gen 3 tacoma iPad Dash install

Has anyone done this mod?

If so was it with an 11" iPad or 12.9" or the mini

I wanted to do my 12.9" M1 iPad Pro with 5G as my head unit.

 

That seems like such a waste of such an expensive and powerful piece of tech

what’s your plan with it? I’ve seen people try and struggle to make iPads work well for all the functions they want

 

imo, an ipad is a terrible choice for a 'head unit'. almost zero integration options, all one really does is just get a headphone out to the amps and charger input. but everything else needs to be bluetooth, like for obd2, which can be flakey at times.

 

Yeah unless you know something I don’t know, you’ll lose things like

backup cam
Steering wheel controls
All of the settings the factory unit controls (door locks, lights, etc)
Fade/balance
Factory mic
probably more I’m forgetting

 

Look into Android HU’s.

 

fade/balance could be easily added back in with a DSP, which is usually needed anyways for the eq, as tablets don't normally have much of one.

oh, and steering wheel controls got me curious.
circa 2014, carstereochick.com has an article about a $500 module to add that in on top of a idata maestro controller
https://carstereochick.com/2014/10/09/ipad-car-stereo-steering-wheel-control-solution-is-here/

i want to say there's also a way to get reverse camera integrated as well, but just like adding steering wheel controls for the cost of a head unit, it wouldn't be cheap either!

 

I installed an Ipad mini in my 2nd gen. I recommend installing a head unit hidden somewhere that you can connect the ipad to through usb. I used a mechless single din kenwood. this way you easily keep steering wheel controls and bt. Hooking up amps is easier and cleaner too. Plus the system sounds great using kenwoods dac.

 

Have you heard of this guy? He make iPad dash kits and has videos on youtube.
https://soundman.co/

 

i can't believe he's still doing it. he popped up in search results a number of times in carpc stuff back when an ipad in the dash was a more revolutionary concept back in 2009-ish--used to know a few guy's running those dash kits, and then into an audison bitone when they were one of the few dsp's on the market. been doing it a long time, his stuff is quality built.

*note, i'm not affiliated with him in any regard. but i'm about to buy a t-shirt for the novelty.