I want to replace my old stock cassette stereo with a new 3rd party cheap CD player. I have a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500. It is not an Infinity system. What besides the new stereo will I need? Will the wiring harness be differant?

 

Yep. But, check out crutchfield for adapter harnesses. They can make almost any head unit plug and play.

 

They sell the kits at walmart and such.

Get a wiring harness adapter and a Stereo Install Kit. Shouldn't be much more than $20. Be sure to get the right one for your truck. They make 2 kits for the '98 model, but only one will actually fit.

 

I recommend the kenwood deck with the usb and aux jack on the front. Have one in my S10 and love it...can listen to normal radio, or charge my mp3 player off the deck. it has mp3 player capability, reads flash drives with mp3's on them, also has ipod control... You can also use the AUX jack for plugging your smartphone in to listen to internet radio with apps like tunein. (I listen to the Tom Leykis show all the time with the smart phone and aux jack)

 

I recommend Alpine Headunits and speakers. But they are nowhere near cheap unless you have connections

Wiring harnesses are a must, and greatly simplify things

 

+2. IMO Alpine is the way to go. You can get some good reasonably priced (not cheap) ones as well. If you buy it from Crutchfield they will give you the wiring harness adapter and installation kit you need. If you buy it elsewhere, you need to buy the harness and adapter kit. You can cut the factory plug off, and direct wire it, without using the adapter, but as cheap as they are I see no reason to do that.

 

Well I got some of the more expensive ones because I have connections!

But I had the infinity system so I wound up just running new wires rather then fooling with that mess of a setup

But I love my speakers so much. Don't have an amp but they will take a fairly large

 

Crutchfield is the only way to go. After 20 or so years of putting stereos in vehicles, there's nothing like having a stereo that you know will fit, and having the wiring harness you know will work.

 

Ebay sells the mounting kit with wiring harness adapter for less then 10 bucks. No cutting wires needed. Easy peesy.

 

crutchfield is convenient but they dont "give" anything away.... you pay for the install kit with the higher marked up price.... thats part of the convenience fee...