cheap truck sub?

[gidrah]

I have a P/U truck that could use a sub. It's not extended cab and I need to slide the seat all the way back.

This has probably been handled a gazillion times, but I'm new to car audio. Home audio I'm a vet, but I gave up car audio years ago when mine kept getting stolen.

[Kim]

I would suggest first determining the location and usable external volume for the sub enclosure. Then the next step is to decide if you want to build a sealed, ported, or band pass enclosure. This will determine the woofer used for this application. For this kind of installation where space is a premium, you might want to consider building a small sealed enclosure.
If you are looking for a source to obrtain a vehicle specific sub enclosure, then I would recommend calling the guys at "The Wood Shop". Their toll free number is 888-227-5623. If you need to know what the recommended sealed volume is for any of our woofers, we have them posted on our car audio section of our website. If you have any questions feel free to give us a call at
800-377-7655 between the hours of 9 am to 6 pm Eastern time.

Thanks,
Kim

[bqcaldwell99]

Gidrah,

Any luck with developing some sort of strategy for a sub for your truck? What kind of truck is it exactly?

I drive a 98 Ford Ranger regular cab, and I developed a box made out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) that fits perfectly behind my driver's seat. The left portion of it is cut away so that it doesn't interfere with the left rear speaker, and the sub is tucked away right in the center of the truck. I had to give up about 1-1/2 to 2 inches of leg room, but it sounds fantastic! :)

The box is sealed with only a hole big enough for the speaker wire to come out. I first drilled holes for the screws, then used wood glue to bon it all, screwed it togther, and then took a heavy caulk and, reaching in through the sub hole, caulked all of the inside real well. No leaks after 1-1/2 years!

I believe I calculated the volume to be somewhere in the range of .65 - .70. This is for a 10", 4-ohm Polk sub.

Let me know if you need any help. I might be able to give you some dimensions.
Thanks
bq

[gidrah]

Now I remember the other reason I got out of car audio. I've got a '93 Chevy Cheyenne. I can't afford any leg room. I may try a couple of designs to utilize a portion of behind and under the bench-seat.

[PoweredByDodge]

gidrah... dude... i feel your pain.. i had an 88 dodge ram standard cab 150 ... no room.. anywhere.. i had to push my seat so far forward and brace it up so as that i could fire my subs in behind it.

however... i think you ought to only do one subwoofer

put it behind the passenger seat so that you dont lose leg rom as the driver (steering wheel already conmpromises you) but it ownt matter if the passenger is like 3 inches closer to the dash -- it shoudl be fine...

do a SEALED ENCLOSURE --- i'm irritated hearing all this bandpass / ported talk when it comes to trucks... there is no way.. period.. no way at all that you are going to get a bandapss encloseure to sound good inside a standard cab truck... as soon as you roll your windows down it'll sound like crap (as if BP boxes didn't sound like that anyways). Ported -- well fine if you want a much biggerbox and a whole lot of port noise -- remember this speaker is living in the same air space you are... so it better do its job and do it smoothly and witout any undesired sounds.

get a 10 -- a good ten -- 12's take up more space --- try one of the new momo 10 inch subs -- crutchfield has them for 220 for one i think. make a solid MDF (med density fiberboard -- cheap like 15 bucks for a big sheet of it and thats all ya need) box SEALED behind your psgr seat.

angle the box slightly so that the woofer is at like a 60 degree angle instead of a 90 -- this will help it so that the seat can go back a little farther and be almost hte way it is now (rememebr the back of a bucket seat kind of has a 60 degree or so angle to it).

if you want abullet proof box -- i've been doing this method for years (and when people told me i was wrong, i tried it the 'old fashioned way' and fact is.. this way is better for sealed boxes).

cut all your mdf pieces... then, drill your holes for each joint about 3 inches apart -- use 2 inch or 2 1/4 inch drywall screws (with the coarse thread) and then before you put the screws in, slip a piece of 5/8th inch wide and 1/8th inch thick weather stripping (the stuff used on house doors -- the cloth kind,, not rubber) in the joint.. screw right through it and screw down hard do the screws bite the wood... use 100% silicone caulk to caulk the joints on the inside and if you're really worried about it - the outside as well (although that is unnecessary). before you go to lay in your subwoofer into the cutout hole -- drop a THIN .. very THIN bead of caulk aroudn the hole and then secure the woofer with 1 inch screws (supplied w/ woofer usually).

the momo 10 willdo nicely in that box .. 0.66 cubic foot.

other woofers u might wnat to look at if the momo is too pricey would be the polk dx (i highly recommend these for small pickup cabs -- but they dont make them anymore soyou'd have to talk to polk's cust service dept direct, and is about a 150 dollar sub) or perhaps Image Dynamics IDQ v2 dual 2 ohm coil which wires up to 4 ohms (costs about 150)... alpine type R 10 dual 2 ohm coil (179 retail)... or if you're a real connoseur (spelling) of music -- the Oz Matrix 10 inch dual 3 ohm coil sub --- u'll need a little cleaner power and a precisely designed box, but that sub is TIGHT -- not realy loud but god is it good sounding.

[gidrah]

I've got a bench-seat. I've been looking into TL enclosures for home use. If I can carry this over via PVC tubing snaking around what I can offer, I'll be a happy camper. Maybe I should upgrade my current OEM speakers and decide from there.

My dedication is great, time is limited, and money sucks.

[PoweredByDodge]

well -- hmm... i had a bench seat in my 88 and what i ended up doing you wont want to do -- lets just say i was sniffing steering wheel for years.

i really think you can build or buy a box that is slanted almost like a right angle triangle... like so....

x
x x
x x
x x
x x
x x
x x
x x
xxxxxxx


if you snag something like that you will definately be able to fit it behind the seat -- probably with two 10 inch woofers -- and not have to move the seat up more than like 1/3 or 1/2 way.

i had seen a box a few years ago ---- *looking*
here we go -- same makers of "the death box" lmfao...

www.decware.com --- they're pretty good guys over there... here is the direct link to the box i am speaking of but if u wanna find a link ot contact them its prolly at decware.com

the dual 10" "tiny" truck box
http://www.decware.com/tbk10.htm

i would throw two idq 10's / polk dx 10's / --- momo 10's if u could afford it / or the oz matrix 10's.

[TrappedUnder Ice]

One thing that most folks overlook...are 8's. Yes I know..everyone wants 10/12's..but couple 8's done right can have just as good effect as couple of 10's..without the depth and space requirements...and you could..if you wanted..vent a box for the 8's.
I had a couple 8's in very small enclosure that was ported..and it was quite impressive

just some more options...good luck