TV Upgrade Project

[jplante4]

Posted this over on the Safari forum and not getting much action, so I thought I'd try here.

I have a 1996 Sahara 35'. This spring's big project plan is...

1. Remove the couch and replace it with 2 recliners.
2. Remove the recliner and table behind the pax seat.
3. Install a 35" flat screen (LED or LCD) TV in a drop-down retractable cabinet in the area behind the pax seat.
4. Remove the big tube TV over the driver's head. I also need to replace the backup camera, so I'm going wireless with it's own monitor.
5. Replace the bedroom big tube TV with a 25" flat screen.

If anyone has played around with these components, I'd appreciate advise on how to avoid screwing things up.

Specific questions:

I'm planning on getting power for the front TV and the retractable cabinet from the light in the existing table. I'm just wondering if this circuit has enough amps??? I don't have a draw for the cabinet yet. I'm guessing it's a 15 amp circuit.

I'm planning on getting rid of the converter boxes in the front (analogue to digital I think???) I'll be feeding the front TV from the cable tap in the basement because I believe it will be easier to run from there. What connections do I need to do up front to get a cable signal to the bedroom?

Will the stock OTA antenna pick up OTA digital channels or will I need to replace the antenna as well?

Finally, any ideas on what to do with a 20" square hole in the front of the coach? I thought I'd just make it flush with the other cabinets overhead and put a black Lexan door on it as well, but I'm sure there's someone clever here that has a better idea.

TIA for any ideas.

[wolfe10]

Jerry,

I can get this started.

Modern LED TV's draw substantially less power than the old tube TV's, so power consumption should not be an issue.

On our 1997 Safari Sahara, I removed the OE TV and replaced with a Vizio M260VA in the same location. Removed the cabinet and cut it down on top and front to accommodate the dimensions of the new TV (TV the largest that would fit in the original width AND had front speaker). So, I did not modify any surface that showed, but raised the cabinet and moved it forward so it lined up with the middle cabinet.

I then removed the inside cover on the pillar between driver's side windshield and drivers side window and installed an extension of the feed from the backup camera down to the dash area where I installed a new monitor (flush mount to the right of the driver's area).

I did not research the overhead structure to see if it could handle a swing down TV. I did just that on our previous coach, but do not know if the structure in the cap has beaming that could hold the TV.

Yes, the OE antenna will pull in digital signals. There are also more directional antennas from both Wingard and Jack that can be attached to your OE antenna mast with no modification.

[dickandlois]

Jerry,

See Brett got things started for you.

1. Remove the couch and replace it with 2 recliners.

It has been done-have a friend that installed the recliners and likes the change.

2. Remove the recliner and table behind the pax seat.

3. Install a 35" flat screen (LED or LCD) TV in a drop-down retractable cabinet in the area behind the pax seat.

These 2 go together, trick is to know where to mount the hardware for the drop down mount. You can use a stud finder to locate the roof support(s) locations and get an idea how wide they are and the direction they go to map out some different locations depending on the mounting hardware that works for you.

The new displays draw less power, as Brett mentioned. so the circuit(s) involved should not be and issue.

NOTE: you might want to see if the circuit you want to us is powered by the inverter. Kind of handy when you want to watch something with out running the generator if shore power is lacking.

Then the other related item is if your unit is Modified sine wave or pure sine wave. Some electronic equipment does not like MSW power. One can install a small(1000 Watt) or smaller Inverter(size depends on your load requirements) to power the new equipment or at least the items you will want to use more frequently.

4. Remove the big tube TV over the driver's head.

This makes a nice storage area for DVD's, CDs and other items. Should you decide to install some electrical equipment, then a door that allows for some ventilation is required.

5. Replace the bedroom big tube TV with a 25" flat screen.

Most of the signal source switches that select what you wish to watch will work just fine for HD-RF signals.

HDMI is a different story.

The other item is if your coach is equipped with a Surround sound system, you may need to add an optical to Analog audio converter between the external audio output feed and the input to the surround audio amp.

Need to replace the backup camera, so I'm going wireless with it's own monitor.

They work fine, may experience some noise at times from other signals in the area.

Then there is G-B, WV. area where NO Wireless equipment is allow period !! This includes Cell Phones. The Government sight located in the area monitors everything in or going through the area!!!

Rich.

[jplante4]

Brett - great info there. I'm torn between wired and wireless for the backup camera, and it's good to know the wire extension is that easy. I was planning on putting the B/U monitor exactly where you had it. I need to wire up a couple of 12V outlets as well.

I never liked the location of the front TV. I guess it's easier to manufacture that way, but even the drop downs give me a neck ache to watch from every spot except the forward facing dinette seat. Of course, we'll be giving up the "guest bedroom", but it's just the 2 of us. I'll hang onto the couch and the OE recliner for the next owner.

[jplante4]

Rich - good point on th MSW power. Time to go dig out the manuals.

The new front TV is going into a cabinet on the floor. The TV retracts down into it. The DW found one with an electric fireplace on the front, but it'll most likely draw too many amps for the circuit (and it looks tacky).

[jplante4]

Don't know if this is OK, but I posted the results of this over on the Safari International forum with pix and what was done. I was going to do the same here, but pix are limited to 500kb here and that's a lot of editing...

If this violates the rules, please remove and accept my apologies.

http://www.safari-international.org/forum/9-everything-else-forum/345-tv-upgrade-project

I haven't done the backup camera yet; it's on order. I have to figure out what I have in the back for power. A quick look showed a couple of transformers, so I imagine it's 12 or 24 volt AC.

Also, we decided to put off replacing the couch with recliners for a while and see how the couch works out.

[CarlAda]

Sounds like some nice projects. If you do decide to go with another TV antenna, I can highly recommend the Jack antenna. I replaced a worn out Wineguard antenna with a new Jack on my previous coach. Pretty easy to do, although I did have to make the hole a bit larger to accomodate. I did get better reception, albeit not overly significant. The best part was that I no longer had to raise and remember to lower the antenna.

[kaypsmith]

I have the raise and lower TV behind the fake fireplace straight across from the couch. We love this setup, I always hated turning my head to watch TV over the front windshield.

Also use the jack antenna, works well if close enough to over the air stations.

[jplante4]

I tried the old Wineguard OTA this weekend and it picked up a few Providence station, 40 miles away. I've only been to a few CGs where cable wasn't available. We don't dry camp much.

One open question is whether the LED TV will work on thw MSW inverter. Do I just try this and see how it works, or will I damage the TV?

[BearAndMoon]

Finally, any ideas on what to do with a 20" square hole in the front of the coach? I thought I'd just make it flush with the other cabinets overhead and put a black Lexan door on it as well, but I'm sure there's someone clever here that has a better idea.

We're bouncing around the idea of turning that space into either a book case, or a cat bed.

The other option which opens up a can of Dunes own Sandworms ( Sorry Sci-Fi reference) is to remove it outright.. Not something even an old cabinet maker would want to try and patch in.....

[obedb]

The LED sets are much lighter. That is why I like them. Almost 71yo. They are easier to mount in a new spot because of the light weight. We use Samsung sets, but I have not used one with the Square wave inverters. Look at one on an ocilliscope/ that is why I call it a square wave. I used one on a cry Sony set years ago and it worked fine. The sine wave inverters have come way down in price therefore a rather small one should work. Just check the specs on both units.

[BearAndMoon]

We have a Vizio™ 43 inch LED TV, and there has never been a problem with it. Until you mentioned it I never gave a thought to the fact that we had a modified sine wave inverter for the first three years of ownership.....

Here's a link to how we reconfigured things for our TV. There's also other projects we've done in the coach there....

http://s551.photobucket.com/user/DaBearpnw/library/Coach%20Mods?sort=6&page=1