2 questions for about the cargo area

Hello 'neighbors',

I have 2 questions about the cargo area as upgrade my JBL audio on my TRD Pro.

1) Can anyone tell me what this little square box on the wheel well is? I can't seem to find the answers on the forum/google:

2) Has anyone removed the driver side rear panel? Can you tell me if there's anything behind it? I'm trying to find locations to mount my amplifiers w/an amp rack and don't want to take apart the driver side if it doesn't have a lot of space. I'm hoping it's the same amount of space as the factory enclosure and unused... anyone have a pic they can post?

TIA!

 

What's on the opposite side of this?

 

I just went through all of this with my 4Runner that also has the JBL stereo.
I ended up mounting my amps and DSP under the front passenger seat. The square box you ask about is the DC to AC converter that feeds the 110v outlet. There is not enough room under either of the rear fender garnishes in the trunk to accommodate audio equipment.

 

Thanks for the response. I was really hoping you wouldn't say that about the lack of space... ugh.. well, there goes my initial design. What is on the driver side? Anything? Is it just not hollowed out like the passenger?

 

The drivers side is even tighter I think! If your equipment have a small footprint then you could easily fit it under the passenger seat.

 

they have small footprints, it's the Audison apf 8.9 bit and sr 1500.2 amps. the reason I was hoping to use the sides of the cargo area is because I don't really want to run the maestro harness extension. I am pretty confident I can get the 8.9 bit amp to fit in the factory jbl location. From there, I was hoping to run a distribution block that would enable me to power the mono amp for the sub (was hoping this would be on the left side of the cargo area).

I'm gong to be pulling the sub enclosure and factory amp out tonight... hoping I might be able to make this design work out as i had originally planned. I stuck my phone back behind the panel on the left side and took some video, I think there might be enough space to make this work. I'll keep you posted!

current condition:

 

If you don’t fully utilize your cargo area why not just get a little 10 inch subwoofer for some more bass and mount the amp behind the box? Or are you going a different direction for sound / bass?

 

Nice! Looks a lot like my setup. While you're there, put some Dynamat on the inner fender behind the sub enclosure. What head unit are you running? If stock, then keep in mind you cannot eliminate the JBL amp. You have to get analog output signals (speaker level) out from the JBL amp and then send those signals for processing (I used JL Audio Fix 82) so you can then get a clean, usable signal for your amp. I'm happy to talk to you more offline if you like.

Tony

 

I use the cargo area a lot and want everything discreetly mounted and out of the way. I'm going to put a JL 8w3 in the factory enclosure. I want to keep everything looking stock. I've already gone through and replaced all the doors and tailgate speakers.

I def plan to dynamat the inner areas of the fenders etc. I've already done the doors and lift gate as much as my reach will allow me w/out removing the moisture barrier. I'd say it's about 80% coverage which is already very noticeable.

My plan is to use idatalink maestro ar and harness specific to the 4runner so I can use the audison maestro integration amp. My research has led me to the point where I should be able to remove the jbl amp etc. Hopefully, I don't encounter some pitfalls now b/c I'm so close! This is my first major stereo installation... I've had shops do it in other vehicles but decided to try my hand on this one. It's been slightly nerve racking early on but super enjoyable/fun project.

I would def take you up on that offer though Tony. I'll send you a DM w/my contact so we can find a time to chat. Thx!

 

Sure thing. DM your contact info. My understanding is the Panasonic HU for the JBL equipped 4Runner is different from that of the non-JBL trucks despite them looking identical. The HU in your truck provides signal to the JBL amp which then does DSP and amplification. I did not test this but researched it a lot and the consensus was that you cannot divorce the stock HU from the JBL amp.

 

Gotcha, curious if you get a new head unit if they now come with the vehicle functions on it as well these days. I wish I at least had JBL…I assumed that’s what premium Sound was and I was wrong. My f250 regular cab work truck is almost identical for 3 less doors with speakers…sad.

 

Same, dsp and 4 chan amp, with fuse block under the pass seat. Been like that for almost 3 years. Works fine for me. Sub enclosure and sub amp arw together in the rear.

 

My aftermarket HU works with the steering wheel controls, music/track skip, source change, and i even get info from mpg, exhaust temp, rpm, battery voltage, timing, in take temps, and a ton more. All on the HU.

 

I’m not sure how much the 2022 vs 18 differ past the looks , my main concern is the stupid settings for lights and all that crap on there. I would love to be able to see battery voltage & transmission temps.