- First Name
- Brandon
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2023
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 126
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
- Vehicle(s)
- 53 Ford Tractor, 76 Bronco, 03 Ranger, 20 F250
- Your Bronco Model
- Raptor
- Thread starter
- #1
I’m pretty particular (ok, anal) about installing items in my vehicle and want as much of a factory look as possible. Because of that, I spent a lot of time (admittedly too much!) redoing this install so I could get to a point that required minimal modifications. Standard install with the M2M bracket requires notching the back of the glove box, which I didn’t want to do and looked for a cleaner way. After a lot of trial and error, I was finally able to get the radio installed with only the relocation of one wire connector. The steps and pictures below outline what I did to get it installed. Sorry, no video. Several steps have been covered by others so I kind of glossed over those (like removing the center console and running the antenna wire). If there is a step that you have a question on or would like more information, please let me know.
First, I’ll start with the links for all the components I used. Some would be optional (mic holder items) and you could do a different way.
Midland
Mountains2Metal
Archetype Racing
67 Designs
Innovative Products
Penglin
Home Depot
Ok, on to the install!
Stock M2M Radio bracket. The standard install has the radio attached to the bracket with the front of the radio pointed towards the passenger seat. The radio is long and this causes it to be very difficult to attach the mic extension to the front jack as it is right up against the inside of the dash. The back of the radio hangs down which requires notching the glove box to get it to fit. I found that if you mount the radio sideways, you can just get it too fit between the dash rails above the glove box. To do this required some tweaks to the M2M bracket to get the radio in sideways. Here are the tweaks that are needed.
Tweaks I made to the M2M bracket. These changes allowed me to get the radio installed sideways and ports above the rails so mic and antenna can easily be attached.
Attachment of the radio mount to the M2M Bracket. I did drill and add the 2 screws on the sides. With just the 2 screws in the middle, the bracket had a tendency to bend in the middle where the slots are. With the four screws, it was a very solid mount.
Radio snapped into bracket. The bend in the center of the M2M bracket was to get the radio high enough so the antenna cable and Mic cables to clear the top of the metal dash brackets above the glove box. Turning the radio sideways gives good access to the front and back of the radio for connecting the antenna and Mic cables.
The one connector (yellow) that needs to be moved. I just pried it off the metal bracket and zip tied it up to the left. Hard to see in below picture but, the rounded metal edge at the bottom where the yellow connector was attached, has a very tight clearance with the radio when installed. I put some double sided foam tape along here to prevent rattling.
Getting the radio up inside was the most difficult part. It is a tight fit but, with a little patience it will just slide in place on top of the rails. I had the best luck by pushing it up and towards the passenger fender and then sliding back towards center on top of the other rail. I used the mounting screws from M2M but found when I started to tighten them, the U shaped dash rail started to flatten. I just grabbed some ½” nuts and placed them in the channel of the rail. They were the perfect height for a standoff and placed the bracket just above the ‘U’ rail with the mounting screw passing through the center of them.
I utilized Upfitter switch 2 for power (On BRaptor this is a 15 AMP circuit). I connected Upfitter switch 2 to the White/Orange wire that went into the passenger cabin by glove box and connected it to the power feed on the Radio. I connected the radio ground to the bolt on the firewall in passenger footwell as shown above. For the Antenna, I did like others and ran the cable over to the drivers side, through the firewall grommet and back over to the passenger side. The excess antenna cable I coiled up behind the passenger kick panel. I used the M2M Antenna bracket installed on the passenger mirror mount for the Midland MXTA25 antenna.
For the remote mic connection, I wanted the jack in the center console but wanted a dust cover on it (to protect when unplugged) along with the ability to unplug the cable from the back of the console if/when I have to remove the center console again. I used a Benglin RJ45 panel mount along with a 3’ Cat6 patch cable to the radio.
It was an easy install with just a 15/16" hole needing to be drilled.
For the mic mount, I utilized parts from Archetype Racing, 67 Designs and Magnetic Mic. This setup worked really well at putting the mic in a good position and not blocking buttons or vents.
Since installing, I’ve been on several trail rides with no issues of rattling or mic falling. Very easy to use while on the trail. Thanks to Mountains2Metal and 67 Designs for some great products that made this install very clean and straightforward to do. The BAM from AR gives 3 mount points instead of the 1 from the factory. Easy to install and now I can mount the mic and have my dash cam (or phone) mounted as well. Please let me know if you have any questions on the install or would like to see additional pictures.
First, I’ll start with the links for all the components I used. Some would be optional (mic holder items) and you could do a different way.
Midland
- MXT575 2-Way Radio: https://midlandusa.com/products/mxt575-micromobile®two-way-radio
- MXTA24 Low Profile Antenna Cable: https://midlandusa.com/products/micromobile-mxta24-low-profile-antenna-cable
- MXTA25 3dB Antenna: https://midlandusa.com/collections/...cts/micromobile-mxta25-3db-gain-ghost-antenna
Mountains2Metal
- Radio Bracket: https://mountains2metal.com/under-dash-mount-for-amp-radio-fits-2021-ford-bronco/
- Antenna Bracket: https://mountains2metal.com/BR6LAPAM/
Archetype Racing
- BAM Accessory Mount: https://archetyperacing.com/products/ar-slap-bpm
67 Designs
- Bronco Ball: https://www.67d.com/collections/ford-bronco/products/broncoball-20mm
- Medium Carbon Fiber Arm: https://www.67d.com/products/arm-builder-for-20mm-20mm-ball-sizes
- Magnetic Mic Holder: https://www.67d.com/products/magnet-mic-holder
Innovative Products
Penglin
Home Depot
- 3’ RJ45 Patch Cable: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...-CAT6-Ethernet-Cable-White-587528-3/204302080
- ½” Nut: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-13-Stainless-Steel-Hex-Nut-2-Pack-800081/204675171
Ok, on to the install!
Stock M2M Radio bracket. The standard install has the radio attached to the bracket with the front of the radio pointed towards the passenger seat. The radio is long and this causes it to be very difficult to attach the mic extension to the front jack as it is right up against the inside of the dash. The back of the radio hangs down which requires notching the glove box to get it to fit. I found that if you mount the radio sideways, you can just get it too fit between the dash rails above the glove box. To do this required some tweaks to the M2M bracket to get the radio in sideways. Here are the tweaks that are needed.
Tweaks I made to the M2M bracket. These changes allowed me to get the radio installed sideways and ports above the rails so mic and antenna can easily be attached.
Attachment of the radio mount to the M2M Bracket. I did drill and add the 2 screws on the sides. With just the 2 screws in the middle, the bracket had a tendency to bend in the middle where the slots are. With the four screws, it was a very solid mount.
Radio snapped into bracket. The bend in the center of the M2M bracket was to get the radio high enough so the antenna cable and Mic cables to clear the top of the metal dash brackets above the glove box. Turning the radio sideways gives good access to the front and back of the radio for connecting the antenna and Mic cables.
The one connector (yellow) that needs to be moved. I just pried it off the metal bracket and zip tied it up to the left. Hard to see in below picture but, the rounded metal edge at the bottom where the yellow connector was attached, has a very tight clearance with the radio when installed. I put some double sided foam tape along here to prevent rattling.
Getting the radio up inside was the most difficult part. It is a tight fit but, with a little patience it will just slide in place on top of the rails. I had the best luck by pushing it up and towards the passenger fender and then sliding back towards center on top of the other rail. I used the mounting screws from M2M but found when I started to tighten them, the U shaped dash rail started to flatten. I just grabbed some ½” nuts and placed them in the channel of the rail. They were the perfect height for a standoff and placed the bracket just above the ‘U’ rail with the mounting screw passing through the center of them.
I utilized Upfitter switch 2 for power (On BRaptor this is a 15 AMP circuit). I connected Upfitter switch 2 to the White/Orange wire that went into the passenger cabin by glove box and connected it to the power feed on the Radio. I connected the radio ground to the bolt on the firewall in passenger footwell as shown above. For the Antenna, I did like others and ran the cable over to the drivers side, through the firewall grommet and back over to the passenger side. The excess antenna cable I coiled up behind the passenger kick panel. I used the M2M Antenna bracket installed on the passenger mirror mount for the Midland MXTA25 antenna.
For the remote mic connection, I wanted the jack in the center console but wanted a dust cover on it (to protect when unplugged) along with the ability to unplug the cable from the back of the console if/when I have to remove the center console again. I used a Benglin RJ45 panel mount along with a 3’ Cat6 patch cable to the radio.
It was an easy install with just a 15/16" hole needing to be drilled.
For the mic mount, I utilized parts from Archetype Racing, 67 Designs and Magnetic Mic. This setup worked really well at putting the mic in a good position and not blocking buttons or vents.
Since installing, I’ve been on several trail rides with no issues of rattling or mic falling. Very easy to use while on the trail. Thanks to Mountains2Metal and 67 Designs for some great products that made this install very clean and straightforward to do. The BAM from AR gives 3 mount points instead of the 1 from the factory. Easy to install and now I can mount the mic and have my dash cam (or phone) mounted as well. Please let me know if you have any questions on the install or would like to see additional pictures.
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