LED TV To Replace Original TV In Motorhome

[sunriff]

We are replacing our big TV with a light weight Flat Screened Emerson 32". Can anyone tell me if this will withstand the bouncing going down the road. Or could anyone tell me what is the best to get and which mount is good to use. Thank you

[rossboyer]

I don't think that anyone can guarantee that a particular brand or type of TV will withstand the road shock in a motor home, but I have installed LCD TVs in 3 different motor homes. Those motor homes have traveled 12,000 to 20,000 miles per year for at last 3 years without difficulty. The brand I used was Toshiba. I liked the ability with the Toshiba TV to make the connections from the antenna, DirecTV, and outside cable at the TV which allowed me to switch between those sources with the Remote. The real key is how well you mount the TV to reduce residual vibration. I made my own mountings using flat bar and angle aluminum stock from a big box store. I do not have pictures to share. I was able to provide a pivot to allow access to the rear of the TV to work with the wiring. There was enough space behind the new TV to install the base speaker for the surround sound which gave me additional foot and leg space at the drivers seat.

[desertdeals69]

My front TV is a Samsung LED 40 inch which 1.2 inches thick. I made a mount out of aluminum angle and hinged it from the top and used gas struts. I made a new cabinet which is about 10 inches thick with shelves for dvds. I've had it for 3 years and 20k miles. I've used flat screen TVs for 10 years with no problems.

[wayne77590]

I replaced my 30" with a 36" LCD. It has been in a couple years now and I have had no problems with it.

I modified the enclosure (mid coach) and used a full artiulating arm. When we are moving i strap it in tight.

[JacknKay]

I am in the middle of changing out our front 25" CRT with a new 32" LED. The LED TVs are lighter, and the one I got, a JVC weighs in at 9.5 lbs. The reason I got this size is that it will fit within the old enclosure and a 40" would be too big. I am getting a stationairy mount from CW that I will need to mount to a piece of 3/4" plywood. The plywood also fits within the old enclosure and will be anchored to 2X4" on each side. There should be enough room at the bottom on the enclosure to have a shelf for the DVD player and a sound-bar, (if I decide I want that). I do have to build a new face-frame to replace the one I removed, I think I have the skills to that.

[JacknKay]

Here's a picture of my LED TV that I installed this Winter.

What the TV used to look like.

What it looks like now.

[hermanmullins]

Tell me about it Jack. I just removed our CRT and replaced it with a 32" Vizio. I cut my cabnit back 7" and reinstalled every thing. Removeing the old CRT should improve my MPG with that reduction in weight.

Herman

[desertdeals69]

Tell me about it Jack. I just removed our CRT and replaced it with a 32" Vizio. I cut my cabnit back 7" and reinstalled every thing. Removeing the old CRT should improve my MPG with that reduction in weight.

Herman

Good thinking Herman!

[GREGORYJ]

I installed a LED LCD tv into the orginal wooden cabinet in place of the old CRT tv. The new tv was about 1/4 narrower than the cabinet

inside width so was mounted in from behind and held in place with wood trim strips behind the tv. So no tv mounting kit was used.

A gap at the top had to be fill with a piece of maple that matched the cabinet. LED tv's are very thin & light so mount easily. I think the

Westinghouse 32" model I used weighted 14 lbs.

[desertdeals69]

On the installs that I do, I angle the tv downward so that the center of the screen up and down is at 90 degrees aimed at you eyes. This gives you the best picture.

[tennsmith]

I replaced the 25" boat anchor in my Itasca Horizon with a 32" LED TV (widest that would fit in between the cabinets on each side) and have had no problems. I utilized the metal shelf which the former set occupied to bear the weight of the new TV which was less than 20 pounds and fabricated a mount that would attach to the standard wall mounting provisions on the back of the set to hold it in the proper position. I've got pictures and a description of how to do it...send PM if you are interested.

The finished installation is pictured below:

[tbutler]

Here is the link to the post on my TV replacements, front and rear. There are pictures with my post. I did this in March of 2009, 50,000 miles ago and both TV's are going strong, no problems whatsoever. I didn't go into detail on the mounting bracket but it was a rectangle made to fit the inside width of the cabinet. The height of the rectangle was three inches greater than the spacing of the mounting lugs on the rear of the TV. Vertical members were installed spaced horizontally to match the mounting lugs on the TV. Holes were drilled to match. I've had no problems with that mount. As a bonus, I was able to cut down the size of the cabinet both in vertical dimension and also in depth of the cabinet. I hit my head much less often than I used to! Casual visitors would have to work to hit the cabinet as they come up the stairs now.

Note that the second TV I purchased had plastic mounting lugs and would not have worked in this application. Check any TV that you purchase to be sure that the mounting lugs are metal and firmly secured to the frame of the TV itself. If I had read the mounting instructions I would have suspected this but I bought the second TV as a close-out when Circuit City went out of business. I had to download the owners manual after I had purchased the TV. The owners manual specified that the TV must be mounted vertically, not tilted.

[messner]

2003 Fleetwood Bounder, 32W, Gas, TV Upgrade.

I'm about to upgrade our front TV in the overhead from the old tube Panasonic to a LED Flatscreen.

I am hoping to be able to watch TV off of our batteries when we are not plugged in and without the generator running (We needed either of these for the old TV to work).

The new TV draws 65W.

My questions are:

1. Is it feasible that I can run direct from my Coach batteries (2 new 6 volt Golf Cart type).

2. Any tips on where to draw the power from and/or how?

- Our recepticles only work on 110 when plugged in or from the genny when on. (we are trying to avoid this when boondocking).
- Up front there are 3 x 12V cig lighters but they appear to only come off the chassis battery?

Any help sure is appreciated!

Jim

[RILIJO]

I posted a note in 2013 that is was interested in replacing the TVs in my 2002 Winnebago Journey, I received a note last week about the mounts used. I decided to have it done at Holland Motor Homes in Holland, Michigan. They did a great job but I am not sure what type of mounts they used. If you call Scott at Holland Motor Homes I am sure he could tell you.

[desertdeals69]

2003 Fleetwood Bounder, 32W, Gas, TV Upgrade.

I'm about to upgrade our front TV in the overhead from the old tube Panasonic to a LED Flatscreen.

I am hoping to be able to watch TV off of our batteries when we are not plugged in and without the generator running (We needed either of these for the old TV to work).

The new TV draws 65W.

My questions are:

1. Is it feasible that I can run direct from my Coach batteries (2 new 6 volt Golf Cart type).

2. Any tips on where to draw the power from and/or how?

- Our recepticles only work on 110 when plugged in or from the genny when on. (we are trying to avoid this when boondocking).

- Up front there are 3 x 12V cig lighters but they appear to only come off the chassis battery?

Any help sure is appreciated!

Jim

You will need an inverter which should be a pure sine wave type. They come in different watt ratings, 200-400 watt should work well. The inverter will be wired direct to the batteries.

[Alamolady]

Replaced two inside 2008 models for 2014 LED models this last fall. LG is the units we choose due to that is what Tiffin chose to put in their new coaches after a lot of testing. We were able to go bigger size in the living room / kitchen on the back wall by having built a frame to slant the unit away and at an angle from the outside wall and than attched the old metal original TV support. It has done well traveling. We used the original metal frame to support the larger new LED TV for the bedroom as well.

[QuiGonJohn]

So from reading here it seems the consensus is you don't need a "special RV rated TV". Just find one you like with the proper connections.

ROSSBOYER, does the Toshiba you mentioned have 3 screw on coax inputs, (Antenna, DirectTV, Cable). That is what it sounds like you are saying. I would like something like that, I could get by with 2 screw on coax inputs, Antenna (I plan to add a Winegard Razr) and one for cable connection if a campground has that. Don't use Dish or Direct nor do I plan to. Of course at least 1 set of Composite for DVD Player and I'd like a set of Composite accessible from the front, if I can find that. At least 1 HDMI on back and also front would be nice, in case I want to connect a laptop. A separate 3.5mm audio out would be nice, so I could tap into the speakers that are mounted on the front wall of the RV, (the dash stereo already uses them). Any model suggestions would be appreciated. Looking for 32".

I plan to mount it on an articulated arm that I can pull the TV out and tilt as I'd like. When pushed back I plan to have some kind of strap to keep it in place while driving.

[wildebill308]

I would look for one of the newer high definition TV's They have 4 times the clarity of the older digital units and for nearly the same price.

Bill

[QuiGonJohn]

Bill, thanks for the advice but I am not one of those that goes nuts over pic quality. Standard definition will be fine for me. Just going from CRT to LED/LCD will probably provide more pic quality improvement than I am even concerned about. I still use/own only regluar DVD's and my main TV is a 58" RPTV I bought in 2000. I am much more concerned with ensuring it has all the inputs I need, as well as a solid wall mount capability for the articulated arm I would like to use.

[fmcard911]

I installed a 32 inch Insignia TV that happened to have the same DC connection as my Jensen 19 inch. The 32 inch and smaller insignia TV's at best buy have the DC plug (the ones I looked at) so you could run it off the DC line in your coach. You could also get a small 80-100 watt inverter that can plug into your TV DC port (cigarette lighter type port) and run the TV off of that. Depends on the wattage of the TV but most LED TV in the 32 inch and lower range don't use a lot of power. I chose to get the Insignia since it can be run directly from DC with the correct DC cable. They are also reasonably priced and you can get a 4 year extended warranty fairly cheap from Best Buy.

My 2 cents

[wayne77590]

QuiGonJohn,

Good luck finding all the outputs you are looking for, especially the RCA Phono audio outputs. I replaced my 30 with a 36 and cannot connect to the Entertainment system because of the older technology. Newer TV's have HDMI, Coax, and Optical outputs. My entertainment system is 2008 model Memorex with loose wire speaker connections and RCA inputs. They do make a digital to analog converter but I have not had luck with it.

[QuiGonJohn]

My RV has an inverter built-in, with an AC outlet next to the TV. So I don't see much reason to be worried about getting a DC TV vs. an AC TV.

[manholt]

Tiffin does not test TV's. Reason for LG, that is the best price they got for 1,000 or more units. Goes for all manufacturers out there!!! Some high end coaches will let you make the choice...friend does not like Sony, so they put in a Bang & Olafson, 46", $10,000 in a Prevost. Google B & O, it's unreal the tests it goes thru!

When I had my 07' Tour 40KD, I had the 1 Ton Sony replaced with a 46" Vizio LTD. A hydraulic lift system was manufactured, when not in use, it lay flat against the celling and it free hung when in use. 57,000 miles later, no problems! Old cabinet became the holder off maps, FMCA magazines and disks.

Carl

[jgallego]

QuiGonJohn,

Good luck finding all the outputs you are looking for, especially the RCA Phono audio outputs. I replaced my 30 with a 36 and cannot connect to the Entertainment system because of the older technology. Newer TV's have HDMI, Coax, and Optical outputs. My entertainment system is 2008 model Memorex with loose wire speaker connections and RCA inputs. They do make a digital to analog converter but I have not had luck with it.

Here is an rca one end hdmi on the other end cable. http://www.cellphonecases.com/5ft-Hdmi-To-3-Rca-Video-Component-Cable.html#.Vbuor_l2OHw Only $5.99

Jaime

[QuiGonJohn]

Well we completed replacing our original equipment CRT TV with a Flat Panel LED on an articulated arm. We went with an INSIGNIA 720p 32" LED at a good price. I had to fabricate a bar across the front of the opening to mount the articulated arm onto. Also reinforced the opening with a 2x4 and we put a curtain to hide the rest of the open area where the old TV was. That area opens to the front, to the inside of the aerodynamic cone coming off the roof of the front of our 2006 Winnebago Aspect, so it looks bad and has a bunch of wires and such.

Once I got the decorative molding off the outer wooden frame it was pretty easy to unscrew that frame and unbolt the bracket that held the old CRT in place and then, with some physical effort, remove the old CRT TV. After that, I bought a coax toner and figured out all the wiring, (there was quite a bit, including unused ones for a roof mounted satellite, portable satellite and satellite receiver...which I have none of). I also labeled all these coaxes. Then came ordering the preferred articulating arm and figuring out how to mount it. I tried to mount it on the side wall in the TV opening, but even though that was a metal box, it is pretty thin metal and flexed too much, thus the cross bar and 2x4 for additional reinforcement. The articulated arm is one that locks in the shut position, with a pin and this works where I mounted the arm. I also installed hold downs and have a nylon strap that we will use to secure the TV in place when driving. I even fashioned a hold down on the TV to pass the strap thru.

I have the coax connected to the Winegard controller, composite (RCA) to the DVD Player and that is on a splitter that has another RCA cable in the cabinet I can connect to another device, like our karaoke machine, and I also have an HDMI connected and coiled up in the cabinet, in case I want to connect a laptop or something else.

Pictures below include the original TV, the new one from a distance and then closer up, the mounting arm and the outside of the RV for those who could not picture the aerodynamic cone I referred to.

Comments or questions are welcome.

Thanks all.

Next project is to replace the crank up Winegard with a Winegard Rayzar Automatic Dome, which I will have installed at an RV Shop, do not want to put holes in the roof or worry if I sealed the old holes good enough.