Worklog - Road RagE II (2007 Tundra)

[PS-RagE]

When I first ordered the Tundra, I also began ordering the stereo equipment for it. Although all the parts have not yet come in, I've finally got some time to book a week off and get this project rolling. As promised, here is the worklog of the installation.

This BTW, is the second time I've taken on a project of this nature (thus the "II"). If you are curious here is the first one.








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Got a pile of stuff to install this time:







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[PS-RagE]

I run a Motorola radio shop so the first "mod" required is to get a radio installed.

So, what is the first thing you do to a $60,000 truck? Why you drill a 3/4" hole in the roof of course!



Actually, I drilled two of these. That hole allows me to install a standard NMO mount:



And thus two permanently mounted antennas. One a wideband VHF, the other a dualband 900/1800:



The coaxial runs are pulled straight back so as not to interfere with the moonroof's travel. Couldn't get the camera in to get a pic but the runs are pulled behind a roof support. In order to drop the roof down, this Jesus-bar has to be removed:



Both runs are tied behind this panel:



And both cables terminated with RF connecters - a mini UHF for the Motorola CDM1550LS and an FME for the Wilson dualband wireless amplifier:



The control head for the Motorola is mounted in the console:



And the pickup antenna for the wireless cellular amp is hidden inside the center console:



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[SOSHeloPilot]

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Man .. you do some gutsy and detailed work.

I used to build "Heathkits" as a kid .. and I would like to upgrade my stereo .. but on a much smaller scale.

I am weirded out about taking off a door panel, radio dash insert or a headliner now.

When you are finished ... your will have some fantastic tunes and communciations.

Thanks for the detailed photos ... I learned something there.

SOS

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[ktate2002]

You've got quite an eye for the camera lens, too.

[PS-RagE]

Another simple mod. Installed a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller.



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Anyway, back to "real" mods. TIme to start installing all this stuff. I pulled off the back wall to reveal the factory sub:



The back wall is laid flat to make sure everything is going to fit back there. No crossovers yet but it looks OK.



Here is one the 10" Type X subs that will replace that little OEM unit:



My original idea was to make a wedge-shaped box behind the rear seat but there is no way these subs are going to fit sideways. So the new plan is to have the subs down-firing.

With this decision made, I created a cardboard mock-up to find the correct fit:





Satisfied with the cardboard dummy's fit, the parts are cut from 3/4" MDF:





Tomorrow I will screw and glue it together and maybe start on the fiber glass

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[shadyskins]

I assume the rear seats will have to be all the way forward on the track..... once this box is installed?

[PS-RagE]

Originally Posted by SOSHeloPilot

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Man .. you do some gutsy and detailed work.

I used to build "Heathkits" as a kid .. and I would like to upgrade my stereo .. but on a much smaller scale.

I am weirded out about taking off a door panel, radio dash insert or a headliner now.

When you are finished ... your will have some fantastic tunes and communciations.

Thanks for the detailed photos ... I learned something there.

SOS

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Thanks, glad you like it. I always document my projects to show the steps. I also do this professionally (the radio part) so the "gutsy" is just experience.

[PS-RagE]

Originally Posted by shadyskins

I assume the rear seats will have to be all the way forward on the track..... once this box is installed?

No, there is still room for a man to sit back there - been watching for that. Notice how high the front of the box is? That is so it will clear the lower portion of the seat. Mind you, I'm essentially converting my Crewmax into a Doublecab

[PS-RagE]

Originally Posted by ktate2002

You've got quite an eye for the camera lens, too.

Thanks

[TerribleTom]

nice work, you are hard core. I'm getting ready to drill my roof as well for a safari style rack and light bar. I'd like CB and you are a radio dude, what do you reccomend?

T

[PS-RagE]

Originally Posted by TerribleTom

nice work, you are hard core. I'm getting ready to drill my roof as well for a safari style rack and light bar. I'd like CB and you are a radio dude, what do you reccomend?

T

The amp will likely stay where it is as its not worth the trouble to remove it. You don't want the sub. It is out now and I can hardly notice it missing.

As for a recomendation of a good CB, I couldn't even guess. My buisness is strictly industrial and public safety. If one of my customers needs a CB, I just fetch one from the Kenworth dealer - usually a cheapo Uniden.

[PS-RagE]

Even though I still don't have my front components yet (Alpine SPX-17PRO) I was going to just hook everything up and use the JBL speakers for now.



However, I discovered that the existing components are actually bi-amped and since I don't happen to have crossovers sitting around to use, I've decided to put the amplifier/speakers part of this project on hold and just work on the electronics.

The first device I decided to install is the Alpine NVE-N872 navigation system. Since it is DVD based, it has to be mounted flat. With such a large truck, you wouldn't think finding a flat surface to install it would be difficult - wrong! The bench seat in the back folds almost flat to the floor squashing anything under it and there are ventilation ducts under the front seats. Finally, I just decided if I was careful, I could mount it under the driver's seat.

So, out comes the seat. You gotta love new trucks. The seat bolts release so easily! Three plugs later and here we are:



The brackets are turned outwards and mounted to the "humps" the seat is bolted to. The power cabling runs to the trough in the door sills and the display and signal cables are run to the hump and through the center console.



While I had the seat out, I also ran the majority of cabling that will be required for the electronics in the back (optical, AI-Net, etc).

Nav unit installed:



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[PS-RagE]

I hate magnetic antennas and, of course, that is exactly what the Alpine nav unit came with. So, I ordered a Motorola PMAN4000 permanent mount active GPS antenna.



My original intention was to mount it dead center at the front of the cab. However, the motor for the moonroof is there. It hangs down too low to mount with the other antennas (would be in the path of the glass) so I decided to mount it way off center. This antenna requires a 1" hole





Not being entirely trusting of adhesive pads, I also put RTV on the inside of this hole (the other antennas all have rubber gaskets).

The coaxial cable is run inside of the driver's side A-pillar. These come apart like this by the way:



Gently pry on the back until it begins to slide out then you can release the front. Two 10mm bolts and the whole thing pulls free with ease:

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[PS-RagE]

While the headliner is pulled down, I decided to install the microphone for the Alpine KCE-300BT BlueTooth module. I removed the OEM microphone and put it in the same location:



The mic cable was also run down the A-pillar and into the center console. The BlueTooth module itself was installed inside the storage box:



Finally in the headliner, is the question of that OEM backup camera. Not sure what I was expecting, but I didn't see anything that looked like it would be connected to a camera. A quick drive over to the dealership proved that it was indeed this little connecter towards the front:



...but again, this is not what you would expect video on. There was four wires taped together as per the schematic:



To be safe, I pulled the tailgate apart and checked for continuity on the wires:



Sure enough, these are the right wires. So I spliced a sheilded cable to the video feed (red V+, grey V-) and a red/black cable for the camera power (black B+, white GND):



Again, these were fished down the A-pillar and over to the center console.

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[PS-RagE]

The nav unit can be controlled by voice. I installed the speak button on a lower control panel next to the VSC switch:



The microphone for the nav unit is installed next to the radio control head (center console in front of cig lighter plugs) :



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