GMRS / 2WAY RADIOS -INSTALLS

[Sixshooter]

Yes but I would lay it out to get an idea of cable lengths since you won’t be laying it out like they have in the kit. The 696 and radio have to be wired together with a connector kit. I believe they make an enclosure that is for a jeep that mounts both overhead.

 

[cek]

This is the overhead mount I was thinking.

Assault Industries Communications Roof Mount (Universal)

Description The Assault Industries communications roof mount was designed to help make space in the cabin. As dashes get more compact and dash mountable accessories become more plentiful, it will be important to have some place for communications hardware. The roof mount was designed around...

assaultind.com

 

[JTBarlow]

So yeah, I have coms and radio… but we did ours before Rugged had a solution for the Xpeditions. Also mine and my brother’s Xpeditions are Ultimates, so I cut out the bottom row of switches and the pocket where the hvac controls would be, and built my own mounting plate.

The PTT buttons were strapped, one to the steering wheel and one to the passenger grab handle, but the steering wheel pinched the cable, so I robbed the passenger one and now have it run to the shifter instead

Rugged has a couple different options now. The regular 696+ would work with the Assault tray cek just posted, where the Coms unit itself is mounted directly with the radio. Or they have the 696+ Rocker, where the coms unit is mounted under the hood or dash and has a remote head that fits a rocker switch slot. With both units, the headsets and PTT buttons run from the main coms unit, so its location may matter in where you mount it. It’s basically a question of if the cables can reach, and if they can be fished up the A-pillar, if that’s how you want to run it.

I do think the Rugged Mounting solution like cek pictured is the cleanest and simplest, and using the 696+ Rocker.

If you need more switches than you have space for afterwards, I’d recommend a switch panel. There’s options for different budgets from Switch Works to GG Lighting to Auxbeam off Amazon.

 

[JTBarlow]

Also. The last 2 Xpeditions I installed Rugged in, we only did the Radio… No Coms. With all the sound dampening and insulation, and with them being Northstars, the owners didn’t want headsets. So there’s a remote speaker, mounted behind the Rearview mirror and they just use the mic included with the radio.

 

[JTBarlow]

 

[Sixshooter]

Great info, thank you