My faithful old 2011 Tundra pickup truck, as great as it was, was starting to require frequent repairs. I got a great trade-in offer for it, so I got a new Dodge 1500 Crew Cab. A new truck means time to install a new radio! My good friends Rusty KG4HIR, Randall KN4FYG, and Steven KN4RVU offered their expertise, time and sweat to help me install the radio. They’ve all had experience with mobile radio installation, but this was my first time.
In my Tundra, I had an Icom ID-5100A, and I had a Kenwood TM-D170GA in my shack. It seemed like a no-brainer to mount the Kenwood radio in the new truck to take advantage of the APRS capabilities, which are not really needed in the shack. So, the ID-5100A from my old truck was moved into the shack, and the TM-D710GA was designated for the new truck.
Rusty gave me some good advice, which is to get used to the layout of the new truck before deciding how and where to mount the radio. I did not want to drill too many holes in the new truck, so I decided to go with a fender mount for the antenna. I got an antenna mount, specifically designed for the Ram 1500, from Valley Enterprises. The main unit of the radio is mounted with a bracket under a back seat. After some research, I chose a center dash mount from ProClips, and an extension plate with magnetic puck from Lido Radio for the head unit. The dash mount is very sturdy and well designed. The magnetic puck on the extension plate is very convenient for the microphone.
The install went very well. It was a hot and humid morning, but the awesome install crew got the job done in about 3 hours. All of the truck parts went back in place, with no extra or missing pieces, and the radio powered right up. The way everything is mounted makes it very easy to install a new radio, if that’s ever necessary.
The radio had previously been programmed for use in the shack, but we were able to verify that it was transmitting and receiving. Later, I reprogrammed the radio and adjusted all of the settings for mobile use. I also did some test drives to see how the radio performed with the local repeaters, and simplex with a few friends. It seems to perform as good as I would expect with a fender-mounted antenna. I also have it transmitting APRS beacons as N4MI-9.
I am very pleased with the radio and how it is installed! It’s great to be on the air again while I’m rolling.
