Rear wall vents

Do we need them?

6 months ago I was installing a subwoofer which included sound deadening on the back wall of my cab when I came across these two, huge (2” x 8”) vents in the back wall of the cab that had a thin rubberlike flap which is the only thing between the inside and outside. More recently I was on a road trip and I noticed that if I let fresh air in the dash vents, I got a really loud droning from the rear of the cab as though those rear vents had flipped open and were letting in road noise. It was so loud, we couldn’t hear the audiobook we had downloaded with the stereo cranked (the stock speakers are garbage in these things, my full set of Kicker CS as replacements arrive Tuesday). I know those vents are the reason my eardrums don’t implode when I get in and close the door, but besides pressure regulation is there any other reason NOT to block them off? Maybe just block half of them? You guys are way smarter than me, what am I missing?

 

Yes they are there for a reason

 

There are discussions about this on here already. I think some have stuffed them with foam or baffling or something

 

I believe they help relieve cabin pressure when shutting doors.

 

Previous threads that you might find useful...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vents-in-rear-wall.643872/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/road-noise-from-rear-cab-vents.412801/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...essure-relief-vents-behind-rear-seats.503508/

 

I dynamatted my entire truck. I put dynamat over those vents, but using a box cutter, put some small slits in them for air to still flow a little. It helped a lot

 

The vents are definitely there for a reason. In the event of a crash, and especially with airbag deployment...the rapidly increasing air pressure needs a place to go very quickly. That's the biggest reason after all the vanilla stuff like closing doors and ventilation.