Phoenix Gold Phorum

Hey guys, I have a newer Nissan Xterra and am planning to mount a fold down monitor where the middle dome light is so the passengers in the back seat can watch movies, do any of you awesome guys know any good linkys for how-to's and the such? it's my first fold down monitor and I know that it's just bolts & screws, but there aren't any crossmembers to mount the whole plate to that the unit screws to. I just need some clever/innovative ideas, any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!

I appreciate it, but I meant a fold down screen, for the back seat passengers.

Sorry, I read through it pretty quick. brenz is the install guru, maybe he can chime in.

Duct tape. Lotsa duct tape.

HoseHead wrote:Duct tape. Lotsa duct tape.

no hot glue, damn

I haven't worked on an Xterra specifically, but as long as it's nt a power sunroof or glass roof, this has worked in every OH that I ahve installed:

Like you want to do, I generally replace the dome light, as long as teh area is flat enough around it to do so.
I remove the dome light and in 99% of vehicles I have worked on, you will be able to see the metal roof and in about 90% of cases there is a roof support directly above the dome light, many of which the dome light itself attaches to.
This brace is ideal to attach the plate that comes with 99% of OHs comes with. If your OH doesn't have a plate you should make one. I've used 1/4" Masonite in some cases.
I will then measure and re-measure, measure some more, and just when I think I have, I measure 3 more times, to make sure the opening I am about to cut is square to teh vehcile and centered.
The opening I cut is usually large enough to pass the plate straight through. In the one I did today, in an FJ Cruiser, teh plate was much longer than the OH was, so I a cut a hole larger enough to pass it in width wise, and slide all the way in, to get it above the head liner and then slide it back to place the OH to plate screw holes in teh proper location.

I find this technique of cutting a large hole works best, because you can attach the plate easily to the roof braces and when you tighten the OH to the plate, it will push the headliner up, minimizing and eliminating any gaps, between the OH and the headliner, for a nice fit and finish.

At this point I usually perform a test fit, without cables to make sure everything is fitting just the way I want and also scope out the cable fitment in the area of the OH, I always find a wire path before I do ANY cutting.

If there are any fitment issues, I will trim more of the headliner out. There was one unit that I installed a couple months ago, where the "top" surface (against the headliner) was not flat, and had some of the electronics above the headliner plane. It came with a "toilet bowl" (Trim to fit plastic ring), but decided that to use it would take more time and spacers from the brace to make work, so I carefeully measured and marked teh shape onto teh head liner, there were a couple areas that needed to be pretty exact, because the difference between where the opening had to be and the edge of the OH was less than a 1/4", so many test fits were done for this one. End result was an OH that looked like the factory installed it, because of the fit between the OH and the head liner.

At this point you should have what looks like a finished OH install, but you have no power or cables to teh OH, so you need to take it back down, and run your cables. I generally use a fish (an old antenna works wonders here), tape all of the needed cables to the end and from the edge of the headliner, after removing trin, and anythn =g retaining the headliner in the area push the cables from the edge to the hole you made earlier. I also tend to do a dry run of gettng the fish to the hole to see if there are any objects in the way, releasing more tension on the headliner can get you past any of that.
Also, use other opening that existing and wire pathes. There have been a couple times I have ran the cables stright forward to the over head display/console, because it was easier than running to teh side, and then along the top of the windsheild above the headliner, down the A-pillar and to the back of the radio, where I usually use for power. The Dome trigger can be found right at the dome light wiring. There have even been a few cars that I have used the dome light wiring to power the OH, But I recommend using the radio power wiring as it is usually stronger, and has the switched wire (in most vehicles), where as the dome wiring does not.

The rest should be pretty straight forward as far as wiring goes.

Sorry I don't have any pictures to illistrate this, at least not online. I'll try and get some soon though.

no hot glue, damn

Why not just run some sheetmetal screws through the roof?

I really really appreciate your help, and pics would be invaluable. I have the gist of what you're talking about, and yes, my dome light has a support that's welded to the sheet metal of the roof, but I have a 15" monitor and it's gonna need at least 4 bolts holding it up, I can get two in the dome light support bracket, but it'll need something else toward the front of the car...

dragonplayboy wrote:I really really appreciate your help, and pics would be invaluable. I have the gist of what you're talking about, and yes, my dome light has a support that's welded to the sheet metal of the roof, but I have a 15" monitor and it's gonna need at least 4 bolts holding it up, I can get two in the dome light support bracket, but it'll need something else toward the front of the car...

That's part of the reason why you cut the hole in the headliner, so you can attach enough screws to the roof support. You'd be surprised at how much support even just one screw can provide.
If you really need to, you can remove the entire headliner and add some 1/4 masonite between the roof supprt at the dome light and a support forward of that.

Is there anyway you can center the roof supprt on the monitor?

This may sound odd, but the part of the OH that is on the opposite side of the roof supprt will also help keep it level, when it's all tightend up. Think of pivot points and fulcrums.

I forgot to mention, make sure your screws are just long enough to go trhough your plate and into the roof supprt, having the screws come through the roof is never a good thing.

you make a mounting plate that will attach to the support that is already there and then in turn the monitor will attach directly to the mount that you fabed up.

fordtough1 wrote:

no hot glue, damn

Why not just run some sheetmetal screws through the roof?

with hot glue to hold it up right

Yeah, and duct tape to seal the holes

Retards.

Thanks for the great advice 444, and welcome to the Phorum!

i know where your problem lies since i mounted a clarion 15 inch
in an exterra,,
first is teh part where the headliner swoops up toward teh back

i simply made the screen sit where i wanted and yes some of it sat over the swoop so it had a big gap, there is some stuff to secure teh screen to
underneath the headliner.

i then traced the front of the screen and then made a spacer that taperd to fit inbetween the headliner and screen..

sorry i dont have any pics since i was working parttime at a store 2 years back and they didnt have any cameras.

i tell ya what thought i owned teh store owwenr and head installer on that one.

the lady asked specificaly for me...(i helped her before a long time ago)

i again am sorry for no pics.

aloha

I'm thinking about putting two bolts thru the dome light bracket, and then cutting out a 6" x 2" section of headliner a bit further toward the front of the vehicle and bending a 1/8" piece of steel or aluminum or something into a
___ ____
\______/

shape, then epoxying the top two parts to the roof of the car, and drilling two holes in the part that bends down, and using bolts thru the mounting plate that came with the monitor and then thru that. there is power right there for the dome light, and it's on the same circuit as a few other bulbs (all LED now) so I could potentially use that to power the unit... I'm pretty sure the dome lights can't be left on accidentally so they're switched, and it sure would be nice to only have to run one wire. do you guys think that'd be kosher to use the factory wire for power?

that drawing didn't work, here's a very professional one I just did.

dragonplayboy wrote:I'm thinking about putting two bolts thru the dome light bracket, and then cutting out a 6" x 2" section of headliner a bit further toward the front of the vehicle and bending a 1/8" piece of steel or aluminum or something into a
___ ____
\______/

shape, then epoxying the top two parts to the roof of the car, and drilling two holes in the part that bends down, and using bolts thru the mounting plate that came with the monitor and then thru that. there is power right there for the dome light, and it's on the same circuit as a few other bulbs (all LED now) so I could potentially use that to power the unit... I'm pretty sure the dome lights can't be left on accidentally so they're switched, and it sure would be nice to only have to run one wire. do you guys think that'd be kosher to use the factory wire for power?

Ok, the diagram didn't come out right in the post, but in teh quote it's corrcet, it's a PHPBB thing.

Seems like a lot of extra work, that's not really needed.
Also I'd be leary of gluing anything to the exterior skin, because as the weight is on it, it can pull on the skin and cause creses and or dents at that point, whihc is why I only ever attach to thebraces.

If you're really that concerned, get some 1/4" thick alumian flat stock, cut that out to the dimensio s you need and bolt/screw it to the brace, this will be VERY solid and will not flex.

Also it sounds like fo ryou to be happy you're going to need to pull teh entire headliner and make a piece that runs from the brace where the dome light is, to one farther forward, maybe even all the way to the windheild support.

444 FED wrote:Seems like a lot of extra work, that's not really needed.
Also I'd be leary of gluing anything to the exterior skin, because as the weight is on it, it can pull on the skin and cause creses and or dents at that point, whihc is why I only ever attach to thebraces.

If you're really that concerned, get some 1/4" thick alumian flat stock, cut that out to the dimensio s you need and bolt/screw it to the brace, this will be VERY solid and will not flex.

Also it sounds like fo ryou to be happy you're going to need to pull teh entire headliner and make a piece that runs from the brace where the dome light is, to one farther forward, maybe even all the way to the windheild support.

F that noise, I'd rather sell that beast than have to rip the headliner down lol.

The skin up there is corrugated though, which I can only assume gives it rigidity... and it would only be supporting part of a 6 to 8 pound unit... you really think that'd bend it...?

dragonplayboy wrote:

444 FED wrote:Seems like a lot of extra work, that's not really needed.
Also I'd be leary of gluing anything to the exterior skin, because as the weight is on it, it can pull on the skin and cause creses and or dents at that point, whihc is why I only ever attach to thebraces.

If you're really that concerned, get some 1/4" thick alumian flat stock, cut that out to the dimensio s you need and bolt/screw it to the brace, this will be VERY solid and will not flex.

Also it sounds like fo ryou to be happy you're going to need to pull teh entire headliner and make a piece that runs from the brace where the dome light is, to one farther forward, maybe even all the way to the windheild support.

F that noise, I'd rather sell that beast than have to rip the headliner down lol.

The skin up there is corrugated though, which I can only assume gives it rigidity... and it would only be supporting part of a 6 to 8 pound unit... you really think that'd bend it...?

Guarantee it. The outer skin will flex and bend easily. Go out to your truck, and push down on the roof itself (between the braces), in approximatoly where you'd be adhearing this new plate, and you'll see just how much it will flex.

I really think you're over engineering this, K.I.S.S.

I've hung some pretty heavy OHs from the roof braces and never had a problem with them, as long as the attaching to the roof support is secure and somewhat in the middle of the area that the OH will cover.