Bought a BlackBox VHF radio last week and installed it yesterday - I drive on lots of radio-controlled roads, so it's definitely a safety feature that has been missing from my ride.
Mounting location: I originally wanted to hack apart the dash and build a bracket/trim ring to mount it neatly in the bottom of the center stack, but I ran into clearance issues. The cubby hole is about 4-5" too shallow, and there's no clearance behind it due to the ducting for the rear seat HVAC vents. I thought about hacking the ducting off and building a plate to cover the gaping hole in the plenum, since nobody ever sits in my back seat anyway, but even that wouldn't gain me the clearance I needed. After about an hour of sitting in the truck and trying to decide between a few different places to mount it, I decided to simply screw it to the dash in front of my left leg. It's completely out of the way and doesn't interfere with my seating position at all. View of the display from the driver's seat isn't the greatest, but realistically you don't need to look at it too often, and I have a handset for it that has some redundant controls built in anyway.
It isn't the prettiest mounting location, but doesn't look TOO bad, IMO. Besides, I prefer functionality over looks anyway.
<a href="http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/?action=view¤t=85c5e59c5284e117a24f2dde2440813a_zps0cde377d.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/85c5e59c5284e117a24f2dde2440813a_zps0cde377d.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
Before anyone berates me, YES, I made sure it doesn't cover the knee airbag, haha.
I mounted the handset just to the right of the wheel - it puts it within easy reach, and allows me to drape the slack in the handset cord across the steering column to keep it out of the way. Wiring power to it was extremely easy - I already had wiring tucked under the dash from when I did my "Auxiliary Fuse Panel Install"
<a href="http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/?action=view¤t=8bc94128df28c6e1ea357375e8c7ed19_zps5f344dab.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/8bc94128df28c6e1ea357375e8c7ed19_zps5f344dab.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
Handset clip mounting detail:
<a href="http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/?action=view¤t=63b739c828d211dbc5ac0d6a090df23b_zps8d6ef18a.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/63b739c828d211dbc5ac0d6a090df23b_zps8d6ef18a.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
I'm just using a Tram 18" mag-mount antenna. I eventually plan on building a bracket for it on my rack, but this works for now. Reception seems good - I didn't head out into the bush and try it, but I was picking up some chatter on the LADD channels as I was driving around town.
<a href="http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/?action=view¤t=dfde60795e7ba373201e4f5ee0635f2b_zpsd6344e76.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/dfde60795e7ba373201e4f5ee0635f2b_zpsd6344e76.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
As an added bonus, the lighting matches the 4Runner dashboard lighting perfectly!
<a href="http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/?action=view¤t=6e496faa7627709793e5ae854a4b9a90_zpse549b1f8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/6e496faa7627709793e5ae854a4b9a90_zpse549b1f8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
Next up, I need to FINALLY get around to installing my CB - I've had it since fall, and my Firestik has just been riding on my roof for months now.
