Worklog - Road RagE II (2007 Tundra)

[MNT10MAN]

I just tapped into the brown cargo light wire for the "cargo" light inside my camper. Ran the wire down through the kick panel, inside the frame and into the bed through the fender to the tail light and made my splice from there to the camper wiring. The installers had originally tied into the running lights which I found retarded. Now I can control the interior camper light with my factory cargo light switch in the cab and when I unlock the doors with the keyfob the light comes on as well. Works great. I removed the bulb in the origional cargo light and will be replacing the stock Leer light with an LED cluster as soon as it arrives. Thx for the tips, I would have never found that tiny little brown wire without these postings.

[GWEE]

WOW thats alot of work that you are doing. looks awesome and well plan out.

[PS-RagE]

So now that the subwoofer enclosure/amp rack is fully assembled, its time to finally get it in the Tundra!

Its really heavy - took three of us to carry it

The large rear seat was removed and in it goes. But when I get the seat back in - it doesn't fit!!!! The whole thing is sitting two inches too far forward and the overhang from the amplifiers won't allow the seat to to lock into place! If there was a time to panic during this project - this is it!



The entire fit is off. Both sides are out of place:





Closer inspection shows the rail for the seat is in the way:





During the entire design and build, the seat and the sub box were never both in the truck at the same time so I hadn't noticed this You can see how the rail is holding it an inch to the right. Since this was formed to the back wall, an inch throws the entire fit off by a lot.

Out it comes and the "leg" of the sub box is modified to clear the bracket:



Back in it goes and <whew> it fits like it was made to:





So now the wiring has to be cut in. The switched power feed is rerouted to the main power at the back and my radio wires are all connected.

To get the power from the big fuse to the battery I enlarged this hole:



And fit a strip of nylon continuous grommet:





The capacitor has to first be charged through a lamp before I can connect it to the battery. I put a label on the power run so if a mechanic disconnects it he (hopefully) won't short it to the frame:



Finally, I can power it up:






Now that is cool!

And here is the final fit and resting place of the seats:






While I wouldn't want to sit behind the driver it can still be done.

So, next up is getting the speakers installed!

.

[Jumbo Jet]

Looks amazing! Close call with the seat bracket... huh? Glad you got it worked out. Note to self: Check amp rack with seat in tomorrow.

Cant wait to hear how it sounds.

[SpecoPerformance]

so much for all that leg room

[PS-RagE]

I'd rather have tunes than passengers

Actually, compared to the last one there is a ton of space back there.

This was the Nissan:



Anyhow, I've got an appointment tomorrow to talk to the upholsterer about replacing the plastic seatback. That should get me another two inches.

[millsp]

Originally Posted by PS-RagE

That should get me another two inches.

Man if it where only that easy...Ohh you mean leg room.....

[PS-RagE]

Got the seat back from the upholstery shop today. I removed the plastic back and had him stitch a simple fuzzy grey carpet on the back. Now the seat slides all the way back. Much better fit and more room should I have a passenger back there:

[NoKz]

Very nice man! This worklog is nothing short of awesome!

[PS-RagE]

Long weekend means work can get done! Time to tackle those door speakers.

Off with the "skin":



Here is the replacement tweeter next to the factory one:



Lots of little parts to make up the tweeter assembly:



Obviously this isn't going to fit without a fight. So hafta drill the hole in the sail a little larger:



Using the dremel and my knife, I smooth out and finish the mount. Got pretty much a perfect fit:





Next comes the woofer. Again, here is the factory 6x9 with its replacements:









Before trying to fit these I've got to soundproof the inside of the door. What a pain this is - glad I've only got to do it once more!



Obviously, the 6.5" isn't going to fit in the 6x9's hole so I make an MDF mount for it:



I painted it black so it won't be noticable through the grill:



I also mounted the mid bass with another MDF mount. First I cut a hole in the door skin where I want the grill to go:





Now that I can see where the grill is, I cut the mounting hole for the speaker:



A test fit shows the foam behind the door skin (I assume it is support for the arm rest) is holding the assembly too far out:



Out with a fillet knife and trim that down some. I also now used RTV to hold the foam securely to the panel:



I fished three runs of 14/2 speaker wire into the door. Man, that wasn't easy! The rubber tube that the wires run through into the door is only about an inch in diameter and there is pretty much an inch of wires already in there!



Next is a second layer of soundproofing this time using the thinner foil backed variety. This type is sooooooo much easier to work with. The inside took about three hours, this took less than one:



I put some black duct seal around the hole where the woofer will fit:



And in it goes:



Next, the mid bass:



Any wiring that looked less than secure was wrapped with fuzzy velcro to ensure no rattles:



And here is the end result:



Now to get that skin back on.

I have to trim the mounting flange away from the grill for the mid bass:



It is clamped in place:



And glued to the panel using JB Weld:



Oops - off with this thing!



Here is the final re-assembly:





Of course, I had to rebadge the factory grill:



Next is to run those cables to the amp rack and start over again!

With luck, by this time next week I'll be doing level settings

.

[Jumbo Jet]

As always, amazing work. I'm glad you took pics of the tweeter assembly. I have to do the same thing with my Boston tweeters and now I know exactly what they'll look like. What did you use to secure the new tweeter in the sail panel...... the old housing?

[PS-RagE]

The tweeter is friction fit. If you look at the pictures you will see what looks like threads but are actually more like saw teeth. It came with a locking ring intended to click on to those teeth but I didn't need to use it

[dragaeran]

Excellent work as usual.....Good to see someone that is meticulous about their work!
You going to be able to meter everything when you are done to get SPL and Tuning pts? The tuning has always been my achilles heal....as it is for many. It only took me 6 months to get the 4Runner right....now I have to get it right for the Tundra.
I have a quick radio question if you have a moment....I got a Kenwood FM DualBander (<--exact name??) in the early 90's that I found in a box when I was cleaning out the basement. Any chance you might know what the heck it is? If you can PM me with the ?'s you need answered to figure it out, I would appreciate it.

[PS-RagE]

Thanks!

Conveniently, the Audio Processor has a built in Real Time Analyzer and does the majority of the settings for me. Just have to set up a microphone and get out of the truck and it will do all the time corrections, etc automatically. Once everything is tuned the way I like I'll drag an SPL meter into it just to see how much damage it can do

No idea on your Kenwood. I'm a Motorola dealer - all licensed equipment. Don't go near the amateur stuff

[DougR]

Originally Posted by dragaeran

I have a quick radio question if you have a moment....I got a Kenwood FM DualBander (<--exact name??) in the early 90's that I found in a box when I was cleaning out the basement. Any chance you might know what the heck it is? If you can PM me with the ?'s you need answered to figure it out, I would appreciate it.

Sounds like it is a Kenwood VHF/UHF amateur (ham) radio.