Hello all!
I've had a ham radio installed in my Tundra for a few years now. When I originally installed it, I posted a few pix. There were a couple of requests for detailed installation instructions, but I never completed them. I recently received another request for installation information, so I thought I would do a brief write-up on the installation. Maybe one of these days I will expand this to more detailed instructions...
First, an overview. I have a Kenwood Mobile Transceiver and a dual-band Diamond mobile antenna, powered by an in-cab 12 VDC distribution panel.
POWER
Power is provided via a RIGrunner4005 12 VDC distribution panel using Anderson PowerPole connectors (see
http://westmountainradio.com/HAMintro.htm for more on the RIGrunner). The RIGrunner is fed directly from the Tundra battery via 12 feet of #10 zipcord. The zipcord runs from the battery, through the firewall at the same location as the hood release, under the carpet along the door sill and up to the RIGrunner location in the space near the driver side lower mount for the rear seat. The RIGrunner then supplies power to two auxiliary 12 VDC ports in the rear of the bed, the transceiver, and additional other items as needed. Note that while I certainly could have fabricated these cables on my own, I chose to give some business to a fellow ham whose soldering skills far exceed my own (custom cable based on PPL-15 from
http://qsradio.com/PowerPals.htm 
)!
See attached RIGrunner.jpg.
TRANSCEIVER
The Kenwood TM-G707A transceiver chassis (see
http://www.kenwood.net/indexKenwood....D=5012&Group=5) rests under the passenger seat. Power arrives from the RIGrunner on zipcord that runs along the back of the cab, under the carpet along the passenger door sill, and then through one of the two cutouts in the carpet under the passenger seat (custom cable based on PPL-9 from
http://qsradio.com/PowerPals.htm). Also feeding to/from this location are cables for the microphone, remote display, primary antenna, secondary antenna, and remote speaker.
See attached Transceiver.jpg.
REMOTE DISPLAY
The remote display is mounted in the sunglass holder cavity (sunglass holder removed). This location required using the Kenwood DFK-7C extension cable kit. The cable runs into the headliner, along the windshield to the passenger A pillar, down the passenger A pillar, through the dash, behind kick plate, under carpet along passenger door sill, and up through one of the two cutouts in the carpet under the passenger seat.
See attached cab.jpg.
MICROPHONE
The microphone is connected to the transceiver chassis using the extension cable included in the Kenwood DFK-7C extension kit. I used a Dremel tool to cut a small notch in the base of the fake wood portion of the center console cup holder. With the center console open, the cup holder lifts out to reveal a very small cavity. The microphone cable feeds into this cavity, under the carpet, and up through one of the two cutouts in the carpet under the passenger seat.
See attached cab.jpg.
SPEAKER
The external speaker is a Kenwood model SP-50B that fits nicely in the cavity for the ash tray (removed, along with mounting rails). I used heavy duty 3M velcro stuff to stick the speaker up into the cavity. The speaker wire feeds into the dash space behind the ash tray cavity, down to the floor, under the carpet along the drive-line hump, and up through one of the two cutouts in the carpet under the passenger seat.
See attached cab.jpg (you can't actually see the speaker, which is the point! Sound quality is good).
ANTENNA
The antenna is a Diamond NR770BNMO (
http://rfparts.com/diamond/nr770hbnmo.html). I have custom stainless steel stake pocket mounts on both sides of the bed, allowing me to switch antenna locations as needed (camping in the trees, etc). Each location feeds down through the stake pocket and into the cab in the lower rear grommet, then under the carpet and along the passenger door sill to one of the two cutouts in the carpet under the passenger seat. The unused mount in protected with a screw-on, gasketed cap.
See attached antenna.jpg.
COMMENTS
I hope this write-up is helpful to others! Recently I upgraded to a Kenwood TM-D700A transceiver (see
http://www.kenwood.net/indexKenwood....D=5017&Group=5) and added a Garmin GPS18 antenna (see
http://www.garmin.com/products/gps18oem/). The new remote display is mounted in the same location. I still have a little trimming to do on the bracket, though... The GPS antenna will ultimately be located on top of the cab near the cargo light. The cable will feed through the cargo light gasket, into the headliner, along the rear window, and down to the RIGrunner. Since it requires 5 VDC, I purchased a $2 Radio Shack 7805 voltage regulator to convert 12 volts to 5 volts. The GPS signal wire will continue from this location under the carpet to the chassis under the seat (also splits to serial cable for laptop mapping software). I already have the system temporarily installed and it works great! I will provide updated photos when the installation is complete.
73 de KC0MVG,
Red
DISCLAIMERS
* The above links are provided to help illustrate my installation and also to serve as a basis for others shopping for installation parts. They DO NOT constitute an endorsement of these vendors or their products! I would do business with them again, but have received no compensation and encourage everyone to shop around and find a vendor that suits your needs. 
* As with any auto installation, a certain level of skill and observation of safety practices is required. I am not qualified to offer professional advice on installation, nor do I claim mine is "up to code". Use of this information is solely at your own risk!
2001 Tundra Ham Radio Installation
Linear Mode
