Gaming System in the Expy

[jered22]

Guys/Girls, I am going to be installing a new head unit and 4 headrest monitors in my Expedition. I have 3 daughters and having just bought the Expedition we plan on taking many long trips. One of my daughters came up with the idea of installing either an xbox 360 or PS3 into the truck for the extended road trips.. I do not have any issues with finding a place for one or hooking it to the monitors but I am worried about the power these things need to run. I have read about needing invertors etc. I am most concerned about it draining the battery leaving us stranded. Would it be wise to look into a seperate power option such as one of those sealed battery packs that would mount somewhere in the trunk? Any ideas you may have would be greatly appreciated. I do not want to mess up the electronics in the car and also do not want to start any fires either.

thanks for any insite ahead of time

 

[GAINMOB]

not needed...as long as youre not using it with the truck off...you'll be fine...if you wanted...you can add a second battery or kinetic battery...i wouldnt do the 360 because its too sensitive for bumps/vibrations from the road...PS3 is better suited and you'll need the inverter...another mod on my list as well.

 

[walnuts4x4]

+1 for inverter and can always get it installed like the stereo and can only come on with the key... that way its less likely for you to kill the battery... and can always go to a optima red/yellow top battery for some added insurance

 

[workman8505]

+1 for ps3... the 360s have way to many problems ive been throught a lot of 360s but only two ps3s one stock and one modded both still work fine. if you feel confident enough do a modded console then you can back up to the hdd and dont have to worry with discs but to mod a ps3 you will need a 3.55 firmware or but a e3 programmer. but to be legal backups you have to own the original disc. there are plenty of tutorials on the net a bit of googleing will get you going. if not pm me i can point you in the right direction .

 

[GAINMOB]

im going to do a custom PS3...just trying to figure out where to put it so the wireless remotes pick up with no prob...

 

[workman8505]

@ freeway i would say under the passenger seat would work they use Bluetooth so just about anywhere in the truck for that matter but im putting my pc under the passenger seat so there should be room for it. i would stay away from the center console i had my pc there first but had problems with over heating. so just make sure it gets air lol.

 

[sgtowing]

Hang it from the roof like the video monitors. Then it can get signal from anywhere with nothing in the way.

 

[GAINMOB]

Hang it from the roof like the video monitors. Then it can get signal from anywhere with nothing in the way.

thats the idea i came up with too...i have plans to have a molded roof with 6-7" monitors...molded in the roof...

 

[jered22]

+1 for ps3... the 360s have way to many problems ive been throught a lot of 360s but only two ps3s one stock and one modded both still work fine. if you feel confident enough do a modded console then you can back up to the hdd and dont have to worry with discs but to mod a ps3 you will need a 3.55 firmware or but a e3 programmer. but to be legal backups you have to own the original disc. there are plenty of tutorials on the net a bit of googleing will get you going. if not pm me i can point you in the right direction .

So what you are saying is there is a "legal" way to backup the hard dsc from a PS3 to a seperate hard drive with games? I have never heard of this. This would be ideal for car use. Please direct me to the info.

 

[workman8505]

So what you are saying is there is a "legal" way to backup the hard dsc from a PS3 to a seperate hard drive with games? I have never heard of this. This would be ideal for car use. Please direct me to the info.

yes as long as you own the original disc there is not much that can be done about it but if you go and down load pirated games off the internet then that is ILLEGAL!

I will pm you with some links that will help but really just a google of PS3 CFW tutorial will get you headed in the right direction.

Ive been modding consoles since the beginning for the most part I've had Modded ps1, ps2, ps3, psp, ds, wii, n64, regular xbox, 360 and dream cast. now also keep in mind that with modded consoles you can run home brew apps such as emulators for older consoles but once again the legality of this is ify at best. with copy right laws getting stricter and stricter along with the gov trying to lock down information trying to pass laws like SOPA and PIPA....... sorry i was ranting not something to get me going on about. lol

 

[wyo_vr4]

The max power draw on a current gen PS3 is around 80W which should not be a problem as long as you don't run it excessively with the car off and your battery is in good shape.

 

[ELVATO]

I would imagine changing the HDD to an SSD wouldn't hurt, either.

 

[workman8505]

the only problem with changing the hdd to a sdd is that sdd's cost so much ive got a 500 gig hdd in mine and paid 75 bucks for it. a 512 gig ssd is 650 bucks doesnt seem worth it when i did my first car pc i had a standard hdd it lasted 3 years till i took the system out so imo not worth it. the smallest drive i would put in a ps3 for doing backup would be a 250 or so and i found a 240 ssd at microcenter for 240 bucks even then most ps3 games range from minimum of 4 gigs to 30 gigs so wouldnt have room for many games. now when ssd's come down a lot more yea would be great but for now its not worth it once again imo. and hdd's have come a long way aslong as you dont have the hdd on and drop it from more than 1 ft or 2 onto something hard they will be ok. i tried to kill an old 40 gig hdd once with it on and running i hit with stuff dropped it grinded on it with a demel thinking vibration would kill it no i had to slam it onto the desk with almost all my force to finally kill it. now not all are to the best manufacture spec so some may die easier than others and some will die on their own so its like car parts mechanical parts fail as do electronic parts the only way for them not is to never use them wheres the fun in that lol. now with all that said i wouldnt go out mudding and slinging the truck around with the ps3 on i would say thats temption fate but driving down the road if your expy is like mine and rides somth then i wouldnt worry. i would try to make some kind of rubber mounts as well just for add protection