any problems w/mounting amps in the rear seat with a power rear window??

[Agent 409]

does anyone know if the power rear window in a limited 03-04 tundra has any effect on mounting amps behind the rear seat..as far as the window track or the motor or anything like that..

[mikey]

The motor itself is on the right rear of the cab and comes down about a foot or so - can't find my dimensions right now but thats close. It really depends on how many amps you are going to run and how large they are. You can put a pretty good sized amp behind the driver's side rear seat and another under the passenger seat, leaving the right rear side open for smaller items like crossovers. You really have to have a small amp to fit it under the rear window motor - sorry, but I think you only have about 9-10" under that motor. Take a look in my pix - I don't know how to attatch to this email. For that matter, I'm not sure it made it into the pix thing either! In any case, remove the rear seat and take some careful measurements.
Mikey

[Agent 409]

were you able to avoid cutting the air vent on that right side..i could see that you didn't cut the left one at all...if you could post some more pics or anything that would be appreciated..thanks mikey.

[Agent WD-40]

You guys are both talking about the power sliding rear window in the access cab, not the power roll down window in the DC, correct? The picture sure looks like an access cab, but I just want to be square on this.

I'm also interested in seeing some more pictures you might have Mikey. Perhaps from further away.

[Agent 409]

eric, bro!! he has an '03 limited stepside...

[mikey]

Hi guys. Tried to upload some pix. Agent, I was not able to avoid cutting the driver's side rear vent; I had to mount the 1/8" aluminum sheet for the amp and crossovers so it had to go. I did leave the pass. side vent intact and that vent handles things well - no AC issues, doors close fine, etc. I used a plate, sealed the edge with neoprene weatherstripping, drilled and tapped four holes, and bridged the hole with two alum. straps as you can see in the photos. The whole thing is done from inside the cab. Basically hacksawed the vent off from the inside and put in the plug. It is watertight.

Yes, WD, this is an '03 Stepside Ltd with a sliding rear power window. I put in some pix but not sure what would help. I can post more if you let me know what you would like to see.

By the way, you might question why I ran the power cables for the amps the way I did; wierd as it looks, the system is noise free this way since it completely avoids the signal cables. JL amps are great but the location of the power and audio inputs were a pain to get around. Other amps probably will not require such drastic measures.

Hope this helps. Lots of guys with installs on this site, Agent. You will not lack for help.

[Agent WD-40]

When you say the motor is on the right side of the rear wall you mean the right side if your standing at the back of the truck looking towards the hood?

I have not looked at the rear wall for some time. There isn't room on the other side of your one remaining vent to mount anything is there (to the left in the picture)? Thanks.

[Agent 409]

eric...he said he left the passenger side vent in tact..so as you can see the motor is over there on the left side of the cab by the "in-tact" vent (if you are looking into the truck from say the front seats)

by the way..mikey..thanks for the help..if you know anyone else who has an 03 limited that installed amps on the rear wall let me know..i couldn't find any and i'd like to see some more peoples installs..

[mikey]

My apologies, Agent WD40 - I think I was being ambiguous by accident. Yes, the power window motor is on the passenger side and there isn't much room for anything other than small stuff under that motor. Really sucks but I guess we have to accept that if we want the power rear window, which is nice. In our search for space it will often turn out that our equipment choices will be narrowed by the space we have. In the case of the Tundra with power rear windows, we really only have the drivers side rear wall and the space under the seats for a good sized amp. One option is to look for smaller amps, such as that made by MAAT. Those suckers are small and put out some power, but I don't have any personal experience with them so I opted for JL Audio amps, which are very good. To be very honest, one of my main concerns with any amp is the ability to cool the thing! With the vent on the pass. side still open, cooling is not as great an issue since all the cabin air has to pass behind that seat to exit the cab and a lot of it passes by my amp. JL amps are very conservatively rated as well and they are only slightly warm after several hours of continuous play - not enough to even approach being a fire hazard behind that rear seat. I had dreams of my seat catching fire and me having to remove five bolts to get at it! Sorry for rambling but the JLs are super clean sounding, lots of power, stay very cool, allow for numerous mounting options, and most importantly - they fit.

Agent 409, you are most welcome. As for most of us here, it is a pleasure to help someone if we can. I am sorry that I do not know of anyone else with an '03 Ltd install but there MUST be someone else that has done this - its almost a given. Please let me know, either here or PM if you have any other questions I can help you with.

Mikey

[samsneeze]

check out my tundra.... it should have a link on the bottom of this posting. i have two 300/2 jl audio amps behind the rear and it fits fine...BUT, u ned to angle your seats a bit. if it isnt showing ( site that is) then go to cardomain.com and look for a 2003 stepside tundra under the name "samplz gggreythunder." hope this helps