Tahoe owner drives from West Phoenix to get an iPad installed!

After searching through all of the installation shops in West Phoenix, the owner of this vehicle happened upon our website and finally found what he was looking for.  After browsing through our Installation Gallery and reading up on some of our information, he knew that we would be able to integrate his iPad into his dash with the look and functionality of a factory piece.

We were able to make a slide-in dock for the iPad with an integrated 30 pin connector that the iPad would automatically make a connection with when it is inserted into the dock.  This 30 pin connector allowed us to plug a special cable into it that would allow us to charge the iPad as well as give us audio and video out from the iPad.  The audio was then routed directly into the “Aux input” through the back of the radio, leaving the Aux input on the front of the radio fully in tact.  This way, when the owner wants to listen to iPad audio, he simply switches the radio to Aux and controls the volume from the steering wheel.  Easy!

We lined the inside of the dock with the soft side of velcro to keep the iPad free of scratches and we finished the whole dock assembly, which was built completely out of ABS plastic, in a light texture and painted it black to match other pieces in the vehicle.  This system is setup so that the iPad will only charge while the key is on, so as to avoid battery drain.  Check out the video below and then pictures after that.

Here’s a shot from the back seat, notice the lack of glare.

A shot from the passengers side door.

We even finish the top and the back, where you wouldn’t normally see.

Here you can see the charging plug integrated into the dock. Note how the access hole to the factory radio is trimmed in textured plastic just like the rest of the piece.

The iPad slides out the right, revealing the factory radio.

We built and molded into the factory radio trim bezel an iPad dock made 100% out of ABS plastic. This allows the iPad audio to play through the factory sound system and it keeps it charged.