Custom Speaker boxes

Who has had some built? I want to get something built in the back of my 4 runner and I want it to be a combo of a speaker box(subwoofers) and a utility drawer type thing. With having the top off in the summer, I'd like something that would sit in the back flush that I could bolt down.

Mrs. Crash said:

Who has had some built? I want to get something built in the back of my 4 runner and I want it to be a combo of a speaker box(subwoofers) and a utility drawer type thing. With having the top off in the summer, I'd like something that would sit in the back flush that I could bolt down.

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If it was me I would do a fiberglass box, really durable, light weight & also water resistant. Custom Fiberglass speaker box's can get pretty spendy though...unless you know someone who can hook you up.

Only thing is from the sounds of it your speaker box would be pretty big to accomodate a utility drawer, you would also have to make sure your speakers will work with a large amount of air space like that, or else it would sound like poo.

slednecks1124 said:

If it was me I would do a fiberglass box, really durable, light weight & also water resistant. Custom Fiberglass speaker box's can get pretty spendy though...unless you know someone who can hook you up.

Only thing is from the sounds of it your speaker box would be pretty big to accomodate a utility drawer, you would also have to make sure your speakers will work with a large amount of air space like that, or else it would sound like poo.

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That's the problem I have now. They sound like ****. I've been looking at some of the fiberglass stuff online now and I have no problems with doing both. (fiberglass for the speaker part of it and wood for the drawer)
I just want to find a way where it would be somewhat flush so I could still put stuff on top of at least the drawer part of it.

Mrs. Crash said:

That's the problem I have now. They sound like ****. I've been looking at some of the fiberglass stuff online now and I have no problems with doing both. (fiberglass for the speaker part of it and wood for the drawer)
I just want to find a way where it would be somewhat flush so I could still put stuff on top of at least the drawer part of it.

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What kind of subs & amp do you have? There is alot to making good sound besides just changing the box, the components your working with play a big role also.

Thats the nice thing about fiberglass is you can form to any shape/contour of your car, you could also make the drawer out of fiberglass as well. Just depends how much your looking to spend & how fancy you want it.

You can buy all the supplies locally to build one yourself, im sure your husband could figure it out. there are alot of tutorials you can read online to help you through it. I work for a company that makes fiberglass spray equipment so if you need resources let me know, Id be glad to help by all means.

How big are you planning on making the drawer?

The big issue is the speaker boxes. It doesn't have the best/highest quality components but they should do the job.

I worked in the car audio industry for over 10 years and we built a ton of boxes like this.

On both sides of your rig pull all the sides out and fiberglass in the subwoofer into the side wall layering it down to drawer that runs the bottom.

We did stuff like this several times and the draw was actually the amp rack. We would of course use plexi glass top to show off the amp. Then the draw would pull out to service the amps.

Essentially it would look something like this

__________________
| |
| |
|_ _|
| S |empty space| S |
| U |empty space| U |
| B |___________| B |
|___Storage________|

Can't get the image to work right so I had to add the text

Labor wise we would have charged $500 a side and the drawer around $250

slednecks1124 said:

What kind of subs & amp do you have? There is alot to making good sound besides just changing the box, the components your working with play a big role also.

Thats the nice thing about fiberglass is you can form to any shape/contour of your car, you could also make the drawer out of fiberglass as well. Just depends how much your looking to spend & how fancy you want it.

You can buy all the supplies locally to build one yourself, im sure your husband could figure it out. there are alot of tutorials you can read online to help you through it. I work for a company that makes fiberglass spray equipment so if you need resources let me know, Id be glad to help by all means.

How big are you planning on making the drawer?

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I don't even remember what I have in there now. It's been so long.
I think the subs are Pioneer. My other speakers are infinity I think.

And I'd just rather have it done. My husband has too many projects and I'd like it done sometime this year. :redneck: I'm willing to pay for it if it's going to work for what I have. I will see if I can take a picture and give an idea.

Depending the on the Pioneer you have they require a lot of air space. You maybe better off getting a set of speakers that require less air space as you are working little space.

Here is a better picture

This is what the back looks like now. When Michael gets home tonight I'll have him draw a basic idea of what I want though.

Ok I suck at the paint.. But here's a (really bad) idea. :redneck:

You could easily do one big panel that covers the floor and the front has a flap the folds up to access the storage area. Then where the subs are fire them down with a port along the front side. The would give you the reflection needed for the bass sound wave and increase of 1.5 to 2 DB.

FunNmuD said:

You could easily do one big panel that covers the floor and the front has a flap the folds up to access the storage area. Then where the subs are fire them down with a port along the front side. The would give you the reflection needed for the bass sound wave and increase of 1.5 to 2 DB.

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Part of that is geek talk to me.. :redneck: I don't know much about speakers/sound quality which is why I'm trying to get it done.

As for the one panel, I have no issues with how it's done as long as it doesn't look like a piece of cheap plywood I shoved over top. I just want it to look like it's built into the truck and not cheap. Ideally, I'd like it to be a drawer you could pull out. Like a regular drawer, but I may not be able to go that route.

Sink the subs into the rear side panels, there's ALOT of dead space back there.
A decent set of grills and yer done.

Rix said:

Sink the subs into the rear side panels, there's ALOT of dead space back there.
A decent set of grills and yer done.

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Even if I put the subs in the sides, I've still always wanted some kind of box built into the back for storage. Having a removable top (and my truck already stolen once) means I'd like to keep stuff in my truck, but still out of site somewhat. My utility bag just sits back there now and I'd like a way to keep it in there and still look nice.

Do you have budget in mind for this project?

Fiberglass supplies can get expensive.


If you do the sides in the fiberglass it will be a whole day for each side and full a day for the drawer, wiring and final assembly.

The covering can be done in vinyl or carpet. Carpet is easier then vinyl as it requires less finish work on the fiberglass. The sanding and layering required for vinyl to look good can eat up a whole afternoon.

You can also do paint but..... that is a ton more work.

I have done carpet and vinyl both have turned out looking good.

FunNmuD said:

Do you have budget in mind for this project?

Fiberglass supplies can get expensive.

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Nope not really. I'd like to keep it under $1000. But in my eyes, it'd have to be pretty fancy to spend that much. But at the same time, I've never had anything built so I'm not too sure what it's going to cost. I figure the fiberglass is more likely to be waterproofed vs just a wood/carpeted box and I'm usually pretty good about getting my soft top on when it might rain, but there is always a chance I might not get it on fast enough.
So waterproofing is something I'd like too.

how soon are looking to get this done?

If I don't have the time and I know several people who would be will to take it on as they do what your looking for as a living.

I left the car audio industry 3 years ago so I am a little out of practice now.

FunNmuD said:

how soon are looking to get this done?

If I don't have the time and I know several people who would be will to take it on as they do what your looking for as a living.

I left the car audio industry 3 years ago so I am a little out of practice now.

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I actually don't really have a time zone I'd need it done in. I'd have to put some money aside for this. But I figure if I start looking now, get some ideas and such then I'd get a better idea of what it'd look like and how much it would cost
I just figure there's probably enough people that work in construction type stuff that are good with building or people who've had it done that could throw out ideas and examples of what they've had built.

check out the picture attached. If it was me I would do something similar to this but not as fancy. I like how the amp rack is up above, then you could do like a slide out drawer below the whole speaker box. This way you still keep room to be able to put stuff in the back of your rig.

With the fiberglass you can angle the speakers whichever way you would like which will change the appearance alot also. I am getting ready to build myself a fiberglass sub box for my car, this will be my first time building one from fiberglass.

yeah I want it to look nice but not scream "steal me again" I just want it to look like it belongs.
Does fiberglass come in different colors?