Amp Placement

flood · March 27, 2003

Does anybody know if there's a spot underneath the dash to mount an amp in a 2001 Silverado? My amp is an Alpine MRP-F320 which is 13 3/8 inches long 10 inches deep and 3 inches high. Wondering if anyone has managed to mount their amp in this location and what the tricks were.

Thanks in advance!

Tucson_02Silverado · March 28, 2003

I too was about to start looking for an underdash place to mount and amp. I know that BOSE equipped SUV's have an amp mounted underdash, I just don't know were and how much space there is. I'm guessing it would be enough space for a 4x50 or 2x120 amp

kshuart · March 28, 2003

The BOSE amp is in the center console from what I understand, not under the dash. The best place I found for an amp is behind the rear seat if you have an extended cab. I've got a picture of mine, but my web site is down right now. I can post it tomorrow or send you a picture directly if you want it.

flood · March 28, 2003

Thanks for the replys guys!

I know there's plenty of room behind the back seat of an x-tra cab Silverado...I was hoping that there was some possible way to locate the amp more toward the front of the truck. I'm really not interested in running wires all over the cab so I was thinking if I could mount the amp somewhere close to the head unit, I could avoid long wire runs.

The BOSE amp is in the center console from what I understand, not under the dash.

Hmmm.... center console eh??? I'll have to take a look to see if there's any room in that area...seems pretty tight to me, but I'll look again.

Thanks again everyone!

Tucson_02Silverado · March 28, 2003

Just looked in the service manual for the external amp. It says, lower the glove box and it shows a bracket mounted to the firewall.

There is also what looks like behind the passenger air bag the VIU (Vehicle Interface Unit) for the OnStar, but that looks a little small. Maybe a 2x50 amp would fit.

Anyone with a BOSE?

Air Biscuit · March 28, 2003

I had the car stereo place fab a bracket and stick my jbl 80.4 under my driver's seat. It just fits and I don't know the exact size (check the website) but it might work for you. I have my jbl 150.1 for my sub under the passenger seat and it fits without a problem but it is quite a bit smaller.

Good luck.

Matthew4:19 · March 28, 2003

mho, I think your amp is too large for the dash. I would suggest under the front seat if you want a short wire run.

flood · March 28, 2003

Thank you all very much for all of your replies. You are helping me work through this and I appreciate it.

The problem with mounting it under the driver's seat (or even the passengers seat) is that they are power seats. There are 2 or 3 motors under the seat that hover right above the floor. I don't think it's gonna work under the seats...just not enough room vertically.

Tuscon_02...I found the same thing in my manual. I went out to my truck and tried to 'lower the glove box' like the manual says...but I don't get it. It doesn't 'lower'. It doesn't really even come off at all...the hinge at the bottom of the box is riveted to the trim panel. I did take a look up underneath the passenger side of the dash (behind the airbag area) and it looks like there is a spot where the amp **might** fit...but doing any adjustments to the gain after it was installed would be impossible. No room to maneuver at all.

Looks like the only option is going to be behind the rear seat. What are my options as far as mounting it to the rear wall of the cab? Do I just screw it into the wall? Are there any tricks anyone can share that will make mounting it to the wall relatively painless?

Thanks for all of the input guys!

Tucson_02Silverado · March 28, 2003

I haven't had a chance to look behind the glove box yet. But like the other suggestion, if you don't have power front seats there is plenty of room under them. If you do have power seats, trust me there is no room fit even the smallest of amps.

City_Slicker · March 28, 2003

Screw into the rear wall with short screws, that my 2 cents. You are still going to have problems adjusting gain though.

kshuart · March 29, 2003

If you screw into the upper part of the back wall, there is a double thick section. This allows you to put short screws in and not screw all the way through the cab. Take a look at these pictures. I put the amp on a board, then screwed straps from the board to upper part of the wall. It's hard to see in the pictures, but right above the board, the back wall protrudes into the cab an inch or two. The reason I put it on the board and used the straps was to keep the amp somewhat recessed in comparison to this protrusion. Hope I explained this well enough.

Close Up

Amp

flood · March 29, 2003

Wow...thanks for the pics kshuart! Very helpful indeed...

I was considering the same probox as the one shown in your picture...but now I have a question.

I see that on the edge of the box that's closest to the xtra cab door, there is some space between the box and the doorframe (does that make sense?). Would there be enough space to mount the amp on the *side* of the probox? Once you put the rear seat back in, is that gap still there? I can see the studs coming out of the floor for the seat to bolt to, but it's hard to tell exactly how much room there is between the box and where the seat bracket would be.

Thanks again all of you for all of the help...I'll stick with it and post pics if/when I get it done!

kshuart · March 29, 2003

Hopefully these pictures will help even more. I put a tape measure in the one so you get an idea of the distance. I think you could get an amp mounted on the side of the box, but as you see in the last picture, you would see it every time you opened the rear door. Personally, I wanted a little more security than that. With it on the back wall, you have to take the seat out to get to it. You can still adjust it from the bottom (put the adjustment screws facing down), but you can't get to the mounting screws.

Sub Box Pictures

Oh, and yes I was anal enough to paint the box to match the interior. My wife just shakes her head at some of the stuff I do. :thumb:

GF7PE · March 30, 2003

for crew cabs

flood · March 31, 2003

Thanks for all the great info...

kshuart--- the ProBox looks great...I'm sold!

I'm gonna place my order for one today. How long did it take for them to get it to you?

Based on your pictures, and some of my own measurements, I'm not going to be able to mount the amp on the side of the box. Just not quite enough room from the floor to the bottom of the seat. I was really not looking forward to removing the rear seat for the rear wall mounting, but it looks like that's going to be my only option. Just to see what my options were, I pulled the center console apart and it looks like I can run all of the cables through the console and then cut a small slit in the carpet underneath the console to run the wires back to the rear wall. I don't think anyone will be able to see any wires when I'm done. Should be sweet!

One more thing...what type/color paint did you use to paint your ProBox? Is it spraypaint? If so, do you remember the brand/color?