3rd gen headunit suggestion/question

Evening everyone. I have made the choice of not upgrading my truck to the 4th gen. As a result I have decided to take the next steps with my current 3rd gen.

My next venture I am considering is upgrading the head unit. I have been tracking some threads on here but I have to admit I am a bit loss. The goal of the headunit is to increase the size of the display, increase and not lose functionality, ability to use Android audio wirelessly, great resolution, abuility to retain my front and rear camera, retain a stock look, and not compromise the unit when rocking back and forth wheeling.

All that said is there a recommendation of a unit? I have rescheduled the nex units, joying unit, and the t9.

 

I upgraded to an OEM 2022 headunit for my 2017. Retained all functionality and I got Andoid Auto/Car play. Not wireless of course but i was able to make it wireless with an Carlinkit 2air adapter. The wireless function has been pretty smooth overall. I think it depends on what features and price point. Going aftermarket you will lose some things but gain some positives such as better sound output for upgrading speakers. Are you keeping stock speakers? Do you care if you lose out on some stock features such as the oem microphone and the info screen in your dash cluster?

 

I would check out the prewired withe maestro offerings at trailgridpro. It was so easy to swap, and everything works. I went with a Sony —-6000 during the holiday sale season. They may still have some open box deals. They are super responsive and helpful if you have questions too.

 

I think i have this one https://trailgridpro.com/products/sony-xav-ax6000-plug-play-bundle-16-22-tacoma

Here is someone else’s choice https://youtu.be/wB3ffaiM5Mw

 

I am open to upgrading from the stock speakers. I don't use the infomation dash component much to be honest. Not sure i would miss it. Is there a reason I wouldn't be able to use the stock microphone?

 

Would really a flush mount unit as large as possible in the stock opening. I will keep an eye out on the site though.

 

It’s possible to keep the stock mic, which i think is in the headliner, but might need another harness/adapter type thing to be plugged in. The Sony i got came with a microphone that is easy to setup.

also, aftermarket gets more nice info like tire pressures, and other vehicle data via obd
Not sure what happens to the fancy overhead camera view if you had that tech package before though

 

I have 2019 trd offroad so nothing too fancy feature wise. I'll have to look into the adapters to retain the stock mic. I'm all about upgrading while retaining a stock feel.

 

I would write to support at trail grid with your questions about the mic and anything else. You’ll probably get a good explanation/suggestion.
I found out after swapping, that i may not be able to remove the rear camera static reverse gridlines without using an oem head unit though.

Best surprise/unexpected part of the upgrade was dynamic gridlines when in reverse though.

 

You won't necessarily need to update the stock speakers but an aftermarket headunit can open up future upgrades and needing less equipment if you decide to add an amp or sub as it will have a cleaner audio output signal.
I haven't done it myself but when i was looking into that direction it seemed more work beyond plug in play than i wanted to retain stock mic location and or the mic itself. Most seemed to install the new mic in a new location with sometimes mixed results compared to what i desired. There are a few different threads that cover some of the options in headunits and what may be needed for install.

 

I went with a 9500es and had to use the supply microphone. I bought an adapter and mounted it in the other location next to the crawl control. I am using a Maestro and have retain most of my features but I did lose some. I lost the turn-by-turn navigation, caller info, and music info that shows up in the small screen in the gauge cluster. I also lose the safety connect though I don't care about that.

I have ran into some other builds where caller info and music info were retained in the small screen but they were using Pioneer and Kenwood units. If I could do it again, I probably would've just kept my factory head unit and grabbed a Kenwood 7".

 

What do you mean you would have gotten a 7 inch kenwood? Did you feel this was not worth while?

 

When I meant 7" I meant something that was flush mounted and looks almost factory. With the 9500es because it is a floating head unit I now feel like its another reason for thefts to target my Tacoma. I have seen a few Kenwood head units able to display the backup camera and parking assist at the same time (picture in picture). With the 9500es you don't get the small things like that. Have to either choose backup camera or parking assist. Is it a deal breaker? Probably not, but I like some of the small things the Kenwood head units can do.