I love gadgets, but I’m not a big fan of suction cups all over the window holding them on.
The Vector JKE dash dock bar looked like the perfect solution for an endless supply of mounting points, and installation is a painless 10 minute task.
Use a blunt screw driver or plastic panel removal tool to pop these covers off.
Apparently there is a threaded bolt down here… I didn’t bother to check, but the support bar that comes with the Vector JKE dock threaded onto something!
Screw the stand offs onto the existing threaded bolt, remove the console rubber liner and factory screw.
Position the bar over the mounting points and tighten into place with the two provided screws and the existing factory screw from the upper console piece.
Next up is to order the RAM mount attachments I need. The wiring you see hanging down is from a 12V outlet I have up above here. Once I get my RAM attachments, I’ll also run 12V behind the vector dock and have several USB outlets to charge my devices.
You can order your own dock from Vector Off Road from their web site here. You’ll also want a few u-bolt RAM mounts from Amazon (click here).
Looks like you installed the full width bar. Have you had any issues with defrosting the windshield since the install?
No issues at all. It does sit back (towards the driver) ever so slightly – perhaps that is the reason why there isn’t any problem. Highly recommend this mod – everything sits nice and solid now.
I’m curious you said it is a 10 minute install but it seems much more involved based on Vector Offroad’s description (needing a magnetic telescoping nut driver, re-calibrating the compass, etc. ) Your experience on this is much appreciated!
What year of Jeep are you installing it on? Mine is a 2012 and didn’t need anything special.
The covers on the dash easily pry out (use a plastic panel tool to avoid scratching anything), and the support bars that Vector provides just screw right into place – nothing else required removal, and the only other tool was a Phillips driver to attach the bar to the support stands and center ‘cup’ (after removing the rubber insert and existing screw – again with a Phillips bit.
Just use caution when putting the screws into place on the bar to the stand offs — if you drop one down the dash, I can see needing a telescoping magnetic tool to retrieve it.
As far as re-calibrating the compass, I didn’t have any compass errors – if you experience different, I believe you just need to drive a couple of tight circles in a parking lot and it re-calibrates on it’s own.