Exterior Speaker Upgrade

Bcborn · 04-14-2022, 11:17 AM

Hello All,

The Minnie's have tinny sounding outdoor speakers on extruding mounts.

Has anyone upgraded these to something better?

If so to what speakers did you go and what did you have to do to the trailer wall and mount if any to fit the upgrade?

I did a 6.5" Kicker upgrade on my last Dutchman. I had to enlarge the hole in the trailer wall slightly and then put a 1" spacer between the trailer wall and the speaker mounting flange to accommodate the extra depth.

Sound improved 1000%

rstraz · 04-15-2022, 06:39 AM

Those speakers suck. I upgraded them to Polk marine speakers which sound so much better. Here's an Imgur thread on what I did.

https://imgur.com/a/2QaxuS4

Bcborn · 04-15-2022, 09:29 AM

Thanks for that.

Yes I pretty much did the same thing on my older Dutchman Kodiak.

The original speakers on the Kodiak were 4" and the magnet when through the interior wall into the cupboard area.

Going bigger (6 1/2') meant I needed to make the hole larger to clear the back of the Kicker speaker.

I took the Kicker template (same mounting holes a speaker) and made a wood ring that I screwed to the trailer wall exactly where the speaker needed to sit. I them took my Jigsaw with the finest blade I could find and cut out the wall using the template as a guide.

I then mounted the speaker on the wood (can buy plastic rings) ring and as noted here, caulked the ring to the trailer wall, the speaker to the wood ring and the screws.

As the speaker magnets protruded into the cabinet, I made a cap like cover that I put over the magnet and screwed it to the inside wall.

Bcborn · 04-15-2022, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rstraz

Those speakers suck. I upgraded them to Polk marine speakers which sound so much better. Here's an Imgur thread on what I did.

https://imgur.com/a/2QaxuS4

On your picture of the wall it looks to be comprised of the exterior wall, a thin piece of styrofoam, a wallboard facing. Is this wallboard the interior wall. Please explain wall composition.

I assume neither of the magnets on the new speakers went through the interior wall.

Guess the one thing you had to be sure, was that the new cutout did not come in contact with the aluminum wall structure.

I assume with a deeper speaker you would have had to add a thicker spacer to stay outside the inner wall.

Our speaker looks likely smaller than your original (see attached). I have yet to remove it to see what I'm up against. Maybe same 1 1/2" hole in trailer wall.

rstraz · 04-15-2022, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bcborn

On your picture of the wall it looks to be comprised of the exterior wall, a thin piece of styrofoam, a wallboard facing. Is this wallboard the interior wall. Please explain wall composition.

I assume neither of the magnets on the new speakers went through the interior wall.

Guess the one thing you had to be sure, was that the new cutout did not come in contact with the aluminum wall structure.

I assume with a deeper speaker you would have had to add a thicker spacer to stay outside the inner wall.

Our speaker looks likely smaller than your original (see attached). I have yet to remove it to see what I'm up against. Maybe same 1 1/2" hole in trailer wall.

It's Azdel exterior wall, then styrofoam insulation, then interior wall. The Polks were only ~1/2" too deep, which is why I needed to cut the sidewall. The speaker magnet pokes through the hole I made. The exterior spacer is the same that came with the trailer.

Bcborn · 04-15-2022, 12:11 PM

Few Options to surface mount better larger speakers

Bcborn · 04-17-2022, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rstraz

It's Azdel exterior wall, then styrofoam insulation, then interior wall. The Polks were only ~1/2" too deep, which is why I needed to cut the sidewall. The speaker magnet pokes through the hole I made. The exterior spacer is the same that came with the trailer.

The said cutting the Azdel and chipping out the foam cave you an additional 5/8".

is the light colored wood in the attached picture the interior wall or back of the cupboard? I thought the walls were almost 1 1/2 think how did you only get an additional 5/8" by cutting out Azdel and Foam back to light colored wall panel. How thick was that light colored wall panel in the picture, had you cut through that you could have put any speaker could you not?

There is a dark stip to the right of the picture, is it the trailer wall structure?

How thick were the original plastic wall spacers/rings?

What diameter (size) are the new speakers?

Are you happy with the sound of the new Polk Speakers?

rstraz · 04-18-2022, 09:23 AM

I don't recall exactly, but I believe the light wood was the interior wall. This speaker the original hole (smaller, offset to the bottom) goes directly into the stereo wiring area. I don't remember what was on the other side.

The spacers were stock spacers with the OEM speakers. They're about 3/4" deep.

The new speakers were same as OEM, 5.25". They're linked below:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm very happy with the sound. It's night and day with the crappy old speakers. I typically listen at pretty low volume as to not disturb any neighbors. With the old speakers, it sounded like a muddy mess at low volume. With these, it's crystal clear.

Fred 2106DS · 04-18-2022, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bcborn

I thought the walls were almost 1 1/2 think...

Here's a couple pictures of the sidewall core I saved after installing the sidewall solar port. You can see it is a about 1 3/8" thick.

Bcborn · 04-18-2022, 03:27 PM

Thanks Fred, that confirms I won't have to cut into the the inside wall at all. It will require the 3/4" exterior spacer as noted earlier though.

Just have to confirm where the aluminum sidewall structure is, as to avoid it being in line with with the cutout.

Bcborn · 04-18-2022, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rstraz

Those speakers suck. I upgraded them to Polk marine speakers which sound so much better. Here's an Imgur thread on what I did.

https://imgur.com/a/2QaxuS4

How did the OD of the Polk DB522 and the grill flush out with the OEM spacer ring?

I will have to source out spacers either OEM or aftermarket or build my own as I did on my Kodiak

rstraz · 04-19-2022, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bcborn

How did the OD of the Polk DB522 and the grill flush out with the OEM spacer ring?

I will have to source out spacers either OEM or aftermarket or build my own as I did on my Kodiak

It fits really well. Almost looks stock.

Just Mike · 04-20-2022, 06:18 PM

Why bother cutting into your camper’s wall? I have a very good sounding Sony Bluetooth speaker that I can connect to my camper stereo or to my iPhone.

geoham · 04-21-2022, 07:51 AM

Thanks all for your pictures, advice and links. This is really helpful.

Last year I upgraded the crappy inside speakers of my 1706FB to Kenwood (I got them as a closeout at the local BestBuy - great price and they fit perfect), and what a difference in sound. Now to upgrade the exterior.

Looking forward to this upgrade for our summer camping trips. Again thanks for taking the time to post this helpful info.

Mike

RocknRoll · 04-23-2022, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Mike

Why bother cutting into your camper’s wall? I have a very good sounding Sony Bluetooth speaker that I can connect to my camper stereo or to my iPhone.

You could argue that there are already hole(s) there. IMO, using a 4" hole saw to a precise depth was clever and minimally invasive.

I also use a portable bluetooth speaker at times, however, I find that I use the interior and exterior speakers more often (I sometimes like to listen to a ball game from the TV when outside cooking). I've replaced the interior speakers and was planning to replace the exterior ones this summer.

Thanks to rstraz for the writeup and link.

Bcborn · 04-24-2022, 01:23 PM

I picked up the Polk DB652 (6 1/2") speakers for my upgrade. As I have those linear speakers currently (see earlier post), I wanted to be sure the dia of the new speaker and mount would cover the three existing holes.

The Polk DB652 are 1 13/16 deep. As posted by Fred the wall of the 2106 will accommodate a 1 3/8" Max mounting depth if cutting through the interior wall. I wanted to be least invasive into the trailer wall and allow enough rear space for better sound.

I'm going to use a 1" thick spacer, I will cut 4.5" hole to open the fiberglass wall to accommodate the magnet and the front edge of the speaker cone. I will chip away some of the foam as did RSTRAZ which will accommodate the magnet in the wall of the trailer.

I have on order spacer rings made by Audiopipe. The id of the spacer ring is 5 7/8" and as only a 5 1/8" opening is required as per Polk's instructions there will be lots of space for the back side of the speaker. As the OD of the Audiopike spacer is about 3/16 - 1/4' bigger than the grille it leaves a small surface to silicone a bead seal.

Longer screws will be required to pull the speaker and the spacer to the trailer wall.

I will post pictures once I start the install.

Bcborn · 05-06-2022, 09:52 AM

I Epoxy filled the backside of the 6 1/2" speaker spacer for a better surface to place the cocking to water seal against the trailer wall.

I covered the mounting holes with tape, so they wouldn't fill with epoxy. Now I will just run the drill bill back through them to expose the holes that screw to the trailer wall.

Bcborn · 05-07-2022, 10:08 PM

Mounted the spacer rings, utilizing the lower mounting hole from the original speakers. Drilled three new holes at 9,12 and 3.

Cut out a 4 1/8" hole (holesaw) in the exterior wall, 1/4" down from center of spacer ring to allow for the wiring on the backside of the speaker. I other wards I offset the hole to the speaker magnet. I could have drilled a larger hole and would have cut out on center. 4 1/8" was all I had for a hole saw.

Fred 2106DS · 05-09-2022, 06:00 AM

Nice job, thanks for sharing. I've replaced our internal speakers with 5.25" Polk DB522's, now I need to replace the external speakers.

Bcborn · 05-09-2022, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred 2106DS

Nice job, thanks for sharing. I've replaced our internal speakers with 5.25" Polk DB522's, now I need to replace the external speakers.

Hello Fred, I could have made MDF Spacer Rings and sealed the rings with paint or epoxy for the outside speakers. Chose to find something pre manufactured. Mind you, there are guys out there that make MDF spacer rings too. A 3/4" thick ring would work too, just need to dig out a little more foam.

As for your upgrade to the DB522 Coax Speakers, did you have to make any spacer rings up for the interior or was it plug and play?