Hey guys, i have a 2003 Ford ranger and badly need a new head piece for my truck. I know it is a double DIN but other than that i am new to this stuff and need help deciding what to get. I'm trying to stay around the 200 price range, but will go a little higher if it truely is worth it. I don't know whats good, bad things to look for or any of that. Please help, thankyou

 

You can buy a install kit, that will allow you to install a single din radio, which with your price range is probably the best option.

 

You can get a lot of good radios for $200. Look at www.crutchfield.com

 

Or Sonic Electronix

 

and would all double din head units fit?
or are there still different sizes?

 

and about the installation kit to fit a single din, does that mean i will have a hole in my dash?

 

Here's what the install kit looks like with a single din

 

They should but you will have to modify the bezel a bit to get them to fit.

Not a hole, just a cubby.

 

hmm
i could go with either one i guess.
what about the output?
i see a lot of them have 50x4 and some even 80x4
is 50x4 any good? or should i be looking for higher?
and im not looking to bounce off the pavement or anything, but i want to have a good knock and hope to add a couple 12s in the future

 

Any should be fine for your stock speaker setup.

 

For $200 I'd say anything made by pioneer. Make a list of the features you want, like aux inputs, usb ports etc. then do a bit of research. I found my pioneer off ebay for like $45 bux, so you can def. manage something decent with your budget. As far as putting a single din in the oem spot, its easy as pie. This is what i did.

My pioneer stereo was a press fit into the oem spot widthwise. Mine had metal tabs you can bend out to stop forward movement. That, and two pieces of electrical tape used as shims, makes it a perfect fit. To cover up the hole made by difference in height, I cut a piece of plastic off a broken old printer, then used a dremel to trim it to a snug fit. Jb welded a metal clip to the back of this piece. Painted the bezel and plastic piece with some silver rustoleum I had lying around. Then the whole thing "snaps" into place. The stereo faceplate covers up the seams and the end result looks like it came stock, or so my friends say. The good thing is, I can pry this whole thing out with my buck knife when ever I need to access to the back of it.

Of course you can go to walmart and buy the plastic fantastic scosche trim set. But I like to do projects, and this way I also saved $20 bucks, which I then used towards speakers. If you are going to attempt the wiring yourself, I highly suggest buying the wiring harness adapters for Rangers so you don't have to chop up your truck. Its like $8 bucks online or at wallyworld.

Sorry for the long post, but I hoped this helped.

 

ok, thankyou so much guys
this has helped a lot

 

Double Din 7" screen lots of trimming