2011 Ford F-150 FX4

[Jake]

Whew, been a busy weekend!

I took advantage of the super-random and super-nice weather we had on Saturday to get a big jump on my four-wheeled to-do lists. First up was getting my trailer re-inspected. The nice man at the Shell station gave it a cursory glance (after I wiggled that one ground wire so the right side turn signal worked) and it passed with flying colors! Note to self: fix that ground.

After the inspection, I headed home and futzed with the M3 a bit, then turned my attention to the truck. All of the bits for my navigation and backup camera install had arrived, so why not install them in 65* weather versus 35*?

The camera is aftermarket, but uses factory Ford parts here and there. I got it from The Camera Source and it's their cheapo camera - I could have spent a bit more for higher resolution, or something. Whatever. They send very, very clear directions on how to install, and even include little things to make your life easier. For example, when they say "use fishing line to remove the old Ford logo from your tailgate" there is a piece of fishing line in the box. Neat.

Install of the camera was easier than I figured it would be. The directions allude to drilling holes in the tailgate and bed to facilitate wire routing, but I suspect that's on older trucks that weren't offered with cameras from Ford - the kit I bought works for any F150 from 2004 to 2014. My gate and bed were pre-drilled so I just had to replace the old logo with the new, thicker one and route the wires. I ran them all the way down the frame rail next to other wiring and into the cab through a grommet in the firewall.

Camera installed:



Then I turned to the new head unit. The standard radio on these trucks is all integrated into a giant faceplace that also houses the climate controls and a few other buttons. Fortunately, that all un-bolts and fits easily into the new faceplate, which (thanks Metra) matches the FX4 trim and looks factory.

I got a fancy-pants "iDatalink Maestro" adapter for this install. It sits inline, between the new Kenwood head unit and the Ford wiring, and does a few cool things while remaining nearly 100% plug and play. I may have soldered 10 wires in total. The Maestro allows you to keep Sync (for phone calls, no running a new microphone!), allows custom-configured steering wheel buttons (short vs long press can do different things), auto-triggers the backup camera in Reverse, and integrates with your OBD II system to provide tire pressures, battery voltage, extra gauges, and any engine codes on the head unit screen.

Going with the Maestro meant I had to use either a Kenwood or Alpine head unit for full functionality, and I chose this Kenwood because it had a real volume knob and was very highly reviewed everywhere. You plug the Maestro into your Windows computer before installing it, and that syncs up your head unit/truck/settings so when you plug it all together, "it just works" - very Apple of them and stupid easy install.

Main screen:



Navigation on Kenwood units is 100% Garmin, which is pretty sweet:



Showing individual tire pressures, battery voltage (truck was off) and could press "Check Engine" if the CEL was lit on the dash, to show the code(s):



Fully installed - the Maestro also keeps your two-line display functional at the top of the dash. Cheaper adapters end up with it saying "DVD" all the time, or "BUILT FORD TOUGH" which is the factory readout when you first start the truck. It's nice to have song title up top, and the navigation going below.



Doin' truck stuff this morning, helped Joey and Lauren cart off some things to the landfill:



Pretty pleased with the Kenwood/camera/Maestro setup so far, I know it'll take some time for me to learn all the screens and settings so they're configured how I want them but I'm already a fan. Really glad I got this all set up before Road Atlanta, as hooking up the trailer with no camera is a very difficult task - now I can see the hitch and roll right up!