Surfer J

Hello my name is Jason. I have been searching through multiple forums for information and have joined a few that I have found worthwhile joining. Currently I own a 2008 Tundra double cab. I am currently running an Alpine headunit. Morel Tempo Ultra 6.5" separates on a Zapco ST-X4 SQ. My substage is a single Stereo Integrety HST-15 in a ported box tuned to 25 Hz. It is on a Taramps MD 5000.1. I have a Dayton Audio DSP-408 I plan to install soon so I can run the Morels active. I am using the Tundra as a test vehicle for when I can afford a new Jeep Wrangler and can apply my knowledge to a full system build. I look forward to all the information and answers I will find here.

I am rebuilding a box for my HST-15. My current box sounds great, but there are a few things I wish I had done differently. So I thought I would do it again with the improvements made. Here is the box design. The box is 28" tall x 16" wide x 25" deep. I will be in the back seat of my 2008 Tundra. I have had the rear bench seat modified. Basically the middle seat was cut out so the box sits in between the rear seats. I will be powering it with a Taramp's HD 3000.1 with the duel 2 ohm voice coils wired to 1 ohm.

Still no full time job yet. I really want to get the enclosure finished. Just no good time to do so.

Thanks for the encouragement. I know things will turn out for the better in the long run.

No update again today. I was laid off yesterday, so my priorities have changed a little. Job search kind of takes president over finishing the box right now. I will continue posting when I can finish the box.

Sorry everyone nothing to update today.

Here are the last few pics. Finally here are a couple more of my wrinkled corners. I have tried to show as much as I could about my wrapping process because I couldn't find anything anywhere about fully wrapping a box in vinyl. So I am also trying to add any tips and tricks I figure out. If anyone has any questions about what I have done, just ask and I will do my best to answer them. That is all I have for now. Check back tomorrow for more.

Well today I was able to get the edges on the front and back tucked in. As I thought the corners were the hardest part. I never did figure out a really good way to do them. They all turned out wrinkled. I did figure out that using a screen tool helped a ton to get the the seam tucked in. Also starting the tuck first then going back and trimming the vinyl close to the groove made it much easier to get the edge stuffed into the groove.

Finally time to finish up the second half of the bottom. I pulled the flap tight over the bottom and cut a straight line across the two pieces. That way I could match up the two pieces after the top flap was glued. The seam turned out ok. No big deal it is the bottom. Last pick was up real close. Makes it look worst than it really is. Again who really cares no one will see it once it is in the truck.Here is a close up of the speaker terminals. Looking good so far. That is all I got done the last two days. More to come next week.

Here are the pics. I submitted the reply too soon. Oh well. The bottom was up first. And here is where I made my first mistake. I was only going to cover half the bottom with the vinyl, but I covered the entire bottom of the box with the contact cement. Crap! At least it is not too big of a deal. As the cement was drying it began to curl the vinyl. Half of the bottom covered. Turned out great. Time for the other sides. I made a line where the box ends so I knew where to glue up to. All glued up and drying. Once it dried I stuck it on. I just realized I didn't take a pic of the side all glued up. So then I glued the top and next side on. The second pic shows the speaker terminals poked through the vinyl.

Then today I started the vinyl wrapping. First I made sure I had enough to cover the box. Yep there is plenty to cover it. Next I needed to cut it to the proper width. Thankfully was have a number of long straight edges at work to help with the cut, but first change the blade in my razor to ensure a clean cut. Then give it the ax. Nice clean and straight cut. Up next lots of glue.

Was too busy to update yesterday, so I will mack up for it today. Starting off on Thursday I got the router ready to cut the channels in the front and back faces. After fighting the first cut and mostly burning through the line( with a brand new bit), I went to plan B. This involved a skill saw. What a terrible looking line. The saw made a much better cut. Cutting the lines around the port opening was pretty nerve wracking. As you can see though it came out pretty well.

Well today I didn't get anything done. I was feeling terrible. Hopefully I can mack up for it tomorrow.

Nothing to show today. Just a lot of saw dust from all the sanding. I did get my router bit. Tomorrow I will be able to cut the lines on the front and back to tuck the vinyl in so there won't be any ugly seams. Hopefully. Any comments or criticisms are welcome. Is there anything anyone sees I could have done better or should have done? Any input to help me learn new or better techniques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all for checking this out.

Also a 1/8" router bit will arrive tomorrow. I will use it to router a groove on the front and back of the box so I can tuck the vinyl in. Should help with keeping the wrap much cleaner. We will see, since it will be my first attempt at vinyl wrapping.

Well again there was not much progress today. I went to start sanding my repairs and the main one on the beauty plate had a bubble in it. So I had to refill it. Since I had to mix up more filler I mixed enough to fill all the screw holes. First tried to fill them all with glue, then caulk. Each time when it dried the filler shrank. Time to over fill with home made filler. Hopefully this will finally do it. I will have my work cut out for me tomorrow with some sandpaper.

Then the edges were rounded over in preparation for the vinyl wrapping. For the most part this went really well....... until I tried to go over some of the edges again. Like an idiot I wasn't paying attention when I tried to redo the beauty plate. After a VERY long stream of VERY loud cursing I calmed down and started to figure out an easy fix. I mixed some glue and saw dust to make some home made filler. Then went about filling the F up and a few other places that could use some filler. Finally The end of the port was touched up with some more paint. So that gets you all up to date with where my box is at. Hope to be done on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Sorry for the delay. I just have forgot to post my updates. Here we go. I glued the top beauty plate on the box. All glued up and clamped.

Nothing to show for today. The pics I took didn't come out. I will try again tomorrow and show my progress.

Today I attached the port cap. Then I painted the inside of the cap. Some of the screws on the box didn't all the way flush with the surface it was screwed into, so I removed a few of them and filled the holes with glue. I know not very exciting, but there it is. In the above picture you can see the port cap up close. Nothing else to report today. I'll be back tomorrow.

Not enough happened yesterday to really warrant an up date. So today I will combine the two updates in one. Yesterday the first baffle was attached to the box. See I told you not much happened yesterday. Oh, I also glued together the pieces that will be the cap to the port. I forgot to take a pic of it. Oops. I am using the cap to make to end of the port even with the baffle and beauty plate.

Some home made speaker terminals was also added. They are made from brass screws, brass nuts, and some copper lugs. I picked it all up at Home Depot. The first pic is the inside. The bottom of the box is on the right. The second pic is the outside. Should work very well I think. Here is a pic of the baffle and beauty panel sitting on top of the box. Well that is all for now. I will post another up date tomorrow.

Time for another update. I work on this during lunch hour at work. That being said there was not a whole lot of progress today. Today the beauty panel was cut out an d the edges were rounded over. Turned out pretty well.

I am currently in the middle of my box build. I will post the full build later. The box is 16" wide x 28" tall x 25" deep. The sub and port are up. It will live in between the back seats in a 2008 Tundra. Powered by a 3000.1 Taramps. I have two baffles and a "beauty" panel cut. My question is do I need to use the double baffle if I properly glue the "beauty" panel to the baffle or can I go with a single baffle the "beauty" panel? Just wondering If I can save a little bit of height and still be safe and solid enough. Thanks for the help. Here is my box design.

Wrong thread.