Interior Dash: Mounting a Box?

TheTrueMoron · February 5, 2012

I'm going to be getting a ham radio soon and I want to build a box for it and my CB and mount it on the dash. My plan is to put it across the gauges and going over to above the radio, so I don't interfere with the airbags and vents.

My two questions:

1. Is there a way to mount it without drilling holes? Maybe some sort of hook system that latches between dash panels?

2. Will I run into any legal/GM warranty issues if I do this? I've seen radios on top of dashes before, but never an entire box. It's going to be just tall enough for the radios, so it won't affect my visibility.

TimmyG · February 5, 2012

Cant wait to see the ideas!, i have seen jeep mounts, like a huge 90 deg angle bracket that mounted to the side of the dash to mout the radio

TimmyG · February 9, 2012

Any updates?

TheTrueMoron · February 10, 2012

Not really. My radio should be in tomorrow, then I'll start figuring out how to make a box for it. I looked through my repair manual today and I think I've figured out how I'm going to mount it so now it's a matter of taking radio measurements and then going to the hardware store. Hopefully I'll have something by the end of the weekend. I'll be sure to get pics during the build, too.

TimmyG · February 10, 2012

What radios are u going to mount? I am about to order a cobra 29lx and a x force amp i think

TheTrueMoron · February 11, 2012

A Yaesu FTM-10R and a Uniden PC68XL. The Yaesu came in today, so I'm going to take measurements and hit up Lowe's/Home Depot tomorrow. The Uniden is pretty big, so I don't know it if will fit on my dash without obscuring vision especially if it has a box on it.

TheTrueMoron · February 13, 2012

Well, it was a failure. I couldn't build a full box because it was too tall and would have obscured my view. But I did end up with a mount that requires no drilling and the wires are pretty well concealed so overall I'm satisfied. The mount is also covered with a soft drawer liner that matches the interior colors well and it's non-abrasive so it's not going to scratch my dash. And the mount is well-anchored so I know it isn't going to flop around in crash or, God forbid, a rollover. I DO NOT want 15 pounds of radios flopping around in that type of event. The mount is held on with thin plates that anchor into the windshield defrost vent panel and with straps that are bolted on using factory bolts behind the radio surround. Anyway, here's a few pictures of everything:

Running the wires under the windshield defrost panel:

Hiding extra cable:

Comet SBB-5 antenna on a ProFit mount:

The radio stack from the outside (I'm thinking of covering most of the wires with the remaining drawer liner to give a "cleaner" appearance.):

The final product from the inside (note the straps running to their bolted down location behind the radio trim):

TimmyG · February 13, 2012

I like it!

TimmyG · February 13, 2012

Are u usimg the same antenna for both? And did you wire straight to the battery? Right now i am using the cig plug and dont seem to have any problems.

TheTrueMoron · February 13, 2012

Thanks! The Yaesu is wired directly to the battery for maximum performance (50watts of output). The CB I have plugged into the cigarette lighter outlet with no issues. If you look at the driver's seat view picture, you can see the wires for the CB running behind the radio surround. They come out at the bottom next to the right outlet.

I have a separate antenna for each radio. The Yaesu uses the Comet SBB-5 on the fender, and the CB is hooked into a Radio Shack magnet mount antenna that I have sitting on the right bed rail. Believe it or not, I'm able to get that cheap Radio Shack antenna tuned to a 1.05:1 SWR!

Found the Radio Shack antenna, if you're wondering: http://www.digicircl...nna&id=29602684 For some reason, they don't sell it on their website and they don't seem too keen on marketing it as one of their better antennas. I just happened to find it when I was in one of their stores.

TimmyG · February 13, 2012

I have a wilson little wil mag mount on the roof, keep kickin around the idea of a preadtor 10k on the rear bed rail

TimmyG · February 16, 2012

Can you show me how you cliped it to the vents? I unnderstand the front straps

TheTrueMoron · February 18, 2012

I just used some of those flat, straight metal pieces that are used to bolt two pieces of wood together (my woodworking language is nonexistent). I screwed them onto the main board and covered them in the shelf liner so they wouldn't scratch, and then I just put them between the vent panel and the main dash panel and clipped the vent panel back in. It's pretty much impossible to photograph with it mounted, but I tried. The first picture is of the joints bolted onto the main board with the shelf liner, the second picture is of the joint running into the vent panel, and the third one is a reflection in the windshield of them running into the vent panel.