# 2016 Ram Tradesman/Express build log



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

So, I bought this Ram today. 2016 Tradesman/Express with 20000 miles on it and it was obviously someone's baby. VERY clean inside and out. Price was insanely good and got what I thought was fair price for my trade. Rides and drives like a dream for what it is even on nearly worn out Bad Year SR-A tires (yeah they're turds and 25-30k is all you're gonna get out of them most of the time). The plan is to do a 3-way front stage and a downfired sub behind the passenger seat. No I don't want to do a console box. My skills and patience aren't what they need to be to make them look professional so the ***** seat is staying put. My work is best left hidden. ANYWAY, the plans are...

DASH MAT!!!!!!!!!
Pioneer AVH-501ex in dash
CMOS license plate frame camera from Ebay
Minidsp cdsp 8x12-ALREADY OWN
JL RD900/5 on sub and midbass
Zapco ST-4X SQ on midrange and tweets-ALREADY OWN
Dayton nd16 tweeters in dash corners
Audiofrog gb25's in stock dash locations
Audiofrog GS690's in doors-ALREADY OWN
Audiofrog G12 in downfiring box behind passenger seat-ALREADY OWN
Amps and d-blocks under passenger seat and processor under middle seat

Stay tuned for updates. I have equipment rolling in and once this tropical storm gets out of Arkansas I'll start installing. I know the Ram inside and out after owning two quadcabs (09 and 11) so should go fairly easy.


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## GreatLaBroski (Jan 20, 2018)

Congrats, what a beautiful truck! Nothing feels quite as good as a nice car upgrade.


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> So, I bought this Ram today. 2016 Tradesman/Express with 20000 miles on it and it was obviously someone's baby. VERY clean inside and out. Price was insanely good and got what I thought was fair price for my trade. Rides and drives like a dream for what it is even on nearly worn out Bad Year SR-A tires (yeah they're turds and 25-30k is all you're gonna get out of them most of the time). The plan is to do a 3-way front stage and a downfired sub behind the passenger seat. No I don't want to do a console box. My skills and patience aren't what they need to be to make them look professional so the ***** seat is staying put. My work is best left hidden. ANYWAY, the plans are...
> 
> DASH MAT!!!!!!!!!
> Pioneer AVH-501ex in dash
> ...



YES!!! A beautiful RCSB! One of my all time favorite vehicles! Congrats man!


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

A lot of people would say I made a huge DOWNGRADE going from a 14 Grand Cherokee Limited to a somewhat basic truck but man it feels good to be back in what my hillbilly butt belongs in. Everyone told me I was making a mistake going from a truck to a midsize suv but had to get it out of my system. The single cab Ram has so many possibilities! And it's nice to feel the raw torque of a HEMI kicking me back in the seat again!


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> A lot of people would say I made a huge DOWNGRADE going from a 14 Grand Cherokee Limited to a somewhat basic truck but man it feels good to be back in what my hillbilly butt belongs in. Everyone told me I was making a mistake going from a truck to a midsize suv but had to get it out of my system. The single cab Ram has so many possibilities! And it's nice to feel the raw torque of a HEMI kicking me back in the seat again!


No way dude, not a downgrade at all! 
I wanted to get another Ram RCSB when I got my WK2, but my wife put up a big fight and won. :blush:


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## chasingSQ (Sep 25, 2017)

congrats chris ! sweet truck buddy


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Thanks for the kind works y'all. I think my system plans are going to turn out nicely so hopefully will be a one and done install...or so I think...


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

any reason for going with a 12 channel dsp when you only have seven outputs? maybe buy a used 6to8 v8 on here and save a nice chunk of change


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Lycancatt said:


> any reason for going with a 12 channel dsp when you only have seven outputs? maybe buy a used 6to8 v8 on here and save a nice chunk of change


I bought the 8x12 for its ability to do L-R rearfill with proper delay in the Grand Cherokee. Since I already own it and it's a really powerful processor I'm going to use it in the new install. I HATE the Mosconi software so no Mosconi processor in my future.


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## TomT (May 19, 2005)

Beautiful truck, love that color.

Are you planning to put both the GB25s and the tweeters in the factory dash position?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

TomT said:


> Beautiful truck, love that color.
> 
> Are you planning to put both the GB25s and the tweeters in the factory dash position?


25's in dash locations and tweets in dash corners firing across towards the middle seat. So yeah factory dash position. Worked great in my '11 Ram with Audible Physics front stage. The nd16 tweets work great with the gb25's and heard that combo in Erin's Civic last year. GB10's are just too bulky for what I'm wanting to do so no Bueno on them


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## TomT (May 19, 2005)

I have the tweeters in the sail panels of my 2015 Ram Crew Cab. I’ve wondered about putting them up on the dash but my mids are 3.5” so it won’t be easy to fit both under the factory cover.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Just wedge the tweets where the glass, dash, and pillar meet. That's what I did/am going to do in this one. You can at least try out that location that way. Kevin K did it in his Altima and stretched grill cloth over the tweeters firing near on axis and the factory grill. Looks good and sounds pretty good too.


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

The sail panels in these trucks are great for tweeters too... They pull right off and are about $20 to replace if one gets ****ed up! Ask me how I know!? Lol


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Where do you buy your sail panels?


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Where do you buy your sail panels?


https://www.quirkparts.com/

^^^ where I used to buy them at the best price, but that was a few years ago... 
If you get the Mopar part number off of the back of one, you can find them easily. 

I spent 3 years doing an extensive build on a 2012 Ram RCSB - audio, suspension, engine, interior, exterior, etc. on RamForum.
Bradknob, Coppertone, me and a few others on here got to know each other there...


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## chasingSQ (Sep 25, 2017)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Thanks for the kind works y'all. I think my system plans are going to turn out nicely so hopefully will be a one and done install...or so I think...



Ha ! one and done ,, that does not even make sense in this hobby ..


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

audirsfaux said:


> Ha ! one and done ,, that does not even make sense in this hobby ..


Here's to wishful thinking:laugh:


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## Garcbomber (May 26, 2017)

The Canbus changed significantly in 2015+ for the alpine trims, not sure on the base stereos.

Congrats on owning the best power-train and color combo available in the truck market!


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

Garcbomber said:


> The Canbus changed significantly in 2015+ for the alpine trims, not sure on the base stereos.
> 
> Congrats on owning the best power-train and color combo available in the truck market!


Canbus in regards to stereo should be the same as 2013.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

I made sure this truck DIDN'T have the upgraded stereo. Just a simple plug and a dash kit is all this one needs. It's a pretty basic truck. Crutchfield had everything I needed laid out with the headunit purchase.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Finally, someone appreciates Crutchfield! Props to you sir love the truck!

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Nice looking truck man. Can't wait to see it done.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Nice looking truck, there is something to be said for the simplicity of a regular cab short bed pick up truck, easily my favorite configuration. A real nice change to the giant behemoths that most have become. 

I better get those tweeters in the mail to you so as not to hold the build up!! Have not gotten to the post office yet, but will try to grab a flat rate box as soon as I can to get them on the way.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> 25's in dash locations and tweets in dash corners firing across towards the middle seat. So yeah factory dash position. Worked great in my '11 Ram with Audible Physics front stage. The nd16 tweets work great with the gb25's and heard that combo in Erin's Civic last year. GB10's are just too bulky for what I'm wanting to do so no Bueno on them


Not to mention you’ll save a fortune w/the ND16’s. I just gave my brother a pair to augment his AP RAM 2Q’s with in his Tacoma. He should get them in sometime this weekend. BTW, nice single cab!


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## mumbles (Jul 26, 2010)

Congrats on the new truck Chris! I hope you are still planning on making BigAls meet in Nov, look forward to seeing you again!


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

mumbles said:


> Congrats on the new truck Chris! I hope you are still planning on making BigAls meet in Nov, look forward to seeing you again!


I'll be there Eric! Hope everything's good with the Mustang now. I kinda wonder if that car is just shy about strangers poking at it? 

Just got new tars mounted! Factory tires were GONE at 20000. Previous owner did me a favor wearing them out because I hate the Wrangler SR-A with a passion. Got 4 Kumho Crugen's and a front end alignment. Yeah the front end was out of alignment just as I suspected.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

You got me at the dash mat part


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Saw you sold the GS690’s. Wished I was quicker and I’d have bought them. Sorry whatcha going with now?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Making progress slowly but surely. Trying not to rush things because that never works out well. So, the gs690's just had WAY too much junk in the trunk and no way they were going to fit. Since I've had great luck with them in the past I'm going to be buying another pair of 8 ohm Scanspeak Discovery 7's and bridge the JL RD900/5 to them. Reason for the 8 ohm version is it has a lower fs and higher qts. Also models better in the lower midbass IB. I'm still going to give the Dayton nd16's a try that Ian was nice enough to send me for free but am also going to order a pair of the Scanspeak xt19 car tweeters with the mounting cups just because I need mounting cups to go in dash corners and have been wanting to try those tweeters for a while. The tweeters I like best will be what gets used. Here's what caused the gs690's not to fit. They're just shy of 3" deep with a WIDE magnet. And there's no cutting this piece because the window track appears to bolt to it. I don't remember the x9 holes being like this in my 09 or 11 quadcab.








I had to do some measuring to see of the Discovery woofers would fit. I measured up to the highest I could get in the oval opening and still be able to fit the Discovery. Then put a piece of tape across and measured down to that party pooper in the lower part of the opening. They'll fit with a little room to spare.








Also did some deadening on the panel and carrier plate. Due to the nature of the carrier plate I'm going to put my mlv on the panel itself and hope I benefit from it. If anything it will make the panel heavy as all hell and make sure it doesn't buzz. The carrier plate also has issues with buzzing but in my last Ram I glued indoor/outdoor carpet (because I had it laying around) to the panel and it was a good enough blocker to hide any buzzing deadening didn't fix on the carrier plate.








Looking at where I want to run the usb cable to the headunit I found the usb port in the console. This just looks like an accident waiting to happen for me. That's why I'm going to mount it along with the bluetooth mic in a handy cubby hole that I normally wouldn't use for anything else. And less chance of having usb connection issues in the future.
















And just for grins I took measurements of the factory system with eq on flat. Black-ish is both fronts together. Red is right front only. Blue is left front only, and green is both rears together. To be honest, I'm impressed with the factory response and with reference material it sounds pretty good tonally with a high stage. Imaging sucks but that's to be expected. If this truck was just a tow rig and not my daily driver I'd leave the factory system alone


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Yesterday I made the midrange enclosures. I traced the factory dash speakers and made the adapter rings out of 1/8" cutting board. It's pretty stiff so will also use it for the adapter rings for the Discovery 7's. I used 2" pvc endcaps for the midrange enclosures and used Gorilla glue to join the ring and endcap together. The ears on the gb25's hang over enough where I can mount them without having to drill into the endcap. I'll put a dollop of open cell foam in the cup to help keep the back wave in check and the 18g speaker wire will come out of the smallest hole possible in the back. I'll basically have an IB enclosure with enough attenuation to keep the back wave from interfering.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

This morning I ran the wires for the most part. Used 4-way flat trailer wire to go to the midrange and tweeter in dash. I spliced 18g in to run up to each mid and tweeter. Tapped in behind the headunit for midbass in doors. Yes I know I should have run wires through the door boots but my research says the factory 18g will be just fine with the power the midbass with be seeing real world. The power wire was run just inside the cab as far to the drivers side as possible. The rest was run as close to the transmission hump as possible. Front seat bolts came out just fine. The ones in back had Loctite on them and I couldn't find my cheater bar...the LONG piece of pipe that doesn't give most bolts a choice. Instead I used just the 1/2" ratchet and grunted them out of there little by little. After doing this the passenger seat WILL NOT come out unless it absolutely has to! Also installed the headunit. Had to cut a support arm out from behind the dash that isn't structural but supports the factory headunits that have a cd player in them. Mine doesn't so it was useless in my truck, lol. What did I learn while doing this? DO NOT TRY TO USE A SAWZALL! It ALMOST ended bad for the bundle of wires going to the big plug back there. Hacksaw blade was roached so ended up using the tin snips. Got it cut out of there eventually. Drew blood and did a hillbilly bandaid while never missing a lick. Humidity was terrible and bet I lost half a gallon of sweat.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Next phase will be MLV in the doors and speakers installed. Then the box/amp rack build will start. Still not 100% decided on how I want to do the box and rack. Sub will be downfired and everything else will be protected where I can pile stuff on top and not worry about it. In the morning a buddy of mine is going to help me secure the ground wire. I'll have to lay under the truck with a wrench while he tightens the bolt from up top. Will also run the cable for the reverse can to the back while it's up on ramps. I'm not installed the full frame plate cam until my new plate gets here because I remember it being somewhat of a pain putting the camera on the back bumper of my previous Ram. It's a little tight under there from what I remember and I'm built like an English Bulldog.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Well I got some stuff done after several days of what seemed like constant rain. Changing of the seasons here in Arkansas I guess. I rerouted the wires going to the back through the factory slits under the drivers seat where existing bundles were coming through. I'll wrap split loom around my bundles of wire once I figure out exactly where everything is going. To give me a good surface to work with I cut a piece of mdf to go in place of the package tray and used a couple self-tapping screws to secure it. This way I'll have something I can run screws into and not worry about exactly what I'm running them into. I know the spots where I had to cut around for the screws go into without snagging the carpet causing a bigger mess looks bad but that will all be covered up. In other words, I might know it's there but as long as I can't see it once the job is finished who gives a damn?
















I really wanted to use the Audiofrog g12 in this install but the box was just going to take up too much room back there. Just because I have the room at my disposal doesn't mean I want to use it all for car audio. The g12 is somewhat of an air pig by todays standards with winisd saying it needs 1.8 for a .7 qtc. It worked great in the Jeep in 1.4 stuffed with 20oz of fill so that's what I had mostly built for this truck but hadn't quite finished yet. I kept arranging amps, blocks, and processor around differently and decided to pull out "old faithful". The ID8v3 always gets me out of a jam when space is a concern and it gets the job done with 15mm xmax. Box is a hair over .4 (before displacements) and should do just fine for the time being. I'll run a 12" in there eventually but it won't be the Frog. It will either be a SI BMv or an IDQ12v3 (might have a trade deal with the IDQ). Both work good in a cube or less from what I can tell.
















I'm also trying to get carid.com to exchange a dash mat that Dash Topper kinda dropped the ball on. I don't like this material at all anyway. I liked the velour one the Jeep had MUCH better. If they deny my exchange request I'll just cut the damn thing to expose the dash speakers for the time being. 
















With most of my install plans getting changed during the build here's what this mutt of a system has turned out to be. Also wired up a factory door speaker and powered up the processor and JL amp. No whine, pops, or anything else you don't want to hear in a system. Hopefully that's the case once everything is hooked up and buttoned up for the long haul. Also broke my video cable going to the reverse cam (not installed yet) while rerouting wires. Considering how easy it snapped I don't think I want it under the truck anyway so have something that seems to be heavier duty on the way.
Pioneer avh-501x
Minidsp 8x12
JL RD900/5
Zapco ST-4X SQ
Scanspeak Discovery 3/4" (xt19) car tweeters
Audiofrog gb25
Scanspeak Discover 7" woofers
Image Dynamics ID8v3


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## 04quadcab (Dec 31, 2017)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> I made sure this truck DIDN'T have the upgraded stereo. Just a simple plug and a dash kit is all this one needs. It's a pretty basic truck. Crutchfield had everything I needed laid out with the headunit purchase.


Every time I buy a car I check out the radio and then pull up Crutchfield to make sure it will be an easy swap. Good luck on the build. Since this is your third ram this will be a breeze. They have changed some, but not a lot.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

04quadcab said:


> Every time I buy a car I check out the radio and then pull up Crutchfield to make sure it will be an easy swap. Good luck on the build. Since this is your third ram this will be a breeze. They have changed some, but not a lot.


This is my first single cab and believe it or not there's way more usable room behind the seats in this one than there was in my two quadcabs. I hated how they did that crap under the back seat in the quadcab. It's a good idea if you're not into car audio though...

And yeah ease of headunit replacement played a part in my vehicle purchase. At the end of the day the single cab Ram made the most sense and the cab was the most comfortable to me. Also has the most room behind the seats amongst the big 3. I can't get away from FCA to save my life:laugh:


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Had a pretty productive install day today. I love how it warms back up into the 90's when I'm off and ready to do outside stuffI got the 4 dash speakers installed and the amp rack wired to the point the wires just need to be tidied up with split loom and cover made for it. Reused the rack from the Grand Cherokee. The pics will tell the story. Also use what's laying around to get the job done. For the record that Stihl weedeater line in one of the pics is incredibly tough when it comes to chainlink fences. The gb25 on that 1/8" adapter ring BARELY clears the grille but it clears enough so it won't buzz it. I attached the tweeters to the grille with a screw and ran the wire for them down through it. Borderline ghetto but it works. And I can swivel them too. I ran the wire for the tweeters down through one of the clip holes. Yeah the wire gets pinched but am confident the integrity of the wire isn't compromised.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

The rack out of the Jeep seems to be a decent fit. Had to peel the carpet back and cut 2" off the side to make it fit the way I wanted it to. Should have cut a couple more inches off but what's done is done. Haven't decided if this rack will be the one I end up sticking with. I need to make a top for it to cover everything up. It's open on the sides so not worried about ventilation. I know some of you are cringing over the rca cables but I used what was laying around (couple half meter and a couple 1 meter cables are my shortest ones) and refuse to spend money I don't have to if what I have on hand will work. Also made a speaker wire harness with quick disconnects to keep from having to hook all that stuff up to the amp itself with it in the truck. Yes I trust my crimps and gave them the tug test with zero failures out of who knows how many throughout this install. I have some big split loom to wrap around the main power and ground wires and the big bundle that has the speaker wires and rca cables. That will happen once I decide if this setup will be staying put. 
















Also got the new reverse camera cable to replace the one I broke and USPS really messed up. I think the damaged end will work but if it doesn't I'll splice a new end on from an old rca cable. Not worth my time to deal with the post office over a cable that cost me $10 shipped to my door.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Got the Discovery 7's installed in the doors today to round out the 3-way frontstage. I forgot to get a pic of a speaker installed but you all know what a speaker looks like installed in a door and a Discovery 7" is your standard solid black raw driver from the front. I made adapter rings out of cutting board and sprayed them with black laquer spray paint I've had in the shop for several years. Finish didn't have to be perfect so I used it. I used butyl rubber rope between the adapter and door and standard gasket tape between the adapter and speaker. Also put memory foam weather stripping on the panel around the speaker opening. And made some extensions for the stock wire so I'd have plenty to work with for now and in the future. Yes I trust my crimps and those connectors have heat shrink sealed to the wire. I had to tighten the bolts holding on the carrier plates on the doors. I have a feeling the passenger side carrier plate has been removed before. Doors are pretty dead with an 80hz 24db cross point. I think some buzzing I'm hearing at VERY loud volumes is from the panels around the rear speakers that aren't even hooked up but that will be a witch hunt for another day IF I try to remedy the issue. At reference levels everything is fine. So how does the 3-way front sound with no l/r eq and just levels and time alignment done with the headunit along with a couple small eq cuts? Sounds pretty good for being so raw! Midrange and tweets are smooth as butter and midbass is tight and accurate. I'll probably settle with the current 80, 800, and 4000hz crossover points with 24db slopes. The RD900/5 has undefeatable LR 12db slopes so I just stacked a 12db LR cross point on top of that with the processor for a 24db slope. I was concerned about stacking crossovers but I think it will be fine. We'll see what happens when I throw the subwoofer into the mix. Also wanted the Zapco ST-4X SQ on the midrange and tweets. I have the front headunit channels on midrange and tweets in dash and rear channels on midbass in doors so I can have control over time alignment and levels with the headunit after the real tune is done with the processor. As of now I'm not going to waste time with L/R eq work until the correct dash mat comes in. Also have a 10" sub on the way that will be revealed when it's getting dropped into the box it's going in. Hint: most of you would never guess what's on the way but decided to give this sub another try since my listening tastes have changed a lot over the years


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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

Hope it’s a Sundown SD3 10, best dam SQ sub I’ve had to date in the back of my regular cab, and it’s ported too.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)




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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

V8toilet said:


> Hope it’s a Sundown SD3 10, best dam SQ sub I’ve had to date in the back of my regular cab, and it’s ported too.


It was the other sub I was considering but the one I chose won out mainly because I liked the specs and price better. And it still has a great reputation for being a great sq sub that holds up. Actually it's been said to be "too clean" and takes getting used to


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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

Less money and less distortion, ok caugh it up, what is it? Only other subwoofer that would be a contender at that price point in my mind is the Dayton Audio series subs.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

V8toilet said:


> Less money and less distortion, ok caugh it up, what is it? Only other subwoofer that would be a contender at that price point in my mind is the Dayton Audio series subs.


DING DING DING! ho10d4 bought for $125 shipped on sale. Couldn't pass that up. I know the sd3 is a great sub but I wanted to give an old sq standby another try. And the d4 has an f3 of around 41hz in .55 cube. Much lower than the original single 4 version sealed.


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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

Well this will be interesting. Now that you have experience with AudioFrog G (lowest but still good AudioFrog), it will be interesting to hear your honest comparative review. I’m betting it’s a neck and neck swap and they are very close.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Well, the g12 had a high efficiency sound to it and a nice fat bottom end for olskool rap/hip hop when the mood struck me. It wasn't a low end monster but for 99% of users it will play plenty low. Still a pretty clean sounding sub. From experience the Dayton Reference series subs are MUCH cleaner so the ho10 will sound better when it comes to sq but probably won't have that fat bottom end for getting jiggy with it. I'm OK with that and will make do. Most of the attack comes from the midbass anyway. And my listening preferences have changed a lot.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

This truck is going to be an SQ beast I think especially if Erin helps me work some of the more stubborn kinks out of the tune. Already got the front pairs each in their happy zone so no juggling with the ragged edge of their limits like you usually have to do in a 2-way front. The gs690/gb10 frontstage in the Jeep worked but took some real manhandling to get acceptable because of the upper limits of the 690's in my door locations and the lower limits of the gb10's in sails. I think the guy that bought my 690's just got a pair of gb15's so that will help him out a ton with tuning.


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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

Remind me if I forget, but I can model those two this weekend compared in Bassbox Pro 6 so you can get an idea on what to expect. I would need details such as sealed vs ported, box size and if ported, port length/size/type of port, any bracing and size, and box material thickness. I can even give you cut sheets to build it to if you want.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Thanks for the offer but I've got this on the build. The box for the ho10 will be built just like the box I built for the ID8 only a little bigger. For the sake of comparison in 1.4 sealed the g12 had an F3 of around 47hz. The ho10d4 is said to have an f3 of 41hz in .55 sealed according to Parts Express's suggestion with Bass Box Pro. And the ho10 has been said to be able to play pretty high without drawing attention to itself even though it will probably be crossed at 80hz in my case.


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## cycleguy (Feb 10, 2018)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Yesterday I made the midrange enclosures. I traced the factory dash speakers and made the adapter rings out of 1/8" cutting board. It's pretty stiff so will also use it for the adapter rings for the Discovery 7's. I used 2" pvc endcaps for the midrange enclosures and used Gorilla glue to join the ring and endcap together. The ears on the gb25's hang over enough where I can mount them without having to drill into the endcap. I'll put a dollop of open cell foam in the cup to help keep the back wave in check and the 18g speaker wire will come out of the smallest hole possible in the back. I'll basically have an IB enclosure with enough attenuation to keep the back wave from interfering.


Will the mids play to there full potential in the end cap ? as after the dissplacement there will not be much volume


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

The cups have a small piece of ocf in them to keep the back wave in check and also a small hole in the cup for the wire to come through creating a very crude aperiodic or IB setup. They play fine down to 400 but I settled on 800 because there's some resonance in the factory locations I need to track down at some point that some male vocals cause. I think it's the grille resonating. I like the bigger sound a larger cone gives in the lower midrange anyway.


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## 04quadcab (Dec 31, 2017)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> This is my first single cab and believe it or not there's way more usable room behind the seats in this one than there was in my two quadcabs. I hated how they did that crap under the back seat in the quadcab. It's a good idea if you're not into car audio though...
> 
> And yeah ease of headunit replacement played a part in my vehicle purchase. At the end of the day the single cab Ram made the most sense and the cab was the most comfortable to me. Also has the most room behind the seats amongst the big 3. I can't get away from FCA to save my life


The best way to do Subs in the quad cabs is to install seat spacers and then fiberglass a custom enclosure. I'm running a prefab box. The box is just fine but it does not make use of all of the available air space. after I get my front stage done upgrade to a Double-Din head unit I'm going to focus on fiberglassing a decent box. 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Me and fiberglass don't get along...and I had the best luck with a sealed 10" sidefired over the tranny hump behind the front passenger seat. Inverting a sub into the storage well under the back seat in a slim box worked great too for me. Firing subs into the bottom of the back seat always seemed to kill potential output. Anyway, still think I made the right choice with the single cab. The quadcab was like driving a bus for me. Single cab is short enough to be crazy maneuverable even if it makes it not ride quite as nice as the quadcab. And way sportier looking too


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## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Awesome install so far. 

I have heard some people say, that the underside of the Ram dash does not play well with the sound. There were some that some foam absorption.

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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Yeah I'll have to see what happens with this 2016. I had midbass issues in my 2011 but I think I remember Glenn fixing those same issues in his 2014 with additional door treatments. Will see what happens when I start tuning. I have some neoprene here that I can block off the underside of the drivers side with. Passenger side will probably be fine as is.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

OK, today was a rollercoaster of emotions. The reverse camera isn't working and the factory usb port isn't playing nice with the factory radio. Says "hub error". I found a permanent solution for the usb port issue and fabricated what I need to make me pretty much not need the reverse camera. I'll troubleshoot the camera if/when I get in the mood to this winter. I can get within a couple inches left or right of where I need to be by just eyeballing where the trolling motor is in relation to the top of the tailgate so just needed something to bump the trailer tongue when it gets where it needs to be to drop it down on the ball. This contraption will keep me from having to get out several times to see how much further I need to back up without putting a dent in the bumper. I'll put some neoprene where the mdf meets the bumper to cushion the blow. Also put my phone mic in a little storage hole that also holds my headunit remote. Hopefully the mic works there. I go weeks at a time without talking on the phone while driving so if it's not perfect for the person on the other end that's just tough. And built the sub box for the Dayton ho10d4. Next week I hope to finish the box, amp rack, and tie up most of the loose ends that I know will annoy me. Dash mat will be in by then too so the tuning can begin.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Here's what happened last week. A buddy of mine found a nearly brand new toolbox on offer-up for $150 that was semi-local. Manufacture date is June of 2017. The deal couldn't have gone any smoother. The guy didn't want to let it go with his truck when he sold it and decided to sell this one so he could get a black one next time. Also gave me both keys for it. I will be hauling my trout fishing stuff back there 8 months out of the year. And misc other stuff I hate cluttering up the cab with when it will do just fine in a locked box in the bed. I used 6 J-bolts to mount it. It ain't going anywhere.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Today I sealed the sub box up, tapped in and wired binding posts, and carpeted the box and lid for the amp rack. I used 3m Super 77 spray adhesive. Fair warning...I'm way out of practice when it comes to carpeting. It's purely for function and don't intend to show it off at all. Coulda done a better job but perfect seams aren't on my priority list with this build. I better buckle down on tuning because a week from the time of this post I'll be on my way to Alabama for Al's yearly gathering. How it sounds is most important to me. That's what's so nice about single cab trucks. You can hide a lot of sins behind those seats. Also finally got the correct dash mat. Meant to get a picture but was in a hurry to get in the house for some govt work and forgot to take my phone back out when closing up the shop.


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## Redliner99 (Mar 26, 2018)

Looks good. I'd like to see a picture of your dash mat. What type did you end up going with?


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

You'll have to do better than that if you want to be allowed on _my _property. oke:


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Redliner99 said:


> Looks good. I'd like to see a picture of your dash mat. What type did you end up going with?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'll get a pic and post it with the "final" update of this build. I went with a velour mat from Cover King. They don't read you the riot act when you say you want dash speaker cutoutsSeems to be company policy these days for Dash Designs and Cover Craft to not cut out for dash speakers. I agree it looks much cleaner when they don't but we would be their worst nightmare when it comes to proving they're full of **** in their claims that the mat doesn't muffle the sound in any way. Even a phone app rta could prove them wrong.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

BigAl205 said:


> You'll have to do better than that if you want to be allowed on _my _property. oke:


Says the guy that probably hasn't even started on his system yetoke:


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Says the guy that probably hasn't even started on his system yetoke:


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## mumbles (Jul 26, 2010)

BigAl205 said:


>


Best laugh I've had all day!


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Subwoofer is in and booming. Got a nice deep and clean tone to it. It's obvious why a lot of people don't like the sound of the Dayton Reference subs. I had one several years ago and hated it but my basshead days are pretty much over. For the money I don't think it can be beat for straight-up sq. And by ear it's fairly flat from 30-80hz in the cab of my truck. Falls on its face below 30 but I don't expect to get near subsonic bass in a single cab truck. No HUGE peak like I had to deal with in the Grand Cherokee. That was a vehicle specific problem though. It does help that the sealed f3 of the HO10d4 is around 41hz iirc. I have mine in roughly half a cube with polyfil. Also did some tuning yesterday. I think it's coming along OK but still needs a lot of work. Really needs some more experienced ears in there to pick it apart. The midbasses were a wrestling match. Some stuff wouldn't respond well to eq but would respond to an allpass filter. 

PICS COMING SOON!


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## strakele (Mar 2, 2009)

Hey Chris, glad to see you're still at! New truck looks good as well as the install. The Dayton HO is a really great SQ woofer, especially for the price. Definitely super clean.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Got the sub mounted a few days ago and finally got a pic of the Cover King velour mat. I carpeted the wrong 37.5" long piece of mdf so it won't be used on the rack. Since there's no guarantee this rack will stay I'm not going to carpet another piece for it. The master plan is to get a second rd900/5 and second Dayton 10". I've grown quite fond of the deep hard hitting tone it has. Then put the Zapco ST-4x sq in the closet for backup. There would be an rd900/5 for each side. Really is an impressive 5ch amp. Not sure if I'd be better off having a sub in each cab corner or have the pair together with flanges basically touching to make them function more as one unit. I prefer symmetrical installs but not married to the idea so if having the pair mounted basically touching each other would give better results I'll do that instead. I do have some install issues to address but overall I'm pretty happy with how the system as a whole sounds. It could be better but it could also be way worse too. Anyway, this install journey has pretty much come to an end until I decide for sure which way I want to go from here. I'm fully aware of the fact that I've just thrown some stuff together and it's not as cosmetically pleasing as it should be. Knowing good and will my first install in a vehicle never stays put I knew making things pretty would be a big waste of time. Once I decide what needs to change and what's working good for me the more permanent built will happen behind the seats. I do need to vent the pvc endcaps a little more because I am choking off the gb25's a little I think. That piece of mdf behind the seats for everything to sit on and be secured to was my best idea for this build I think. Gives the sub a nice place to properly load too.


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## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

Wondering if you have thought about recessing the GB25 pods down some (while still keeping them aimed at you) into the corners of the dash...unless Ram has changed the design there is an easily removal panel at each corner allowing access to below the dash.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

seafish said:


> Wondering if you have thought about recessing the GB25 pods down some (while still keeping them aimed at you) into the corners of the dash...unless Ram has changed the design there is an easily removal panel at each corner allowing access to below the dash.


Which panel are you referring to? And they've had this same dash speaker setup since 09.


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## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Which panel are you referring to? And they've had this same dash speaker setup since 09.


At the far outside corners of the dash/windshield??

Isn't there a removable panel for the oem 3.5" speakers??


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

seafish said:


> At the far outside corners of the dash/windshield??
> 
> Isn't there a removable panel for the oem 3.5" speakers??


Are you referring to the grille that pops off? Don't think the piece the factory 2.75" speakers mount to can be removed. They might have used 3.5" speakers in the 08 and older but not the 09 and up.


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## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Are you referring to the grille that pops off? Don't think the piece the factory 2.75" speakers mount to can be removed. They might have used 3.5" speakers in the 08 and older but not the 09 and up.


Mine is in fact an 05 ... did NOT realize that they changed speaker sizes, but at least in mine there is PLENTY of room for a larger speaker, or small pod, like yours, to be fitted down into the space and still point forward above the dash...of course, it will prolly take some surgery to do that and you might not want to do that. I just though a lower profile would look REALLY good, and if you can also move them as far back into the corner of the windshield/dash/pillar, they will likely sound even better by reducing early reflections.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

So, this is what happens when I try to dial in tonality by ear after listening to a jacked up response from a basically untuned system for a few weeks. I get used to said jackery and mess up royally. A well trained squirrel gets in and says "yours needs work!" 800-4000 give or take a little was described as a wave. Bass rolled off pretty bad. Maybe I was tired? Maybe I was clogged up? Who knows wtf I was hearing and/or thinking when this happened. Anyway, the green line is before and the burgundy line is after. I got it a little smoother after this but forgot to screenshot it. It does sound way fuller obviously. I had to break some tuning rules to get the bass up. Makes me wonder if the transfer function of a single cab truck just won't let the really low bass happen without a fight. Have no idea why my mic goes stupid when measuring a subwoofer tucked away in the depths of hell. Anyway, it's way flatter from 25-80 than it was. Next project will be to address an install issue with the gb25's resonating the factory grille when crossed below 800hz. Maybe if I can successfully cross them around 500ish my vocals will tighten up.


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## nyquistrate (Apr 17, 2011)

Is that 200 Hz dip a function of the truck?

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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

nyquistrate said:


> Is that 200 Hz dip a function of the truck?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


Just about everyone cuts in that area to pull the mud out of the sound. I tune more for an equal loudness curve and that's just how it looks on the rta. But to answer your question...yes and no. Depends on which midbass driver the mic is measuringRed is right, blue is left. Crossed from 80-800. Took some real work to get those whipped into shape. Erin said the midbass and tweets were fine but the sub and midrange was jacked. I think that's fixed now. I did add a little bit of that dip back in after this screenshot was taken because I felt the warmth it added was beneficial. If you tune for a perfectly straight line you probably won't like what you hear. That's why the dip in the 200's is there and the slight downward slope up top is there.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Also, the dips I fixed in the midrange are for the most part cuts I did away with and went after the real problems around them. Theslaking posted the other day about how you can dial in a good sounding system by ear but you never know what you're missing until you see what you're missing and fix those problems. A highly trained pair of ears will pick up on those problems immediately. And most people will only make things worse by trying to fix things by ear. Just an oversight on my part rushing a tune before a g2g.


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## IYAAYAS (Feb 3, 2021)

Hillbilly, i read thru this build on your 16 Ram (nice looking ride btw) and saw the pics of the doors but i couldn't find what you used between the inner plastic door panel and the metal door frame. I have a 14 QC and am having an issue with resonance in the doors. I have applied deadener to the inner door along with some CCF. i also strategically placed deadener on the inside/outside of the inner plastic panel, along with areas on the inside door panel. Like you i used cutting board to build a baffel for a pair of 5.25 Infinity Perfects, these will be upgraded to the Stevens SA 6.5 when i get them in the mail. i used some duct seal between the baffels and door card and standard speaker gasket between speaker and baffle. Did you use anything to seal up between the inner plastic door panel and the steel door frame? I'm running active 3way with AF GS10's in the sail, the Infinity Perfect 3.5 in dash (which fit almost perfect if you trim the tabs) and the soon to be SA 6.5 in the doors. Power is thru AC D6 1200, no bridging, just straight wire to each channel. I also run the AC LC-1 800 to a JL Single Stealthbox, 10". the reason im upgrading the doors is that the 5.25 doesn't seem to be putting out enough mid-bass. Thanks for any advice.


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