New to me 2005 V Ride stereo question

[Ghaynie18]

Hello all! I am new to the site, we just purchased a 2005 V Ride yesterday. I have a quick question about the radio. The boat doesnt have factory stereo components anymore which is fine by me but the radio seems to be loose in the factory slot for the radio. Is there a certain way to mount it in the slot bc I plan on replacing it with an iPod comptable radio soon. Any help or pics would be greatly appreciated!!

[Ndawg12]

That plastic is flimsy that holdw the hu cage and if the hu and cage has been taken in and out several times it will make it worse. I cut and polished a piece of aluminum to fit that space and gorilla glue it in so the tabs of the cage had something more substantial to hold onto.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Hey Nate,

How did that mirror work mounted there?

[Ndawg12]

Hey Nate,

How did that mirror work mounted there?

That thing was next to worthless by itself, don't you run dual mirrors?

[Bill_AirJunky]

That thing was next to worthless by itself, don't you run dual mirrors?

I tried to. Last winter I picked up the PTM Edge. The view is incredible. Of course the higher bimini helps a lot too.

[Ndawg12]

That's awesome! The new ride has a tower (Illusion) mounted mirror, I'm hoping it's a wider view than what I had.

[shawndoggy]

That's awesome! The new ride has a tower (Illusion) mounted mirror, I'm hoping it's a wider view than what I had.

Just put the ptm mirror on. The cipa extreme 3 piece mirror sucks. Ask how I know.

[nuttyskier2002]

Hello all! I am new to the site, we just purchased a 2005 V Ride yesterday. I have a quick question about the radio. The boat doesnt have factory stereo components anymore which is fine by me but the radio seems to be loose in the factory slot for the radio. Is there a certain way to mount it in the slot bc I plan on replacing it with an iPod comptable radio soon. Any help or pics would be greatly appreciated!!

I have an 06 Vride and believe I have the same HU mounting location as you. My solution was to take a couple or three of strips of woven fiberglass (about and inch or so wider and longer than the rectangular cutout for the cage) and laminate these with epoxy (one on top of the other). Lay them on a sheet of wax paper prior to pouring the epoxy on them. You want it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of .100" thick. Once cured......set the new piece of composite material on a flat surface and set the cage on top with the back of the cage flat on the laminated composite material.........centered in all directions. Now take a scribe and mark the perimeter of the cage onto the new piece of composite material. Trim inside your scribed line with a dremel tool or the like. Fit this piece of composite around the cage. The lip that surrounds the front of the cage.should overlap the edges of the rectangular cutout you made in the new composite material. Once the new piece is in place on the cage.....take another strip of fiberglass and lay it flat onto a new piece of wax paper. A little more epoxy and then place the cage face down on the fiberglass so as to bond the first composite piece to the fresh piece of fiberglass/epoxy. The lip that goes around the perimeter of the cage (front of cage) will be sandwiched between the layers of fiberglass/epoxy composite material. Once all this is all cured you can trim out the whole again to insert the HU and trim and sand the edges. Paint to match your interior and it looks good and much stronger than original.

[wakesetter8796]

That's awesome! The new ride has a tower (Illusion) mounted mirror, I'm hoping it's a wider view than what I had.

Just put the ptm mirror on. The cipa extreme 3 piece mirror sucks. Ask how I know.

Agreed, worth the small cost.

[nuttyskier2002]

Ndawg.....what model Sony HU is that you have?

[Bill_AirJunky]

It's the Sony MEX-1GP Giga-Panel..... I think it was the stock stereo in Malibus back in 05. I still have mine. Works great. Has a gig of ram on the faceplate so you can load it full of music & always have something, even when you forget your phone.

[Ndawg12]

It's the Sony MEX-1GP Giga-Panel..... I think it was the stock stereo in Malibus back in 05. I still have mine. Works great. Has a gig of ram on the faceplate so you can load it full of music & always have something, even when you forget your phone.

Yup, I got it from Gorilla from his 07LSV

[nuttyskier2002]

I took a pretty big wave over the bow last Saturday while a Lake Canyon. My nephew and I were taking turns doing some wake surfing......I was driving and he was riding when it happened. He dropped and I turned to pick him up. Boats were coming at us from both directions and the water was very rough. I'm usually able to avoid this by giving a little throttle and raising the bow enough to avoid the flood. But this time was diffeerent. If wasn't safe to do so. The wave came over........washed over the front seats and over the windshield. It doused my Pioneer HU and now it dosen't play right. It was mounted right in the same spot as Ndawg's. The armrest was down too. Anyway.....I'm looking for a good marine grade replacement. The DEH-80PRS is not marine grade and Pioneer won't warranty it.

[shawndoggy]

Bummer that is a nice HU.

I don't think even the marine headunits do much better with a thorough dousing of water.

[skyskier]

Nut.........never turn on wet electronics. Let it dry and see what's up.

Ghaynie..........try making a backstrap out of metal pipe strap to secure the unit from the rear.

[nuttyskier2002]

It was already on......and yes I know.....I've been in the electronics industry for 30+ years. I didn't get it turned off in time. Shawn......yes it is a very nice HU and sounds really great! Wish I could find a marine unit that sounds as good for a reasonable price.
wn

Nut.........never turn on wet electronics. Let it dry and see what's up.

Ghaynie..........try making a backstrap out of metal pipe strap to secure the unit from the rear.

[shawndoggy]

the only thing "marine" HUs do better in MY opinion is have a screen that can be seen in direct sunlight.

[Bill_AirJunky]

I doubt any marine deck will take a direct hit like that either.

The Sony deck does have one drawback..... it only has 2 line outs. So running 3 zones (interior, tower & sub) becomes a bit of a challenge.

[nuttyskier2002]

Maybe if I used a plastic shield on top of the unit inside the cage like what comes with the marine units I could have prevented this from happening. I remember I did try fitting one on the unit but it was going into the cage very tightly and I was concerned that I might not be able to pull the HU back out if needed in the future. So I left it off. MISTAKE!

[nuttyskier2002]

I doubt any marine deck will take a direct hit like that either.

The Sony deck does have one drawback..... it only has 2 line outs. So running 3 zones (interior, tower & sub) becomes a bit of a challenge.

Actually....2 lines out is all I'm using now......going into a WS420. I use the EQ for zone control. Right now I'm running my Alpine CDA-9886M again. But it just doesn't sound as good as the Pioneer.

[nuttyskier2002]

Just got off the phone with my insurance co...........my deductible is $750.00 so no help there either. So next step is to decide what I want to do to get the same SQ I had with the Pioneer. The higher end marine grade Sonys sound pretty good. My friend has one and I do like the sound of his system........much better than my Alpine. Also considering sticking with the Alpine and upgrading system with a good audio processor/EQ. Looking at the RF 360.3.