Hi guys, I have searched till my head hurts. What would be a good upgrade radio for my truck? Currently had a factory single cd am/fm radio. I would like to have the capability to hook up an Ipod type device. Maybe a backup camera or gps?
Also my truck is a Lariet but only has two speakers, in the front doors. I would want to add some more speakers probably in the rear doors?
Anyway things have changed so much in the last 30-40 years (I know I'm old). Can I do this myself or should I have it done? Are the cheap units on Ebay that come from China any good?
I would like to stay around $300 bucks. What can I get for that?
Any advise would be welcome as I am lost.
Thanks, John

 

Go to Crutchfield: Car Stereo, Speakers, Home Theater, Pro Audio, 4k TV. You can enter your truck year and model and the site will recommend components. You can also call and speak with one of their support staff. Their units come with complete instructions and phone support for what should be a relatively easy DIY job. You can also order special tools if needed.

Related, my 2002 radio volume **** doesn't work properly. Twist and twist, and the volume stays the same and then starts to go up after turning the **** 3-4 revolutions. What causes that? And I'm sure it's not worth fixing.

 

The physical mounting of a double din head unit is easy. There is a lip to file down on the dash for it to fit. Then with adapter kits the wiring into the truck radio harness is also easy. on my 04 Lariat rear speakers are in the corners, not the doors. $300 with camera, GPS and device interfaces may be tuff to find. Luv my GPS and camera setup.

 

I would recommend purchasing either a pioneer or alpine head unit. I have has good luck with those over the years. Stay away from the cheap no name units, they are usually junk.

 

Put a Jensen VX7020 in my truck, works great, has NAV and DVD and has iPod control and you can add sirius to it with a simple plug-in.

Video of it in my truck:

 

(2003 F-250)
I Installed a Pioneer AVH-P8400, fits perfectly. It's a touch Screen and my iPhone/ipod connects via Blue tooth. I can answer my phone and listen to all my tunes with no cables attached!!
you can store music pictures and it gets satellite radio also.
it looks like it belongs and it was easy to install!!

Good luck

 

Question for ijassman & Ltngdrvr - do these units work with the existing steering wheel controls for volume & radio preset?
I've got a Florida trip planned and something like this would be a nice addition to my 2014 F250 XLT. I'm sure that if I went this route I can just contact Sirius/XM and transfer the subscription from my current add on (Onyx) unit. Or maybe the less expensive route would be a unit like the Jensen VX7020, which says "You can hook up a satellite radio tuner (not included) to this receiver."
I wouldn't be interested in the DVD portion. Anyone else have experience with a unit that has Nav, satellite, bluetooth (for phone) and iPod capability?

 

Nothing aftermarket comes out of the box ready to use with your factory controls. You will have to purchase additional "add on" modules to get things to work, like steering wheel controls. Same thing goes for adding satellite to it. I have installed several units before, and the best is still Kenwood IMO. The Garmin navigation in the Kenwood's separate them from the rest.

 

Thanks Sammy. I don't mind add on modules if they don't crank the price up too much. I'll probably have this truck several years, but am not wild about having someone cut/splice into the factory wiring in case it needs to come out/be replaced or whatever in the future. Steering wheel controls aren't that big of a deal, the factory location is easily within reach anyway.
Just emailed a local audio place that did a remote car starter with Viper SmartStart for me recently. I'll see what he's got to say when he opens for the day and gets back to me.

 

If you look hard enough, or go thru Crutchfield, you most likely won't have to splice a single wire. Nowadays they make connectors for just about all of our factory wiring. If you do, use solder and you'll be fine. Everything comes with a remote, and you'll be surprised how much you'll use that over anything else.

 

Hi Poncho, the unit I have does not work with the steering wheel controls. It does have a remote that I don't really use but can come in handy. Forgot to mention that its a double din deck. I went for the Pioneer due to price and clarity of the screen/graphics. Kenwood was my second choice. I Paid in the 450 dollar range.

 

Thanks for all of the information. Ideally, I'd like a Kenwood for the Garmin. I have a Garmin stand alone unit now and in the past had a TomTom. Garmin experience good, TomTom not so much.
The Kenwood (DNX571HD) I was checking out on Crutchfield is $619. Same model at Best Buy $749. Now I see why shadows4's head hurts from shopping around. No decisions made yet. Still waiting on local car audio place to get back to me and I might just stop by the local BB and see what they have to offer.

 

I think the local Best Buy is out of the running. The only in dash nav unit is the Kenwood for $749 plus tax & installation. I can get a refurb at Crutchfield for $619, but it looks like another $90 worth of iDataLink module & harness.
Total for the Kenwood unit with all needed items came to $871 from Crutchfield with all necessary items for my truck listed by the chat rep. More research coming.

 

Just got off of a chat with a Crutchfield rep. Looking like I can do the Jensen VX7020 with iDatalink Maestro module and harness (to keep steering wheel functions) for $446. Dash kit, antenna adapter & screw pack are free. That's $425 cheaper than the Kenwood I looked at. Garmin's nice, but not $425 nice. Besides, I have a free standing Garmin if I need it.
The only downside I see is that the Maestro has to be flashed from a Windows based computer. My stuff is all Mac, but I do have an old Compaq with Vista laying around that is still able to go online.
Order placed. Thanks for the recommendation Ltngdrvr.

 

Kenwood DNX series, I've had several, they are good. Add a backup camera, Sirius-XM box, steering wheel controls (PAC audio), and you're good to go. Only issue that it's $200 for a map upgrade for Kenwood, when a Garmin Nuvi is free upgrades for life... My latest kenwood, I skipped the built in Nav and only paid $300 for the head unit and I use a Nuvi on the dash so it's more in my line of sight and I still have the big screen for the backup camera.