Do aircraft carry commercial VHF radios? Years ago, I was working in the bush and we used portable radios on something like 154MHz. When it came time for pickup, we were able to talk to the helicopter pilot on that frequency. Since it's outside the air band, I'm wondering if it's normal for aircraft to have VHF radios installed to cover commercial (and maybe amateur) VHF bands.
No, is the short answer. Aircraft generally only carry radios covering the bands they require as standard - i.e., those covering aviation communications and navigation. I have an airband transceiver here and it can't physically be tuned that high. As far as I know, the ones in the planes I fly are identical.
I can't see any advantage in doing otherwise, as standard, as the vast majority of pilots are not licenced to talk on such bands.
In terms of citation, here's a popular general aviation radio, the BendixKing KX 165A
https://www.bendixking.com/en/products/nc/navigation-and-communication/kx-165a

Communication Transceiver: 118.000 MHz to 13.975 MHz in 25 kHz
increments, 118.0000 MHz to 136.9916 MHz in 8.33kHz increments
(118.000 - 136.990 displayed per DO 186a and ED-23B) (8.33 kHz capable
KX 165A only) Navigation Receiver: 118.00 MHz to 117~ .95 M

And, here's another:
https://icomuk.co.uk/IC-A220T/Panel_Mount_Aviation_Radio
(From the manual: https://icomuk.co.uk/files/icom/PDF/productManual/A220-TSO-Instruction-Manual.pdf)

Frequency Range: 118.000 to 136.992 MHz (8.33khz)