GPS Receiver/Head Unit for 2002 Tundra

[TwiceHorn 32079]

My father-in-law is looking to upgrade the head unit in his 2002 Tundra.  He wants navigation and likely would not be terribly content with Android Auto as he hates his phone (old dog new tricks).  Simpler is probably better.  He might like a CD player, but I think that's pretty much n/a these days.

I don't really know shit about car stereo, but I know enough about it to go to crutchfield.com to "get oriented."  They have units ranging from $299 to $1599.  The lower cost ones are from Boss and Dual, whom I have never heard of.  The cheap units have pretty good reviews, though.

Any pro tips on what works and what is an epic fail in this area?

TIA!

[Updawg 2385]

I’d just go with what looks good on crutchfield. Could check out some tundra forums but that is probably overthinking it for his needs.

[TwiceHorn 32079]

Yeah the Boss units look pretty good and is apparently a pretty legit lower-end brand.

One adds a reverse camera, which I get is not a big deal technologically anymore, but does perhaps present a wiring issue.

Any thoughts on whether those are a good idea?

His truck is still solid and has like 120k miles.  He's toyed with the idea of buying a new something versus updating this one and a reverse camera would be a nice update for him, I'd think.

[CooterBrown 18288]

An HD camera on a license plate frame is like $100. Probably better than Toyota’s shitty ass backing cameras they put on new vehicles.

[TwiceHorn 32079]

5 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

An HD camera on a license plate frame is like $100. Probably better than Toyota’s shitty ass backing cameras they put on new vehicles.

Yeah one of the Boss units charges 10 more for the reverse camera.  Do they come on automagically?  I see no mention of a required connection to shifter, transmission, or other spot, while the assembly guide mentions unusual connections (e.g. to the e-brake for the DVD screen to work).

[blacklab 12064]

Usually they tap into the reverse lights which is typically driven from a switch in the gear shift. The camera is always on, but the head unit switches to it when in reverse or it's selected from the menu.

I looked into it for my 97 4runner and it didn't seem hard to install. The hardest part is running the wire from the front to the back.

 

[William_Cannon 86]

An HD camera on a license plate frame is like $100. Probably better than Toyota’s shitty ass backing cameras they put on new vehicles.

This.

I did a Boyo license plate frame camera with a pioneer head unit. The camera can be adjusted up and down to get the angle you want and picture quality is really good especially at night.

[Deej 77830]

On 9/4/2020 at 9:44 PM, blacklab said:

Usually they tap into the reverse lights which is typically driven from a switch in the gear shift. The camera is always on, but the head unit switches to it when in reverse or it's selected from the menu.

I looked into it for my 97 4runner and it didn't seem hard to install. The hardest part is running the wire from the front to the back.

 

They have wireless ones, now.