To Build Or Buy?

[ld691]

hey guys so im wonderin if i should try and build a sub box for underneath my rear seat in an ext cab 09 truck? or would it be just as easy to bu one off subthump? i can build it in shop class for free but im thinkn it would just be a huge headache!! opinions? also i will be runnin two mtx tt65! how will they sounds?

[Wingnut]

I bought a pre-made box at a local joint a few years ago for my '02 that held 2 10" subs and fit perfectly under the back seat for under $100 if memory serves. Was well worth the time/headache savings to me.

[cghbuilder86]

I just got through building one that goes under the back seat in my truck. It holds one 10" speaker. I made it down firing. So the sub speaker faces down. It is a tight fit height wise. It barely does fit. If you made the speaker facing out it would be no problem. I can post pics and dimensions if you want?

[ld691]

ys that would be awsome if you could post pics and spes for the dimension of the box, my subs are 12inch and im guessin meaurments from one side of truck would be the same for the other side?

[SparkySparks]

The floor is a slightly different shape from one side to another, 12" subs are going to be tight and unless you raise your back seat (not sure if you can even raise it enough for 12" subs) you will have to go with either down or upward firing design. Also cghbuilder86 has a 2004(going by the info under his name on the side) which if I remember correctly has more room under the back seat so the measurements for his box might not fit in your truck. I went back and fourth on to build one or buy one and could decide. I could make one for cheaper but when I figured up the volume it was lower then what subthump had listed for their box. In the end I didn't have to decide as I'm now saving for a wedding and a house so no upgrade to the sound system for me, well maybe an upgrade to the 6-disc factory radio with the usb if I can find one on the cheap.

[ld691]

kay guys evrything is wired up but only one problem. i have no boxes yet for hte subs! i need someone to give me dimensions of boxes they have prevoisly built for the nbs truck ext cab. my sub at 12 inch thins

[cghbuilder86]

This kinda slipped my mind...I did remember to take pics though. I'll just have to go out and take the measurements tomorrow. I'm not for sure if your truck seat is the same or not...you can measure your seat space and see if it will fit. My speaker depth was 5.5" I think if I remember right. If your 12" has more depth than that you may need to go with a traditional, one that is not downfiring. Because it was a very tight fit for mine in depth. I also built one for my brothers '94 ext. cab. His actually had more clearance under the seat. I had to make mine smaller for my '04. One thing to point out is that you don't have to cut the notches out on the bottom sides. I just did that to see if it would let more of the sound waves out. Most of them will be straight across on the sides. You could also make it to where it is a lot longer and fits up onto the hump in the middle of your floor. I just didn't care for all that. Just wanted something simple to hold my sub speakers. You could make two that are identical for both sides.

I'll get those measurements tomorrow.

Have you really already got everything wired? I am still in the process of setting mine up. Seems like I keep hitting bumps. Had trouble putting the 4 ga. cable through the firewall last time I worked on it. Where did you go through the firewall and where did you ground?

[cghbuilder86]

pics can help alot when building something.

[ld691]

there was a rummer gromet close to the sterin colum that i pushed the wire through, and i ground it to the cab in the back seat! ya ill take some time in shop class to build them

[ChevyTech77]

I built my own but took a lot of time fitting it in the alloted space and making it as close

to the recommended size for my sub as possible. While it sounds good, if I had to do it

over again, I'd just buy one. I can fix a car but building things with wood torments me.

[jdubub]

For the best quality sound, in all honesty that i have found....... I would get a ProBox. Not sure if they are popular where you are located but they are huge in TX area and out of ported, enclosed, MDF, and all other boxes you can put the cheapest subs possible in a probox and it will make them sound good. Ive tried all different boxes out there because i didnt want to spend the money for a probox. you get what you pay for I have found out

[rebelman06]

I have built several boxes. I would reccommend having access to a table saw to make sure your cuts are straight along with using MDF and not plywood.

[2009SierraZ71]

I bought one from subthump for my 2009 and it goes on the driver side under the back seat. I considered building one, too, but when the subthump showed up I was glad I didn't. When you see the box you see how uneven the floor really is and in my opinion would be a pain to build. However, with that being said, I think the subthump box is a bit too small for my 10 inch sub. It didn't sound good at all until I put some insulation all over the inside walls. Now the bass is pretty tight and sounds decent. But I do like how they built the box so it sits over the spare tire tools. A little bit of cost on the sound was worth how nicely it fits under the back seat.

[Motohead309]

I second the sub-thump buy. I bought one for my 05', i put two Rockford fosgate 10's in it and it sounds nice and clean, not 'boomy'.

[Denali_Joe]

if you got access to the tools, build your own! I have not done that yet for this truck, did on my last one. Don't wanna drop the cash into this one with the bose system and all the factory integration to the stock head unit. I like having all of the space under my backseat for when I fold them up. If I were to do it on this truck I'd get another shallow mount 10 and put it in a custom box in the center console.

 

When I built my last one the only step I was worried about was making it look nice. I cannot wrap a present, nonetheless a speaker box. I got a can of herculiner and put a few coats of that on and it turned out fantastic as well as making it tough as nails. Unfortunately it was in a Tundra, but you will be amazed at the output if you build the box to the specs of the sub. I had a cheapo power acoustik in a 1 cu/ft ported box with a 3" x 12" port and it absolutely pounded!