Speaker upgrade question

[neveser]

I’m going to upgrade the interior speakers in our 19FBPR. I took out one of the factory speakers to get the model # and it’s a 5.25” speaker. I noticed that the speaker was screwed into the ceiling panel only, there’s no other wood behind it supporting the weight of the speaker.

I want to upgrade to 6.5” speakers. I measured the cutout and it’s already big enough to accommodate the larger speaker size. So my question is – would the ceiling panel be strong enough to support the added weight of the larger speaker? Those who have 6.5” speakers – were your speakers only screwed into the ceiling panel or did you have something else behind it to screw into in order to more safely and securely hold the speaker?

[Dogue]

I doubt there would be a significant weight difference between the two. I'd probably put some kind of backer inside the ceiling to help distribute the weight a bit if possible, just for peace of mind but you should be okay.

[JRTJH]

The OEM speakers have relatively small magnets and weigh about 6-8 ounces each. Larger "high quality" speakers may have significantly heavier magents and may weigh as much as 3 or 4 pounds each. Depending on the speakers you want to install, you may find that when the trailer is "bouncing down the road" you'll find them hanging by the wires or laying under the table if the 4 "small wood screws" pull out of the 1/8" luan ceiling panel.

If the speakers are more than "just a tad heavier" you might want to glue some 1x2 furring strips above the ceiling panel and screw the speakers into the furring strips (through the luan panel). That would give a much better bite and probably prevent the screws from pulling through the thin luan panel.

[sourdough]

I upgraded to Kenwood 6 1/2" speakers and they fit the existing hole just fine. They also just screw into the ceiling and I've had no problems. As John mentioned, some can get really heavy and I've used them in different applications but the ceiling of an RV wasn't a place to do that IMO. All I wanted was something that improved over the horrible OEM speakers....and they are a HUGE improvement. Just took a few minutes one evening to pull out the 4 in the living area and put in the new ones.

[neveser]

I upgraded to Kenwood 6 1/2" speakers and they fit the existing hole just fine. They also just screw into the ceiling and I've had no problems. As John mentioned, some can get really heavy and I've used them in different applications but the ceiling of an RV wasn't a place to do that IMO. All I wanted was something that improved over the horrible OEM speakers....and they are a HUGE improvement. Just took a few minutes one evening to pull out the 4 in the living area and put in the new ones.

So you do have 6.5" speakers in the ceiling? Is there some bracing above the ceiling panel for it? What model speaker did you install?

I took one of the OEM speakers out and weighted it - 10.25oz
I just happened to be replacing the dash speakers in my RAV4 so I weighed it for comparison - 11.25oz.
The OEM speaker is 5.25" and the new speaker for the RAV4 is 3.5". So I can easily see how a 6.5" decent speaker is going to definitely have some weight to it.

[LHaven]

During our first cross-country trip, we found the speakers hanging low at one point and were surprised to see that they were just sheet-metal-screwed into the fiber ceiling. My plan was just to add one of these dinguses to each screw position, which I thought would be a lot easier than the furring work.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQVjKCbpbVks9d2KrYATXCwCsrqYtjOp bGGXKbAgVdW0OD3t__B

I eventually want to replace those low-end speakers with the marine models suggested elsewhere, and I don't doubt they will be heavier.

[sourdough]

These are the speakers I ordered;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZVJLKM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Inexpensive but far better than the OEM. All we do is watch movies from time to time so buying speakers that are an audiophile's dream wasn't important. They went right in the existing holes. I didn't put anything behind the ceiling and they've been in place for 3 years. You could try to use the speednuts shown above but I'm not sure how you would place them over the tip of the screw with the speaker in the hole.

[MickLittle]

These little clips came with the speakers I ordered for my RV. The OEM speakers are garbage!!! Just installed them on the ceiling panel and have been holding up just fine.

[LHaven]

You could try to use the speednuts shown above but I'm not sure how you would place them over the tip of the screw with the speaker in the hole.

They are U-shaped clips, part goes over the ceiling and part goes under the ceiling -- so you just line them up with the existing screw holes with the nut part on top, and let er rip. Unless I don't understand the question.

[neveser]

These are the speakers I ordered;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZVJLKM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Inexpensive but far better than the OEM. All we do is watch movies from time to time so buying speakers that are an audiophile's dream wasn't important. They went right in the existing holes. I didn't put anything behind the ceiling and they've been in place for 3 years. You could try to use the speednuts shown above but I'm not sure how you would place them over the tip of the screw with the speaker in the hole.

Those look like pretty substantial speakers with a decent magnet. I found the weight for them on CNet - 28.92 oz. So if that's correct, then those speakers weigh almost 2lbs apiece.

You can definitely get little more bass from 6.5" vs a 5.25". I'm not looking to blow myself and my neighbors away rockin' out, I just really want some better quality sound. The moment I heard those OEM's I knew they had to go and I just kept putting it off. Since I was looking at speakers for my RAV4 I just thought now would be a good time to swap out the RV speakers too.

I do like the idea of using those clips. That might give me the peice of mind I need to put in the 6.5" that I found -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KW1F6ZA/?coliid=I3PLMHQR5NLBSC&colid=1M6MVMFO9P3R0&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Frequency response on those is 55Hz-22KHz which isn't too bad for a 6.5". I have JBL speakers in my home theater and have been happy so I feel good about going with them. Going by the shipping weight (3.75 lbs) they probably weigh about 1.5+ lbs or so.