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2015 Vlx Amp Rack


zen720

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I upgraded the stereo on my 2015 Vlx. Now the problem is I don't remember how the amp rack was positioned to screw it back into place. It seems like there is space before the screws go through the hull on the top but the bottom screw holes on the amp rack make me nervous. Does anyone know how much depth there is to screw into on the top and bottom of the amp rack before you will have screws going into the side of the hull?

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I use 2" screws and never had a problem.  You can see the mounting blocks under the carpeting.  The thickness of your amp rack will also determine what length screws you will need. I would start with 2" screws and move up from there if necessary.  If you feel resistance stop because your probably hitting fiberglass.

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Ok thanks Fman, I will look for the mounting blocks on the bottom when I get home. However, I don't remember seeing any yesterday while I was working on it. Do you remember does the bottom of the amp rack sit just above the plastic coating in the locker, where the carpet on the wall meets the plastic coating?

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The mounting blocks are under the carpet on the wall where the rack mounts. Earlier years just put them under the carpet so you'll have to feel around for them. Later years mounted the blocks outside of the carpet and are easily seen. I'd use 1.5" screws with finishing washers. That puts almost 1" of screw holding into the blocks. Seems like most of those racks had only 3 screws, two in the rear and one in the top of the front. Feel around for your blocks and you'll find them.

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@zen720, granted my boat is a 2016, but maybe this will give you some ideas.  I put some stainless hanger bolts into the ribs behind the carpet and then I just put the board onto the bolts and use wing-nuts to secure it in place.  Works a treat.  I put some blocks at places around the back of my amp board so that it would stand off the ribs and give a nice channels for cables to run around and not get pinched and pushed by the process of screwing the panel into the ribs.

In the picture below you can see two of the three bolts I put in.  The top bolt has a nut and washer as a 'stop' because I didn't have any more plastic blocks handy at the time to act as stops.  I actually rather like that method now that I've pulled the board on and off a few times.  Makes it easier than putting blocks in the board and drilling down through them to create a channel.  Which is what I did on the other two bolts.

I still recommend some blocks though to hold the board off the ribs at other points around the board to keep it from flexing.

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@Slurpee thanks now I have to pull the whole thing out and add in the hanger bolts. . That looks good and is a good idea for taking the amp rack in/out if needed. Well another trip to home depot it is

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3 hours ago, zen720 said:

@Slurpee thanks now I have to pull the whole thing out and add in the hanger bolts. . That looks good and is a good idea for taking the amp rack in/out if needed. Well another trip to home depot it is

Yeah.  No one ever expects to take the board on and off a lot.  But I keep finding myself compelled to make changes to my sound system.  So that board makes things really nice.  I'll see if I can find the boxes with the parts I used so I can state with certainty the size and lengths of the bolts.  I know I had to online order the Stainless Steel hardware.

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1 hour ago, Slurpee said:

Yeah.  No one ever expects to take the board on and off a lot.  But I keep finding myself compelled to make changes to my sound system.  So that board makes things really nice.  I'll see if I can find the boxes with the parts I used so I can state with certainty the size and lengths of the bolts.  I know I had to online order the Stainless Steel hardware.

They were 3/8-16 thread stainless 4" hangar bolts (1.25" machine thread, 2" tapping thread) and some wingnuts, shoulder washers, and nuts.

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I like how @Slurpee takes my good ideas and executes them like a boss.

Only comment I'd add re hanger bolts and wing nuts is that a couple of drips of blue locktite are a good idea.  The wing nuts can back off after a while, and a little locktite will gum up the threads nicely.

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24 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

I like how @Slurpee takes my good ideas and executes them like a boss.

Only comment I'd add re hanger bolts and wing nuts is that a couple of drips of blue locktite are a good idea.  The wing nuts can back off after a while, and a little locktite will gum up the threads nicely.

Great Minds.... :)  Frankly I'm surprised no one has asked me yet about that big red Anderson SB Power connector yet.  Its something I haven't seen yet on the site myself anyways.

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7 minutes ago, shadetreefab said:

@Slurpee  We use them on race cars for quick charging and winches. They also use them on cell towers around here. 

Sounds about right.  We used them for large format battery packs in electric vehicles.  I'm not a fan of touching the distribution blocks with those 2awg cables after I get 'em cleanly attached. Then, I remembered those Anderson 125A connectors when I wired up the board for this new boat. :)

Winches.... I'll remember that.  Good tip.

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I used anderson connectors on a battery charger on my old boat a few years ago when I was too cheap for an onboard charger.  They are pretty slick.  Snipped off the terminal clamps from the charger and put them on a half of a connector and then also built a couple of pigtails that I left on the batteries.  Then I could either plug the charger to the batteries or to the OG battery clamps.

I'm pretty sure we're gonna have to rely on "great minds think alike" @Slurpee, cuz you are making me paranoid like you're stalking me. :biggrin:

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