what truck is best for car audio installs

I've been a car audio nut for almost 20 years. I've had systems that would just about make your hair blow in my younger days. Problem is, back then I could have a car. Now, work and home situations require me to have a truck.

Currently I have a 2003 Dodge quad cab. I have a downfiring 12" Image Dynamics IDQ in place of the front center seat (made by supercrewsound). Under the backseat are a Diamond Audio D7056 (Made in the USA!), a crappy profile amp for the sub, and an Audiocontrol Epicenter. You can't tell there is a system unless you are looking for it.

This system sounds nice. I have the D7056 running 6 channels (4 doors and dash) and its loud and very crisp sounding. The sub has never been quite enough for me though. It's great for rock but when I'm in the mood for something a little more "hood", it doesn't do the job.

It's time to retire the Dodge (150K miles). Most of the new trucks look too loaded with integrated electronic crap that will likely make replacement of the head unit impossible. Also, I've been reading about the new factory units rolling off the bass at higher volumes (I've noticed it in my wifes 2011 Maxima. I know there must be some installers on this board who have had experience with these problems.

Here are my requirements:
-Must be a full size truck
-Must still be able to seat 6 (I have 3 kids, a wife, and would like to have room for 1 more)
-Install must be stealth
-Use of factory head unit would likely suck ass so I don't want to try
-Need to accommodate at least 1cf sub enclosure and two amplifiers

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my long post and thanks for your help

FoxAcoustics.com makes a 2 x 10 and a 2 x 12 ported enclosure for that truck. It is worth checking out.

Yeah, I'm considering getting another Dodge. Mostly because it looks easy to get a standard double din radio slot. I'll take a look.

the only truck that the head unit is a pain to change is the ford f150 with sync. if you can buy it without sync then it isnt that bad either. dont look at how the factory radio is made to give you any ideas on if you can get a 2din because the dash kits for most of these trucks now will replace the whole front panel where the factory radio sits.

i have done a few systems in tundras and they are a nice truck to work on and they have a decent amount of room for adding amps and subs.

Agree with SnS if anything look at the sub boxes available. There are plenty of integration companies taking care of things like onstar and sync. Try and buy something without factory amps. That is a waste of money if you are replacing it all anyways.

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To master and control electricity is perfection. *evil laugh*

Thanks for the tip on Fox Acoustics. I'm impressed with their dual 10" ported box. I haven't dove into the specs yet though. Seems like not enough airspace to get the deep notes. Anyone have any experience?

I'm leaning towards another Dodge. This one is would work: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?ownerId=63484139&searchRadius=0&listingId=350859434

I'd just need to get the leather kit and I'd be set.

With the double din opening I could bring back one of my old favorites. The Audiocontrol 3.1 . I miss having a sub control that doesn't take scrolling through menus to get to. I also love how the Dodges have 6x9 openings in the front doors. I'll probably do a secondary battery on an isolater too.

I'll probably buy all new stuff except for my head unit and my Diamond Audio amp. I've had this system for 8 years now. At lot has changed since then. Well respected companies have been bought out and moved all their operations to Malaysia, China, etc. Who are the well respected speaker companies other than the super high end stuff like Focal, Dynadio, etc.?

One more thing, anyone have any experience mounting amps behind the rear seat in a new Dodge Quad? Does the seat fold down now?

on newer Ram trucks i usually mount any amps under the seats because there's plenty of room for a medium sized amp under each seat. i try to avoid mounting amps to the back wall of trucks because when you turn up the bass the back wall tends to flex a lot more than any other place and that can eventually shake your amp to death.

Yep, that's where my amps our mounted now. It would be nice to have them behind the seat though so that I can use the fox acoustics dual 10" ported box.

i was talking about putting the amps under the front seats, not the back. you can mount the amps to the back wall if you want to but i would suggest rolling the back wall with some form of sound/vibration dampening material and maybe even some wood to stiffen up the back wall.

That's probably what I'll do. My first setup in my '03 Dodge was a single 10 under the back seat with my Diamond Audio D7056 under the driver seat. It stuck out quite a bit so I made a little carpeted cover that you could put your feet on. Didn't look terrible but I want to avoid it if I can. I guess I may consider parting with that amp for something a little smaller but I really love that thing. I'm also shopping for a Hifonics Zeus series VII to replace the P.O.S. Profile amp that currently runs my sub. Size will likely be an issue with this too.

I helped my brother in law put in a full system last summer using all new stuff. He bought a new Fosgate amp for the subs and a PPI for the highs. The build quality just isn't the same. The PPI smoked within the first couple of months. Old school American made equipment just can't be beat.