GMRS under Seat mount

[Tr182md]

I have been pondering (slowly) where to put my GMRS. For me the under the front dash has airbags interfering with it and the under the seat on the floor would have to penetrate the floor padding. I found that under my drivers seat there is plenty of space and there is a bar that I can mount to once I find a round bar to flat plate mount. I zip tied it there to test interference and I can move the seat back and forth. From here getting to electrical at the battery and running antenna and mic should be easy. Will have a disconnect there and some slack for moving seat back and forth. Making sure it is safe from pinching. I think I will start on this when I get time.

This has been bugging me for a bit and I think this might be a great solution. Once I get started I will post more. Other options were going under rear seat and making or repurposing another bracket but I like this one even better. It will not get int he way of other things I want to do. There is a lot of space under the seat. I may change to a different radio as this is from my Defender which I need to sell and I am choosing to leave everything in it.

 

[Rowsham]

Great idea! I may do the same. I had a similar setup in my Tacoma, connected directly to the battery.
I had it in my mind that I needed to connect the radio to one of the front power switches, but connecting straight to the AUX battery makes much more sense to me and get to keep that switch open!

Thanks!

 

[Tr182md]

Possibly a hose clamp would work but these might do as well. Thinking now about the hood mount off my Ditch lights like I did on my Defender vs the mirror mount. Thinking too much about ground plane. I had the Ghost Antenna on a ditch lights mount on my Defender and I could hear my buddy several miles away. Reading not about no ground plane antenna etc. I know that the roof is best but I would probably knock it off.

Amazon.com

 

[Bobcat Sig]

I have been pondering (slowly) where to put my GMRS. For me the under the front dash has airbags interfering with it and the under the seat on the floor would have to penetrate the floor padding. I found that under my drivers seat there is plenty of space and there is a bar that I can mount to once I find a round bar to flat plate mount. I zip tied it there to test interference and I can move the seat back and forth. From here getting to electrical at the battery and running antenna and mic should be easy. Will have a disconnect there and some slack for moving seat back and forth. Making sure it is safe from pinching. I think I will start on this when I get time.

This has been bugging me for a bit and I think this might be a great solution. Once I get started I will post more. Other options were going under rear seat and making or repurposing another bracket but I like this one even better. It will not get int he way of other things I want to do. There is a lot of space under the seat. I may change to a different radio as this is from my Defender which I need to sell and I am choosing to leave everything in it.


View attachment 7902565

Nice! I have the same unit sitting in a box, awaiting installation. I'm glad you mentioned under the dash as I was going to go that route, but I'm glad to hear that there are airbag considerations.

I think I'll go for the under-seat location like you did.

The last big, remaining question is where (and how) to mount the mic.

 

[SantaStrong]

Ill be following this closely, Im planning my mobile ham setup and trying to decide where to mount and power the radio.

 

[ADVAW8S]

Finished my GMRS install today. Link to the what did you do with Grenadier today thread.

Post in thread 'What did you do with your Grenadier today?' https://www.theineosforum.com/threa...your-grenadier-today.12411127/post-1333352499

 

[Bobcat Sig]

Finished my GMRS install today. Link to the what did you do with Grenadier today thread.

Post in thread 'What did you do with your Grenadier today?' https://www.theineosforum.com/threa...your-grenadier-today.12411127/post-1333352499

Looks pretty clean. Where did you mount the radio base station? Under the passenger dash?

 

[ADVAW8S]

Looks pretty clean. Where did you mount the radio base station? Under the passenger dash?

Back wall

 

[Bobcat Sig]

Back wall

Killer! That's a much better location. I'm assuming that you drilled into the plastic cover for the mount bracket, yes?

I have so many other questions about what you have mounted back there! That long, red in the cubby above the radio unit; is that a caution triangle? Something else?

 

[RRB14]

GREAT TOY COLLECTION!


2024 Ineos Grenadier Fieldmaster (Added Winch, Air Compressor, Tow Controller, OEM Sliders)
2023 Defender 110X
2006 LR3 (2” Lift, 32” tires”)
2016 BMW M4
2015 BMW R1200GSA
1982 Cessna TR182

I have been pondering (slowly) where to put my GMRS. For me the under the front dash has airbags interfering with it and the under the seat on the floor would have to penetrate the floor padding. I found that under my drivers seat there is plenty of space and there is a bar that I can mount to once I find a round bar to flat plate mount. I zip tied it there to test interference and I can move the seat back and forth. From here getting to electrical at the battery and running antenna and mic should be easy. Will have a disconnect there and some slack for moving seat back and forth. Making sure it is safe from pinching. I think I will start on this when I get time.

This has been bugging me for a bit and I think this might be a great solution. Once I get started I will post more. Other options were going under rear seat and making or repurposing another bracket but I like this one even better. It will not get int he way of other things I want to do. There is a lot of space under the seat. I may change to a different radio as this is from my Defender which I need to sell and I am choosing to leave everything in it.


View attachment 7902565

 

[ADVAW8S]

Killer! That's a much better location. I'm assuming that you drilled into the plastic cover for the mount bracket, yes?

I have so many other questions about what you have mounted back there! That long, red in the cubby above the radio unit; is that a caution triangle? Something else?

Yes I drilled, was cautious with smalls drill bit.

Caution triangle and the other side is the rest of road side emergency kit. It came with fire extinguisher.

 

[globalgregors]

I have been pondering (slowly) where to put my GMRS. For me the under the front dash has airbags interfering with it and the under the seat on the floor would have to penetrate the floor padding. I found that under my drivers seat there is plenty of space and there is a bar that I can mount to once I find a round bar to flat plate mount. I zip tied it there to test interference and I can move the seat back and forth. From here getting to electrical at the battery and running antenna and mic should be easy. Will have a disconnect there and some slack for moving seat back and forth. Making sure it is safe from pinching. I think I will start on this when I get time.

This has been bugging me for a bit and I think this might be a great solution. Once I get started I will post more. Other options were going under rear seat and making or repurposing another bracket but I like this one even better. It will not get int he way of other things I want to do. There is a lot of space under the seat. I may change to a different radio as this is from my Defender which I need to sell and I am choosing to leave everything in it.


View attachment 7902565

Are these units IP67 rated? I wonder if the rear seat tub would be a better option if you’re thinking you might get it wet, either with crossings or hosing the interior.

 

[Major_B]

I put the main body of my Icom below the passenger seat as well. Lot of room, good clearance with the bottom in case of (small) water ingress, and close to B pillar for antenna cables descent and INT2 socket for power. I even have room left for an antenna matcher if I rig a long wire antenna. The mic is more difficult because the dashboard is already crowded. I put the main unit right above the main console, while the mic rest on my plate mount above the A/C buttons.

 

[Bobcat Sig]

I put the main body of my Icom below the passenger seat as well. Lot of room, good clearance with the bottom in case of (small) water ingress, and close to B pillar for antenna cables descent and INT2 socket for power. I even have room left for an antenna matcher if I rig a long wire antenna. The mic is more difficult because the dashboard is already crowded. I put the main unit right above the main console, while the mic rest on my plate mount above the A/C buttons.

I like it. Do you have a picture on how you mounted the main body of the radio under the seat? Same for the mic mount; picture?

 

[Tr182md]

The waterproof rating is an interesting point. BTech has IP54 but the Midland does not list. Under the seat is pretty high almost to the wading depth. It is interesting that almost all the electrics are at that level or lower under the second row seat. What would happen if all the fuses and battery were submerged? The radio under seat would be higher than that.

 

[Major_B]

I like it. Do you have a picture on how you mounted the main body of the radio under the seat? Same for the mic mount; picture?

Not sure the pictures tell a lot:
I made a small rig using metal plates suspended above the pit below the seat. The iCom and its power supply are bolted on it. It’s a bit flexible, the idea was to damper the car vibrations. The front of the unit is accessible to retrieve the SD card. It means obviously that the radio does not move with the seat, as I wanted to avoid flexing the coax cables everytime. It also offer some more ventilation below and above the unit (100W of heat to dissipate).

The rig on the central console is made by a local belgian company. Because it’s made of metal, I glued a magnet behind the microphone and it holds in place like this.

For the radio display, I use an icom suction mount which holds very well so far, even in wild 4x4 stunts.

Finally the external speaker sits on the handle above my head, which is great to hear coms even with the window open.

 

[mcdoogs]

Nice! I have the same unit sitting in a box, awaiting installation. I'm glad you mentioned under the dash as I was going to go that route, but I'm glad to hear that there are airbag considerations.

I think I'll go for the under-seat location like you did.

The last big, remaining question is where (and how) to mount the mic.

I installed my MX275 under the passenger seat for now (simple screw into the vinyl floor mat), and ran a mic extension through the center console, under the steering wheel, and outputting in the footwell right around the hood release latch. I also have the agile driver side handle which I then mount the microphone to when I'm using the radio. Otherwise it lives in the center console box and the mic extension stay nicely out of sight. I dunno just an idea. The center console is already a little cluttered with all the buttons, shifters, at least one phone, god forbid you have a drink or two so I wanted an alternative to adding a mic plus cord there.

 

[mcdoogs]

The waterproof rating is an interesting point. BTech has IP54 but the Midland does not list. Under the seat is pretty high almost to the wading depth. It is interesting that almost all the electrics are at that level or lower under the second row seat. What would happen if all the fuses and battery were submerged? The radio under seat would be higher than that.

I tend to agree, I think I'm worrying about way more important things than the couple hundred dollar radio if it's getting wet under the front seat.

 

[Bobcat Sig]

I installed my MX275 under the passenger seat for now (simple screw into the vinyl floor mat), and ran a mic extension through the center console, under the steering wheel, and outputting in the footwell right around the hood release latch. I also have the agile driver side handle which I then mount the microphone to when I'm using the radio. Otherwise it lives in the center console box and the mic extension stay nicely out of sight. I dunno just an idea. The center console is already a little cluttered with all the buttons, shifters, at least one phone, god forbid you have a drink or two so I wanted an alternative to adding a mic plus cord there.

That's not a bad idea. I was under the impression that the speaker for that radio was in the handset. Does it have a separate speaker, or is that an add-on?

 

[mcdoogs]

That's not a bad idea. I was under the impression that the speaker for that radio was in the handset. Does it have a separate speaker, or is that an add-on?

You can buy a external speaker add on. I like that the controls and speaker are fully integrated into the handset though, so I can mount the head unit somewhere out of the way like under a seat and still use it (not often rly for me, most of the time the handset is put away), and it's essentially invisible when not in use and the handset is stowed