Locating Outback exterior wall studs

[byoungblood]

I'm trying to add a shelf to my Outback to place a small amp and speaker set on in lieu of the awful "sound system" that came with my 2013 Outback.

I've tried everything I can think of, stud finder, knocking on the wall, pushing on the wall, and I can't find anything behind there. Tried to reach out to Keystone to see if they had any plans, and they just generated about half a dozen excuses as to why they couldn't provide them.

Anyone else have any suggestions? Being the 1st of August in the South, the "look outside on a cold day" trick isn't an option for a few months.

[sourdough]

Instead of going to that trouble why don't you just replace the speakers and receiver? Then the only thing common with the old system is the wiring...

[byoungblood]

It is what I have. I build my own stereo gear and I have a small bookshelf amp I brought along with me, along with some speakers that are a heck of a lot better than anything I could replace these ceiling mounted ones with.

[FlyingAroundRV]

You could try a metal detector. The frames in the Outbacks are aluminum and a metal detector might do the trick.

[mwemaxxowner]

I'm with you. I like to use a sound processor and amp also myself. You just aren't going to get the sound quality and the depth without them.

So, I understand the desire. I try to look for Staples in the luan, in conjunction with tapping the wall. At some point you just have to make a good guess and drive a screw in, or perform a little surgery if you care enough to do it.

[JRTJH]

Where are you trying to mount the shelf? If it's on an outside wall or on the front or rear wall of the trailer, there isn't much of a "conventional stud structure". The studs are placed "very unevenly" by repeated measurements. There is no 16" or 24" on center repetition sequence. Studs are placed where engineering indicates a need in that area. So you may have a stud, then 19" another one, then 22" and the next, etc. In "earthquake-proof, rolling boxes, there just isn't any repeatable stud measurements.

Look at some of the brochures downloadable from the Keystone website and you'll see what I'm describing.

If your plan is to install on an interior wall, you should be able to locate the staple rows that secure the luan panels to the studs.

Here's one example of the exterior wall stud configuration: