Tailgate speaker mount
 

I am planning to upgrade my stereo system and subs are part of the planned upgrade. I use my cargo area daily and I do not want to have to worry about damaging anything mounted in the removable panel. My questions are:

1. Can subs be mounted in the tailgate panel?

2. Has anyone tried it?

Any and all comments are welcome, as long as they are productive.

what if you were to fashion a box out of fiberglass in the tailgate. only downside is weight. you would need larger door shocks

depends on how big the speakers are and like cheif said, if you make a fiberglass enclosure youre going to want to at least double the strength of whats already mounted for the gas shocks.... that is if you make an enclosure for like 10's and 12's

im in the same boat as you-- i want big sound but dont want a "box" in the back -- bought the HHR for space to haul stuff--- tho i have the half panel that i put panel doors in the back so it looks like a panel w/ back seats so if i dont mount speakers in the back hatch, theyre going in where the very back windows would have been... but remember also... the back hatch is meant to move, and if you mount a pair of subs, the hatch is going to do just that... its gonna bounce on the hinges and latch and will eventually wear out

what size speakers and how many watts are you planning on pushing through your system?? when im done i plan on being somewhere around the 3~4K watt range with 4~5 amps depending on how elaborate i make the door panels so having at least 2500 watts driving the subs would probably destroy the hatch if they were mounted like that

i mounted some
 

in my bronco 2 back hatch door. i got a piece of solid white pine, 1 x 12 , i think. the pine didn't weigh much , but the subs added some weight. it was not to much for the shocks to handle. i sealed it all up so it was air tight. it was pretty easy , looked ok , sounded good. the hhr , i am sure is designed a little different , but i think it would work. i do not like to work with the fiberglass , always wear a mask , that stuff will kill you. i quit doing hvac work because of it. the OSHA guy told me that eventually your lungs can get rid of anything , except for fiberglass.

I am not planning high wattage or large subs. I was thinking two 8's with a 400watt amp in the spare tire space. I am a quality of sound guy, not volume. I'm already partially deaf from fighter jet engines, don't need to help it along.

pioneer
 

i am guessing you don't have the factory ugrade , pioneer sub in the rear. i think the pioneer upgrade sounds pretty good. i have blown up bose in the past. if you had that , or got and then upgraded it , i would think it would be plenty. i have yet to turn mine up all the way. i may upgrade mine , but if i do it will really be overkill. have you heard the 7 speaker factory pioneer???

I do have the Pioneer 6 speaker system but no sub. I just want a little more low end, no plans to rattle the doors off.

what if you were to buy a stock box?

Here's the bare liftgate...alot of cutting required to get anything in there, they are kinda flimsy as is, may not be worth the effort.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/fil.../IMG_24032.JPG

I have seen the stock box, I have not heard it, it does not look as though you would get much out of it. And I have not really considered using a stock box until I saw this

I'm thinkin' stock or way too expensive custom is the only option for my particular needs.