RockZJ

Hey everyone! I have been lurking around the website for a few years now and finally decided to make a profile. Longtime Jeeper here building up my first JK and had a question I wanted to ask and try and get some input. A buddy of mine sent me a link to a slick rear view setup from a company called App-Tronics based out of Ohio. Being as my Jeep is a Sport model it has the basic of the basic. No navigation, no Bluetooth, no backup camera, etc. I had been looking for a similar setup as to what my buddy sent me for an all in one OE looking unit that would not require carrying around a bunch of extra gear on trips. My two door is limited in space as it is so optimizing every square inch is imperative.

Which brings me to my question. Has anyone on here installed or has any experience with the App-Tronics SmartNav 5 setup? Two limitations I can see immediately are the possibility of issues with mounting as it requires a windshield angle of 20-50 degrees and it not being waterproof. The windshield degree just eyeballing it (have not found my angle finder yet) looks to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 28+ degrees but I will not know for certain without throwing an angle finder on the windshield or if somewhere knows by chance. The lack of waterproof protection is not so much of a concern as the top stays on the Jeep nearly year round, but its something to keep in mind. So with that said, the benefits appear to far outweigh the downfalls ten fold. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any reviews or user feedback about the unit anywhere on the Web (red flag right there). Only came across a few posts on a RZR forum and the companies review on a few websites.

Currently Crutchfield is having a special on it as App-Tronics is coming out with a new unit in the next few months and they are moving their stock of them. I spoke with Crutchfield and they did not have any return or failure figures to share with me, but they did confirm it comes with the universal mount setup that appears like it will work on the OE windshield mount. I have included the link below to the unit for those who are interested in an all-in-one GPS, Bluetooth, DVR, and backup camera setup. I am hoping someone on here has some input on the unit so I am not the guinea pig picking it up. Thanks a ton in advance!

App-Tronics SmartNav 5 Replacement mirror with 5" inset, GPS navigation, Bluetooth®, dash camera, and rear-view camera at Crutchfield.com

RockZJ

jedg

So why not get an in-dash system that has GPS and backup camera options? Crutchfield lists those too and they look to be similar in price.

RockZJ

Good question! I am looking for an option that does not draw attention to would be thieves. Keeping the OE base stereo makes it look not worth the effort and the mirror style is not something I would think would be a focal point. Thanks.

RockZJ