Tablet Options

Good day all.
I have a new to me 2015 TRD sport.
I would like to use a tablet for GPS and audio.
Is it possible to have it monitor more such as fuel mileage or tire pressure?
Mostly Curious how much I can do with it outside of Navigation audio and movies.

Thanks

 

Nexus 7 in mine.

I run the audio through a headunit in the glovebox though. I didn’t want to deal with adding all the extras needed to run a tablet to the factory sub/amp.

Nexus 7 has a lot more support versus some other tablets. iPads are nice, but not nearly as customizable for the average person unless you’re pretty good with tech. Also unless you buy a cellular model, iPads require a standalone GPS chip whereas Android has them built in 95% of the time.

With a tablet you can do some of the following:
Movies
Music
Navigation
Internet (if using phone hotspot or on your carriers network)
Front/rear view camera
Torque for OBDII stuff (TPMS not supported I don’t think)

Running it through a HU I still have factory amp/sub in use and steering wheel controls, although I can’t switch the song to the next one with the SWC, but can when using regular radio.

All in all I’m about $180 into this setup. A lot cheaper than a Dasaita unit or CarPlay units.

 

Also, if you get a shallow mount headunit you could install it behind the tablet in the dash vs. in the glovebox. I did the glovebox because the HU I bought was a secondhand one for like $25.

 

So, you've got a Nexus 7 mounted where your radio used to mount? More info please!

 

Could you share more info on how this was done?
Seems to be exactly what I'm after.

 

Nexus 7 - $50 on Facebook Market
JVC single din stereo - $25 on FBM
JVC stereo harness - $25 (had I know the harness was gonna be so spendy I would have just bought a new HU with harness)
OTG charging cable -$7 give or take
90 degree aux cord - $5-8
90 degree micro USB charging cable - $5-8
2 pack USB cigarette socket plugs - $5-8
Scosche double din frame - $26ish
Extended antenna cable - $8
SWC/factory amp/sub module - $55-80

Once I had all that it was a matter of setting it all up. The tablet fits near perfect with slight modifications to the double din frame. Other tabs would work as well. The reason I went with Nexus is due to a large following/support on XDA Developers website and rooting/kernel support.

Part of what makes this possible is rooting and custom kernels which we will get into later.

A shallow mount HU could still fit behind where the tablet goes but I didn’t have one. A full size HU like mine doesn’t fit by pretty much the physical volumen knob. So I opted to go for the glovebox as i hardly use it anyways. The cable from where the SWC module reaches enough, could be a bit better with some sort of extended cabling though. Antenna extension was also used as without it, the antenna is a super tight fit with little to no wiggle room.

I ran the OTG cable through the glove box for a USB stick to store music on. Another USB cable/for charging. The OTG cable allows you to both charge your tablet and use USB peripherals with it such as storage devices, cameras and mouse and keyboard if you wanted.

I don’t have any cameras hooked up yet, but you can set up the tablet to where the camera would kick on automatically in Reverse as you’d tap that camera cable into the reverse light power line and run the other USB cable to your tablet.

Running multiple USB peripherals would require running a USB hub but there’s lots of info on that on the XDA forums.

Rooting/custom kernel is important/vital because it allows you to have your device turn on/off with the power of your vehicle and puts it into a deep sleep just using internal tablet battery vs. car battery when not in use.

As for leaving it in there full time with hot/cold temps, it doesn’t bother me because I looked up the specs of an iPad and they can go down to around 25 degrees F before the battery drains faster, and temps up to like 120 F. I live in Idaho and am not too concerned with it. Once the tablet gets warmer with the heater going the battery and operation gets back to normal.

For GPS, since I don’t have data on the tablet through a cellphone company or unlimited hotspot, I simply download an area map of the town (which can be a large area) and all else the internal GPS works great.

For OBDII I’m using a Bluetooth dongle and the Torque app.

I used some Velcro since that’s what I had at home to secure the tablet more. Some people have used molding clay or made brackets to make it more firm.