3rd Gen, Post up your cell phone mounts!

The scosche mount is nice but again it is a "universal" mount as ours is direct fit, designed, engineered and tested for the Tacoma. Please take another look: https://coursemotorsports.com/colle...olet-gmc-1500-direct-fit-magnetic-phone-mount

Cheers!

 

And it won't leave residue on your dash like the stick ons.

 

It’s also 4x the price

Residue is not an issue with a dab of goo gone

 

Definitely, but I've also seen the paint peel right of the bezel before as well. But if you're going to put something back in it's place to cover up, then that works.

 

Correct! No residue at all as ours bolt in and do not stick on!

 

Where did you plug the wire into?

 

Hondo Garage Unholy mount and a Ram X grip.

 

Does anyone know of a solution that mounts on the left side of the drivers view? All this stuff that mounts on the right covers up multifunction screen/HVAC controls/etc.

 

Hondo’s Garage mount can be attached to any vent. Awesome product.

 

That should have be obvious to me. I do have some reservations about hanging a cell phone off of a 3" arm, being supported by the vent ring which is plastic and never intended to support any weight bouncing on an arm, though.

I assume under the drivers side A-pillar cover is all airbag stuff and no fastener holes that can be safely used for a mount but I have never seen under the cover. Has anyone inspected that area?

 

I like the Hondo's Garage mount so much I added a second one.

 

I did not eliminate the original USB, I just left it behind the dashboard with the wire plugged in and just added a new USB for other things. Doing that I don't have to have wires going up in the front.

 

How did you tie into the existing power?

 

Just a regular splice to the original USB outlet

 

Are there any phone mounts that utilize the empty switch knock-outs?

 

I'm sold on Course Motorsports phone mount. Personally it's exactly what I had been looking for from seeing other styles and brands.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...en-tacoma-direct-fit-cell-phone-mount.692179/

 

After a few weeks of owning a 2016 Tacoma I have not been able to find any phone mounts that I am satisfied with the location/obstruction of things and/or the mounting mechanism. The mounts that go on the vent trim ring were a possibility, but not without compromise. After owning a 2nd gen and having the A-pillar grab handle Ram ball mount that had no downsides IMO, I decided to see if that was possible on a 3rd gen. When I saw the KTJO 4x4 grab handle parts on another thread I knew it would be easy to do so I dove in.

Things you will need (specific hardware needed may change based on mount used and exact configuration):

Ram mount kit (or whatever type of bolt on mount you prefer)
M6x1.0 - 2" fastener (I used a philips pan head style)
M6x1.0 Threaded insert/Rivnut/etc
Threaded insert puller/setting tool
Drill-bit for your insert hole size (factory hole size is very close to 21/64", just a couple thousandths larger)
Pilot hole drill-bit - depending on your hole cutting method
10mm socket (duh!) & ratchet handle
Hole cutting tool - I used rotabroach hole cutters for sheet metal. They cut the shit out of plastic!
Tools for installing whatever fastener you choose to mount with
Grommet (optional)
Drill
Razor blade or narrow chisel (not pictured)
Thin plastic pry tool (I used a guitar pick like tool for cell phone disassembly - not pictured)



On the drivers side A-pillar near the top, remove the "SRS AIRBAG" badge covering the fastener by inserting the corner of a thin plastic pry tool into the seam and gently pry out. It takes very little force and hinges on the forward side of the hole so pry on the aft side.

Once removed you will see the fastener holding the trim panel onto the A-pillar. Use a 10mm socket to remove the fastener w/ washer and the hat washer under it. After that is removed, pull the trim panel inward toward the center of the truck (away from the door/pillar) and lift up and aft. Mine came out very easily.

Once you have that removed you will see the side curtain airbag assembly and some wiring. There is no need to touch or adjust any of this stuff and I recommend that it stay undisturbed since it is a critical safety device.

The upper mounting boss, where the factory A-pillar cover fastener was joined, has a threaded nut fastened to it, but the lower mounting boss is just a clean hole with nothing in it. This is where you will mount a threaded fastener to accept the bolt/screw used to attach the Ram Mount ball. It was slightly small for the threaded insert I had, so I used an 11/32" drill to open it up slightly. Be careful to not allow the drill to pull through and run the tip of the drill-bit into the A-Pillar sheet metal or anything else. Once the hole is sufficient for the threaded fastener of choice, install that securely. I used a stainless M6x1.0 threaded insert installed with a common insert puller. Once that is installed, you should have an A-Pillar that looks like below.




On the A-pillar trim panel there is a plastic push-on type stud that supports the panel by interfacing with the empty hole that now has a threaded insert in it, so it is of no use and needs to get out of the way. The nice part about that is that it gives you a precise location to make the hole needed to access that newly installed threaded insert. I popped the plastic fastener out by hand, sliced the plastic rib under if off with a razor blade and made a small pilot hole directly centered under where the plastic push-on fastener was mounted.






Once the pilot hole is made you can flip the trim panel over and use that as your location for your hole cutter. I used a rotabroach 5/8" hole cutter and it cut a perfectly clean, no burrs hole. One thing that may not be important, but is still a good idea, is to align the angle/direction of your hole cutting tool to match the factory fastener hole toward the top. Only go through the outer surface of the trim panel and do not cut off the boss that was used to hold the plastic push-on fastener. That surface locates the trim panel and acts as a standoff so that it fits up against the A-pillar uniformly. If you cut that off/out you may have a loose/floppy part of the trim panel near the center span of the A-pillar. Or it might not make any difference, not really sure.



Once that is done, do any hole cleanup necessary and insert a grommet or whatever you want to cover the hole edge if desired. I just used a standard hardware store grommet 3/8"IDx5/8"OD. The trim panel plastic is pretty thick in that area so it may take some massaging to get the grommet to accept the plastic edges into its groove.




Install the trim panel with grommet back onto the A-pillar, loosely install the factory hat washer and bolt in the upper hole location, insert your Ram mount ball into the grommet and your threaded fastener into the newly installed threaded insert and tighten securely. Keep in mind that there is a plastic surface being pinched between the Ram mount ball base and the threaded insert so don't tighten it so much that it splits or cracks that plastic. Once that is tight, finish securing the factory fastener. It is supported by the steel hat washer so you can tighten that one up pretty good without crushing any plastic. Snap the "SRS AIRBAG" badge back on to cover that fastener.



Install the rest of the Ram mount stuff and enjoy!

 

What are the ram mount parts you used to do that pillar mount? I looked on the website but there’s a ton of different options. I want to do this on my wife’s 2020 and want to get it right the first time lol

 

Ram Universal device mount -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PUIXWZW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_CD4gu1jFYQIpd

Ram 1" ball -

$14 RAM Mounts RAM-B-367U Motorcycle Handlebar Clamp Base with M8 Bolts with B Size 1" Ball

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005J43I56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_BaBSFbMNS3AFQ

Ram 3" arm -

$20 RAM Mounts RAM-B-201U Double Socket Arm (Medium) Compatible with RAM B Size 1" Ball Components

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UGZTQO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_bcBSFbGWK5XMC

For the ball that mounts to the pillar, you will either have to use a different threaded insert in the pillar bracket to accept the M8 bolt that the ram mount ball comes with or get an M6 fastener of the correct length and use that instead. I did the latter, fastener size in my post.

 

Awesome! Thanks you!