The day I git mine I drove it to a stereo place and said " do your magic", including satellite radio, which I would never be without in the middle of nowhere.
Many RVs have the stereo running off the house batteries. My brother's Bigfoot does that. You do have to remember to turn the stereo off however or you will be depleting the house batteries when parked.
Crutchfield is great for buying stuff for DIY stereo installations. They have a number of powered subs.
As someone who has never been without an upgraded sound system in any of his vehicles or boats, I would like to make a suggestion.
The guy that recommended doing the in-dash DVD player is absolutely correct. They work great, and you save the space in your cabinets. Also, if you trust yourself to be safe, all you have to do is ground the green parking brake sensor wire to your black chassis ground, and it plays on the screen while you are in motion for the passenger to watch. You can get a Kenwood double din (4 inch tall) 7" screen DVD player with dual zone capability and simulated surround sound for less than $650 on Amazon.com. If you want the 'free' installation instructions and wiring harness for an extra $30 or so, go to Crutchfield.com. You may also need a mounting adapter plate, which they will also sell on Crutchfield. If you are familiar with those kind of installs, I would price check with google and get the best buy. I got that unit, plus another 12" screen, 2 sets of wireless headphones, and the mounting plate for our Armada for $900 by shopping around, so do what feels right for you. PS...the install was a breeze. Less than an hour.
Next, I would not run the DVD player off of the chassis battery. Repeated drainage will only shorten the life of the battery, and you will be having to buy expensive replacements every few months. Run a 12v power lead off of your house battery bank, and run the ACC wire (the one that turns it off and on when you turn on the switch) through a toggle switch that you can mount right next to the DVD player on the dash. That way, you are not running the batteries down and you can turn the unit off and on as you wish from the driver's seat or by leaning over from the house.
As far as an amp and sub, you can run them the same way. 12v off of the house battery bank, and the remote wire through a toggle switch in a handy location. That way you can turn off the sub when you don't need it. But always remember, the walls are thinner than you think, and campgrounds are always quieter outside at night than you think. So be considerate to your neighbors. You may not think it is much sound, but if they can hear it at all from their bed, it is too much.
Keep us posted with what you decide to do. I hope this helped.
'05 Nissan Titan
Various rentals.
Looking to buy a Seneca HD 36FS. I can't wait!!!
I would also like to add some sort of sound system so the kids can hear the tv better. I was thinking of adding a surround sound, but it has been mentioned it will draw too much power. If at all possible, I would also like it to play my music when the kids aren't watching tv.
What do you suggest?
If your TV is in the front of your Tioga, then you are a perfect candidate for that same set-up. The Kenwood has a simulated surround, meaning it uses the standard 2 front and 2 rear speaker set-up to broadcast in a pretty convincing 5.1 format. Our truck feels like the movie theater if the sound is up and the sub is on. Anyways, you can run the video out cable to your upper mounted TV, or run it to the back bedroom TV if you want. Then just hook up the speakers as is. I don't know if you have rear speakers though. If not, you can get a set of shelf speakers like Aiwa or Polk, mount them on the wall back by the kitchen somewhere, and run wire to them. That would work to give anyone in the living area a surround sound feel. There is more than one way to run the power, but I prefer the method I mentioned above. It makes sense, and it gives you the option to toggle off the power so that you KNOW it is off and not draining the house battery bank.
The whole sheebang would run you about $750-800, but with kids, it is well worth it. Again, let us know what you decide, and how you decided to do it.
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