2020 Tacoma Subwoofer Install/ Enclosure DIMs

Just finished this project adding a subwoofer to my 2020 SR5 Tacoma and thought I would share the information I found and how I went about the install on my truck. I looked around quite a bit and found some threads to get an idea of what I wanted and made a few changes. I originally wanted to incorporate a subwoofer into the passenger side rear storage plastic but after some measuring for my subwoofer enclosure I realized the space would be tight to get the total cubic feet required for the subwoofer and I also did not want to cut any of the plastic on the panel. I decided to just leave the storage panel out. That way if I ever go to sell the truck it can be converted back to stock easily.

Parts used:
Subwoofer: Pioneer TS-A2500LS4
Amplifier: Alpine MRV-M500
Bass Knob: Alpine RUX-KNOB.2
LOC: PAC LP3-2
Wire:

$36 TOPSTRONGGEAR 4ga Amp Kit - 4 Gauge AWG Amplifier Wiring Kit for Car Subwoofers Speakers Audio System, Complete Amp Installation Kit with 20ft Power Ground Cable, RCA Cables, Fuse Holder, Speaker Wire

4 AWG Amp Kit
Add a fuse
Bite connectors X4 (Displacement Connector)
Heat shrink or electrical tape

I wanted a ported enclosure as I think they sound better than sealed boxes, so I built my box out of ½” MDF to fit the Pioneer TS-A2500 subwoofer.


I ran all the wires down the driver side (+12V power, +12V remote, 4 speaker wires and the remote bass knob). I have never had any interference running wires this way but some may recommend you run you speaker wires separate from your +12V power.



Run your +12V power wire to the battery through the firewall. I used the factory grommet and punctured a small hole from the inside of the truck to feed my wire through to the engine bay.



For the +12V remote turn on, you will keep this wire in the kick panel and run the wire up to the fuse box under the dash to get your signal power using an add-a-fuse. I used the empty fuse spot labeled “USB” on the fuse door. You won’t be able to put the door back on with the add-a-fuse.


Remote amplifier bass knob wire will also stay in the kick panel and run up to one of the empty buttons on the dash. This did require some cutting to the backside of the blank button. Very easy to do and not visible from the outside.


Speaker wires I ran under the brake and gas pedal carpet and up to the stereo head unit. I do not have any photos of this but very easy to do. Just feed the speaker wires up to the stereo head unit. The following video is a good reference on how to remove the stereo head unit.
https://youtu.be/Yp-i9p6T6Go

Made my speaker connections behind the factory stereo by tapping off of the factory harness. I would usually never tap the factory harness but I wasn’t about to pay $50 for the add a amp harness or wait for tacotunez. My plan was to just solder the speaker wire to the corresponding factory harness wires but later found out the wires are all aluminum and solder will not stick. I had to settle for some crimp bite connectors as this was the next best option. I am not a big fan, but it works and should work for a long time. You will want to use the front outputs for this.

2020 SR5 Stock EN-Tune Stereo (No Amp)
Front right+ (Purple/Lite Green)
Front right – (Purple/Blue)
Front left+ (Purple/Pink)
Front left- (Purple/Violet)


Behind the rear seats I ran my four speaker wires to a PAC LP3-2 line out converter (LOC). I soldered these connections and matchEd the speakers outputs to the matching LOC inputs. From here you just run your RCA right to the amp.


Next will be your ground wire for your amplifier. There are many threaded holes on the back cab of the truck once the plastic is removed. I chose to use the threaded hole pictured below. Scratched the paint up a little and used a M6 bolt to fasten the ground with a ring terminal.


From here you should have all the necessary wires ready to go to your subwoofers amplifier.

Here is the finished results of my setup using a 12x14” piece of scrap MDF to mount my amplifier.





I have also included dimensions of the enclosure I built if you are interested in building something similar. You can choose to build the enclosure ported or sealed. The box fits perfectly behind the passenger side rear seat and the subwoofer clears the seat by 1-2” once the seat is closed shut. Enclosure will allow for a 4 ¾” maximum mounting depth although I would probably not mount anything over 4 ¼”.

 

Interested in the thread but a lot of broken picture links! Doing an install now on my 2020 so always looking to learn from others

 

Yeah, TW blocks some certain places and links

 

Revised post. Got locked out earlier this morning for all the broken links.

 

Very nice. Thanks for fixing the pictures.
Did you have to cut/remove any metal in the back? Looks like you didn’t.

one thing I’ve run into is trying to run the power cable down the drivers side inside cable “tray”. I’m use a 4awg cable and it’s really tight. What did you use?

 

Everything in the rear was done without having to cut any of the hooks/metal. The enclosure sits just below everything at 12".

I ran a 4awg as well with this setup. I kept all my cables nice and straight and was able to fit them in with the factory harness and clips. I didn't remove the B-Pillar panels either, just used a snake to pass the cables through. Was tight though.

 

Beautiful install!

 

Hats off to you man!...that looks real nice...wish we were neighbors...lol...

 

Haha, thank you! I have more than half a sheet left of this MDF. Its killing me to let it warp laying against the wall and not make another box

 

Hey there!

Very helpful thread. I am embarking on this journey once I decide on a few more pieces. I have a 2021 SR5 and assume it should be all the same. I have an older PNC 35 that was $10 but am wondering about replacing that with yours or the KickerLOC-2. Any tips on the LOC? I am just hooking up 1JL 8 inch mini sub to a JL 250amp. I will be referencing this thread a lot! Thank you.

 

I like the PAC line out converters. The company has been around for a while and they are very affordable as well. I have used 2 of these units in both of my vehicles and never had any issues.

Also wouldn't hesitate to use your existing LOC either if you already have one. Connections are easy enough to get to if anything was to fail. Everything should be exactly the same from the DIY to your truck (mine is a 2020).

If you are going to buy a new LOC and not comfortable splicing the wires on the factory head unit I would recommend buying one of these
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Add-An-Amp...-2018-Toyota-Vehicles-no-JBL-Amp/143592721293

 

Thank you for the reply! I am fairly comfortable splicing but not sure on how I want to do it. On my old crappy civic I just went into the speaker wires in the trunk. Have you noticed that if you put the balance on a tacoma to the rear you hear almost nothing? is that just due to the rear signal being low or I wonder if mine is just not wired correctly. I think a harness will be the way to go here and really appreciate the link.

 

You DEFINITELY want to grab your signal from the front and NOT the rear. The rear channels on all Tacoma’s are useless

 

You will be making all of the splice connections directly behind the stereo in the dash.

I never really mess around with the front to rear balance and always leave it right in the center. Cant imagine you would want the sound to be stronger in the rear for any reason. The theory behind tapping the fronts is they will supply a better frequency for bass than the rear outputs. Best to just tap the fronts.

The harness is nice plug and play solution, but if your cheap like me you can save yourself $50 just making the connections behind the dash. If it was like $25 I could see it but $50 is pretty crazy.

 

For sure. I think they try to sell it in higher because it has the LOC attached. I already purchased a nice kicker LOC so I am either splicing or waiting on t-tunes to ever reply about shipping as theirs was cheaper. Just hooking up 1 8inch micro sub. Thanks for confirming on the low rear signal. Only reason I put balance back there was to test the speakers but they emit almost 0 sound.

 

If I were to make those splices without a harness...do you just splice right in and use splice wire connectors? T taps?

 

Yeah that's all I did. I originally wanted to solder them but the wires are aluminum and my solder would not stick even with flux. I have been running this setup now for about 4 months with zero issues.

 

Honestly wondered if the factory wiring wasnt already there since some models come with a sub. Anyone know if the wire for the sub and amp are already there?

 

no. the jbl system is an entirely different equipment package. none of it's wiring is installed in a non-jbl truck.