JimD007
Active Member
My truck is very basic, just a crew cab Trademan with a hitch, hitch wiring, and spray in bedliner. So it has vinyl seats and floors, no key fob, no start button, etc. I knew all that when I bought it and it doesn't bug me, it is what I wanted. But the basic AM/FM radio did bother me. I could have used he accessory plug in the console to play tunes from my phone and to answer the phone on phone calls but I decided to put in a nicer radio instead.
The DNX995 is a near top of line for Kenwood so it has Garmin navigation, bluetooth phone connection, and also Android Auto and the Apple equivalent. They are supposed to work wirelessly but my Samsung phone will work but only plugged in. Not a big deal to me, the main things I wanted is the navigation and bluetooth phone. It also plays DVDs and CDs.
I bought it off Amazon and also got the Metra installation and wiring kits for it. The first issue I had was a big metal plate behing the stock radio. I cut that out. The only other issues were wiring. The switched power signal from the harness did not work, probably an issue with the wiring installation kit. So I put a lead on the cigarette lighter socket. That got the radio to start up. But it would not go into Android Auto nor would the DVD player work. The radio said it needed a parking brake signal. The parking brake is electric and I assume that the signal is different from what the wiring harness manuafacturer thought. So I put in a little circuit my son had used on his that mimics this signal. I could play DVDs while driving, I guess, but I just wanted it to work. Now all is well. I have a nice radio, with a nearly 7 inch display, that does what I want plus some.
The dealer almost talked me into some kind of GPS device when I bought the truck on the theory it would help on insurance. They also made me call and get coverage so I asked. State Farm said they didn't care so I left it off. The new radio, with the installation kits, was only about $100 more than the near useless GPS device the dealer was talking up.
I don't know how much of this is applicable to those of you who have trucks with more equipment. The first thing the applications ask when you are looking is whether you have the 8 inch radio. I assume that may modify or eliminate the metal plate that was in the way for me. Or maybe it means the noise cancellation circuit others have mentioned. I don't think I have any of that.
It wasn't very difficult but it probably took a couple hours to solder and heat strink all the electrical connections between the radio wiring and the connector to go to the truck wiring. And then I still had to fix a couple things. It was not a plug and play situation.
The DNX995 is a near top of line for Kenwood so it has Garmin navigation, bluetooth phone connection, and also Android Auto and the Apple equivalent. They are supposed to work wirelessly but my Samsung phone will work but only plugged in. Not a big deal to me, the main things I wanted is the navigation and bluetooth phone. It also plays DVDs and CDs.
I bought it off Amazon and also got the Metra installation and wiring kits for it. The first issue I had was a big metal plate behing the stock radio. I cut that out. The only other issues were wiring. The switched power signal from the harness did not work, probably an issue with the wiring installation kit. So I put a lead on the cigarette lighter socket. That got the radio to start up. But it would not go into Android Auto nor would the DVD player work. The radio said it needed a parking brake signal. The parking brake is electric and I assume that the signal is different from what the wiring harness manuafacturer thought. So I put in a little circuit my son had used on his that mimics this signal. I could play DVDs while driving, I guess, but I just wanted it to work. Now all is well. I have a nice radio, with a nearly 7 inch display, that does what I want plus some.
The dealer almost talked me into some kind of GPS device when I bought the truck on the theory it would help on insurance. They also made me call and get coverage so I asked. State Farm said they didn't care so I left it off. The new radio, with the installation kits, was only about $100 more than the near useless GPS device the dealer was talking up.
I don't know how much of this is applicable to those of you who have trucks with more equipment. The first thing the applications ask when you are looking is whether you have the 8 inch radio. I assume that may modify or eliminate the metal plate that was in the way for me. Or maybe it means the noise cancellation circuit others have mentioned. I don't think I have any of that.
It wasn't very difficult but it probably took a couple hours to solder and heat strink all the electrical connections between the radio wiring and the connector to go to the truck wiring. And then I still had to fix a couple things. It was not a plug and play situation.
Any plans to upgrade speakers, add amp, sub?
