TriSum

So, first off truck is 2018 regular cab XL with the base radio. Looking to upgrade to a HU that allows me to run Android Auto with Waze and Pandora mainly. The gentleman told me the dash kit to allow all of the factory buttons to work, (steering wheel and A/C) is $445.00.

Is there only one option for the XL? He also said Pioneer and Kenwood lost their licensing for Waze and you have to either run wireless Android Auto or a mirroring HU for Waze to work. ???

Any truth to what he is saying? Any other recommendations for dash kit and HU?

Thanks, David

techjag

Price is a bit high... but it'll take a dash kit by iDatalink or PAC to do the install. Plus the module to get the controls working; all in will run 200-300 depending where you source them.

TriSum

Does one "look" better than the other or are they all pretty much the same? The iDatalink is around $165 which is MUCH cheaper then $450.

techjag

the dash kits look really similar, my personal opinion is that I like the iDatalink FTR1 kit better. I went back and looked... I paid $144.62 for that.

The control solution I used was the iDatalink Maestro RR (ADS-MRR). If you get a head unit that has the iDatalink serial interface it lets you use a ton of the factory controls as is and gives you some gauges and other data you can display on the head unit. It even can read and clear check engine codes. I paid $127.60 for this.

You also need an antenna adapter for after market radios, I got the Metra 40-EU10. It was $12.

I went with a middle of the road head unit that had all the options I wanted... Carplay was my biggest driver. I got the Pioneer DMH-1500NEX. it was 379.99.

All in I spent about $670-700 for the entire thing, but I did everything myself. The extra 20 or 30 was spent on Tesa tape and various other misc things to make the install neat and tidy.