Adding SubWoofers

I have a Pioneer DEH-P4400 CD player (I believe it has a subwoofer-out connection) in my '97 Chevy S-10 Regular Cab pickup. I have the deck running great, speakers in the dash and doors working, but I wish to add more bass in the near future.

I have a good understanding of the deck and am good at wiring, but I'm a little confused on what I need to add subwoofers, especially amplifiers, crossovers etc. I want a good bass sound that won't overbear the existing speakers that I have, yet not so quiet that it makes no difference.

Also, being a tall guy with a regular cab, there isn't much room in the cab, so I'm looking towards a fairly compact system, building my own boxes (good at woodworking), to squeeze the biggest speakers into the smallest space. There's not enought space for a basstube, for example. Should I enclose the woofers or leave exposed? I also wish to keep the costs very low.

I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions/experience in what types of setups work well in this kind of truck.

Thanks

First off you definitely want to always enclose subwoofers whenever possible.

They make some premade custom enclosures for your particular vehicle.  Ideally the easiest way to add bass would be to get something like these, but they are pricey as you can see.  however, they do include everything you need to hook it up to your pioneer deck, with the exception of an RCA cable (usually less than twenty bucks).

To run any subwoofer you need the actual subwoofer/speaker itself, some type of enclosure, and an amplifier.  Those $450 ones include the sub and the amp, and it's all built in to the enclosure.  As you can see they make it so that it fits perfectly behind the seat.

The nice thing about these is that the subwoofer is matched to the enclosure volume and to the amplifier, so it all sounds correct.  The sub it comes with is a pretty good sub, too.  Also it's nice having everything housed in that small little area as you pointed out there isn't a lot of room in your truck.

They do also make similar enclosures for this truck, but without the amp, and also without the sub or the amp.  If you go to this link it should show you the three different options you have.

I saw you said you're good with woodworking...You could always try to build an enclosure just like those shown.  Building sub boxes is by itself not an easy task, and building a custom box WITH a spot to mount an amp, is even more difficult.

The other problem is that you'll need to figure out how to fit an amplifier inside the enclosure you build.  The one that's included in that $450 thing is a special amp that's smaller than most amps and does not require as much ventilation as a typical amplifier.  So if you decide to build the enclosure, figure about $150-$200 for the amp, $75-$100 for the sub, another $50-75 for the wiring, and maybe about $50 for MDF (medium density fiberboard), spray adhesive, box carpet, spray paint, silicone sealant, etc. 

Esmith is quite right.  When you fold your seat forward u could easily fit in a truck box. You could fit in the truck box and then go and mount the amp on to the metal underneath the back window then run you wires to the sub. How many subs were u planning on wiring? 1-2-3? Those wouldn't be too bad to do, especially if you have some woodworking skill. Did you want a ported or sealed box? What kind of bass response do you want? (???!exactly!???)

Give me or Esmith a bit more info and we could help you design an enclosure.

(I have lots of calculations to work from) If i have time i'll calculate em' out for u and you can build em. Good Luck.

You guys are awesome, I've gotten a lot of ideas from your suggestions! Thanks for the links to crutchfield, I forgot all about them.

I think my prefered route is the home-made MDF, carpet covered box. I was thinking if I removed the plastic jack cover and put the jack and tire iron somewhere else, I could put one speaker behind each seat and mount the amp on the face of the box behind the armrest, between the two seats. It isn't too confined of an area for a conventional finned amp is it?

Looking at the design of that prefab plastic unit, if I made my own version, I don't think I'd have any space to mount an amp on the metal below the window, it covers it all up. I don't want to mount anything on the plastic trim. Also, I like to take out my stuff when I trade vehicles, so this way I can take it all out and just build a new box for my next truck.

I guess I'll have measure it all really carefully and make up some 3D models or something, to make sure I don't obscure the levers for the seat back rests, etc. The space is really tight, I have the seat pushed right back, with the back rest all the way back. Also, I think I may have a little trouble with the depth of the actual speakers, getting them to fit into the available depth behind the seat. Do the depth (physical dimension) of woofers vary much by manufacturer?

RE the sealed/ported question, ESmith suggests sealed. I heard that ported increases volume but sealed makes a better sound quality. I could do that by sinking the woofers into the box slightly and covering with some Perspex, right? Or does the speaker need to be deep inside the box to be sealed in there?

The speakers in the dash and door are OEM, so I don't want to overpower them, but I'd like a fairly loud system. I listen to mostly rap/hip-hop and a little rock, so I'd like a powerful bass response for the hip-hop, I can just switch it off for rock music.

You'll probably laugh, (you have to realise I ain't rich!) but are the cheap amp and woofer components they sell at Wal-Mart and Radio Shack, etc any good? It's not like I have a hi-def system as it is, so I was wondering if they'll sound OK considering what I have?

One final thing I was considering was under-seat speakers, but I don't think there's enough room under there. It was just something a co-worker suggested.

Thanks for your time