TruckHacks - Interior Hacks

This area is for the really small interior stuff that I didn't really want to call a hack. i.e. where my XM radio sits, the DVD player, iPOD etc.

Here is how I mounted my iPOD Nano using the cell phone type mount. This works very well for the Nano but probably not so great for the bigger iPOD models. With it located here, I can very easily read the screen and the type of FM transmitter I have allows me to charge it with a mini-USB to 12v cigarette plug cable that I run from the inside of the center console.

Here's where I mounted my XM Radio with the wires running down the inside of the 'A' pillar. The only downside to mounting in this location is when you put the visor down, you can't read the display. Other than that, I really love having it there. It's out of direct sight, but a quick snap up of the eyes and I can read the display. On the dash, you can see the cradle for my Garmin 60CS GPS unit, and up against the window you can see the GPS external antenna and the XM radio antenna. I ran power (bottom right pic) from the center console up through the dash to where it connects to a splitter next to the 'A' pillar. You can also just see part of the chrome fire extinguisher on the other side of the tranny hump. The 12v recepticle here is one of the "always-on" ones, so the plug I bought that goes in there has a switch to turn it on and off.

I bought a chrome 10" fire extinguisher off e-Bay for $10.00. It mounts perfectly and out of the way on the passenger side of the tranny hump. I used short self-tapping screws to mount the bracket. And yes... I did check for clearance on the underside before I drilled. <grin>. Also I mounted it "upside-down" so that the activation lever would be towards the center of the truck and not sticking out for someone's leg or other object to hit.

If you've got young kids and do lots of road trips, you have got to get a portable DVD player to strap in. Yes, you can buy the headrest or ceiling mounted types, but being able to take the portables on a plane, someone else's car, or wherever is worth the hassle of strapping it in. This is a piece of cake where I mounted it on the center console. I don't even have to unstrap the strap. I just open the DVD player and slide it out. I also set the straps so that the DVD player would mount where it wouldn't be up against the driver's or passeneger's elbow when open.