I'm trying to figure up an idea for a stereo system for my Rhino. Don't have much of a budget and i want to do something homemade. Seen a project of a Rhino with a rhinolined plywood roof and molded fiberglass speaker enclosures and stereo console. Want to do something along those lines. We also have a ported box, 10" Kicker Comp V, and Memphis 200 watt amp that we will have in the bed, made for easy removal (quick disconnects for amp, tiedowns for box). We will be getting 2 sets of component speakers, they are MB Quart marine speakers and are priced great. We will also be getting an amp for the comp. , which is MB quart also. We will be adding a deep cell or gel cell battery to keep up. The Rhino has an open spot under the driver seat, and I want to mount the battery there for easy access.

My question is are batteries pretty capable of being submerged in water? All amp blocks and relays/switches will be mounted high, the battery will be the only low thing. I have seen batteries get submerged, but for short times, what about extended periods???

What kind of fiberglass should I be looking at? Wanna make this as lightweight yet durable as possible.

if anyone has pics or ideas please shoot them my way. This is a project I want to tackle when it begins to cools down a little, hopefully late sept.

Any help is appreciated!!!



Pic attached. My idea is similar but I want the components more towards the corners.

 

Batteries don't like being submerged, especially when all of your electrics are connected to it.

Underseat mouting of the battery isn't a great idea if you're gonna hit water.
Better to get a second, auxiliary battery with an isolatr and mount it under your hood...or replace the OEM battery with an Optima.

Here's one setup:
http://offroad-review.com/new/index.php?page=216

What Rhino do you have?
The 660 stator is pretty weak.
The 700 stator puts out a lot more power.

You can also get an alternator kit but some are better than others, and most will skip the belt so it becomes a PITA.

 

Try www.utilityoffroad.com great guys over there and they can answer all your questions.

 

I'm going the homemade route on my RZR. I plan on making some canister speakers out of PVC and mounting a small amp inside the tubes then routing a connection for my Ipod. I'll use the Ipod's volume to control everything. Hopefully it'll work, but if not I'll probably I'll just buy some new headphones for the Ipod and be $$$ ahead.

 

That overhead roof set up looks a little bulky. I like the deck in the dash, speakers in "firewall" set up.... There's tons of stereo options for the Rhino. Check out Rhinoforums.net
http://www.rhinoforums.net/forumsIndex.php

Here's a SxS Stereo site might give ya some ideas.

http://www.ssvworks.com/

 

Yep, Rhinoforums is great. Lots of stuff on there.

 

I'm a member (rip 112 just like here) on there but I don't really like the environment, you give them an idea and the first thing they say is how stupid it is. The pic above is from RF. I'd rather talk to you all though.

I agree it is bulky, thats why I said my idea was similar, I don't want the speaker enclosures so far down nor the radio console, thats gonna be higher and less room and as light weight as possible.

On the battery I'm worried because I go over the hood in water at times. Maybe I will have to build a waterproof box for it. It is a 700 so the stator should be fine. Don't want an alternator kit, I just wanted to use a trickle charger afteruse (I know its not the healthiest for the battery, but it will work til I can figure something out. I like the ssv stuff, but not doing kick panels nor having the sub in the console, both will get submerged. The speakers have to be up top along with the radio and mp3 player. ProBox makes an enclosure but its $$$ just like the ssv kits, $499 unloaded for the roof. I'm trying to be cheaper than that.

I'm still trying to figure out what the best fiberglass to use is, I notice there is quite a selection.

 

I didn't think about the water... Don't have much of that around here... I think the only water ours has seen is from the hose the one time a year we "clean" it...

I did a search for Rhino Stereo Systems, and ran across this...
It's a high mount deck/speaker unit. Kinda pricey, but gives you an idea of things that are out there...

http://yamaharhinooutfitters.com/ste...akers-245.html

 

Yea I know they can get pricey. I just see a DragonFire Led light bar for $1,985, holy crap...

But I seen this, looks pretty sweet and comes loaded. Yea its cheap, but if the bar lasts I can always swap speakers. But I don't know, I'm kinda looking forward to doing some custom fiberglass work also. Decisions, decisions....


http://www.traderhank.com/yamaha-rhi...1rc-rhino.html

 

DragonFire makes some sweet stuff!!... but yeah pricey!!

i dont know why i didnt think about this place before... i got my HID's from here. Good prices and customer service.

SxSSports.com
http://www.sidebysidesports.com/stereospeakers.html

Have you thought about using your glove box to put the deck or small amp?

 

Thought about it but no go, I keep other necessities in there, roll of tp, a good lighter, flash light, common tools, extra pair of underwear... whatever i see fit to stuff in there. And I have gotten up to the dashboard in water also, like i said its been in water over the hood a few times.

 

I work at PJs Performance Here in Mesa AZ, we focus on the UTVs and from experience, if you do alot of dust stay away from decks. just do an amp with an Ipod Hookup with a volume **** on the dash. Throw the Ipod in the Glove box and roll. less money in the long run...SSVworks sells some Great stuff for a reasonable price. if you want give me a shout and i will give you a discount. Thanks, 602 476 1770....Jordan

 

Thanks man I will keep that in mind. Don't have an ipod, but have a mp3 player being donated with 20Gb on it already. Will that suffice??? I don't really care for a deck, but was thinking of doing a cheap one if I did. Probably won't now that it seems the ipod/mp3 can control volume pretty well...

 

I put a deck in mine and it didn't survive the first trip to Muenster. Now I run a homemade system. I found a speaker bar in the bargain cave at cabelas, that has 2 5.5" speakers, and 4 tweeters--would be perfect with some good replacement speakers. Mounted it between the 2 bars on the roof and ran the wire inside the rollbar down to the battery box, mounted my amp on top of the battery box, with extra cable to be able to get it out of the way. Then ran rca's to an auxiliary jack for an mp3 (ipod in my case), with an inline volume ****. It is a nice system that works good, and has seen a couple submersions and still works fine, just a blown fuse every now and then. Ill get some pics if needed.

 

Yea definitely man, We're pondering these sound bars now. The UTV concepts one is sweet.