Stereos and rock buggies

[BroncoMama]

As of yesterday, Lemon Joy has eaten ANOTHER stereo. Has anyone found something incredible for tunes in a vehicle that is neither enclosed nor protected from the elements? We normally try to take the face plate off if we're trailering or parked in yucky weather. Unfortunately, that doesn't protect the rest of the stereo. Our normal life span is a year and a half, which considering the fact that the poor thing is doomed for failure, those probably aren't terrible odds. Please share any ideas.....I can't wheel without tunes and Memorial Day is just around the corner!

 

[Chevycrew]

Have you looked at the marine grade stereos?

I dont have any experience with them, but it may be an idea.

 

[snccoulter]

get a marine stereo it should help i have seen them get soaked on multiple times and they still work. I am about to get one for my JEEP http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158CDXM30/Sony-CDX-M30.html?search=cd+marine+player+sony

 

[LT.]

Marine stereos and try and fab up some sort of a cover that would cover the stereo. Boat companies have done it for some time now. Perhaps you should just go to one of the many boat dealers and see what they have.

LT.

 

[str8axleguy]

Any good stereo shop can sell ya a boat stereo cover they are clear plastic and have an o-ring to seal them. I know for sure AUDIO XTREME in Ogden has them and those guys are awesome to deal with. I would go that route to seal the front and seal the rest the best you can, like enclose it in metal or something.

 

[Caleb]

Yep, as mentioned, get a marine stereo and a marine box. That combo will last you several years (as long as you can expect any stereo to last).

 

[Bucking Bronco]

Have you considered skipping a stereo all together and just putting in an amp and using an iPod. then you could seal up the amp somewhere water tight and take the iPod with you when your not in the vehicle

 

[LT.]

^^^^^That is a good idea. Or just make your motor a little bit rowdy and listen to all the horse power.

LT.

 

[Tacoma]

meh, it'll still sound like a Ford.

 

[notajeep]

I went the Ipod route with some battery powered speakers. You wont here me coming a block away, but I can still rock out with my bad self.

 

[Herzog]

I went the Ipod route with some battery powered speakers. You wont here me coming a block away, but I can still rock out with my bad self.

Best way, imo. I hate hearing other people's crappy music.

 

[00harpdawg]

i actually work at a marine shop ant the stereo's are hte best they can take a beating but what i would do is just as stated above just get an amp ( a marine amp is the best) and just hook an ipod or 3.5 headphone jack directly to the amp if you want an amp i have a free one laying around you can have only downside is one of the 6 ch doesn't work let me know tara

 

[jdub]

Dewalt worksite radio + ipod. That is my favorite so far. I have seen too many radios fry due to moisture. I was even robbed of one-- funny thing is it was already toasted-- wish I could have seen the look on their face when they hooked it up to their civic.

I just bike lock it to my roll bar so it can't get borrowed. Take the Ipod with me, if I forget it they have a good tuner for radio.

 

[jeepspeedtj]

Go with an Alpine Ida-x100 and get an iPod, But when you mount the head unit mount it in an out of the way place, better yet use a marine box; When you are out wheeling just use the remote to control the volume, switch songs, etc.

The only down side to the Alpine IDA-x100 is that it is just a media player. (it does not have a cd player) They are hella durable due to the fact that they have no moving parts inside to have issues with.

 

[Kiel]

I like the idea I saw in one of the crawl magazines, where they installed the radio in a cheap tupperware container, counter sunk into the dash and when they wanted to push the buttons or put in a cd, they just popped the lid off.

 

[jdub]

Don't these things need to breathe? I thought that just as much as water is harmful heat is too. I like the idea of an enclosed box but won't the deck get too hot?

 

[Cody]

Most amps and decks will need to breath or else they will over heat and go into protect mode. I would go with a marine deck and cover as was mentioned before. The ipod directly into the amp would probably work, but it's not the ideal. Most amps are usually setup to take a 1-8 volt input, and I doubt the ipod can output 1 volt, so you will have the gain basically cranked causing the amp to work a lot harder and (assuming it's a common class A/B amp) will heat up pretty good therefore requiring airflow. A digital amp will stay cooler, but they are more money and will still require decent ventalation.

 

[STPPINZ]

I just put this in my RZR and it works awesome. It would work just as well in a full size rig too.

http:/http://www.ssvworks.com/sc-am4313.html

The volume control is nice to have. The wireless one looks pretty sweet too, just didn't want to spend the extra cash.

http://www.ssvworks.com/SC-BTK.html

 

[yellowbronco]

Radio.....who needs a radio!?



Are you ready Harry? mock.....yeah.....ing.....yeah.....bird.....yeah.....yeah....yeah!

 

[Bart]

Sing to me Chris.