Installing an amateur radio in a 2000 Nissan Xterra

In April of 2003, my Xterra lease came due, and I decided to buy it out and install my amateur radio equipment in it permanently. The loan terms were reasonable, and I was able to save enough from my down payment allowance to buy a Kenwood TM-D700A. The radio came highly recommended, and I've been wanting to get into APRS for years.

Radio Mounting Location

Installing a radio in the Xterra is somewhat problematic, I'm afraid. I tend to throw a lot of junk in the back, so I didn't want to just install it in the rear cargo area where it an the cabling would be exposed. Being a somewhat compact SUV, there's no other obvious open area, there's no other obvious area there the radio can be mounted. Accessing the dashboard is tricky without an expensive service manual, so I didn't want to try there. After removing the interior trim panels, I found that they are backed by solid sheet metal, so that's a no-go. The only remaining place turns out to be under the passenger side front seat. However, even this is tricky, because the bottom of the seat is so low that the supplied mounting bracket is too tall.

After examining the area under the seat, I decided to mount the radio sideways with the various cable connectors facing the passenger side doors. There is hump in the floor under the seat, and with the radio mounted facing forward or back, the holes don't hit the top of the hump. Also, this way, nobody will be able to kick the connectors and I'll still be able to reach them from under the seat through the passenger side door.

I ditched the supplied bracket and sheet metal screws and used instead four 1" angle irons and #10 1-1/4" self-tapping sheet metal screws. The pre-drilled holes on the angle irons matched the height of the screw holes on the radio such that the radio is held snug on the floor, and the 1-1/4 screws are long enough to reach the body of the truck through the padding under the carpet.

Control Head Considerations

Another problem is that there is nowhere to convenient to mount the control head. The radio comes with a control head mount that does not work in an Xterra, and there are no 3rd party mounts I'm aware of. The D700A control head is explicitly designed to be remotely mounted, an cannot be mounted to the radio without an optional kit.

Power cable routing

Antenna cable routing

I have a Diamond hatchback antenna mount. I'm going to mount the antenna on the right side of the hatch, run the cable down the right side of the hatch all the way to the bottom then inside. This way the weather strip won't wear out and let water in the truck. The cable will run along the right bottom inside edge of the truck all the way to the radio.

Control head and data cable routing

Hardware needed

Tools needed

Procedure

Cautions

Note: There are cable runs underneath the carpeting. Be sure you know where the cable runs are located before you start drilling or cutting. The cable layout in your truck may differ from that shown in my photos.

Step 1. Get a ziploc bag

Get a ziploc bag and use it to store all your parts. You won't need to individually label the screws, there aren't enough of them and you won't get them mixed up.

Step 2. Removing the seats

Both the driver side and passenger side seats are held in place by four bolts. The driver side seat has a seat belt switch wire, the connector for which is fastened to the bottom of the seat. The connector has a latch that releases by squeezing with your fingers.

Step 3. Remove the center console

The center console is held in place by 4 hex bolts. Unscrew these and the console lifts out easily. With the seats and console out, your truck should look like the linked photo. The rod under the center console is connected to the shift lever, and the boxes appear to be part of the airbag sensor system. So be careful!

Step 4. Vacuum

Well, as long as you are here...

Step 5. Remove the front passenger side carpet trim panel

This piece is held in place by 5 screws in expansion sockets inserted in the trim piece. If you put any pressure on the screws, they slip back in the sockets. So, unscrew the screws without putting any pressure on them. Once you get them partially unscrewed, put a fingernail under the screw head to keep it from slipping back. The screws do come out, so be sure to put them in your ziploc bag.

Step 6. Remove the rear passenger side carpet trim panel

Same as step 4, but only 3 screws.

Step 7. Remove the center post trim panel

Step 8. Remove the rear passenger door trim piece

Step 9. Remove the rear cargo compartment trim panel

Misc photos