Upgrading outdoor speakers

[OIF/OEFveteran]

Greetings where you are on the planet.

I own a 2018 GD Reflection 150 series 29BH and one of the outdoor speakers has finally had its last day.

I would like to upgrade both to ones with better overall sound but am struggling with a few things.

First, the factory standards are pretty crappy. I haven't pulled them off yet, but just wandering around google found these:
https://www.affordablervparts.com/copy-of-speaker-mini-pummell-drive.html

Perusing the owners manual, I don't see a mounting depth or mounting hole spacing distance. But assuming from the site (above), if these speakers are the standard, it appears they are 2 7/8 deep by 3.5" mounting hole spacing.

Any recommendations on adding external speakers?

I am considering these Pyles: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyle-PLM...ck-2-Pack/516742081?athbdg=L1600&from=/search

And know I will need a speaker mount system (similar to these):
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyle-PLM...ck-2-Pack/516742081?athbdg=L1600&from=/search

But I can't seem to find the right outdoor mounts to match the speakers. Moreover, I am wondering why type of wiring is needed in the back. Are the current factory standard a 2-wire system, or is it a 3-wire? Is there a dedicated wire harness or would I be OK with splicing the wires and running a male/female wire crimp terminals?

Please link to any posts I may have missed, as I couldn't find any that are dedicated to outdoor speaker replacement process or upgraded speaker recommendations.

Thanks! God Bless.

 

[trailrydr]

Try a search for outdoor speaker replacement on this forum. Plenty of info on how, what, and where to purchase and install. The same with indoor speakers too.

Note: 2 wire factory pre-install. However not marked well..keep track of wire color came off the pos/neg sides of factory speakers. Yes can crimp, cut, splice new connectors on.

 

[Ynot4me2]

I was entertaining, replacing ours as well, but decided to go with a portable BT speaker instead. It's much easier, cheaper, and versatile, and the sound is amazing.
From what I've read, replacing those speakers is not an easier task, and the speaker wires they use is not the best.

 

[OIF/OEFveteran]

I was entertaining, replacing ours as well, but decided to go with a portable BT speaker instead. It's much easier, cheaper, and versatile, and the sound is amazing.
From what I've read, replacing those speakers is not an easier task, and the speaker wires they use is not the best.

Interesting...my wife bought a little Bose speaker that she likes to use and I've thought of taking it out to the campsite. The exterior speakers GD used are horrible. Pulling them off the unit, I will absolutely agree, the wires are not the best. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[trailrydr]

We replaced our cheap OEM installed outdoor RV speakers on our RV, and interior speakers with aftermarket 3ways for about $300. They sound great! True, the OEM wires are not great by any means, but niether are most automotive applications. The only real way to improve the GD OEM (or any automotive system) sound for the extreme Audiophile is to replace the head unit, wires and speakers. Plus add an amp to boot which some have done....

As for BT speakers, we have a pair of the JBL Flip 5's. Very nice sounding all the way around especially in base response. They work great with a cell phone or ther BT transmit devices and can be a more localized sound experience.

IMO, It is nice to just turn on the RV mounted outdoor/indoor speakers and listen to a variety of radio music, game or a popular talk show, or, pipe out TV hdmi stereo sound for a movie, etc. without draging out the BT speakers. Plus, have found that BT devices do suffer from interference occasionaly which can become annoying at times while listening to your favorite music.

 

[OIF/OEFveteran]

We replaced our cheap OEM installed outdoor RV speakers on our RV, and interior speakers with aftermarket 3ways for about $300. They sound great! True, the OEM wires are not great by any means, but niether are most automotive applications. The only real way to improve the GD OEM (or any automotive system) sound for the extreme Audiophile is to replace the head unit, wires and speakers. Plus add an amp to boot which some have done....

As for BT speakers, we have a pair of the JBL Flip 5's. Very nice sounding all the way around especially in base response. They work great with a cell phone or ther BT transmit devices and can be a more localized sound experience.

IMO, It is nice to just turn on the RV mounted outdoor/indoor speakers and listen to a variety of radio music, game or a popular talk show, or, pipe out TV hdmi stereo sound for a movie, etc. without draging out the BT speakers. Plus, have found that BT devices do suffer from interference occasionaly which can become annoying at times while listening to your favorite music.

Thank you, Jim - you read my mind. My hope is to bluetooth a little smart tv I bought during the recent Amazon prime day sales to my radio head so I can watch football this fall, without having to crowd around the tv to hear the game. Certainly being able to have better quality music is a plus, but I was thinking of all the other opportunities installing new speakers would give us.

 

[IBEW Sparky]

Interesting...my wife bought a little Bose speaker that she likes to use and I've thought of taking it out to the campsite. The exterior speakers GD used are horrible. Pulling them off the unit, I will absolutely agree, the wires are not the best. I appreciate the feedback.

I replaced mine with the same Pyle speakers you linked... they sound pretty good. I used the speaker pods linked below. Get them without the speaker holes pre-drilled... I tried 3 different sets that had the speaker cutout and they were all too sloppy of a fit and had to be returned. I only drilled 4 of the 8 dimples to mount the pods to the RV and used all new stainless steel screws. The hole the wires come through is big... maybe 1" in diameter I used a piece of Eternabond roof tape and covered it up bringing the wires out the bottom edge of the tape. Don't trust the factory wiring for
+ & - at the speakers... I pulled the radio to verify and one of my speakers was wired wrong.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2750325435...xyvsltjrvm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=MORE

 

[OIF/OEFveteran]

I replaced mine with the same Pyle speakers you linked... they sound pretty good. I used the speaker pods linked below. Get them without the speaker holes pre-drilled... I tried 3 different sets that had the speaker cutout and they were all too sloppy of a fit and had to be returned. I only drilled 4 of the 8 dimples to mount the pods to the RV and used all new stainless steel screws. The hole the wires come through is big... maybe 1" in diameter I used a piece of Eternabond roof tape and covered it up bringing the wires out the bottom edge of the tape. Don't trust the factory wiring for
+ & - at the speakers... I pulled the radio to verify and one of my speakers was wired wrong.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2750325435...xyvsltjrvm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=MORE

View attachment 47623

Bill, you're a Godsend... This is exactly what I was looking for, so I appreciate the motivation and inspiration.

Did you use a tap before drilling into the fiberglass or did you use the backward drill method to get through the gelcoat? I've never drilled into fiberglass before and am nervous. But I've been watching several DIY videos on it, and it's certainly something I can do. I appreciate the heads up using new stainless steel screws, and will definitely test out the wiring configuration before final installation. I've read several threads on the forum about wiring being backward coming out of the factory.

 

[OshawaDave]

Interesting...my wife bought a little Bose speaker that she likes to use and I've thought of taking it out to the campsite. The exterior speakers GD used are horrible. Pulling them off the unit, I will absolutely agree, the wires are not the best. I appreciate the feedback.

That's exactly what we do. I have the XM radio app on my phone as well as Radio Garden which can play any radio station in the world. In addion, we use the Bose speaker as an external speaker for the TV.
the factory speakers are junk as you mentioned......I hardly, if ever, use them.

 

[Soundsailor]

For my speaker upgrade I used Polk Audio DB522 speakers and they have worked well for me. They are marine grade so should stand up to weather. They were the same size as the stock speakers so the change was pretty straight forward.

 

[IBEW Sparky]

[MENTION=14100]OIF/OEFveteran[/MENTION]
You're welcome. No I didn't do anything special special to drill the RV. I just used a small pilot bit and then drilled again with a slightly larger bit. I did hit metal framing on one screw and chewed up the philips head slots so I drilled that hole another 32nd larger than the others... get a few extra screws. I believe I used a different size screws to mount the speakers to the pods. Pushed all of the screws into the back of a cardboard box and spray painted the heads satin black using Rustoleum 2X paint. I don't recall what size hole saw I used for drilling the pod for the speaker itself... maybe 4½.
I also drilled a small (maybe 3/16) drain hole on the bottom lip of the pod and notched it out just in case water gets behind it.

 

[trailrydr]

[MENTION=14100]OIF/OEFveteran[/MENTION]
You're welcome. No I didn't do anything special special to drill the RV. I just used a small pilot bit and then drilled again with a slightly larger bit. I did hit metal framing on one screw and chewed up the philips head slots so I drilled that hole another 32nd larger than the others... get a few extra screws. I believe I used a different size screws to mount the speakers to the pods. Pushed all of the screws into the back of a cardboard box and spray painted the heads satin black using Rustoleum 2X paint. I don't recall what size hole saw I used for drilling the pod for the speaker itself... maybe 4½.
I also drilled a small (maybe 3/16) drain hole on the bottom lip of the pod and notched it out just in case water gets behind it.

View attachment 47645

The ones we used were just like those but pre-drilled to fit our 6.5"s. We just had to drill the mounting holes for both the speaker and RV wall mount. We also drilled a drain hole as shown in the picture.

Attaching the speaker to the pod we used a gasket material that had a adhesive on the back and cut to fit the openning. Mounting the pod to RV wall we used similiar screws as OEM and then sealed with a bead of 100% clear silicone. We didnt want the blue light feature.. but they do sell grill inserts that mimick the same look.

Also used touchup auto flat black paint for screw heads after inatall.

 

[Unlimitedmatt]

Reviving an old thread.

Thanks to everyone that shared this upgrade. I just finished mine and what a difference! I found the same Pyle speakers from the previous link, as well as similar speaker pods on Amazon.

I did find one of the outside speakers was wired backwards from the factory.

I can't wait for my next trip!

 

[NB Canada]

I just invested in a quality Bluetooth speaker
Better sound than can ever be achieved by ones mounted to the rv and cheaper plus you can place it where you are directing the sound to just you and not your neighbours

 

[LanerC]

I just invested in a quality Bluetooth speaker
Better sound than can ever be achieved by ones mounted to the rv and cheaper plus you can place it where you are directing the sound to just you and not your neighbours

Me too, I like having the different options of placement of my Anchor blue tooth speakers, I have the extended base model and the ability to use more than one speaker at a time. Works good for my purpose.

 

[Soundsailor]

Me too, I like having the different options of placement of my Anchor blue tooth speakers, I have the extended base model and the ability to use more than one speaker at a time. Works good for my purpose.

+1 for the Anchor/Soundcore products. I have one of their older Bluetooth speakers and it still sounds great. I also have three sets of their headphones, the sound quality of much more expensive models at a reasonable price.