Kenwood KES-5 B Pillar mounting?

[Markb]

Has anyone done this?

I have a 2003 F150 crew cab and am looking for a good place to put a speaker. One of our new Battallion Chief vehicles (3/4 ton Ram) at my work was "dressed up" by a vendor and they mounted a KES-5 low on each of the B pillars presumably above the seatbelt tensioner and the rest of the crud in there. It was mounted with the back half of the speaker inside the B pillar and the speaker grille (and possibly the speaker itself) over the pillar plastic. It looks really slick, but I don't really feel comfortable tearing apart the Cheif's truck to see exactly how they did it.
It also seems like there is not much tolerance between the inside of the speaker housing to fudge the b pillar cut. I'm sure I can cut and file/shave plastic down until it fits. Is there an easier way?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Markb]

Well crud! Guess I answered my own question! Sometimes you just have to go for it. I ended up removing the speaker from the housing and cut the plastic around the tracing of the speaker element. Next time I would cut inside the tracing by just a hair, as I had some little gaps, but they are not obvious. The other thing is that I needed longer screws to put the housing back together. I removed the rubber gasket for now to create more space. It looks like there are only a couple of threads holding the speaker in. I over-torqued one of them and heard the dreaded "pop".

 

[KM4RZT]

This is awesome! I have a KES-5 and want to do exactly the same thing in my GMC Canyon. How has this worked out for you? Still happy with it? Easy to hear? Any issues? Any other installation tips? Thanks!

 

[AK9R]

How has this worked out for you?

FYI, you are replying to a 2-year-old thread. There's no guarantee that the OP will come back here so you may not get a reply.

 

[Markb]

I'm still here! [emoji3]

I have been very happy with this setup.

No issues at all and the sound/volume is great.
Other than finding the slightly longer screws, it ended up being a simple install. I would maybe add a thin bead of clear silicone around the edges of the speaker to minimize any potential vibration and seal up the whole assembly. Let us know how it goes!

Mark

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[Gymbag]

In my 1994 GMC pick up, I remover the coat hager hook above the seat belt and mounted my scanner speaker. Wish I had pictures of it but I don't. In my 2013 Honda Ridgeline I have the scanner speaker mounted/attached to the space between the seat the the adjustable headrest. Works great there too.

 

[KM4RZT]

Thanks Mark! I'll let you know how it goes. Truck is brand new and still waiting for it to be delivered. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.


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[djpaulino]

That looks great Mark..