17 replies to this topic

[brandta]

Does anyone have any experience with using a "standard" flat-panel mount when switching to a new flat-panel TV? I would like to replace our old analog TV, but to make things easier I was hoping to cover the original hole and mount the TV so that it would be in much the same place. I am concerned that the four screw/bolt holes provided on the TV for mounting would not be enough given the shaking, rattling and rolling we do along the back roads.

[JMonroe]

I did just about that very thing when I replaced the TV in our Allegro.

After removing the old TV I bolted a couple lengths of 2x2 to the top and bottom of the original TV opening. The cabinet was very sturdy, made out of at least 1/2 plywood, and upholstered on three sides. I undid the staples holding the upholstery and pulled it back. I used a couple carriage bolts up through the bottom of the cabinet to hold my 2x2. Once I restapled the upholstery you would never have known it had been disturbed. The top of the box was also 1/2 ply, and well below the roof, and I used 3 or 4 lag bolts to hold the upper 2x2. To the 2x2s I attached a piece of 3/4" plywood I had laying around with probably a dozen 'deck screws', both top and bottom. It was going nowhere.

Once I had my TV mount, and cable routing holes done, I covered the plywood with some black vinyl material I had from another project. It would not be visable unless you stuck your head under or behind the TV, but I liked the more finished look. Knowing anything I bought would be wide enough to cover the old TV cabinet 'hole', I had measured the vertical space I needed to cover and bought a TV based on this measurement. I ended up with a 40" HD LCD!. I had to sacrifice access to one of the overhead cabinets, something I knew going in (It wasn't much of a loss), but the end result looked great, and no doubt was a factor in the dealer we traded it into being able to sell it twice (financing fell through on the first) in about a month.

We used it for a full year with that TV hanging overhead. It would wiggle around a bit on rough roads, but there was never any damage to either the TV or the mounting structure.

[brandta]

Thanks to all the responders. Guess its time to spend some money...and get out the drill.

Alan Brandt

[hermanmullins]

Check Tom Butler's post in Coach Modifications: Replacing Analog TV with Flat Screen LCD Saves Space and Weight.

Good post with pictures.

[TBUTLER]

Check the specs on the TV. We purchased a 26" LG TV which specified that the TV was not to be mounted in a tilted position. When I looked at the mounting holes, they were entirely in plastic and were part of the plastic cover on the rear of the TV. The 32" Sharp TV we purchased for the front TV had metal threads attached to the TV metal frame. We've had no problem with the front TV. It is mounted on a steel frame that I had fabricated from 1" box steel to fit the TV and the cabinet. A local welder did it for about $70. It is not adjustable but fits the cabinet perfectly. That TV has traveled many miles over several years without any problems.

I mounted the rear TV on its base as a result of the information about mounting it from the rear. I don't know if all LG TV's are constructed this way or if it was a matter of the smaller size of the TV.

It took me several tries to find my initial article with the pictures, etc. Here is the link to Replacing Analog TV

[skyking8]

I kind of did the same thing that JMonroe did in his installation with a couple of exceptions. The inside of the cabinet where the old TV goes has 3/4 inch plywood on the left and right side. I attached a 2 x 6 board into two joist hangers that I mounted to the side plywood pieces. Then, using lag bolts, I mounted a fully articulated flat TV mount to the 2x6. When not stowed for travel, I can pull the tv out of it's cabinet hole and adjust it up/down, left/right for viewing.

Also, would mention that many smaller flat screens don't have decent speakers and some are in the back. If you can't hook it up to your onboard equipment (DVD, VCR, etc) then you might want to think about getting some stand alone amplifed speakers.

[dogpatch]

Thanks to all the responders. Guess its time to spend some money...and get out the drill.

Alan Brandt

Where are you from Alan?

[brandta]

Where are you from Alan?

Hi. I was raised in Napa, Ca. and am now retired in Oregon. The Brandt side of the family is fourth generation Californian starting in the central valley (near Sacramento) and ending up in Berkeley.

Alan

[Nunas]

We recently replaced both picture-tube TVs in our coach with flat screen LED-LCD models from Best Buy. We chose the LED-LCD because it is an extremely flat design, even compared to the previous LCD and plasma TVs.

To make the conversion we simply bought veneer faced plywood to match the cabinetry in the coach. We cut the plywood about an inch bigger than the hole for the old TV set all around. On one vertical edge we mounted the plywood to the cabinet face with a piano hinge. On the opposite side we put two cupboard door catches and a child-proof catch. The design gives us two big new storage areas behind the TV sets, yet guarantees that the door cannot fly open if we hit a bump. The TVs are mounted to the plywood with flat mounts bought from WalMart. The ones we used have little plastic catches that guaranty that the TV cannot jump off the mount if we hit a bump.

We saved at lest 100# of weight and gained some nice storage. The job is easily done by anyone using only hand tools, if you get the lumber yard to cut the plywood to size.

[remeola]

In addition to a LED TV being thinner, it is very, very light in comparison to a traditional LCD TV.

I replaced our front 22" Samsung LCD with a 22" Sony LED because the Samsung LCD would bounce around, squeek, and bump the frame due to the weight on the standard swing-out bracket. No such problem with the lighter LED.

Ron

[luckettg]

In addition to a LED TV being thinner, it is very, very light in comparison to a traditional LCD TV.

I replaced our front 22" Samsung LCD with a 22" Sony LED because the Samsung LCD would bounce around, squeek, and bump the frame due to the weight on the standard swing-out bracket. No such problem with the lighter LED.

Ron

I have a 1996 Georgia Boy Swinger. Two years ago I replaced the old CRT type of TV with a flat screen. I built a box like fixture that would slide in where the old unit sat, then made cross pieces on the box to mount the new TV to. I had a little extra space at the top, so that is where the DVD player sits. I painted the wooden mounting box flat black. It looks as nice or better than the original unit. I also have its sound able to be routed into the radio audio system if desired or just use the new TV's speaker.

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[KaptnKluck]

Thanks to all the responders. Guess its time to spend some money...and get out the drill.

Alan Brandt

Alan, I have changed the CRT in the bedroom of our Allergo Bus. After removing the CRT I mounted a small mount from Sam's to the side of the box. The LED TV I got was slightly larger than the frame on the sides and ever so slightly smaller than the parallel stiles. I applied Velcro to the edges where the TV catches the frame and lined the now storage box with the same material Tiffin uses to cover those types of spaces. Momma's happy.

[msgtnobody]

I have a 1996 Georgia Boy Swinger. Two years ago I replaced the old CRT type of TV with a flat screen. I built a box like fixture that would slide in where the old unit sat, then made cross pieces on the box to mount the new TV to. I had a little extra space at the top, so that is where the DVD player sits. I painted the wooden mounting box flat black. It looks as nice or better than the original unit. I also have its sound able to be routed into the radio audio system if desired or just use the new TV's speaker.

I own a 2001 Fourwind Windsport that has the same looking front dash with the old tube tv. Was it hard to remove the old tv? I want to upgrade to lcd/led tv's and dont want to get in over my head with this project. What type of mount did you use to get the new tv in place?

[luckettg]

I own a 2001 Fourwind Windsport that has the same looking front dash with the old tube tv. Was it hard to remove the old tv? I want to upgrade to LED/LCD TV's and don't want to get in over my head with this project. What type of mount did you use to get the new tv in place?

No, it was not difficult as the only thing holding that old CRT TV in place is the front dash frame/cover and the weight of the TV. On my GB there were some screws to remove the dash frame, then the TV slid out. This took some nudging and wiggling. Be careful to not yank the wires attached to its back. You might need a stool of some sort to slide the TV onto. Once it is out far enough, just unplug it and remove the antenna cable.

I took some time thinking about what to do once the old TV was out of the way. Incidentally, two of my sons are still using it down in the basement. I designed a box made from plywood to fit the old space just as the old TV did. Then I put in two cross shelves, one higher than the middle of the new TV and one lower. Then I placed some struts in between those shelves and mounted the new flat screen TV to them. I kept the new TV on its base too as that gave it good support and positioned it about in the middle of the front. Once I liked how it all fit together, it was painted a flat black. I used latex acrylic paint. I let it dry for a few days in the shop then mounted the new TV on it, attached the antenna cable, speakers, etc, plugged it in, slid it into the hole, put a couple of screws in the bottom to hold it in position better, re-attached the dash frame, and it has been like that since.

Greg Luckett

[nitehawk]

Our 1989 Foretravel Grand Villa has the sloped front end. Aerodynamically good, but a real pain in the head when a large LED flat screen TV is up there. So, I removed the old 13" analog TV, reworked the enclosure so it is flush with the bottom of the overhead, cut and fitted a piece of oak to fit the opening between the two access doors that are hinged to swing up. (I plan on staining to match) I now am fabricating a steel mount that will hook over the top lip of the oak piece, yet move the 23" flat screen out far enough away so the two access doors can be opened. (about 4") When traveling the TV will be easily and quickly removed for storage. The oak piece has a 1" square steel tubing (1/8" wall) inside the overhead with lag bolts holding the oak in place from the rear. This type of mounting will allow almost any size flat screen to be hung. DVD, antenna, satellite, power, and external speaker cords will be bundled and accessed thru the right access compartment. With the TV and cords stored away the overhead will look as if it never could accomodate any TV or components. A nice clean NON-PAIN IN THE HEAD conversion.

[tzimmermn]

Don't know what kind of motor coach you have or set-up. We have a 40FD Winnebago Tour with a center mounted 27" Sony (boat anchor) mounted behind passenger seat in cabinet that we replaced with a 32" LED TV. I cut a 1/2" piece of Birch plywood to fit inside opening. I cut it about a 1/4" smaller than opening to allow covering with gray fuzzy trunk material that you can purchase at Walmart in the automotive department for about $10. I used some spray adhesive to attached the felt like material to the plywood. I left the top edge bare so I could attach the board to the header in the cabinet using a piano hinge. I also left the area clear of any felt where I drilled holes and bolted the TV directly to the board. You do not need any mounting bracket this way. The TV fits very flush to the board. I also cut holes in the board to allow the cables to pass through the back of the board to connect to the TV. At the bottom of the board, I installed a few kitchen cabinet clips on the inside of the cabinet to retain the board at the bottom. I also cut a small notch in the board at the bottom to allow lifting and opening TV mount (about 45 degrees - more if you mount the TV lower on the board) similar to overhead storage (TV and mounting board swing up). That way you have access to the TV cables at any thime and you also have beneficial use of the space inside the cabinet where the old TV once resided. The new LED TVs are easily supported in this fashion (due to their light weight) any should not give you any problem or concern regarding a rough road.

Anyway, this is similar to the way the mechanics at the RV place are mounting them. This is just one suggestion and there are many other ways as mentioned in the email threads to this post that are equally acceptable. Good luck on your replacement TV. We are enjoying ours.

Terry - Amarillo, TX