Upgrading radio/nav/bluetooth 2001 SLT

[rootmanslim]

My truck is a 2001 SLT extended cab with 108,000 miles.
It's in great shape and has many mechanical upgrades.
It also has the typical cracked dash, single CD player that works sometimes, tape player, and AM/FM radio.

Also own a 2019 Pacifica with the best Nav/Stereo/bluetooth. etc etc.

Would love to upgrade my truck to something like that.

Looking for experience/suggestions.

Thanks !

 

[DBCooper]

I needed to do a few things to keep my truck relevant and the electronics were top of the list. I put a Kenwood DMX1037 in a while ago. Really like it. There are a couple of very similar units and vary in price by several hundred dollars. Install wasn't that bad at all. Wireless car play is convenient when on the road. Alpine and Kenwood are the same company and offer very similar floating screen units, but the Kenwood unit has a volume button that the Alpine does not.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-cdBDW...86_USPDUyaNSvmJfD-XBUJKnx6V6Mw64aAoXMEALw_wcB

 

[KeggerTx]

I'm at the same place you are rootman. I want to upgrade my stereo, but I don't want to cut up the interior support of the dash. So I've been looking at all of the single DIN, floating screen stereos on Crutchfield and just cant decide which one I want to pull the trigger on. As said above, the price swing is like $1000 from bottom of the line to top of the line. You can get a BOSS setup with a backup camera for about $200 or you can go Alpine head unit for like $1200 with a couple other options in between.

The important thing to me, in my 02, is to leave the inner dash intact and not cut it up. I have a unicorn where the dash is in perfect shape and I don't want to take any chances on messing it up.

Every time I think I'm about to pull the trigger, I decide I can still live with the stock unit. I did upgrade the speakers to JL Audio. Just put them in so they aren't really broken in yet, but the jury is still out on them. Wondering if a new head unit would make them that much better or not.

 

[Ozymandias]

Pretty simple, you get what you pay for in Car electronics, some can live with the cheap stuff, some not.

I can't so I had to buy brand names all the time except once and it was a waste of money. You can't go wrong with Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer. Don't trust the big old German brand names like Philips, Bosch, Blaupunkt, Grundig and so on, as they have been sold to China hands and exists only as a brand, nothing German in it anymore.

 

[KeggerTx]

I see that Blaupunkt unit on Crutchfield and it cracks me up. Exactly the same as it was 30 years ago when I was in high school.....damn....30 years ago....

I'm probably going to go with one of the Alpine units. Kenwood if they have one that is single DIN with the floating screen.

I have a Boss unit in my Jeep and not real pleased with it. It does the job for trail riding in a Jeep, but I want more for the Dodge.

Thinking I may just try to add a sub to the stock system too. That would round out the system nicely.

 

[Ozymandias]

Alpine is still a great product, I think you can't go wrong with it.

 

[DBCooper]

I agree. The Alpine Halo series unit are floating screen with most if not all of the features of the Kenwood pictured above. The Alpine unit is also single DIN, a plus for some. The biggest reason I went with Kenwood was it has a physical volume knob (they now sell one separately that is Bluetooth connected), and I had read that some of the single DIN large floating screen units were not as solid feeling as the double DIN.

By the way, I was mistaken above when I said Alpine and Kenwood were the same company, they are not and I retract that statement. I should have verified that before posting.

Crutchfield is great to work with, and will build you a custom harness for your vehicle for only a couple of bucks. They also have great tech support, and will answer any questions you may have before the purchase.

The updated system brings the truck into the modern era at least electronically and is one of the best updates I've done.

I added a backup camera built into the tailgate handle, which makes things much safer when backing up.

 

[KeggerTx]

Where did you get the tailgate handle with the backup camera? 2nd gen? I haven’t found one yet. Been thinking I’d have to go with the license plate frame.

the backup camera is the main reason I’m wanting to upgrade really. Don’t realize how much you come to use it until it’s gone!

 

[DBCooper]

Mine is a 3rd gen, but it looks like there are several options for 2nd gen trucks. One example is below.

https://tailgatecamera.com/products/1994-2001-dodge-ram-tailgate-handle-bezel-with-backup-camera

 

[KeggerTx]

Freaking. Awesome! Thank you DB!

 

[Walker111]

I went with a bluetooth enable factory radio in my 2nd gen, I think I paid 150 bucks. Well worth it, I love it.

https://1factoryradio.com/