Toyota Tacoma 1st Generation Crew Cab subwoofer enclosure comparison

Those that have shopped for off-the-shelf subwoofer enclosures that fit behind the rear seat of our 1st gen crew cabs know that selection is limited to 2 boxes- The single 10” sub enclosure and dual 8’s. I’ll profess that although I enjoy a good sounding audio system in the truck, I’m not super-technical and won’t weigh down this comparison with frequency response, sound wave propagation, and sine-cosine waves I’m a metal head (and bass player) so I want to hear the kick drum and bass guitar.




Wanting to preserve my bottle jack and spare tire tools in their original location, I initially elected to try the single 10” enclosure filled with a Pioneer TS-SW2501S4, 4 Ohm, shallow-mount subwoofer. The first problem I ran into was the subwoofer not fitting into the box. Since the box tapers to a point towards the top, the sub hit the back of the box at the top. I used a Dremel and other tools to hollow out the area and was finally able to make it fit, though the enclosure wall was now significantly thinner. The box was not ported and did not contain any stuffing. In comparing descriptions of the enclosure and the sub, it was noted that the box was .30 cu ft and the sub required a minimum of .35. Driving the sub is a Gorilla 1000 watt max, 400 watt RMS mono channel power amp. The entire cab (minus the roof) has been covered in Ensolite and Raammat.

For reference, I have Polk Audio DB6501 6.5 Inch 2-way component speakers up front (with tweeters) and another set (minus tweeters) in the rear doors. These 4 speakers are driven by a Kenwood KAC-8406 amp.

Plugged in, I could hear the sub adding bottom end, but it sounded rather hollow. It didn’t fill the cab as or blend as expected and was very disjointed from the rest of the music no matter how I set the crossover or ran everything full range. The strangest part about the sound was how the bottom end dropped out above window level. If I leaned my head down below that level, the bass was very strong. Above that level I lost approximately 75% of the boom.

The disappointment lead me to look at the dual 8’s enclosure sold by Supercrew sound. The website says that “all hardware on the rear cab wall needs to be removed.” I installed 2 Kicker 40CWRT82s without clearance issues. Installing the enclosure behind the rear seat was another story. The problem is the area where the bottle jack frame is located. The vertical space between the top of the jack frame and the bottom of the rear wall crossmember is 8-8.5”. The height of the box in this location is 9”, so modification is necessary despite the “guaranteed fit.”





Instead of cutting out the jack frame, I chose to modify the enclosure
After modifying the box, it’s still a tight fit and I used grill covers to protect the sub. The subs are advertised to require .30 cu. ft. of space and this enclosure provides .35 cu. ft. on each side. This setup gives a superior sound that fills the cab and blends well with the door speakers. There is no drop out towards the top of the cab as with the single 10”. This is definitely the superior setup. Don’t waste your time with the smaller enclosure, if you can even find it.

 

I realize this is an old forum but how were you able to modify the box with that much as supercrewsound sent me the same box however not with even close to that much room too cut out of the enclosure.

 

I think I used a jigsaw and handsaw l
to cut out the notch then glued a piece of scrap wood in to seal it up. It definitely was not plug and play. Does your box look different?

 

This is what they have sent me, not really any room to make a notch unless like you said, there was an extra piece added between so for the bottle jack frame.

 

That looks the same. I'm wondering if earlier years had a different setup for the bottle jack. I've got an 04.

 

Look any similar?

 

Yes, exactly the same. Hopefully your woodworking skills are better than mine.

 

Hmm guess I'll have to do some crafting to pull this off.

 

Where can you buy that 10" box?

 

http://caraudiofactory.com/2001-toyota-tacoma-prerunner-p-386.html

^I believe it's this one.

 

How did the box turn out?

 

The box worked great, I went too my local sound shop too do the work because I just didn't have the craftsmanship too do so. However they cut the bottle jack out and showed me that the JBL Stage 800 Subs did not fit in the box provided to me by supercrewsound.com So I had to send those speakers back and the sound shop but some in, and you know how that goes. They charged me $120 for cheap $35 shallow mounting subs each, both 8"s audiopipe. (Going to buying a highend shallow mounting sub instead, rockford fosgate). But they all actually dont sound bad too be such cheap speakers. But sucks to be overcharged as when I took it to the sound shop they said my amplifier was broken and they installed me a new one charging me $170 for $50 amplifier. Will never go back there. But other than it not being able to handle bass tests, its sounds really good and will be an easy switch for the new subs. Also looking into puting new door speakers and tweeters and re doing all that.

 

This thing is insane fosgate T1 12" on 1200 watts port velocity is mach 6, dimensions created on an exclusive fosgate box designer and I nailed the bass hard with a ported box. Shout out to my great friend Jeff Meece for help with the design I did the finishing move!

 

That’s great and all... but, wrong thread. This thread is to help people find and compare sub enclosures that fit in the DOUBLE CAB.

 

does anyone have a box design that will house a single 6.5" DigitalDesigns SW or T506 sub?

I want to run that sub and from what i have read there should me enough space back there to get the box to fit the Cubic Ft. volume requirements.

just want to know if anyone has a box design already made so i dont have to come from scratch.

 

Wow! check your yelling son, I don't appreciate that! was just showing a nice setup. Plus put a box like mine on your seat & bam setup for a double cab solved!, mr. glass half empty. Have a good day!