xodeuce
mmmmmmbourbon.
In the process of coming up with a way to mount my Kenwood TM-V71A radio, I figured I wanted to accomplish a few things.
1) Be able to operate everything with my right hand, while keeping my eyes on the road for the most part.
2) Do things as modularly as possible, so that re-doing a portion doesn't involve taking the truck completely apart again.
3) A very clean installation
What I came up with, I think meets all those needs pretty well.
First off, I ran 12ga power wires through the wiring harness grommet on the driver's side of the firewall
Then I bought a BlendMount designed to hold a Scangauge above the mirror. The velcro included was used to mount the head unit, as well as a single zip tie on the center post. I had to drill the back of the Kenwood head unit bracket to make the wire come out the back so it's not visible from the front.
The head unit RJ11 -> RJ45 cable is run down the A Pillar to the kick panel, where it meets an RJ45 coupler on the end of a Cat5 cable that runs down the door sills to behind the back seat. That cable is bright yellow.
I bought a 1/8" headphone extension cable from Radio Shack, and used it to extend the speaker outlet to the kick panel as well. There is also a black Cat5 cable run the same way for the microphone. However, it is run all the way to the center console just next to the shifter. The RJ45 coupler is right behind where I mounted the microphone. This allows for easy swapping or removal if necessary. I can just slide it to the front of the console. You can see the black Cat5 and the pretty thin extension speaker cable in this picture. The Cat5 is draped on the parking brake, and the speaker cable is the really thin one that is attached at the front of the console.
You can also see the female end of the 1/8" extension cable for the speaker sitting on the floor mat next to the pocket knife.
The extension speaker is mounted in the cubby down and to the right of the steering column. It is only about 1" thick, and sits almost totally against the back of the cubby, so I can still place random things there if need be. It is really loud and clear even at freeway speeds with the windows down. I didn't have a (non paddle bit) drill bit big enough to get a hole for the right angle 1/8" plug to pop through the back of the cubby, so it's not the best run. I may buy a bigger drill bit and get that neatened up if it really bugs me.
I had the microphone mounted in the exact same place in my old car, and I liked it there, so I decided to stick with it. It's out of the way, but if I need to move the seat all the way forward I do have to remove the mic. It's not a huge deal.
The antenna is a center loaded half wave mounted like 90% of the Tacoma owners out there do it, on a right angle bracket in the bed rail behind the cab. That mount is temporary for the time being. I'm going to go with an NMO roof mount and a Larsen whip. I anticipate better performance out of that than where it is now. As for drilling the roof, the radio shop in town that does public service vehicles wants about what the specialized drill bit costs to do the install cleanly, including the mount and coax assembly, so I'm going to let them do it. They also guarantee no leaks.
Anyway, there it is. Hope the write up is helpful. I learned a lot by reading a few similar ones, and figured it was my turn to share some info.
1) Be able to operate everything with my right hand, while keeping my eyes on the road for the most part.
2) Do things as modularly as possible, so that re-doing a portion doesn't involve taking the truck completely apart again.
3) A very clean installation
What I came up with, I think meets all those needs pretty well.
First off, I ran 12ga power wires through the wiring harness grommet on the driver's side of the firewall
Then I bought a BlendMount designed to hold a Scangauge above the mirror. The velcro included was used to mount the head unit, as well as a single zip tie on the center post. I had to drill the back of the Kenwood head unit bracket to make the wire come out the back so it's not visible from the front.
The head unit RJ11 -> RJ45 cable is run down the A Pillar to the kick panel, where it meets an RJ45 coupler on the end of a Cat5 cable that runs down the door sills to behind the back seat. That cable is bright yellow.
I bought a 1/8" headphone extension cable from Radio Shack, and used it to extend the speaker outlet to the kick panel as well. There is also a black Cat5 cable run the same way for the microphone. However, it is run all the way to the center console just next to the shifter. The RJ45 coupler is right behind where I mounted the microphone. This allows for easy swapping or removal if necessary. I can just slide it to the front of the console. You can see the black Cat5 and the pretty thin extension speaker cable in this picture. The Cat5 is draped on the parking brake, and the speaker cable is the really thin one that is attached at the front of the console.
You can also see the female end of the 1/8" extension cable for the speaker sitting on the floor mat next to the pocket knife.
The extension speaker is mounted in the cubby down and to the right of the steering column. It is only about 1" thick, and sits almost totally against the back of the cubby, so I can still place random things there if need be. It is really loud and clear even at freeway speeds with the windows down. I didn't have a (non paddle bit) drill bit big enough to get a hole for the right angle 1/8" plug to pop through the back of the cubby, so it's not the best run. I may buy a bigger drill bit and get that neatened up if it really bugs me.
I had the microphone mounted in the exact same place in my old car, and I liked it there, so I decided to stick with it. It's out of the way, but if I need to move the seat all the way forward I do have to remove the mic. It's not a huge deal.
The antenna is a center loaded half wave mounted like 90% of the Tacoma owners out there do it, on a right angle bracket in the bed rail behind the cab. That mount is temporary for the time being. I'm going to go with an NMO roof mount and a Larsen whip. I anticipate better performance out of that than where it is now. As for drilling the roof, the radio shop in town that does public service vehicles wants about what the specialized drill bit costs to do the install cleanly, including the mount and coax assembly, so I'm going to let them do it. They also guarantee no leaks.
Anyway, there it is. Hope the write up is helpful. I learned a lot by reading a few similar ones, and figured it was my turn to share some info.
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