Adding Digital Environmental Thermostat

What I hate about the early 1st gens is they don't come with a factory thermostat and I can't see the outside temperature.

Has anyone added one of those 12v thermostats off Amazon or eBay into their truck?
I found this image on Amazon when looking through different options, I was taken by surprise when I recognized the first gen speedo without tach. Lol.

Any recommendations, or photos?

 

"hate" is a strong word IMO

I really don't understand the need for it.
It's not like yer gonna stay inside the vehicle
until the ambient air temps improve !?

So... besides the entertainment value...
what purpose does this information serve ?

I could think of more useful gadgets to spend my coin on.

 

Maybe I just want to know what temperature it is outside? Lol?
Almost every other vehicle I've ever driven has an outside temperature gauge or display.
There has to be a reason car manufacturers put it on a majority of cars, right?

There's a lot of reasons you could use it. You don't notice how hot it is outside and you overheat your engine, or you want to avoid using extra accessories due to the outside heat.

You can adjust your clothing accordingly to the temperature, you're driving through death valley on I5 and you're wondering "Gee, I wonder how hot it is out there?", your friend asks "Whats the temperature?", you have groceries but you're wondering how long they'll last with the weather.

I can think of a million reasons as to why a thermostat is a nice thing to have.

 

I can think of a million reasons goin to your weather app on your phone would be more practical and Cheeper..... Plus more accurate


There was a reason car manufacturers put the outside air temp in vehicles


It was so that way they can charge you 1500$ extra for the rear view mirror compass and outside air temp when the mirror and electronics only cost 150$ it's just a luxury that has no need,

Personally I'd rather put money into a push button start so you can sit down and watch tv while your truck warms up,

But to each his own I mean I get people asking me all the time if a scan gauge was worth it (YES IT WAS WORTH IT)

 

Damn I'd love on those nice remote start systems. But everything on my tacoma is manual, and most of the kits out there include power locks so it might not be worth it.

 

You can find a kit from a shop without power locks, gotta find a good guy shop I wouldn't trust 9 out of 10 of the shops that install electrical stuff, worth every penny mines all manual and I've found a few shops to install the kit and no power locks or alarm , most people will tell you you can't install without alarm and locks cause they want more money,

 

I kind of want power locks, is that a thing that can be added? (And work in conjunction with a Viper system)

 

Power locks are bad, all aftermarket locks will die after a year, only go for Toyota lock mechanism that bolts into your truck? Nothing else will last, I was thinking of aftermarket Windows, but I'd rather sell my truck and get one that's fully loaded if I go that deep into my truck, I seem to roll my windows up and down a lot when my trucks off I find so power windows might not be my thing

 

...I can't think of one.
but it's your toy to do with as ya wish.
So have at it !? Lol

I guess this is the modern era of having every information detail...
but not knowing what purpose it serves or it's worth as a tool.

Kinda like how a parrot is attracted to shiny trinkets !? Lol

Tho' in a practical world...
I'd likely only need one if I were going to place a wager
and trick someone into believing I have ESP or somechit.

I have that outside temp read on my '10 Corolla...
never use it or even look at it.

Not even sure why it exists !?
I will suppose it's a selling point for some buyers.
But it serves no purpose or value for me.

It's quite likely I already knew how warm or cold it was outside
prior to entering my vehicle.
And that temp is not gonna change that much while I'm driving.

But if I had to know more...
I could always just stick my hand out the window
and feel to see if I might need change my attire ?
^ assuming I carry a wardrobe for changing conditions ?

If yer junk is overheating...
there's something mechanically wrong and needs repair.
If the temp gauge is higher then normal...
better pull over immediately and ascertain why.

Delaying that action may just be the demise of your engine.

Additional accessories will likely put a heavier load on the battery...
but would have little affect as to operational temps.

I've driven thru death valley on numerous occasions...
always know it hot out there...
Knowing the exact temp... would've made no difference.

 

I'm too attached to my truck, lol. I think I'm gonna drive it until the engine block falls out. I got it for free too so I have nothing to lose.
I was going to go to a wrecking yard or something and strip down a Tacoma or 4Runner with the power options installed. I looked at posts of people who did it and it's an actual pain in the ass. You have to adapt the wiring harness, get all the right parts, etc. It's way easier to just use a bunch of aftermarket parts are make your own wiring harness than to adapt the factory one.

 

You California guys don't get how much Mainers like the outside temp gauge. It tells you whether the drizzly sleety rain is going to freeze. It gives you an idea about the pavement as you drive into the cold shade the trees cast on a winter afternoon.

It's not whether you need mittens or not, it is whether the day that started out in the 40s has turned into one that might make black ice on the way home in the evening.

Man I hate this time of year. On a positive note, I never worry about overheating my truck.

 

Are you kiddin! The temp here in the bay dropped to 47! This is as cold as it gets here.

Lol, anyway. You're right, that's a perfectly acceptable use for the car thermostat. It's a nice thing to have. Maybe it's personal preference, but I don't understand the hate on them.

 

No need for all the hating on the outside temperature gauge. I'd like one in my cars if it were easy to do and fit nicely. It seems like the weather app on the phone doesn't have an accurate temperature a lot of times (compared to a thermometer I have outside). And if you're climbing a mountain the temps can vary quickly.

 

I installed one in my old Bronco but never found an ideal location for the probe, one that wasn't affected by other factors such as wind chill, engine heat, etc.

The best place I found was inside the front wheel well on the backside of the leading curve.

 

I have one. But it measures my a.c. temps

 

Wind chill only affects warm bodies. I doesn't change a thermometer reading that's already at the current air temperature. You actually want the wind to hit it so it stays precisely at the outside temperature.

 

I decided I don't want to hack up my dash, since I wanted to ditch my garage opener I'm just going to pick up a Gentex mirror that has a compass/outside temperature/HomeLink/Auto-Dim.
4 birds with one stone, plus it'll look a helluva lot better.

They come standard in newer 3rd gens, here's a pic:

 

I guess I'm old school. It's either hot or cold, and I usually get that without a thermometer. Sure they are nice to have. My wife's vehicle always has one since she drives the nice one. Kinda cool to see how hot or how cold when driving it. Still though, I've never missed having it in my own vehicle. If it's hot, it's hot, and if it's cold it's cold.

 

This seems like the cleanest option IMO. My only worry is that it'll shake and vibrate.

 

Check this out (for $12.95 plus shipping):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Digital...C-12V-58F-230F-/121041994409?var=420111607317

I bought and installed mine in January of 2014. I mounted it on a plastic cover I made that I installed to cover the blank box below the radio/AC. It is out of the way and does not distract me as I drive.

I routed the probe through the firewall and up to and behind the vertical U-shaped support between the grill and the radiator. Took me about an hour to install the display and the sensor, and it works fine. All wiring is hidden and the display turns off when I turn the key to remove it.

I look at it frequently and it does not vibrate. When I turn the engine off the temperature rises 10 to 20 degrees over 10 minutes, but when I start driving again it drops back down.

Go for it. It's cheap and I think you'll find it useful.