[NoneRequired]

It appears there is a transverse cross-member under the cab roof that we need to avoid at hole-drilling time.

Thanks for any help,
Steve

There are two cross member supports you need to avoid on the crew cab. One is in line with the 'B' pillar, the other is in line with the rear dome lamp fixture. The center of my NMO mount is exactly 16" in front of the front edge of the stock radio antenna assembly. This is about 4" in front of the cross member at the dome lamp position.

Jon
W8JAM

 

[oldpaint]

Thanks for the info, Jon. I have the Extended Cab, so now I'm wondering if the same is true for that?

 

[sonicgoose]

Hi, folks,

First time posting here, brand new member, and I've been reading through this thread with great interest. I'm looking to install two Uniden scanners in my brand spankin' new 2018 Chevy Colorado LT Crew Cab Short Box, similar to what I did in my old 2012 Ford Escape, as detailed here: https://forums.radioreference.com/r...om/radio-equipment-installation-forum/237403-2012-ford-escape-installation.html

My plan so far is to mount the radios under the driver's side rear passenger seat. Seems to be plenty of room under there. I'll be powering them with an APO3 Auto Power Switch, just like in my Escape, and the Rigrunner 4008. And this at the moment is where I'm stuck. I'll need to mount the Rigrunner in a location that will allow me to run power from it to the two scanners, two remote heads (to be installed on or near the cubby under the infotainment system), a GPS puck antenna and a dashcam. Somewhere central seems like the logical choice but I'm not sure what the best location would be. Insight appreciated, please.

Also, power. In my Escape I had a wire running from the positive terminal on the battery to the APO3 switch, and the negative wire running to a screw mount under the hood where all the other negative power went. I popped the cover off the battery in the Colorado tonight and gave myself a pretty good scare. There appear to be about four or five different mounting options for the positive wire, some labelled 100A, 250A and 300A. The dealer installed a rust control module off of the 100A pole so I'm thinking that's the logical connection for the APO3 as well, but if anyone can confirm that, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks, folks!

Rob

 

[sonicgoose]

Bump

 

[thogland]

Bump

Wow, no responses... I'll take a couple pictures of where my power etc. is run and send them along.

 

[N1CKV]

Power can be taken from any of those terminals, as long as you are not exceeding the total amperage. How do you know? Reference the upfitter's manual linked in the sticky in this section of the forum to see what is pulling from each.

As for a ground wire, there is no reason to run a ground to under the hood from the cabin. The body of the truck is grounded, you can find plenty of sources within the cabin, such as a bolt mounting the seats and such. Generally you want your ground wires to be as short as possible.

 

[sonicgoose]

Wow, no responses... I'll take a couple pictures of where my power etc. is run and send them along.

Much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[sonicgoose]

Power can be taken from any of those terminals, as long as you are not exceeding the total amperage. How do you know? Reference the upfitter's manual linked in the sticky in this section of the forum to see what is pulling from each.

As for a ground wire, there is no reason to run a ground to under the hood from the cabin. The body of the truck is grounded, you can find plenty of sources within the cabin, such as a bolt mounting the seats and such. Generally you want your ground wires to be as short as possible.

Thanks for the info and thanks for the pointer to the Upfitter manual. Looks like a lot of schematics (I hate schematics) but I'll try to make sense of it.

 

[thogland]

Okay - here's my setup. Pic1 and pic2 - what you see under the hood. (My wiring came from a local stereo shop that does excellent custom work, so the cabling etc. is all high-end amplifier stuff.) Red power wire runs over a battery maintainer (the small red wire connecting to the same terminal is the maintainer's output) - nice for Alaskan winters... Pic3 shows the connection - into a 100a breaker, then into a 40a relay so power comes on with accessory power. Pic4 - I mounted my fuse block behind the seat, up out of the way and easily accessible. Tied for now, may get solid-mounted later.

 

[thogland]

(continued)

Pic 5 and pic6 show detail of where the power goes through the firewall - 5 under the hood, 6 in the footwell. Wire runs under the driver's side door sill cover. Pic 7 is my install - Kenwood head plugs into two panel-mount Cat5 jacks, wires run through the console and under the back passenger seat where the radio is mounted. RAM mount holds the head in place and allows me to swivel/move/remove as needed. Under the passenger seat is a drain plug - antenna wire runs through a hole I drilled in that plug, along the bed rail and to a Breedlove stake-pocket NMO antenna mount in the right rear stake pocket.

If you were going to mount a radio under the dash or in the console, then there's lots of room to put a fuse block inside (or behind) the console, and power could come straight through the firewall and over to the fuse block. I'd route the antenna wire the same if you're heading aft, or run it back through the same firewall hole as the power if you're going to use a fender mount.

Feel free to ask questions if anything isn't obvious, and please ignore the dirt - just got back from a 2 week trip and cleaning the truck hasn't made it to the top of my to-do list yet ;-)

Tom

 

[sonicgoose]

(continued)

Pic 5 and pic6 show detail of where the power goes through the firewall - 5 under the hood, 6 in the footwell. Wire runs under the driver's side door sill cover. Pic 7 is my install - Kenwood head plugs into two panel-mount Cat5 jacks, wires run through the console and under the back passenger seat where the radio is mounted. RAM mount holds the head in place and allows me to swivel/move/remove as needed. Under the passenger seat is a drain plug - antenna wire runs through a hole I drilled in that plug, along the bed rail and to a Breedlove stake-pocket NMO antenna mount in the right rear stake pocket.

If you were going to mount a radio under the dash or in the console, then there's lots of room to put a fuse block inside (or behind) the console, and power could come straight through the firewall and over to the fuse block. I'd route the antenna wire the same if you're heading aft, or run it back through the same firewall hole as the power if you're going to use a fender mount.

Feel free to ask questions if anything isn't obvious, and please ignore the dirt - just got back from a 2 week trip and cleaning the truck hasn't made it to the top of my to-do list yet ;-)

Tom

Thanks for this. So incredibly helpful! I think I have a game plan (-ish) now that I've seen your connection to the battery. I should be able to replicate that and feed the power through the same spot. Then I'll run it under the driver's side door sill cover to under the rear passenger seat. There is tons of space in there for my two scanners plus the RigRunner. I'll mount them to a spare piece of particle board (or similar) and place them under the seat. The GPS antenna will probably go up the back seat and just get velcro'd to the top of it. Nice clear reception out the back window from there. Then the antennas will go in stakeholder mounts either side of the bed but at the front rather than the back. I'll find a whole somewhere, I'm sure. It looks like the remote heads for the scanners will fit in the same spot you have your radio, so the wires for those will have to run back up from the RigRunner, maybe up the passenger side and under the passenger seat. Will have to see. Once I get it all sorted (may take me a few weeks) I'll post pics here.

Thanks for these pics, Tom. I really appreciate them!

Rob

 

[thogland]

My antenna is in the rear stake pocket because it's open - the bed caps cover the front ones. The Kenwood body is under the passenger seat because the jack etc. cuts into that space, so the radio/wiring/etc and the board it's mounted to fill a small piece instead of the larger driver's side part - I wanted that open for other stuff that you stash under a seat.


The spot where the radio head is won't quite fit two of those heads - a smaller one would fit fine, or if you don't mind semi-covering some switches it'd be okay.


I ran the wiring in some small split loom and from the center of the back seat to the back of the console - it's exposed, but fairly snug so it doesn't move around, and a much shorter run. Using the passenger sill plate etc. works as well - just more wire to run, but would end up cleaner.

 

[oldpaint]

So many good ideas in this thread! Thanks to you both, will be doing my install in a month into my '18 ExtCab. Have also thought about installing a scanner, but I don't have one with a control head, so was looking at the TRX-2. SonicGoose, please post pics of your final install of the control heads.

 

[sonicgoose]

(continued)

Pic 5 and pic6 show detail of where the power goes through the firewall - 5 under the hood, 6 in the footwell.

Hey, Tom,

I've got everything roughly fitted but when I went to run the power through the firewall...well, I've run into solid metal. I don't seem to have the same hole you have pictured. Attached is what I see, first from the engine side and second from in the driver's side footwell. The black wire running through the firewall with the rubber grommet is the hood release cable. I've removed the pre-cut insulation so you can see what's under it. I don't really want to drill through that, but I'm not seeing any other way in. Am I missing something?

Rob

 

[thogland]

I'll look at mine again and see where it goes. There's a hole in there for the non-existent clutch - might be where mine is... I don't have a fresh hole drilled, though.

 

[km4rzt]

You have to drill the hole. That is exactly where my power wires come through the firewall. I used a step-bit to drill the hole.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sonicgoose]

You have to drill the hole. That is exactly where my power wires come through the firewall. I used a step-bit to drill the hole.

Damn. That's another $60+ for the drill bit. Why do I do these things to myself?

 

[Thunderbear]

A Milwaukee 1.25 holesaw will fit that knockout exactly. I'd recommend the Daystar boot to protect your wiring and allow for expansion circuits.

 

[Fifty]

Evil Mfg is releasing their third brake light housing for dust lights, and there is an option for an antennae. It was supposed to be available for shipping last week, but its Evil Mfg and they are always a little behind.

 

[thogland]

I checked again, with a flashlight this time, and that's where mine is drilled through. It doesn't look to be more than 3/4" or 1" though - just big enough for the power cable and a relay signal wire in 1/4" split loom.