Question to anyone who has installed something in the "pocket" of the hatch

[imnotted]

You mean the metal / carpeted flap that covers the gap between the rear seats and the cargo area? Do you have any pictures?

Yea, that's the spot. The only draw back is, when you lower that seat fully, your amp is exposed. So, if you're hauling something that needs the seat down, it can potentially damage your amp. But it works great for me! And sorry, I don't have any pics.

 

[spta97]

Oh, you mean on the carpet side. I thought that you mounted it underneath so I was curious to see what kind of clearance you had. The other problem with the underside is that amps are meant to release heat from the top and mounting them upside-down causes the heat to get trapped.

As far as hauling stuff, I would just throw a towel over it and you should be fine.

 

[bigtigexplorer]

Originally Posted by spta97
Oh, you mean on the carpet side. I thought that you mounted it underneath so I was curious to see what kind of clearance you had. The other problem with the underside is that amps are meant to release heat from the top and mounting them upside-down causes the heat to get trapped.

As far as hauling stuff, I would just throw a towel over it and you should be fine.

On that note here is my second amp, mounted upside down under the rear passenger seat. No it doesn't over heat, it's been there for years and I've never had a problem with it. There is plenty of clearance between the back of the amp and the seat cushion to allow adequate air flow. Most of the time I forget it's even there, you can't see it unless your outside of the vehicle looking under the seat. Even when sitting on top of it you can't feel it and you butt doesn't get hot.

 

[spta97]

That's a great location. I had considered that but due to my previous over heating problems I decided against it. When I did look I though it was only foam there - is there a hard surface to screw into? Also, how does it look with the RCA's attached? A lot of amps have the RCAs on one side and the power on the other. My Kenwood and JL Audio amps have them all on one side which makes running wires easier.

 

[bigtigexplorer]

I used conduit clips (used for mounting pipe or conduit to a wall, loops around the pipe and has a single tab to put a bolt or screw through) to go around the seats frame at the front and back and put a piece of .25 inch aluminum bar stock between the clips. I made two of these and spaced them to match the mounting holes of the amp. Bolt the amp the aluminum and you done, an added benefit of mounting this way is the amp is basically floating in the air allowing better cooling than if you had the amp mounted to a piece of MDF.

My RCAs have 90 degree connectors so they tuck up under the seat and are zip tied to the seat's frame, same goes for the power and ground on the other side of the amp. This allows me to fold the seats down with out affecting the amp or wiring. Even with the seat folded down the amp doesn't touch the floor.