Hamilton Motor - Apple Carplay Conversion Kit (4 Viewers)

[Jdubsalot]

I also found the installation for the Beatsonic product to be helpful. They also go through how to disassemble the dash. Very similar process. But they offer a few additional points of advice regarding removing parts. The Hamilton install looks a bit simpler as they only have one "box" to install and they recommend placing it behind the head unit. But the tricks and suggestions for when and how to remove certain bolts and/or bits and parts was very similar. I have watched both multiple times - each time increasing my confidence that I can do this. And I am NOT someone who does mechanical stuff.

My Hamilton unit is apparently going to arrive early - today. So I will probably do this tomorrow and I'll let every know. I may post an install report and how well it works or doesn't after the install. I will be up in the mountains next week and will have a chance to see how it holds up while we are bounding around on some trails.

If it’s just the box, consider not putting it behind the head unit. If you need to reboot it, it's easier to access in the footwell under the carpet.

 

[sadovnik]

If it’s just the box, consider not putting it behind the head unit. If you need to reboot it, it's easier to access in the footwell under the carpet.

Do these actually need rebooting some times? I’ve had my EC Offroad for 4 and 1/2 years and never needed to reboot.

 

[Jdubsalot]

Do these actually need rebooting some times? I’ve had my EC Offroad for 4 and 1/2 years and never needed to reboot.

I've had to do it one time in a year of ownership.

 

[open country]

The install video for the 2016 mentions supplying an extra cable to integrate with the rear seat screens. Has anyone confirmed that works and what functions does it do? Assuming it would allow streaming from CarPlay apps to the rear screen AUX input or maybe mirror the front screen?

Bump - anyone integrated with Rear Entertainment System?

 

[Dan Higgins]

Installed mine this afternoon. Took me about 3 hours as I had multiple "interruptions". I am very pleased with the result for what I need and was hoping for. That said, here are some things to be aware of if doing the install yourself.

• When you go to watch the install video, there are two of them. A new one dropped on YT about 10 days ago. It is NOT for the setup that I had ordered. In fact it is for a new product they will be offering for the 2016-2021 series that is not available yet. It is a not only the CarPlay head unit but a full replacement of the infotainment screen. Based on that install video the kit includes a reengineering screen (maybe 12" wide, high Rez) with repositioned AC ducts and probably a couple of other changes. That may be of interest to some of you. The OEM screen is pretty weak though it will do what I need and I wouldn't want to be an early adopter of something as big and complex as what it looks like they are coming out with.
• So the install video you want to use if you get their current offering was posted about 9 months ago. Very good video but just know that they have apparently tweaked the product since then. For example, they refer to a speaker so that you can listen to navigation instructions and such from CarPlay while listening to XM radio. This was not included in my kit. My kit also included an antenna for GPS or something that was not mentioned or show in the video (but was very easy to install.)
• My installation process. In their installation video they suggest using an old credit card or something similar to remove the trim. It worked for me but a trim tool would have been much easier. My unit was a bit different than the one in the video but close enough. All of the important stuff was covered. I just had a number of wires that are apparently not used. I must have watched the video 5 times before I started - studying every step as I have never done anything like this. And I watched each step as I was doing the install. The one thing I missed was keeping careful track of where all the bolts do. And, yes, I did drop a bolt during the rebuild but a friend had a flexible magnet tool that I was able to fish through and retrieve that bolt. Oh, and bandaids may be handy. My hands got dinged a couple times.
• I did call their support line before I started so they could explain why some of the parts I received didn't match what was in the video. Very helpful. Probably the biggest tip is to test it out before you put all the trim pieces back. If you left a wire unplugged somewhere best to find that out before you put it all back together. I left the trim and the top panels off. I just connected the piece that included the starter button. After I checked everything out put the trim and "lid" back together.

I have not had time to drive with it yet but here are my initial observations.

• Pairing with my iPhone was easy. I didn't even read the instructions though that wouldn't hurt. Pretty typical pairing process.
• Switching from OEM mode to CarPlay mode is easy. By default, mine goes automatically to CarPlay mode after the usual 10-15 second OEM start up process. Hold down the Home button for ~3 secs or hold down the Siri Hands Free button (on the steering wheel) for ~3 secs and it will swap from CarPlay to OEM mode or vice versa. In case you want to get to your OEM screens. Very easy.
• Tapping the Siri Hands Free button on the steering wheel while in CarPlay mode will bring up Siri.
• Putting the vehicle in reverse brings up the backup camera as you would expect.
• Using the View button to bring up the surround camera views works as well.
• The OEM screen is not awesome as you know, but it does not reflect light as much as some of the shiny screens and it is more "square"-ish then some of these that are very wide but not so tall. If you don't use it for a lot of nav stuff that probably doesn't matter. But that is the main reason I wanted CarPlay and the OEM screen will be OK.
• I was able to pull up Gaia, Apple Maps, Google Maps and InReach.
• I was able to play Apple Music just fine. I didn't test anything else yet. Volume controls worked as normal.
• There are a number of setting which I did not play with.

We are heading up into the Colorado mountains this coming week and I will likely hit some easy, yet bumpy trails. We'll see how it holds up when everything is getting jostled around.

 

[TXlandcrusher]

Installed mine this afternoon. Took me about 3 hours as I had multiple "interruptions". I am very pleased with the result for what I need and was hoping for. That said, here are some things to be aware of if doing the install yourself.

• When you go to watch the install video, there are two of them. A new one dropped on YT about 10 days ago. It is NOT for the setup that I had ordered. In fact it is for a new product they will be offering for the 2016-2021 series that is not available yet. It is a not only the CarPlay head unit but a full replacement of the infotainment screen. Based on that install video the kit includes a reengineering screen (maybe 12" wide, high Rez) with repositioned AC ducts and probably a couple of other changes. That may be of interest to some of you. The OEM screen is pretty weak though it will do what I need and I wouldn't want to be an early adopter of something as big and complex as what it looks like they are coming out with.
• So the install video you want to use if you get their current offering was posted about 9 months ago. Very good video but just know that they have apparently tweaked the product since then. For example, they refer to a speaker so that you can listen to navigation instructions and such from CarPlay while listening to XM radio. This was not included in my kit. My kit also included an antenna for GPS or something that was not mentioned or show in the video (but was very easy to install.)
• My installation process. In their installation video they suggest using an old credit card or something similar to remove the trim. It worked for me but a trim tool would have been much easier. My unit was a bit different than the one in the video but close enough. All of the important stuff was covered. I just had a number of wires that are apparently not used. I must have watched the video 5 times before I started - studying every step as I have never done anything like this. And I watched each step as I was doing the install. The one thing I missed was keeping careful track of where all the bolts do. And, yes, I did drop a bolt during the rebuild but a friend had a flexible magnet tool that I was able to fish through and retrieve that bolt. Oh, and bandaids may be handy. My hands got dinged a couple times.
• I did call their support line before I started so they could explain why some of the parts I received didn't match what was in the video. Very helpful. Probably the biggest tip is to test it out before you put all the trim pieces back. If you left a wire unplugged somewhere best to find that out before you put it all back together. I left the trim and the top panels off. I just connected the piece that included the starter button. After I checked everything out put the trim and "lid" back together.

I have not had time to drive with it yet but here are my initial observations.

• Pairing with my iPhone was easy. I didn't even read the instructions though that wouldn't hurt. Pretty typical pairing process.
• Switching from OEM mode to CarPlay mode is easy. By default, mine goes automatically to CarPlay mode after the usual 10-15 second OEM start up process. Hold down the Home button for ~3 secs or hold down the Siri Hands Free button (on the steering wheel) for ~3 secs and it will swap from CarPlay to OEM mode or vice versa. In case you want to get to your OEM screens. Very easy.
• Tapping the Siri Hands Free button on the steering wheel while in CarPlay mode will bring up Siri.
• Putting the vehicle in reverse brings up the backup camera as you would expect.
• Using the View button to bring up the surround camera views works as well.
• The OEM screen is not awesome as you know, but it does not reflect light as much as some of the shiny screens and it is more "square"-ish then some of these that are very wide but not so tall. If you don't use it for a lot of nav stuff that probably doesn't matter. But that is the main reason I wanted CarPlay and the OEM screen will be OK.
• I was able to pull up Gaia, Apple Maps, Google Maps and InReach.
• I was able to play Apple Music just fine. I didn't test anything else yet. Volume controls worked as normal.
• There are a number of setting which I did not play with.

We are heading up into the Colorado mountains this coming week and I will likely hit some easy, yet bumpy trails. We'll see how it holds up when everything is getting jostled around.

View attachment 3990490

Great write up! Very helpful for those of us on the fence about doing it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[TXlandcrusher]

Installed mine this afternoon. Took me about 3 hours as I had multiple "interruptions". I am very pleased with the result for what I need and was hoping for. That said, here are some things to be aware of if doing the install yourself.

• When you go to watch the install video, there are two of them. A new one dropped on YT about 10 days ago. It is NOT for the setup that I had ordered. In fact it is for a new product they will be offering for the 2016-2021 series that is not available yet. It is a not only the CarPlay head unit but a full replacement of the infotainment screen. Based on that install video the kit includes a reengineering screen (maybe 12" wide, high Rez) with repositioned AC ducts and probably a couple of other changes. That may be of interest to some of you. The OEM screen is pretty weak though it will do what I need and I wouldn't want to be an early adopter of something as big and complex as what it looks like they are coming out with.
• So the install video you want to use if you get their current offering was posted about 9 months ago. Very good video but just know that they have apparently tweaked the product since then. For example, they refer to a speaker so that you can listen to navigation instructions and such from CarPlay while listening to XM radio. This was not included in my kit. My kit also included an antenna for GPS or something that was not mentioned or show in the video (but was very easy to install.)
• My installation process. In their installation video they suggest using an old credit card or something similar to remove the trim. It worked for me but a trim tool would have been much easier. My unit was a bit different than the one in the video but close enough. All of the important stuff was covered. I just had a number of wires that are apparently not used. I must have watched the video 5 times before I started - studying every step as I have never done anything like this. And I watched each step as I was doing the install. The one thing I missed was keeping careful track of where all the bolts do. And, yes, I did drop a bolt during the rebuild but a friend had a flexible magnet tool that I was able to fish through and retrieve that bolt. Oh, and bandaids may be handy. My hands got dinged a couple times.
• I did call their support line before I started so they could explain why some of the parts I received didn't match what was in the video. Very helpful. Probably the biggest tip is to test it out before you put all the trim pieces back. If you left a wire unplugged somewhere best to find that out before you put it all back together. I left the trim and the top panels off. I just connected the piece that included the starter button. After I checked everything out put the trim and "lid" back together.

I have not had time to drive with it yet but here are my initial observations.

• Pairing with my iPhone was easy. I didn't even read the instructions though that wouldn't hurt. Pretty typical pairing process.
• Switching from OEM mode to CarPlay mode is easy. By default, mine goes automatically to CarPlay mode after the usual 10-15 second OEM start up process. Hold down the Home button for ~3 secs or hold down the Siri Hands Free button (on the steering wheel) for ~3 secs and it will swap from CarPlay to OEM mode or vice versa. In case you want to get to your OEM screens. Very easy.
• Tapping the Siri Hands Free button on the steering wheel while in CarPlay mode will bring up Siri.
• Putting the vehicle in reverse brings up the backup camera as you would expect.
• Using the View button to bring up the surround camera views works as well.
• The OEM screen is not awesome as you know, but it does not reflect light as much as some of the shiny screens and it is more "square"-ish then some of these that are very wide but not so tall. If you don't use it for a lot of nav stuff that probably doesn't matter. But that is the main reason I wanted CarPlay and the OEM screen will be OK.
• I was able to pull up Gaia, Apple Maps, Google Maps and InReach.
• I was able to play Apple Music just fine. I didn't test anything else yet. Volume controls worked as normal.
• There are a number of setting which I did not play with.

We are heading up into the Colorado mountains this coming week and I will likely hit some easy, yet bumpy trails. We'll see how it holds up when everything is getting jostled around.

View attachment 3990490

One question - where did you route the cord that lets you plug your phone in and use “wired” CarPlay? I watched the Hamilton install video the other day and they mentioned that some people route it into the glovebox, but that doesn’t seem (to me at least) like a very convenient place.

 

[TXlandcrusher]

Here’s the video of the Hamilton unit with the high resolution screen (the one that Dan Higgins referenced in his post above). I agree that it would be a little intimidating to be the guinea pig and be one of the first to try it. But I must admit that this high-res screen looks fantastic, and it would likely make the 200 series Land Cruiser look WAY more modern. Pretty cool.

Link

 

[Dan Higgins]

One question - where did you route the cord that lets you plug your phone in and use “wired” CarPlay? I watched the Hamilton install video the other day and they mentioned that some people route it into the glovebox, but that doesn’t seem (to me at least) like a very convenient place.

I routed it down the center then out near where the trim ends and the carpet begins on the passenger side. So it is essentially hidden under the carpet. Not necessarily easy to access but I don’t plan to use wired CarPlay. The video seemed to suggest routing it into the back of that little compartment at the base of the console stack where you can wirelessly charge your phone. But I didn’t find an opening there. I didn’t try the glove box.

 

[Ratchey]

One question - where did you route the cord that lets you plug your phone in and use “wired” CarPlay? I watched the Hamilton install video the other day and they mentioned that some people route it into the glovebox, but that doesn’t seem (to me at least) like a very convenient place.

It was a pain in the ass but I mounted mine here

 

[beachbumin]

Bump - anyone integrated with Rear Entertainment System?

Literally here with the same question. Hoping to figure out how to stream videos on the rear screen *and front if possible. I did see that with the grom vline2 you can run a HDMI to an old school rca 3 plug for the rear screen to play.

 

[lcjockey]

Literally here with the same question. Hoping to figure out how to stream videos on the rear screen *and front if possible. I did see that with the grom vline2 you can run a HDMI to an old school rca 3 plug for the rear screen to play.

You can stream videos to rear screens with an ipad/iphone, maybe android and a HDMI connector

 

[open country]

Literally here with the same question. Hoping to figure out how to stream videos on the rear screen *and front if possible. I did see that with the grom vline2 you can run a HDMI to an old school rca 3 plug for the rear screen to play.

I emailed their support for an answer, and there is an "upgrade" unit for the 2016+ that has more memory and its own interface for downloading video streaming apps directly to the unit outside of CarPlay, and from those apps it can stream to the rear screens (assuming on aux video input but unspecified). That version is $699, when you request it from the support line they email you a link to a custom cart on their website.

I am passing based on price for what to me would be easier to get an HDMI cable from a tablet to stream through the rear input. I am curious with the HDMI out on the standard unit if there's a way to just mirror the CarPlay screen to the rear units, which would be handy as my kids like seeing the album art for their music as it changes.

 

[Tennessee80]

There probably won't be a unit ready for the 2008 until later in Oct. It is still in the testing phase. There are a few kinks to work out.

Keep me posted on the unit that is being tested for a 2008. I'm ready to get it when it's ready. thanks!

 

[Ratchey]

Keep me posted on the unit that is being tested for a 2008. I'm ready to get it when it's ready. thanks!

Will do. Anxiously awaiting the fixes so I can finally enjoy using the system.