Building a slip seat box

[jeff614]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum but the amount of knowledge here is incredible! I've done a few searches and found some posts about slip seat boxes but none concerning actually building one.

I'm moving from a crew cab Superduty to a 4runner and will be sorely missing my radio mount in the Ford. I've looked all over the cab of the 4runner for a possible mounting location and the only conventional mounting spot I could think of was on the side of the center console. The radio in question is a Connex CX366CE CB though and would eat up a huge amount of leg room and I really wouldn't want passengers bumping it either. The 4runner is a 2011 in case anyone has any suggestions!

Anywho, I am thinking of building a small box with the radio and a speaker mounted in it that I could place on the passenger seat (strapped down with the seatbelt of course) when by myself or rest behind the passenger seat in the rear footwell. I live in northern VA so sadly the radio mainly is used on trips out of the area so this option will let me have my radio on those occasions and remove it when not needed. I've seen the plastic and aluminum ones online but those are waaaay to big for my needs.

My question concerns how to mount the radio inside the box. I've got some experience building subwoofer boxes out of mdf and was thinking of the thinner 1/2" mdf to build either a basic cube or a slanted box and mount the radio and speaker inside. Are there "slot" type brackets out there to mount radios? Like the DIN size for car audio? I know possibly some smaller radios could work with this but the Connex is pretty large. Mounting the radio is the one piece of the puzzle I can't figure out.

I know I could go the easy route and just sell the Connex and pick up one of the small Cobra 75's but I'd really like to make this idea work with the radio I have.

Thank you all in advance for any and all help and advice you can give me!
Jeff

[silvereagle1]

Hey Jeff, have you ever thought about a radio rack in the passenger side floor board. I've got a way to do a easy removal system for when you have passengers. It's a 2-3 minute quick release and your whole system pulls out. What is so great you can do it without drilling any holes in your vehicle. If interested I can show pics.
Mark

[jeff614]

Thanks SilverEagle!

I hadn't thought of locating anything on the passenger floorboard. If it's not too much trouble I'd love to see a pic of your setup.

My only concern would be being able to find a way to use it while having a passenger. The gf and I do a lot of traveling and I'd hate not having the radio with me.

Thanks again!
Jeff

[silvereagle1]

I can see where that would be a problem. If I take my wife anywhere I ditch the radio gear lol. I mounted my radio rack on my floor mat with a shelving board hidden underneat the mat. The board keeps it from moving and tipping over. I used quick connects for all my power.

[jeff614]

Thanks so much for posting that SilverEagle! I'm still hoping to construct a box to have the radio enclosed may be keeping your setup in mind as well!

What type of bracket is that that you have all your gear mounted to?

Thanks again!
Jeff

[coach4life]

Jeff. I have a 2001 4runner and had the same dilemma. Since they will probably be burying me in it, I bit the bullet and mounted it in the center console below the radio. Had to pull the console apart and do some fitting but it came out really clean. It was a full size (cobra 29LTD) and was able to mount an external SWR meter below it. Also to keep it clean, I did a roof mount Wilson 1000. Lots of tearing apart and putting back together but only took about 6 hours. I cant find the pictures but if you would like I will take a couple more and post them.

Tom

['Doc]

You have lots of possible ways of making a 'slip-seat' box, just depends on how 'elaborate' you want to get. Do you have a mounting bracket for that radio? That would simplify things a bit, or just make a bracket? Can you mount the thing on the 'back' end of that console?
- 'Doc

or if you're really 'adventure'ish'... just have the GF hold the thing in her lap??

[silvereagle1]

Thanks so much for posting that SilverEagle! I'm still hoping to construct a box to have the radio enclosed may be keeping your setup in mind as well!

What type of bracket is that that you have all your gear mounted to?

Thanks again!
Jeff

Gambler-Johnson 212 radio rack
Around $50.00

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Monday, 25 November 2013, 19:07 PM

[jeff614]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

SilverEagle - thanks for the info on the rack. I will be keeping that in mind!

Coach - I'm not I could make my present radio fit inside the lower dash, the width miiiiight work but it is 9.25" in length. That is a great spot though and would love to have something so integrated in the future. I'd be awfully nervous doing surgery on the console right now. I'd some day like to get my License and upgrade to a ham radio anyways so might come back to that spot then.

Doc - unfortunately the back of the console is out because it's taken up by HVAC vents.


I've thought about it some more and maybe a good way to describe what I'm wanting is basically a box a little bigger than the size of a shoe box. With the radio inside and an external speaker along with quick connections to hook everything up easily.

I've found the connections and of course the speaker already. Just trying to figure out the mount. I'm picturing something like a DIN radio slot mount to hold the radio but I don't think they make anything that wide.

I know it's a bit of an odd idea but it seems like this would work well for me at the moment. Hopefully down the road I'll have a more permanent setup. Thank you all again for all the help!!


Jeff

[MDYoungblood]

I have a Nissan Altima and my wife is not willing to give up any legroom in the front so mounting it on the side of the console is out of the question. We are planing to do some traveling this year and I told her I want the radio to go to. I have been looking at the laptop mounts for in it. I can mount it so the radio is at the level of the stereo, the controls for it are on the steering wheel, and it gives me enough room to add some others items too. The plus to this type of mount is it can be easily removed and stored in the trunk.

3's

Greg

[1 ADAM 12]

I have a Nissan Altima and my wife is not willing to give up any legroom in the front so mounting it on the side of the console is out of the question. We are planing to do some traveling this year and I told her I want the radio to go to. I have been looking at the laptop mounts for in it. I can mount it so the radio is at the level of the stereo, the controls for it are on the steering wheel, and it gives me enough room to add some others items too. The plus to this type of mount is it can be easily removed and stored in the trunk.

3's

Greg

My wife also drives an Altima. I would love to see some pictures of that install once completed.

[jeff614]

Hi everyone, hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving,

Did a little more research looking for a DIN mount over the holiday. I finally found some DIN type cage mounts for radios but they only seem available for the UK market. Not sure on linking directly here, but if you were to google "DIN mounting fascia for cb radio" the first and second results would show what I'm talking about. Still not sure if any of them could work with my Connex or if they are even available here and worth the price.

Still welcome to any suggestions you all might have. Think I am going to play around with just making my own cage slot mount for now and see if I can make it work. Will definitely report back with my results.

Thanks again!
Jeff

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Saturday, 01 February 2014, 0:30 AM

Just an update on my box in case anyone is interested I went ahead and gave it a shot and I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Dimensions turned out to be about 18"Wide x 5" Tall x 11" deep. The face plate of the radio barely peeks out of the box and an external speaker is mounted next to it. The back panel is hinged to allow quick connect/disconnect of the power and coax. Covered the whole thing in subwoofer box carpet. Right now it's sitting on the back seat of a Lexus GX470 when the GF is with me and the front seat when solo. I pull the seatbelt all the way out to get it to engage the locking mechanism and then hold it down that way. A loop to thread the seatbelt through and hence hold it down better is my last piece of the puzzle.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

- Jeff

Guess I'm not at the point where I can post images and the only place I have it posted is another forum and I'm pretty sure that's against the rules as well. If anyone is interested PM me (if possible) and I will send a link.