Alright, I've been gathering information on this install now for about a week. This is my first attempt at any kind of audio install, and even though this is one of the most basic audio installs, I was still a bit nervous, but thrilled to death when it came out right. Oh, and I have the mid-grade factory non Rockford Fosgate factory stereo.

Pic. 1 - This is a Bazooka EL8A which is a 50-watt amplified bass tube. With it comes the wiring harness and a short power wire which has a fuse holder with a 7.5 amp fuse included, as well as two straps to hold the tube in place. All of the wires included with the bass tube are 16 gauge wires, so in addition to those that came with the bass tube, I used an additional 50 ft. (approx.) of standard 16 gauge speaker wire for the power wire connection as well as the ground and speaker wire connections. The only other items I used were some wire tap-in clips (borrowed from my neighbor, but can be found at Radio Shack/Best Buy/Circuit City), some electrical tape, and wire loom (to be added later).

Pic. 2 - This pic. shows the two straps included that hold the bass tube in place. Screws are provided to fasten the strap holders to the truck, however, because I have the carpeted floor mats on top of the regular carpet, the screws weren't long enough to go through both carpets and into the metal flooring. They did hold surprisingly tight to the two carpets alone.

Pic. 3 - This is just a close-up of the strap holders.

Pic. 4 - This shows the bass tube in place with the straps on. This is still pre-installation of any wiring. Another ClubTitan member performed this exact install and said he was able to move his bass tube all the way back to the hump closest to the rear of the cab....however, he has a King Cab. I have a Crew Cab and was not able to move it any farther back without restricting the angle of the seat in the down position. Not to worry, as you'll see in the end, the tube doesn't extend out from under the seat in any direction even having it further toward the front of the cab.

Pic. 5 – This is just another angle showing the bass tube strapped in place.

Pic. 6 – This pic. shows the bass tube in place with the wiring harness plugged into the unit prior to hooking up the wires.

Pic. 7 – Okay, here comes the first “real” part of the installation. Go ahead and remove the negative terminal of the battery for safety’s sake. I had to run a total of 4 wires to various parts of the truck (power wire, left + and -, right + and -, and ground wire). I’ll start with the power wire. The power wire had to be run from the bass tube, around the back wall, under the driver side door sills, through the firewall, around the engine compartment, and to the positive battery terminal. As I mentioned before, I used 16 gauge speaker wire for this and all other wire runs (mainly because I had a 100 ft. roll of it already, but the amp is so small that 16 gauge wire is sufficient). It took me a while to find the “elusive” pre-existing hole in the firewall that many have posted about. This picture shows the hood release cable under the driver’s side dash. The hole we’re looking for is located just above where the hood release cable goes through the firewall.

Pic. 8 – This pic. shows the actual hole I used with the 16 gauge power wire running through the plug in this hole. You have to peel back the black mat that surrounds the hood release cable to actually see the pre-existing hole I used. It has a rubber plug in it that I removed and punched a hole in the center of so I could feed the power wire through it. What I chose to do was slide the plug down the wire about 2 feet to give me enough slack to get the wire through the hole and out of the engine compartment. The easiest way I could think of to get the wire through the hole far enough to be able to reach it was to take a metal clothes hanger and straighten it out and bend the end of it into a hook. I then inserted the hook end of the hanger from the engine compartment, through the hole, and into the cab of the truck. From here I looped the end of the power wire through the hook in the hanger and pulled it up through hole and into the engine compartment. I replaced the black plug in the hole so as not to cut the power wire as I pulled enough through to get around the front of the engine compartment and over to the battery.

Pic. 9 – This pic. just shows the power wire after I pulled it through the hole and began to follow the path of the hood release cable.

Pic. 10 – After I got one end of the power wire run around to the battery (not connecting it to the battery yet), I had to run the other end of it around the back of the cab and to the bass tube. I rolled off enough cable and clipped the wire. This pic. shows the power wire running under the driver’s door sill. It continues under the rear driver side door sill (both sills just pop off…..no screws). I then popped off the plastic vertical door edge as much as I could (the one where the rear seat belt is screwed into) so that I could run the wire behind it and then down under the carpet at the base of the floor and rear wall then over to the middle of the rear wall and to the bass tube.

Pic. 11 – While I had the door sills and plastic vertical door edge out of place, I ran the speaker wire along the same path as the power wire, stopping at the driver’s door sill where I will splice into the factory rear door speaker wire. This process is then repeated for the passenger side of the truck to run speaker wire to the passenger factory rear door speaker wire.
**You can also splice into the front door speaker wires, but they’d be harder to
get to. The bass tube also comes with low level RCA input wires that connect
to the back of the head unit, but I didn’t want to mess with taking the head unit
apart.
The speaker wires are the tightly twisted pair of wires under the door sills. The colors for + and – are different for King Cabs and Crew Cabs so make sure you splice into the right color. I used some wire tap clips to splice into the speaker wires. You can also cut some of the speaker wire covering away and twist the new wire onto the factory wire and tape it up, but with the factory wires being as tightly twisted as mine were, it would be virtually impossible to tape them up good enough.

After connecting driver and passenger side + and – speaker wires together, I connected the fused power wire to the + terminal of the battery (MAKING SURE NOT TO HAVE THE FUSE IN THE FUSE HOLDER YET). I then connected the 16 gauge power wire extension I ran earlier to the end of the fused power wire.

Next I went back to the bass tube location and spliced and taped all the appropriate wires together and connected the ground wire by screwing it into the bolt hole of the middle seat bracket.

Now that we have everything spliced together, I installed the fuse into the fuse holder and replaced the negative terminal on the battery. Now for the moment of truth. Put the key in the ignition, close all the doors and put on a song with decent bass tones. Ahhhhh, the sweet sounds of success. Obviously this setup isn’t going to win any competitions or wake the neighbors, but for $60 (used on eBay) it has a damn good sound. And if I need extra storage room all I have to do is unplug the wiring harness from the back of the bass tube and take the tube out, leaving everything else in tact.

Nice install none the least though. I'm too afraid to do any audio stuff myself, I'm afraid i'll break something.

Pic. 12 – This shows the completed installation with the wire bundle going to the rear wall of the cab. Now all I need to do is get some split loom wire covering to cover these wires as well as the power wire that I ran around the engine compartment.

Pic. 13 – Another view of the finished product.

Pic. 14 – Here’s what it looks like with the seats down.

Pic. 15 – Another view with the seats down.

Congrats. Looks nice. By your descriptions and pics you obviously pay attention to the details. I give you 6 months before you rip out the factory stuff and fill it w/ AM!

You might want to upgrade the power wire to at least 10 ga. The 16 ga is too small and will heat up when drawing current.

Looks Good. :goodjob:

I was looking at those bazooka tubes, are you satisfied with the results?

it depends on what you're looking for. this tube is just the EL8A which is only a 50-watt amp with an 8" sub. it basically provides enough bass to fill in what the factory stereo (mid-level stereo anyway) lacks. it isn't going to satisfy the bassheads, but it gives it a nice all-around sound. they also have larger amplified tubes that would probably give you much more bass, but i wasn't willing to pay $200 or more when i found this small one for $60 on ebay.

again, it's all in what you're looking for.

Nice install! Thanks for all of the great detailed pics also! :dance2:

in response to needing to upgrade the power wire from the 16 gauge to 10 gauge....i know that's customary procedure when dealing with high powered installs, but this amp/sub is only 50 watts. i was told by a couple of different people who are experienced car audio installers and they said 16 gauge would be sufficient for this setup. also, the power wire with integrated fuse holder that comes with this bass tube is 16 gauge and the directions specifically state that if you have to add additional power wire that it shouldn't be done from the battery to the fused wire, but on the other side of the fused wire. why would i attach the 16 gauge fused wire to the battery and then go to 10 gauge until i got to the power wire coming out of the bass tube harness which is also 16 gauge?

i'm not taking offense to the suggestion of going with a bigger power wire, i just want to make sure those who may be thinking about this install don't necessarily have to go purchase more expensive wire.

in response to needing to upgrade the power wire from the 16 gauge to 10 gauge....i know that's customary procedure when dealing with high powered installs, but this amp/sub is only 50 watts. i was told by a couple of different people who are experienced car audio installers and they said 16 gauge would be sufficient for this setup. also, the power wire with integrated fuse holder that comes with this bass tube is 16 gauge and the directions specifically state that if you have to add additional power wire that it shouldn't be done from the battery to the fused wire, but on the other side of the fused wire. why would i attach the 16 gauge fused wire to the battery and then go to 10 gauge until i got to the power wire coming out of the bass tube harness which is also 16 gauge?

i'm not taking offense to the suggestion of going with a bigger power wire, i just want to make sure those who may be thinking about this install don't necessarily have to go purchase more expensive wire.

It was only a suggestion and I'm not stating you have to get 10 ga wire. But FYI, a 50 watt amplifier at full tilt will draw around 7-10 amps. A 16 ft run of 16 ga wire is not enough to support the current draw.

Pic. 9 – This pic. just shows the power wire after I pulled it through the hole and began to follow the path of the hood release cable.

Pic. 10 – After I got one end of the power wire run around to the battery (not connecting it to the battery yet), I had to run the other end of it around the back of the cab and to the bass tube. I rolled off enough cable and clipped the wire. This pic. shows the power wire running under the driver’s door sill. It continues under the rear driver side door sill (both sills just pop off…..no screws). I then popped off the plastic vertical door edge as much as I could (the one where the rear seat belt is screwed into) so that I could run the wire behind it and then down under the carpet at the base of the floor and rear wall then over to the middle of the rear wall and to the bass tube.

Pic. 11 – While I had the door sills and plastic vertical door edge out of place, I ran the speaker wire along the same path as the power wire, stopping at the driver’s door sill where I will splice into the factory rear door speaker wire. This process is then repeated for the passenger side of the truck to run speaker wire to the passenger factory rear door speaker wire.
**You can also splice into the front door speaker wires, but they’d be harder to
get to. The bass tube also comes with low level RCA input wires that connect
to the back of the head unit, but I didn’t want to mess with taking the head unit
apart.
The speaker wires are the tightly twisted pair of wires under the door sills. The colors for + and – are different for King Cabs and Crew Cabs so make sure you splice into the right color. I used some wire tap clips to splice into the speaker wires. You can also cut some of the speaker wire covering away and twist the new wire onto the factory wire and tape it up, but with the factory wires being as tightly twisted as mine were, it would be virtually impossible to tape them up good enough.

After connecting driver and passenger side + and – speaker wires together, I connected the fused power wire to the + terminal of the battery (MAKING SURE NOT TO HAVE THE FUSE IN THE FUSE HOLDER YET). I then connected the 16 gauge power wire extension I ran earlier to the end of the fused power wire.

Next I went back to the bass tube location and spliced and taped all the appropriate wires together and connected the ground wire by screwing it into the bolt hole of the middle seat bracket.

Now that we have everything spliced together, I installed the fuse into the fuse holder and replaced the negative terminal on the battery. Now for the moment of truth. Put the key in the ignition, close all the doors and put on a song with decent bass tones. Ahhhhh, the sweet sounds of success. Obviously this setup isn’t going to win any competitions or wake the neighbors, but for $60 (used on eBay) it has a damn good sound. And if I need extra storage room all I have to do is unplug the wiring harness from the back of the bass tube and take the tube out, leaving everything else in tact.


Did you not use the orange remote wire, so the amp shuts off when you are not using the radio (and when the car is off?)

Nice job & thanks for the pics and documentation. I question the adequacy of that 16 ga. power wire as well. But if that's what the manufacturer provides, it must be OK. Where did you run the remote turn-on wire to? There is a violet wire in the main radio harness of the Rockford system that turns on the external amp, but it is only a 6 volt imput, not suitable for most aftermarket systems, but for the mid-line system, I am not sure. I gotta check the wiring diagrams. If the sub amp has a music sensing circuit, you can tap an existing spkr. wire under the door threshold, otherwise you need a trigger, that's why I'm curious as to how you got the turn-on signal. Obviously, it is working so....

I don't think he used a remote turn-on. He has it hooked up straight to the battery...He said he only used 4 wires: power wire, ground wire, left speaker and right speaker to hook into sub. I'm worried about not using the remote wire...I don;t want my amp to stay on all the time.

I've bypased the remote turn on lead in the past by wiring a switch inside my console. At the time, I didn't want to run an aftermarket head unit in my '04 Mach I. Since the stock Ford junk didn't come with a remote turn on lead, any 12 volt source would activate the amp.

You just needed to remember to flip the switch at the end of the drive... LOL

These Bazooka tubes have auto-turn on feature to save you from having to hook up another wire! You must leave the "looped wire" connected in order for that to work. Here is how it works:
Auto Turn On - Amplified Tube Subwoofers can automatically turn themselves on, when they sense audio signal, to save you from having to make an extra wire connection.

These Bazooka tubes have auto-turn on feature to save you from having to hook up another wire! You must leave the "looped wire" connected in order for that to work. Here is how it works:
Auto Turn On - Amplified Tube Subwoofers can automatically turn themselves on, when they sense audio signal, to save you from having to make an extra wire connection.Thats how the Kenwood system works as well.

Nice job! Thanks for the pics!

dont even know if the guy who posted this originally is still active...i dug this post up from over a year ago.

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I just bought a EL8A-HP 100 watt bazooka for my 2004 CC. I have a couple of questions. I've done some searching around and can't seem to find an exact answer, just bits and pieces.

What color speaker wire should I be looking for in an 04 Crew Cab? You noted that speaker wire color may be different.

What did you do with the RCA wires? Obviously, they splice into the speaker wires... did you cut them? Buy an adapter?

Last question. Should I install this on the drivers side or passenger side? Which side sounds better to the driver?

One suggestion. I have two 8" in my Titan that I am about to replace. Point the bazooka away from the door and see how it sounds. I had them pointing to the doors and sounded good. But when I raised the volume it lost the bass a little. So I decided to turn tehm facing each other; away from the door and when I raised the volume. WOW what a difference.