Stereo Case

[Pappy]

We bought an older (1992) Class A RV that we are working on and updating. It still had the original cassette head unit installed in the dash along with the factory speakers. I have switched the cassette for a double DIN CD/DVD unit The front speakers went in favor of a pair of Infinity Reference 6532IX 2 way speakers and a pair of Reference 6532EX speakers for the rear (bedroom) are due in today. The main differences in the two speakers is the tweeter is angled in the EX and the IX requires a little less mounting depth.

Replacing the single DIN cassette player with the double DIN unit would require cutting the hole in the dash a more than twice as big. Since the instrument panel is flat plastic that is doable but it will barely fit and would severely weaken the panel. My solution is to build an Oak 'box' to match the rest of the wood in the coach and mount it to the dash board at the center of the coach so it would be in reach of both front seats. SWMBO say it has to swivel. After not finding a turntable/Lazy Susan unit that didn't have complaints about either being noisy or being hard to turn I am thinking of using a piece of HDMW plastic between the bottom of the box and the base plate. If I route a groove in the base to hold the HDMW ring I should be able to control the ease of the swivel action by tightening or loosening the center pivot bolt.

Excuse the lousy art work. I just sketched it on a Post It. This is the basic design I have in mind. It will be measure and design on the fly but the unit will be set back into the case a bit and angled back at the top to provide some shading for the screen. The upper case will be 1/2" Oak except for the plate to mount the unit. That will be 1/4" oak plywood.



Any suggestions?

[LCHIEN]

Something that most people forget about electronics - think about ventilation for electronics. (always a good idea for reliability and longevity.)
That means air flow, space around the unit and vent holes in the enclosure. Remember warm air always want to move up Holes in the top (and upper sides) and then you need some holes in the bottom for make up air so it can flow readily. Look at where the ventilation is on the unit you are installing for clues where to put the vent holes.

[Pappy]

Thanks, Loring. I thought about ventilation near the top on the angled top panel or on the sides where the angle changes and maybe in the back panel. I didn't think about air entry holes near/in the bottom. There will be one hole in the bottom about 1" in diameter to feed the wires through the dash. The pivot will keep it ~3/8" to 1/2" off the padded dash so I can drill some additional holes in the bottom panel to let air in.

[LCHIEN]

The larger the opening the better the air flow. Its easy for an enclosure to trap a lot of heat if there this not a lot of opening space. If you have a thermometer measure the air coming out the top. you probably really ideally don't want more than 130 coming out than going in but that's a number off the top of my head. And probably not more than 150 degrees. THat corresponds to 20 to 40 degree rise over whats going in.

[ballard770]

One thing you can do is look at is this rv forum, IRV2, that I have used for information about various RV situations. It is arranged by types of RVs, manufacturers, RV parks, types of systems,etc. You can read without joining but if you want to post you need to register and then log in to post, similar to sawdustzone. It is a good resource

[capncarl]

Is the engine between the seats where you want to mount the double DIN? Do you have to open this cover for engine service? My old Champion motor home had a massive engine cover, and it never needed to be removed until we were on a trip and had a pile of stuff on it!.

[Pappy]

Is the engine between the seats where you want to mount the double DIN? Do you have to open this cover for engine service? My old Champion motor home had a massive engine cover, and it never needed to be removed until we were on a trip and had a pile of stuff on it!.

My RV has a raised instrument panel and a flat dash that goes the rest of the way across. The new CD player will be mounted on that close to centered on the windshield. The engine cover is about 1 1/2 ft lower than the dash.

[Pappy]

MDF mock up of the sides on the base and front panel. I have the sides and the front piece of the top redone in Oak ready for glue up. I still have to figure out how I'm going to do the rest of the top and back. I should have that done, stained and ready for lacquer tomorrow. Sunday I'll get the swivel base ready and all the holes drilled for the wiring to go through the dash.

[Pappy]

The final version all Red Oak except for the bottom and the swivel base I used a piece of decorative brass sheet bent to form the top and back to allow plenty of ventilation. Finish is Minwax Ipswich Pine stain and Mohawk precat lacquer.

I had replaced the center panel in the dash a while back to add extra USB outlets. The original panel was about half as tall and upholstered like the dash. The right one is wired to the stereo to allow use of Android Auto or Apple Car Play with our phones.






In the process I removed all the original 15w speakers and replaced them with 45w Infinity Reference units. This meant making new spacer for the rear speakers.

[mpc]

Those pictures remind me of the late 80's/early 90's Mallard brand RVs. And the dash vents look like GM parts from that same time frame. Do you have a Mallard built on a GM "P-30" chassis by any chance?

mpc

[Pappy]

It's a '92 Rockwood Regency 30' built on a '91 Ford chassis.

[LCHIEN]

Looks in great shape, pappy for almost 30 years old.

[capncarl]

Pappy, is this stereo system for entertainment when you have the camper parked? or on the road? In our experience with our motor home there was decision to forgo music while on the road. At times we listened to the stereo, but is was only in long boring roads when the machinery was operating perfectly. There is just too much going on with a large old truck chassis and engine to have its warning signs muffled by The Beach Boys! Over our years of operating a motor home and pulling a boat with it we have had numerous OH CRAP surprises that might have turned out to be catastrophic if I hadn’t heard the noise! One trip in particular I heard a loud pop that I thought might have been a tire blow out. Stopping to investigate I didn’t find any tire problems but did notice unusually high temperatures near the driver rear wheels, but nothing that I could pinpoint a problem. 10 miles later a loud thump as the driver rear dual tire set broke off and the motor home set down on the rear tires. It seems that trucks need to be operated regularly and jump a few curbs to keep their rear end lube moving to the bearings. My rear end bearing had run dry, seized and melted the axle housing and shaft into. When the wheel came off it brought the brake drum assembly with it, leaving no brake fluid or parking brakes….. then it set the rear end lube that decided to run out of the axle on fire! What a mess. If the stereo had been playing we probably wouldn’t have noticed anything and might not have been prepared for the breakdown!

[GrumpyDad]

Love the work you did on the vehicle. But I kept thinking about this as I was reading...

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