Batboard

I am looking for some ideas on how i should install radios and strobes/ leds in my new tacoma. I have a icom uhf,vhf radios and a vertex low band also i could use my m1250s uhf and vhf mote sure what i am going to use yet any ideas from someone that has done a tacoma would be great
ryan

I haven't seen the interior of the Tacoma '05 yet, but I have an '04 PreRunner Double Cab that I've been working on for a while. My install is still in progress, but at the moment I've a custom console sitting on top of the large cupholders in between the seats that hold my Icom UHF & VHF commercial rigs and the Syntor x9000 lowband head, with the Kenwood D700 head hanging off of a custom overhead console.

What model (standard, extra cab, double cab, auto/manual, etc) do you have? Any idea what kind of lighting/strobe loadout were you thinking of? And do any of your rigs have remote heads?

Found some pics of a '05 here http://www.edmunds.com/new/2005/toyota/ ... hotos.html and here http://www.autoweb.com/content/research ... tion/Media

Looks like there might be some storage space under the rear jump seats. There's also presumably space under the front bucket seats, and the possibility you could mount stuff on/in the overhead console.

One great resource is the Toyota TechInfo website: http://techinfo.toyota.com It's a subscription service but you can access documentation on every part of your vehicle, including how to take bits of it apart to run wiring, where terminal and fuse locations are, etc.

Feel free to PM me if you like, and I can share some tips I've learnt from my install experiences.

I just ordered a 05 access cab automatic the shifter is on the center console. I am thinking of using strobes and LED's for lights

Well, the main problem I've had with my Tacoma is just fitting it all in. If the shifter weren't on the deck, you could probably remove the entire center console and fit something there, but as it is you'll have to work around it.

Under the jump seats in the rear could be a good place to put the body of your remote head radios. I can't tell from looking at the pictures whether there'd be room behind the seats - more'n likely not.

Looks like there's some spots under the dash in front of the shifter where you could put a rig or two. You could also do like I did and make up a console to sit "over" the stock console to hold rigs.

As for the lighting, mine's pretty minimal. I have a TA in the rear of the camper shell, and a few TIR3's spread around the inside of the cab - one each facing left and right, and two facing forwards, mounted right in front of the mirror on custom brackets using bolts from the overhead map light assembly.

One thing I've found, which may not hold true on the '05 is that there are a few extra blank unused grommets thru the firewall that you could make use of to run power, etc.

As for the strobes, I don't have any experience with installing those, but the TechInfo website should have lots of information on how and where you can run the wiring, and how to get everything apart to do the install.

If you want I can take some pics of my setup to give you some ideas.

Good luck.

Well my tacoma should be here next week so at this poit i am thinking of puttin a vhf and uhf icom in the pocket infront of the cup holders. any other idea out there
Ryan