Suggestions ? iPad mini dash install - DFW

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akatreyt
10+ year member

Junior Member
So I've had an ipad mini molded in my dash by two different installers and both have done a half *** job and left me very very unsatisfied, I don't want to take it back to get fixed by either b/c I think both were in over their head. Looking for a place in the DFW area, where someone has first hand experience, that will be able to mount a ipad mini in the radio area of a 2010 Dodge charger and have it look great.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks

 
It's far from finished but, here's a test fit of a console I'm building with a Galaxy Tablet in it. I know it's not a dash install but there is a good bit of glass work in the console itself. And, the cradle and frame for the tablet is custom built with neodymium magnets and alignment pins to hold it in place while still allowing the device to be quickly and easily removed...

photobucket-9300-1379871934889_zps8542bc0c.jpg


And... I'm only ~200 miles from you. A lot of people come here from Dallas and leave all their money at the casinos... with me, you'll have something to show for your hard earned cash. :)

 
First place:

pics: it looks 1000% times better in the pics then it did in real life. This was also before the gloss paint job, so the matte black looks good here. Just as day one refernce ....

ipad_mini - Imgur

I need it to be removable so I had a talk with them on options, they said "we got this, this is what we do, don't worry". In the end they bought an iPad mini case and used bondo to attached to the front of the bezel so it stuck out which went against my idea of it looking flush and stock. Wanted matte black, swore up and down they knew how to do it, in the end they had to paint it gloss black, which looked more out of place then you'd realize. About a month later the bondo started to crack all over the bezel, which was visible through the paint. The iPad case that they bondo on top started to fall apart, just looked really really half assed after only a month of use and really became unusable b/c of stuff falling apart. On other stuff they did, I got 1 12' put in, after 3 weeks the box came apart. Took it to another shop get fixed they was told there were screws, that the box was only held together by glue. I have 1 500watt amp and my light dim, they put in a ? batcap ? lights still dim. Just a lot of back and forth with them saying what they were capable of and what they could do, but in the everything came out half assed and wrong ...... everything.

second place:

They used ???? pink stuff ????? to make a way for me to slide the iPad in and out, basically took the case off the first job and created a new one. It was more flush, but the ipad didn't set flush and was at an angle toward the driver b/c of the way the made the slider compartment. They cut off the snaps for my air vents, fiberglassed over the part you turn to change direction each vent has, then tried to cut it out and it look so effin hood it was sad. Best part about that is the vents is they had nothing to grab onto on bottom, so they turn things were actually behind the dash, my vents were suppose to be | and were \ if looking through the front doors. They made the slide part for the iPad so tight I couldn't get my iPad out most of the time and after 2 days of it being completed (After taking it back 4 times for them to "finish" for misc random crap) the lip on bottom of the ipad slide chipped off and exposed the pink I mention above. Top top two screws for the ac controller ... gone. The bottom you might ask, used wood screws and split the housing for the screws in half. You could actually tilt my ac vents 1 inch back by pressing on the top since there were no screws or nothing holding it in. I literally broke the bezel in half and threw it away it pissed me off so much.

So as you can unprofessionalism and wasted money. Either going to find someone to do it right or just go back to having a radio. So any suggestions?

 
It's far from finished but, here's a test fit of a console I'm building with a Galaxy Tablet in it. I know it's not a dash install but there is a good bit of glass work in the console itself. And, the cradle and frame for the tablet is custom built with neodymium magnets and alignment pins to hold it in place while still allowing the device to be quickly and easily removed...
photobucket-9300-1379871934889_zps8542bc0c.jpg


And... I'm only ~200 miles from you. A lot of people come here from Dallas and leave all their money at the casinos... with me, you'll have something to show for your hard earned cash. :)

Looks good, but I'd ahve to see more of a final product before I head down that way. On the amount of glasswork, I shouldn't be a lot. I'll outline my plans for it below, I have it planned out I just dont' have time to do it.

 
Looks good, but I'd ahve to see more of a final product before I head down that way. On the amount of glasswork, I shouldn't be a lot. I'll outline my plans for it below, I have it planned out I just dont' have time to do it.
I wouldn't expect you to drive and spend on one or two pics of a half finished project. When I'm done with this thing, there will be a build log and, of course, final pics and video. And you're right, what you want isn't a lot of glasswork but it is intricate glasswork and to be sure, the bondo you experienced should have been resin or kitty hair. Bondo is filler, not a foundation.

But in the long run, I would recommend going back to a head unit and building some sort of outboard housing for the tablet. Perhaps it's just because I'm near a half century old but, I just think it's a good idea to have something a bit more reliable as the preamp and source switch than a tablet. After all, if the outboard tablet crashes, you could still source music with your phone or some other mp3 device through an aux input, a cd, a USB device or... not that I would ever do this personally... FM. :)

 
My plans:

imgur: the simple image sharer

As you can see from the attached pic I kinda started on something but can't finish it. The hallow middle will have a piece of wood screwed in there. The wood piece will have a iPad mini case attached to it center (Rocketfish Mobile Hard Shell Case for Apple iPad mini RF-PDMH2C - Best Buy) . The iPad mini will snap in and out this case to make it removable. There will be a lighting cable from my DAC where I can attached / detach. I will no longer have to slide the iPad in / out because the cable will be through the wood with slack which will allow me to manually hook and unhook it. To set above the iPad I'm planning on getting a bezel formed from fiberglass that will be magnetically held on, the frame will be vinyl covered and only show the screen of the iPad to give it a more stock look. If I need to remove the iPad just take off this bezel, unsnap iPad from case, unhook cable and I'm off. The issue I ran into is there isn't enough room between the vents and ac controller, I thought there was but I was mistaken. Due to this the ac controller needs to be moved down some. I also have a Clarion EQ (Amazon.com: Clarion EQS746 1/2 DIN Graphic Equalizer with Built-in Crossover: Car Electronics) that is between my DAC and amps that needs to be inserted in the bezel below the controller.

So I already know the plan of what I want, just looking for someone to do it.

 
I wouldn't expect you to drive and spend on one or two pics of a half finished project. When I'm done with this thing, there will be a build log and, of course, final pics and video. And you're right, what you want isn't a lot of glasswork but it is intricate glasswork and to be sure, the bondo you experienced should have been resin or kitty hair. Bondo is filler, not a foundation.
But in the long run, I would recommend going back to a head unit and building some sort of outboard housing for the tablet. Perhaps it's just because I'm near a half century old but, I just think it's a good idea to have something a bit more reliable as the preamp and source switch than a tablet. After all, if the outboard tablet crashes, you could still source music with your phone or some other mp3 device through an aux input, a cd, a USB device or... not that I would ever do this personally... FM. :)

I know, I've thought about it from all directions. I just think a tablet, attached to the DAC, gives me everything I want. Radio, HQ mp3, nav, video player (for when in park of course) ... everything. Plus, I do iOS development, if there is every anything I need I can most likely build it. But thanks for your input, if I dont find anything / anybody locally I trust to do it I may give you a ring.

 
I know, I've thought about it from all directions. I just think a tablet, attached to the DAC, gives me everything I want. Radio, HQ mp3, nav, video player (for when in park of course) ... everything. Plus, I do iOS development, if there is every anything I need I can most likely build it. But thanks for your input, if I dont find anything / anybody locally I trust to do it I may give you a ring.
Well, you make sense with what you're saying. I never said being old school was logical. :)

And when I get this build done I'll have something to show you, along with several others I'm doing and if I can help you I'm happy to do so.

 
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akatreyt

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