Rear Center Enclosure Started - 2005 Tundra Double-Cab

[tamu1996]

Well, it took my lazy butt long enough , but I’ve finally started some real work on my Rear Center Enclosure (RCE) project for my 05’ double-cab.

All pics are in my RCE gallery, but I’m going to post a few here, too.

Of course, all of us double-cab owners know just how hard it is to add bass to these trucks.

First, there's VERY little room behind the back wall of the cab. I just barely squeezed my amps back there (see audio gallery). Unless I wanted to take the time to glass the whole back cab (and even then I figure you can only fit a few shallow-depth 8"s back there), there wasn't a behind-the-seat solution to adding some bass.

Second, I could have just built a spec box and thrown it in the back seat, but that just gets in the way of passenger seating. The reason I bought this truck was to tote more folks, at least two rear passengers, so I'm not willing to give up that space to a big-ol' box.

Now, there are a few off-the-shelf options, like the factory-purchased drop-in enclosure ($$$$ ) or the Bazooka drop-in, that allow a pair of 8's or 6"s (SAS) to fit in the storage space under the rear seats, but that just wouldn't provide me with enough low-end for my tastes.

So, necessity being the mother of invention, I talked to ma' and decided to venture on my own. Granted, my project isn't going to set any SPL or design records, but it's an option, nonetheless.

I wanted some extra thump, without giving up too much space in the rear. What I came up with is a center console, to house one eD 11O.v2, that sits on top of the seat, is held in lateral position by integrating the factory rear arm rest, and wraps (curves) down to the floor. Nice thing is, when I need to remove the enclosure, I simply disconnect the box, raise the arm rest and slide the whole thing out from either side.

I had originally wanted the sub to be down-firing, but I played with my temporary enclosure in that configuration and it seemed to lose all low end, becoming to "punchy" and tinny-sounding . So, I opted for the front-firing set-up.

I've finished the basic construction and spent some time this weekend fiber-glassing the front and rear open portions of the box. I've never glassed before, so please pardon any obvious flaws. Those will be concealed when I have the enclosure covered.

Here are the sides of the box, just mocked up and test fitted into the back seat:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo.../21081/cat/717

Here's the completed basic construction, ready for fiber glass:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo.../21091/cat/717

Here's the first layer of glass, on the interior of the top-portion of the RCE. I only plan to add more glass to the interior, and maybe just two more layers. Is that too much?

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo.../21095/cat/717

This last one is of the top of the top-portion, with one layer of glass. I don't plan on building up the top any more with glass. I'll fill and smooth it with Bondo, next.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo.../21096/cat/717

After the glassing and sanding, I plan to test the box out for a week or so to see if I'm happy with the sound. If I am, then it's off to the upholstery shop for some leather-texture covering (to match the factory center console material). If I'm not happy, well...........I've always preferred the sound of a 12" sub over 10"s, so I might adapt the design to a shallow-mount 12".

I only managed to get the first couple of layers of glass down on the top portion of the RCE this weekend. I’ll continue working on it over the next couple of weeks and will post more pics, as time allows .

Just wanted to share. Thanks for the space.

--Ryan

[JnEsPappa]

Great work, man. Very creative design and nice fabrication skills.

Any idea on final volume of the enclosure? .75 cubes?

[MadMax1019]

Nice work. That's gonna be quite classy when you are all done. Excellent choice with the elemental designs sub too.

I just made a video of my subs.
http://www.realmofexcursion.com/vide...Band/6.5.1.wmv
The sound quality isn't quite there, because I filmed it with a digital camera, and the mic distorts. But theres 11mm of Xmax for y'all to see!

- Max

[tamu1996]

Great work, man. Very creative design and nice fabrication skills.

Thanks. That means a lot coming from the A/V Moderator.

Any idea on final volume of the enclosure? .75 cubes?

With the arm-rest cut-out, gross volume is roughly .59 cu. ft. Net, with the eD 11O.v2 displacement, is right at .5 cu. ft.

I had toyed with the idea of not having an arm-rest cut-out, and just making the top of the enclosure flat on top, and creating more airspace. It can be done, but gross volume would be closer to .75 cu. ft. I have my eye on that Premier shallow-mount 12" sub, but it has limited excursion (even vs. my eD 11O.v2), but I may adapt the design to a 12" sub later on (if I'm not happy with the 10" sound).

Thanks for the encouragement. Hope to see you at a Texas meet sometime.

--Ryan

[tamu1996]

Excellent choice with the elemental designs sub too.

Thanks. Nice to see someone appreciates a brand that isn't Alpine, RF and the like (no offense to those, BTW).

I just made a video of my subs.- Max

Tang Bands? Niiiiicccceeeeee.

--Ryan

[tamu1996]

I finished glassing the top portion of the box last night.

QUESTION: How many layers of glass is enough? I have one outside layer and two inner layers on the top portion. It seems pretty strong, but is there a rule of thumb?

I'll be starting the rear portion tonight and hopefully have the glassing done by Sunday night.

Then I'm just gonna' leave it rough while I test-listen to the setup. If I'm happy with it, then it's time for Bondo and covering.

Pics to come later this weekend.

--Ryan

[JnEsPappa]

QUESTION: How many layers of glass is enough? I have one outside layer and two inner layers on the top portion. It seems pretty strong, but is there a rule of thumb?

--Ryan

The required thickness depends on the size of the panel, the curvature of the piece and the sub/amp that will use the box.

I use my thumb to press HARD on the f/g and if I can make it flex, it isn't strong enough since it will flex under speaker loading. SO, give it a push and decide. IMO, more = better-er.

[tamu1996]

The required thickness depends on the size of the panel, the curvature of the piece and the sub/amp that will use the box.

The two fiber-glassed pieces measure around 10.25" X 7.5", and the other is 10.25" X 9". With three layers down on the smaller piece, that sucker isn't flexing at all.

Also, with the Bondo build-up on the top portion, that will add some strength, too. There will be less Bondo on the rear portion, only enough to cover/smooth the FG.

BTW, the sub is an Elemental Designs 11O.v2 and the amp is a JBL 600.1, running around 600 watts RMS at 2 ohms. A bit more than the 450W RMS rating of the sub, but I watch my gains closely.

Thanks for the input.

--Ryan

[tamu1996]

I laid the base for the rear portion last night and laid the first layer of glass today. Looks pretty good so far, if I do say so myself.

This coat should dry in a few more hours, then a second coat goes down. One more tomorrow morning, then it's time to stab the sub in the box and test-listen for a week or so.

More pics of the entire process in my RCE gallery.

--Ryan

[tamu1996]

More pics added to my RCE gallery.

I'm just killing time, waiting for the silicon to dry. Then, the sub goes in. More pics to come, tonight.

--Ryan

[tamu1996]

Done and done.

I've had a couple of days to test-listen to the sub enclosure, and I'm happy to say that it meets (but not necessarily exceeds) my expectations.

Sound is very clear, but output is not phenomenal, primarily to the position of the sub. Being located in the center of the rear seat and firing forward and into the center console, I think it doesn't have enough surfaces surrounding it to really appreciate the output. Same sub on the floor, in a temp box behind the passenger seat, seemed louder.

Of course, I've always preferred the sound of 12" subs, so anything less than that just won't blow my skirt up.

For a 10" single sub setup, I'm very pleased. Hell, I'm almost 32 years old, maybe it's time I grow up and just settle with something (rather than constantly tweaking the setup, as I've always done).

I'm going to shop around for an upholstery shop to do the covering this weekend. If it doesn't cost too much, I could have this sucker completely done in another week or two.

But first, have to Bondo and finish the outside before covering. Final pics to come when it's all complete.

Thanks for the space.

--Ryan

[ibleedblue]

I'm still experimenting around with ways to mount my sub too. I thought I was going to get slick and get a couple of the new EU700's that ED is selling and get rid of the 10" all together. I got the 700's in yesterday and I'm not very impressed with them, so back to the 10" again. I've found that placing it anywhere on the passenger side is many times better than the same location in the middle, though I don't know why that is. I've finally settled on building a wedge between the console and the rear seat that fires downward and towards the back. I'll leave the box in the passenger side floor until I need to carry someone back there, then I can just slide it over to the middle.

You've done an awesome job with the center console! If nothing else it'll look pretty amazing and give you something unique to show off.

[tamu1996]

I'm still experimenting around with ways to mount my sub too. I thought I was going to get slick and get a couple of the new EU700's that ED is selling and get rid of the 10" all together. I got the 700's in yesterday and I'm not very impressed with them, so back to the 10" again. I've found that placing it anywhere on the passenger side is many times better than the same location in the middle, though I don't know why that is.

You've done an awesome job with the center console! If nothing else it'll look pretty amazing and give you something unique to show off.

Thanks for the compliments. Even I've thought "well, if it sounds like sh*t, at least it will be my custom-designed, unknown-man-hours, looks-nice piece-of-sh*t".

Yeah, even I thought of adapting the design to accomodate 4 of the EU700's, two firing each direction toward the rear doors. But if I'm not satisfied with one 10", I don't think 4 6.5"s would do it, either.

It seems that the more surfaces the enclosure is next to, the better the sound, much like home subs. I had the sub firing down in a temp box, but that didn't impress me either.

Keep us posted as to what you decide and build. I'd like to see the results.

Thanks, again.

--Ryan

Oh yeah, a couple of new pics added to the gallery.

[tamu1996]

I managed to find time to run by a local upholstery shop for a bid to cover the RCE.

We went over what color, texture material I wanted. I thought about some gray piping on the edges, but he talked me out of it, going for some French stiching instead. So, we got a game plan, then..........

I explained all the pitfalls and trouble spots the guy might have (tight clearances, can't staple the fiberglass, and on and on), and the longer I talked, the more expensive I just knew this thing was going to get.

I was pleasantly surprised.............

$150 and it should take about a week!!!!!!

That's about half what I envisioned it would cost. Let's hope it turns out well. I drop the enclosure off on Monday, after I spend the weekend doing some final Bondo and sanding.

Final pics to come, hopefully by next weekend.

[ibleedblue]

Sweet! $150 sounds like a killer deal. Can't wait to see the final pics and get a final verdict on the sound.