So Far and what's to come...

[ZuZu4by]

Well, I have only done some pretty minor stuff and since I have made it past the summer "boom fever" I guess I'll wait untill next spring to try to add anything to the system.
I have a Kenwood CD/MP3 head unit and Have replaced the factory speakers front and rear with Pioneer. I will probably replace them before it is all said and done, though.

What I am going to try to do is some how fit a woofer in the back without losing cargo space. My dog box takes up all but about a two foot area on the left side, so I would have to take the woofer out each time we go camping or if I go hunting. So I think I may try to cut out the plastic side paneling on the left from the window down and dynomat the thing and all that and build a box to give me the space I need for at least a 10" woofer and amp while utilizing the space of the missing panel and a small custom fit box. If all this goes the way I hope, there should be little to tell that it was not "factory".

[ZuZu4by]

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Head Unit

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Door Speakers

[brad84]

actually you will prolly have a hard time doing that. there is alot of bracing and not alot of room

[IsuzuRS]

eve if you did get enough room, i think you might have some rattles with the rear door. i know that since i got my new tires, my rear door has been squeking, becuase theres "too much" weight on the rear door i guess. The tires i got are 31" A/Ts.

[ZuZu4by]

I don't know if it will work out or not. I did see an article at isuzuplanet.com where a guy put two 6" woofers under the back seats adn I may see what can be done there with maybe 8's or something.

The back door rattles constantly as it is. I don't think wieght has much to do with it, it just happens over time. They should've mad the dorr one piece instead of two.

[marco1]

Guys the back door squeaks because you need to put grease on the metal door spot located on the body of the truck. If your looking for a sub woofer to put in look at my ride on cardomain.com, it's known as the epicenter and my back door does't rattle. Warning if your looking to save space it is going to cost a pretty penny. Amp location is key. This solobaric L7 12"
and Rockford Fosgate X5 generate 143db. obviously your going to need a capacitor. When I put this system in I also was concerned with space because originally i had 3 JL Audio 10" and three amps, sure it was loud but i couldn't even put a shopping bag back there. www.cardomain.com/memberpage/423676

[ZuZu4by]

My back door doesn't squeak, it rattles like it is not shut completely even when you slam it. The little door window also leaks a bit when it rains. It's funny, but a "soccer mom" had bought the trooper new and when I got it, there was not a rattle one in the whole thing. I guess the off-roading as well as the sorry excuse for pavement and all the gravel roads took it's toll. Now there is a new rattle daily.

I have decided that, what with my company telling me that I have to wait until they figure out how they are going to pay me, I should try adn be happy with the system I have and not look for any more bass right now.

[IsuzuRS]

About systems...I have a pioneer 180 watt deck, and am getting some 4 new pioneer 6.5" speakers, with a max 160 watts, but i was curious, about those speaker boxes at wall-mart. The ones with 2 built-in 6" subs, and tweeters, would I have to buy an amp to use those. I think i would, but it would be neat if not. I have the hook-up in the back of my stereo for them, but do i have to have an external amp? i suggest i do...

[ZuZu4by]

I think I would amp them if nothing else, just so I could cut the high frequencys out and bost the lows. It wouldn't need to be a very big amp though.

[Eric]

I would definitely amp them.

This is the thing:

When manufacturers rate a deck's output wattage, they're basing that on a half-clip output at 13.5 or 14.4 volts, which isn't anywhere near what the actual output rating should be. It's easy to mistake "Max output power" for what the deck will actually push, whereas you're only really getting probably 15 watts RMS out of any good deck before distortion really starts to set in.

Now, 15 watts doesn't sound like a lot, but if you've ever been to a football stadium and heard how loud the speakers are there, you'd be surprised to find out how little actual "output power" the amplifiers are pushing.

What I'm getting at is, it's not the MAX output power you should look for in an amplification source, it's the RMS (Root Mean Square) power, or the power that it can output on-demand, based on a given input voltage. If that sounds like Greek to you, think of it this way: If two amps put out 200w RMS total, but one measures that at 12 volts and the other at 14.4, you can tell which amp is making more power out of less input voltage, and which is, therefore, more efficient.

On to the next point. The more powerful an amp you run to a speaker, the louder it can play. Well, kind of. A better way to think of it is, the more power you run to a speaker, the better the sound will be at a given volume level, because the amp is not having to work as hard to produce it, therefore you're not getting distortion and clipping so easily.

A 25w RMS x 4 channel amp WILL SOUND BETTER at the same volume as a 40w Max x 4 channel receiver.

Trust me. It's all about where the power curve drops off, and whether the amplifier can sustain a given power level for a long period of time.

Keep in mind, also, that the lower in frequency you go, as a general rule, the more power it takes to produce the same sound output. Which is why it takes a much smaller amp to make your door speakers uncomfortably loud than it does to make your woofers uncomfortably loud. Bigger driver (speaker) means bigger amp. Preferrably, as efficient an amp as you can find.

If I've over-explained this, or you have any questions, please feel free to give me a holler.

[IsuzuRS]

I'll stick to just the door and rear panel speakers. Im not trying to be "ballin" exspecially since i listen to alternative, ska, some rock, various stuff, just no rap. Closest to rap with the bass, that i get is Beastie Boys.

[BuckHunt]

Isuzu RS - I have 2 10" subwoofers in a bandpass box, it makes some good sounding bass, deep, clear, can get LOUD. I hated big bass systems til i heard some Foo Fighters, RATM, and Superdrag through a nice system a few years ago, i got my setup and LOVE it. You dont have to keep it turned up to where the neighbors hate you, but keeping subs bass output at a moderate level can bring out the best in a lot of music (see Metallica's ...And Justice for All cd as a good example)

[IsuzuRS]

Well, trust me, if I had the $$$, i would have a nice set up. I want some Rocksford fosgate speakers. my cousin has some, and i swear, the bass is awesome, and he has no sub or amp, just a kenwood amp. Anyways, with the limited room I have in my RS, its probably best not to have a sub box and amp.

[BuckHunt]

gotcha on the $$$ aspect

i heard some 6.5 rockford fosgate component speakers, I dont know if the crossovers with them or what makes the difference, but they pretty much make good sound all around - treble, mids, and bass.

I've never seen the layout of the inside of an RS. What gets cut inside to make the wheelbase shorter? Cargo room? Back seats??

[IsuzuRS]

Back seats are a few inches further up, but mostly the cargo area is smaller. Still big enough for gear, just about 8 inches shorter. I wanna park next to a 4 door trooper and see the major differences. If I wanted cargo room though, i'd drive my 86 dodge ram everywhere.