WOW what a PITA... After alot of cutting, grinding, drilling etc etc i got this sucker installed.... It's a double din and our trucks only fit a 1.5 din but i made it work . Not going to do a walkthrough because i'm not sure if there's much interest but if anybody has questions let me know. There is no mounting kit for our trucks yet and the wiring harness is a pain to find.. Took about 6 hours which is a record long time for me..

 

i had an avic 700bt in my f150 i sold to buy this new ram. I was gonna buy a new one (the premier 90) but as you said, they dont make kits that fit out trucks yet...

good job on the install and thanks for the pics...

did you have the steering wheel buttons, if so did you lose them after the install?

 

Bigred, great job. I took my AVIC-Z2 out of my 07.5 heavy duty and have been staring at my 09 1500 trying to figure out how to get it in. I'd love to hear what you did and who makes the harnesses. Metra? I have the mygig, but the AVIC is so much better on the interface, the nav and the size.

 

Big question is how did you trim the dash piece so well and where did you get the inserts for the side? Great job.

 

My truck doesn't have the steering wheel controls but they came out with a module that works with your controls and it's over $100. It allows the use of your premium sound. I opted for the basic stereo when i ordered my truck because of my aftermarket intentions and so my harness was $20 because i dont have a built in amp..

 

I wanted to install an AVIC but out here in Hawaii we don't get XM so no Nav....which sucks by the way..
Not sure who makes the harness but they do have them now i just had to order mine because nobody was carrying them. Also i got a chrysler antenna adapter and had to grind the end off to where the tiny coax would pair with the stock and then i soldered and superglued them together so it's one solid piece.. They don't make an antenna adapter for the truck yet.

Quick Run Through--off the top of my head

- Remove the panel underneath the steering wheel, 2 screws and it pops off
- Pop off rubber mat that says dodge above your radio on dash
- Remove two star screws from there and lift on the back while sliding towards windshield
- Remove plastic molding from around power outlet(pops off)
- Remove screw from outlet area
- Remove trim piece underneath cupholders (pops off)
- Remove screws underneath cig outlets
- Pop off dash carefully
- Remove plugs from back
- Remove stock stereo
- Shave down plastic where bottom where dbldin will rub (dremel)
- Grind off metal bracket to clear dbldin (dremel)
This is the basics and to explain the entire area around the radio down to the cupholder pops off, even though it's 2toned..

 

I trimmed the plastic around the Headunit with a dremel and sandpaper attachment. I had to cut the metal frame behind the Headunit to clear it. I used a dremel with the cutting wheel attachment. (quite scary in a new truck) I did not cut the dash cover at all and i made the side pieces out of an 07-up ram dash kit that didnt fit. I cut the top, bottom, and trimmed the sides all with a dremel to get it right. That took awhile and now that i looked at my friends 08 Aspen i think they are the exact same size. I measured her dash and then went to the stereo shop and the dash kit for an 08 aspen measures out the same as the pieces i cut so i think they might work. Wish i knew that before

 

it looks great but like you said, its scary to do in a new truck!

 

I'm glad I got the MyGig.

I've gone through all sorts of aftermarket nav's over the years and no matter the options or price, there's nothing that seems to integrate or feel quite like a quality stock system.

I WAS NOT IMPRESSED with my AVIC-Z2, and I doubt I'll buy another pioneer again without MAJOR changes... I hope you like your unit more than I liked mine.

 

I understand the feeling of stock but i'm the guy that tries to get away from stock on every toy i have. Yes the stock is nice but it doesn't provide what i will want in the future, which is a full aftermarket system, components and subs. Plus i'd rather pay the money for an aftermarket HU than what the dealer wanted for there equipment. ($1800 i think it was)

And you are correct the Z2 is trash but the Z3 is supposed to be alot better, pioneer makes good HU's and i usually would've gone for an eclipse which i'll probably be upgrading to anyway, but for $350 including the install equipment i needed it can't be beat.