2003 Dodge Ram CarPC with 15" In-dash LCD

sgf323 · 05-07-2005, 08:13 PM

Computer:
P4 2.8/Gigabyte mobo
1024mb DDR
80gb SATA
CDRW/DVD
Geforce 5200
Avermedia M150 FM/TV Tuner
Trendnet Wireless G
Windows XP Media Center 2005

Audio:
MTX 2 channel amp
Bypassed factory infinity amp
Factory infinity speakers (fronts/tweeters)
Rear speakers not connected

Fabricated 15" LCD in dash and moved AC controls to overhead console to replace sunglass holder. PC is in center console. Uses custom circuit to control auto shutdown when keys are removed from ignition.

Still looking for a power/volume button though and a place to mount the IR for the remote. Mini keyboard is on its way. Considering an add-on touch screen module.

Here's a stock before picture I found on the net

Here's the final product

The seat isn't on in this last picture but it all still fits like factory.

Cris · 05-07-2005, 08:23 PM

Wow, lookin awesome. How on earth did you manage to move the HVAC controls up there? I guess you didn't have wires behind the original controls...Unbelieveable ideea!!!

sgf323 · 05-07-2005, 08:28 PM

Luckily the AC controls in the Dodge Trucks are purely electronic, no cables. All we had to do was lengthen the 30-some wires about 12 feet each to reach up there! It wasn't difficult but it was fairly time consuming. Everything was soldered for a nice long-lasting mod

This next week if I get a chance I'll see if I can take a photo of our friend's stock Ram to show how much the over head console changed. It's difficult to picture looking at that.

We took the rounded dash bezel and trimmed it to re-use up top. It worked out very well.

Question · 05-07-2005, 08:32 PM

Dear lord that's pimp.

I've been thinking about where to relocate my a/c controls, and I am planning on putting in an overhead console anyway, so this might just work for me too. Do you have any other photos from when you were making it?

Edit: Oh yeah, I had thought of this, but my a/c controls are bigger than my overhead console..oh well.

Cris · 05-07-2005, 08:32 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by sgf323

Luckily the AC controls in the Dodge Trucks are purely electronic, no cables. All we had to do was lengthen the 30-some wires about 12 feet each to reach up there! It wasn't difficult but it was fairly time consuming. Everything was soldered for a nice long-lasting mod

This next week if I get a chance I'll see if I can take a photo of our friend's stock Ram to show how much the over head console changed. It's difficult to picture looking at that.

We took the rounded dash bezel and trimmed it to re-use up top. It worked out very well.

Very well indeed, it look stock! The fabrication on the screen is also excellent. Do you have any pics during the fab?

Cris · 05-07-2005, 08:34 PM

Why didn't you mount the CD drive in dash too?

sgf323 · 05-07-2005, 11:58 PM

We wanted to mount a 3.5" interal USB/Firewire/Media Card Reader in the dash too but there just isn't room with everything else going on. Below the screen and behind the panel are brackets that couldn't be removed. That is why the DVD isn't there. We had toyed with the idea of a hinged screen but decided against it.

sgf323 · 05-08-2005, 12:05 AM

In case anyone is interested here's the schematic of the auto-shutdown controller I made.

aoLhaTer · 05-08-2005, 12:33 AM

Thats out of this world man; awesome
Our puny 7 inches cant even begin compare!

4DoorGTZ · 05-08-2005, 01:40 AM

Any heat issues with the comp in the seat or is there some kinda venting that we cant see when the seat is on it? Or are my eyes wrong and is that actually under the seat?

sgf323 · 05-08-2005, 02:06 AM

Originally under the center seat was a storage box. We removed it and there is plenty of space on the sides for air to come in. We don't think there will be heat issues but I guess we'll find out this summer. If there are then we'll end up putting some small low-noise fans in to help move air through underneath the seat.

MP3Dodge · 05-08-2005, 05:27 PM

Well, so far no heat issues at all. I took the truck on a roadtrip to Denver, about 8 hours away. Everything worked pretty good. The foam we placed around the DVD drive seems to have worked, because we went over some pretty bad roads and the DVD's played flawlessly with no skips. A few more mods, like an in-line volume knob is needed, but it looks so sweet!

xdjxklusivex · 05-08-2005, 05:40 PM

****KKKKKKKKKKKK THAT LOOKS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! major props!!!

volvo9 · 05-08-2005, 07:40 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by xdjxklusivex

****KKKKKKKKKKKK THAT LOOKS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! major props!!!

I 2nd that! That's a sick install. I thought the huge screen was going to look retarded, but this is one *****in install!

Great work on the HVAC controlls also, looks factory.

sgf323 · 05-08-2005, 08:40 PM

I think the next step will be a volume control and integrating GPS into this.

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