2010-2012 audio and charger placement advice

[JetBoatPenguin]

Looking for some expertise from those that have been there...and if you were to do it again...you would {insert advice here}.

Getting ready to do some mods to our 2010 Ar240. Looking to install a new 3 bank Minn Kota onboard Precision charger for our 31AGMs. What is the best place to locate the charger ( and should we mount to wood with an air gap or use nylon spacers)..batteries hook to a 4 position Perko?

Getting ready to install 2 HTX6 amps as well, one to run cabin speakers and sub, and the other to run tower speakers and maybe a 2nd sub. What is the best place people have found to place the amps and sub? I've seen lots of examples....so I'd like to learn from other people's "experience". Thinking under the helm for the amps and sub under the mid passenger seat or behind the captain chair. New 6.5s are going mid cabin as well. And do you like one flat board or a triangle design for the amp board? I think both would work.

Thanks for everyone's expertise and time...


And thinking new headhunit...Fusion RA-70 and new remotes from the stern and passenger...keeping the copilot happy. What headhunit would you go with?

Thanks and hope the waves are treating everyone well.

 

[Joshua Miller]

Can’t answer your charger or speaker question, but I just installed a fusion RA-70 into my 2010 AR240. It looks and works great but I had to purchase and cut a panel to mount the radio since it was smaller than the stock one.

 

[Ronnie]

You have a lot going on or are about to.
My thoughts: mount the charger on a board instead of directly tot the carpet on the wall next to the batteries. This is what I did initially but relocated the charger to the face of the front battery box, it’s held in place by the strap that hold the battery box cover in place. Also before you install the charger o suggest you determine where you will install the remote charging port, if any, first. Mine is in the cup holder on the swim deck on the same side as the batteries. Which makes it easy to get to even if I have the boat covered.

Almost all of the DYI videos I’ve seen state to mount the amps as close to the batteries as possible but I mounted mine under the helm on a single board. Whatever you do make sure you put a fuse on each power line coming off the batteries/oem switch. Whether you mount the amps close to the batteries or not you will have to buy long cables (long positive and negative cables if the amps are not near the batteries or long rca cables if the amps are near the batteries but not the head unit).

I mounted a 10” sub woofer on the wall next to my captains chair. If o could do it again I’d put it on the opposite side of the boat so that I won’t feel the bass so intensely that it makes me wonder if something is wrong with an engine, impeller or shaft.

 

[JetBoatPenguin]

Can’t answer your charger or speaker question, but I just installed a fusion RA-70 into my 2010 AR240. It looks and works great but I had to purchase and cut a panel to mount the radio since it was smaller than the stock one.

Hi Joshua, did you also do a stern remote as well? Or another bluetooth unit?

 

[Joshua Miller]

Hi Joshua, did you also do a stern remote as well? Or another bluetooth unit?

No just the unit at the helm.

 

[Ronnie]

You may want to take another look at the wireless remotes fusion offers. They are in expensive and can actually controL a lot more than just scrolling through a playlist and volume. If you are willing to learn the button combos (which I am not) you can switch sources, control the volume in each zone separately, etc. I was going to put one on the stern but ended up with going with the wired unit instead. The copilot gets bluetooth and aux connectivity as well as a wireless remote because I prefer that nobody reaches over or around me when I am piloting the boat. Now I wonder how many replacement covers I will end up buying.