ham from building or converting an existing radio to be used for amateur radio activities 
They do however explicitly prohibit using non-certified radios for 95E. 
Many ham radios are not certified and certainly not for 95e. 
There is an argument to make for using part 90 certified radios for GMRS. 

TL; DR: You can use a certified radio on a service that doesn’t require type certification, but the rules prohibit using a non-certified radio on a service which requires type certification. 

Well, that depends on your current, future plans and interests.
1. Do you have or want to get your Ham license too? A significant number of GMRS users also have their Ham license. For example I am dual licensed.
2. If answer to #1 is yes, then do you plan on using the radio for both services? There are used commercial grade radios with Part 95 certification so they are legal to use on GMRS, and can be programmed for Ham 70cm band frequencies. I have a number of those and they each have their place and uses.
When you say cost isn’t important there are some radios that run up to the high 3 figures and low to mid 4 figures, so you might want to quantify that a bit more. Those radios typically are the commercial grade types, tend to work better and have a lot of features the usual CCR’s, Cheap Chinese Radio, don’t offer.

Well, that depends on your current, future plans and interests.
1. Do you have or want to get your Ham license too? A significant number of GMRS users also have their Ham license. For example I am dual licensed.
2. If answer to #1 is yes, then do you plan on using the radio for both services? There are used commercial grade radios with Part 95 certification so they are legal to use on GMRS, and can be programmed for Ham 70cm band frequencies. I have a number of those and they each have their place and uses.
When you say cost isn’t important there are some radios that run up to the high 3 figures and low to mid 4 figures, so you might want to quantify that a bit more. Those radios typically are the commercial grade types, tend to work better and have a lot of features the usual CCR’s, Cheap Chinese Radio, don’t offer.

There is definitely capacitive coupling. It's not magnetic so the mount won't hold, but electrical it will work just fine.

There is definitely capacitive coupling. It's not magnetic so the mount won't hold, but electrical it will work just fine.

Any publicly accessible radio service will have some degree of interference issue. The real question is just how much. Also remember not everyone is going to be on the air at the same time.
If you're looking for a more robust plan then looking at several different radio services would be the route. Part 95 services would be GMRS.FRS, MURS and finally CB Radio. With the exception of GMRS you can buy radios for FRS, MURS and CB, use them with no license requirements.
Then the final option is Ham radio Part 97. The later you need a license, each person, and have to pass an exam to get one. The Tech Class is fairly easy, however some people just don't want to be bothered. It does give you much more spectrum to operate in with and will greatly reduce the likely hood of interference.
None of the two, Part 95 and 97, allow encryption. So, if you need to exchange sensitive information you'll have to either do so illegally with encryption, that's going to be a personal choice and nobody here will publicly recommend it, or find some other method to exchange the information, prearranged codes etc.
I also would NOT depend on a repeater either, Ham or GMRS. Most are simply grid powered and will fail immediately on a grid-down condition. Some do have backup emergency power but may not last that long. Your best bet is assuming you're on your own using direct radio to radio, simplex, communications.

Yeah, having NOAA is useful if you spend a lot of time out doors. However that requires the radio to likely be based on a dual band design, a derivative of a VHF/UHF Ham type radio with GMRS specific firmware. Some of the GMRS radios are based on a single band design so that's why they don't have VHF and thus no NOAA station reception.
I would just go for a good quality GMRS radio and then spend a bit extra and get a cheap Baofeng UV-5R type radio for about $25 or so and program in the NOAA weather channels in it. You're not really going to be transmitting on it, just using it as a monitor. I typically carry a TK-3170 for GMRS and UHF ham. For VHF Ham and NOAA I have the VHF version of the radio, TK-2170.
https://pdfs.kenwoodproducts.com/9/TK-2170&3170Brochure.pdf
Of course you have to be within range of a NOAA station. Some places aren't covered, or not very well.
https://www.weather.gov/nwr/
https://www.weather.gov/nwr/Maps
Another advantage of a separate radio is you might have an active "Skywarn" group in your area. During extreme weather events this maybe a better source of timely weather updates.
https://www.weather.gov/skywarn/
https://www.weather.gov/sew/spotter
 

It’s easy enough to find out once a person does the lookup the first time.
 
The radio is required to have an FCC ID tag on the back to be legally imported/sold in the US. Then look up the ID on this site.
https://fccid.io
 
Type in the FCC ID and click the search button.
Example for my TK-3170 HT Type-1 with ID ALH34713110. Then look at what’s under the Rule Parts in the grant.
https://fccid.io/ALH34713110
 
Anything that shows Part 95 is certified for GMRS. In the example it’s Part 95A which is the pre 2017 rules, but still legal. The new rule part post 2017 in Part 95E.
I do this for ALL my radios and keep PDF copies of the grants on file as part of the documentation set for that radio. That’s it. 
 

It would be prudent to do some research first. Try to find user reviews online for the radio. 
 
Also if one has the technical background locating the service manual for the radio would be a good option. It would likely have the schematics. Looking those over would reveal how much frontend filtering is being done. 
 
For example I believe the Motorola XPR-7550e is one such example. Users swear by them and have very good frontend filtering and high sensitivity too.

Lossy cable will make an antenna’s SWR appear better than it actually is. 
An SWR meter in the radio or connected next to the radio measures the forward power before it has been attenuated by the cable and measures the reflected power after it has been attenuated twice, making the ratio of reflected power to forward power much lower than it actually is. 
 

Are you sure your dummy load is spec’ed for GMRS frequencies? Some aren’t and give really crappy readings.

Are you sure your dummy load is spec’ed for GMRS frequencies? Some aren’t and give really crappy readings.

That's a valid point. I think a fair number of GMRS users would agree given the limited number of repeater frequency pairs available.
IMHO one should look at what the original purpose of GMRS was targeted at. You get a feeling for that based on the licensing rules, basically a family with parents and siblings. The typical communication would be limited to a small area. I don't think the intended operational vision was communication over large geographical areas, such as state wide or multi-state systems. A city wide or county wide system might be more reasonable.
I'm neutral on the topic. I don't have a dog in the fight, not a repeater owner/operator.  I'll let others do the heavy lifting.
Advice given to new attorneys by the old experienced ones : "If the law is against you, pound on the law. If the facts are against you pound on the facts. If both are against you pound on the table."

As far as I know nobody makes an amplifier that's Part 95E certified. There are plenty of Part 90 stuff that could work.

That's a valid point. I think a fair number of GMRS users would agree given the limited number of repeater frequency pairs available.
IMHO one should look at what the original purpose of GMRS was targeted at. You get a feeling for that based on the licensing rules, basically a family with parents and siblings. The typical communication would be limited to a small area. I don't think the intended operational vision was communication over large geographical areas, such as state wide or multi-state systems. A city wide or county wide system might be more reasonable.
I'm neutral on the topic. I don't have a dog in the fight, not a repeater owner/operator.  I'll let others do the heavy lifting.
Advice given to new attorneys by the old experienced ones : "If the law is against you, pound on the law. If the facts are against you pound on the facts. If both are against you pound on the table."

A mobile doesn't have the antenna height advantage a base does. I'm thinking the FCC's goal is to limit the operational area by removing the antenna height advantage a base station has since they likely assume the communication would be between the base station and hand-held or other mobile stations belonging to the same licensee. They didn't want GMRS to turn into a "Ham Lite" type of service, which it seems to be doing.