Hello, it's almost been a year since the U.S. border customs destroyed my mdf subbox that held 2 Rf 12's. Well, i've considered my options and after talking to many guys at cruise nights with systems, I began my fiberglass enclosure project. My goal was to be able to slide my seats all the way back and fully recline them and of coursre make it harder for the U.S. customs to mess with the enclosure. I'm proud to say that it's almost done. I need to add a few more layers of cloth and resin to build it up nice and thick. Then i'm going to sand it down (lots of fun), bondo it and take it in to get painted the same color as my truck. It appears blue right now because that was the color of the cloth I stretched over the front to get my shape. I've designed this enclosure to hold both Rf 12's with proper air volume. There are three bolts behind the seats which use to hold down a black cabinet thingy. I'm using those to bolt the enclosure to the truck. Hopefully it'll be up and pounding by mid april. I'm guessing that this enclosure would work for anyone with a 97-03 regular cab or possibly a lightning since it's basically the same truck. Here are some pics of my progress so far, there are more in my gallery!

 

Nice work. Should sound great.

 

Well it's been awhile since I updated my progress so here I go! I finished laying fiberglass a few weeks ago. I then put a final layer of just resin on it to smooth things out. I let it cure for a few weeks just to be sure that it was fully cured before I tested the enclosure. I then proceeded to test it out by mounting the subs. I didn't fully seal the subs so the box's full potential is still unknown. Anyways, I hooked it up to my home theater system which puts out around 120rms. This box pounds!!! I'm very impressed with the sound quality this thing puts out. I cranked it up and the whole house was pretty much shaking. Can't go wrong there, lol. The box didn't flex or rattle which was a big relief. Can't wait to feed it with 400rms. So after the test being successful, I started to finish the box by applying a few layers of bondo. I have started to sand it but its going to take alot of elbow grease and patience for this part. I'm only finishing the front side of the box and might leave the backside alone or I might just cover it with carpet so that it fits snug in place. I attached a few more pics of my progress. More to come!

 

Looks interesting. Have you considered 'glassing' in a transparent window, and putting a couple LED's in it? Not for looks, but so the Border Guards don't pull this one apart?
Sorta kidding. Looks like it will be nice when you are finished. How many cubic feet is it?
Chris

 

Lookin good so far

As Chris said, what do you have for airspace, and how much mounting depth?

 

Hi, that's a good idea to put in some kind of window. Maybe the border guards would get off my case for once, lol. Oh well too late now. The inside of the box is ugly looking anyways. It's hard to calculate the exact cubic feet but I figure somewhere between 1.9 - 2.2 cubic feet. The box is actually alot wider and deeper than it looks in the pics. I took advantage of every little bit of space I could find with the seats fully reclined.

 

Ooops, mounting depth is at 7.5 in. from the very back wall to the top edge of the mdf ring.

 

Wow, I didnt think it was possible to get that much mounting depth.

When the seats are all they way back and reclined, is there still room to make the box taller to get more airspace?

 

Absolutely, I just stopped where I did because there is a plastic trim panel that stretches along the back cab wall that starts at about 12 or 13 inches up from the carpet. I figured it would blend in better if I just stopped at that trim panel. However if you wanted to continue past the trim panel, you could go at least a few more inches yet to gain more volume with the seats fully reclined. I'll take a few pics tomorrow of the box sitting in my truck so you guys can get a better idea of how it will look. Kind of hard to imagine it in place when it's not, lol.

 

If you can get your hands on a DA it will save you tons of elbow grease. Looks good!

 

Use a cheese grater, it's what they are called, to help you on your sanding. What it is is it looks like a cheese grater but it is designed for auto body applications exactly like what you are doing. Plus, if you get one about 12" long it will smooth and level out your Bondo. Then get a smaller one for the rounded areas.

Looks, good and good luck.

 

Wow. I need to do that with my truck... I can put both seats all the way back, as long as my console is up. To flip it down I have to move the passenger bench forward a bit.Reclining works most of the way, but it's a reg cab... who reclines anyway.

The mounting depth is what caught my eye though.. each of my subs require 1.0cu.ft of space and a mounting depth of 6.4", then they have a pole vent on the bottom.. That box would be exactly what I need...

Remind me to get into glassing this summer.
Can't wait to see the finished product

 

Hi, I took some pics today of the box installed in the cab. I also took some pics of the seats fully reclined and the depth measurement for you guys. Its hard to tell from the pics but there is at least 1.5 inch of clearance for the subs with the seats pushed all the way back and fully reclined which will be perfect for my application. I looked around for that chesse grader looking thing today and found one at a local auto parts store. Sounds like I'll be buying one soon. Once I finish the sanding, I plan on buying a new amp and mounting it. Then hopefully the painting will begin.

Area where the box will go:


box installed:


drivers seat fully reclined:


passenger seat pushed back all the way but not reclined:

 

box depth measurement:


only thing you can see when both seats are pushed all the way back:

 

very nice work rob i am looking forward to seeing it fully completed meant to ask did you get any satisfaction out of customs canada i cross at ambassitor bridge twice a month actually have a bunch of good friends in the windsor area we are into dunebuggies and sandrails anyway customs tore up a bunch of my stuff a few years back i took them to court and won my case did allright another buddy had a go round with them they sent the sniffer dog thru his car dog got the interior all messed up (white interior) they did pay to have it cleaned he had to pester the bejessus out of them though