Hijack alert!

So, what kind of head units are most people preferring?

 

Depends upon where you live. Around here only tourists lock their car doors.

That said: It's the 21st century now so that thing in the middle of the dash can be treated like it's just an amplifier, and though it might look cool if you're into that kind of thing there's really no need of a second video display in the cab if you've already got a halfway decent smartphone. Just stuff in a good phone mount and a bluetooth kit.

Being a ferdy nucker I've got my Android all tricked out for traveling and rarely have to look at the thing once it's in the holder. CarHome Ultra comes up when the truck starts and the bluetooth kit becomes available, and because I like to keep the cab as dimly lit at night as possible, an app that knows about local sunrise and sunset watches the time and at night dims the display and filters the blue light from it, too, so I don't have a glare producer pointed at my face -- I've got that app being run by an automation app that starts it when it sees both the truck's bluetooth unit and charger power, and shuts it down when either goes away. I've got another app that reads incoming text messages aloud and provides for voice dictated replies, but again only when the phone is in car dock mode. When I pull up at the gas station where I buy fuel when I'm in town, my fuel tracker app comes up automatically. Unless I'm not in the truck, so I don't see the fuel tracker if I'm a passenger in someone else's vehicle. When I pull up at the grocery store, or hardware store, or any of the other places I frequent where it might be useful, my shopping list app comes up even if I'm nowhere near my truck. All of that Google Now wizardry and horse manure is available when I talk to my truck. And so on.

All in a truck built before bluetooth was invented, and still sporting the factory radio. To each his own, of course, and live like ya wanna live, but it just doesn't seem worth the bother and expense of installing a whole new stereo just to get the goodies you're probably already carrying around in your pocket.

 

When i bought my truck it had an aftermarket cd player in it. Took that out and an put in a am/fm cassette and cd changer in. It worked well but any time you would a decent size bump/pot hole the cd player would skip. Then if you wanted to listen to another cd (it only held 10) you would have to wait for it to change. This one was a kenwood with a flip front panel so it would just look like a blank spot on the dash when it was off. Got tired of the cd changer and wanted one with a usb drive so i could play MP3's. It's also a kenwood with a removable front. It also has blue tooth but i don't use it. Mp3's are awesome, Don't skip like cd's do and you can play them for hours depending on how big the flash drive is. Both of my stereos have security codes you program in so if someone does steel it they are sol because they can't power it up with out that code. I also had an alarm until the relay module took a crap. Never no thefts.

 

I didn't really care that they took the radio and speakers, was more pissed they took the tuner which is absolutely worthless without the truck.

Kind of laughed that anyone would want a $100 radio. Only reason I got it was to play the Ipod. Who steals CD players anymore? Until I live in the middle of nowhere on 50 acres with landmines and razor wire fencing, I will put up with my dying stocker.

And no smart phone here. My phone makes calls and that's all I need. I can read an atlas, carry a briefcase, fill out a schedule, and calculate my own mileage. I also don't care what people think of me on those gossipy, narcissistic, passive aggressive, social media sites that everyone is addicted to just to feel like I have some purpose in life. My purpose comes from God Almighty. Rant over!!