Finally decided to replace the old Sony up front/ the picture has a small wave in it.
Pulled off the front trim and removed the two wedges at top holding in place. Waiting for my neighbor to come by to help to remove the tv from the cabinet as it appears to be heavy.
Now questions?
1. Thinking about 32 or 37 LED Vizio fom Sams Club
2. They have a bracket there which appears to be one which comes out and comes back in to be against the front of the cabinet. Using what some of you suggested I will put a brace in the middle of the cabinet to hold the new bracket.
3. Other than the look is it really necessary to cut back the cabinet?
4. Takes the 37 for the height but the 32 will be even on the edges with the cabinet.
5. Have the old trac /star sat on top so HD is not possible but I think the picture will still be much improved.
your suggestions would sure be appreciated. Tks DAN
The issue might be whether all the cabinet doors can open with the new TV protruding from the cabinet. Perhaps the new LED flatscreens will allow for this type of installation.
Peter & Beth: Yes, all doors in the overhead will still open. Dan
Only if you mind occasionally (if you're short) banging your head on the existing cabinet, knocking yourself nearly senseless OR (if you're tall) banging your shoulder into it. We are one of each so Steve modded our cabinet (after I saw stars once too often and finally agreed with Steve that it was a problem).
Cutting the back flush with the padded vinyl valence (so the cabinet doesn't stick closer to the windshield than that valence) will allow a single width roll MCD (type) blind should you ever want to update the windshield shades. So if you do cut back the front, consider doing the back at the same time.
Michelle
Michelle: Understand I have already hit my head on it as is. I am trying to install the new TV myself and sorry to say that I have no wood working experience. Cost at Foretravel to cut this back is probably close to $1,400. We really enjoy this coach and the floor plan. The TV in the bedroom is fine as we seldom would turn it on but the front one needs to be of quality. The Sony works ok but has a wavy line on the bottom on some channels. The head butting may become more than I can handle. Tks DAN
Dan,
That's what it was a few years ago, and we balked at the price and Steve decided to do the work himself, so we can understand where you're coming from. There really isn't a structural reason to cut back the cabinet, but often the incentive to do so is the head-banging aspect of things. I will say our analysis of the work involved after the fact was that $1400 was about right for the amount of work involved (at FT's shop rate).
We are actually considering re-doing ours again. The 30" LCD we have is starting to act up a bit. Steve says he'd pretty much remove as much of the cabinet as possible and install a replacement as a flush/face mount. We just need to find what fits between the existing cabinets.
Having a FT you love can be a never-ending-refreshing project thanks to their good "bones".
Michelle
Also consider the 32" samsung or sharp. If you can afford an LED model, much less power and run cooler. Better looking and thinner to boot!
Dave: The 32 inch LED Samsung is on my list but I am thinking of going with the 37 inch LED Visio. These appear to be so thin that cutting back the cabinet may not be necessary. I know possible head knocker. DAN
Dan if you make a trip to Marble Falls, TX (in the hill country), you can take a first hand look at our replacement and the woodworking we did. We did cut the cabinet back and also modified the ceiling section with wood and think it looks pretty good, and it was a whole lot less than $1400! Just a couple of saw blades and screws.
Great RV park in Marble Falls on Lake LBJ as well.
Dan you can see our photos in our photo album on here http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=249 (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=249)
txforetravel: Your pictures look great? What size is the tv? looks like a 32. When I get the tv out I can tell more. Put a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the new tv up there to see how it would be. Tks DAN
Yes our TV is a 32". What we did was measure the opening and then headed off to Best Buy and found a TV that would fit in the opening with out modifcation to the cabinets on either side. We found a 32" that fit perfectly. Then we bought 3. One for inside the coach, one for the basement entertainment center and one for the workshop in the barn. That way, if one fails, we can just swap out with one of the other two!
My 32" Philips just showed up yesterday! Purchased it off one of the Woot.com specials. Not LED, but light enough! Now to figure out how to mount it!
Would like to mention the power consumption used by the TV, I have a very fine 26" Sony flat screen, has a very fine picture, BUT it uses way too much juice, when you put your hand above it, it is like a 100 watt heater element. Needless to say, it is hard on battery life, if I run it all night, the auto generator runs at least once sometimes twice.
Also have a 19" VISIO in bedroom, can run it all night, no heat, no run generator to recharge batteries.
Soooo, just my take on a little item :o
Dave, I would think almost any new TV these days would consume less power than the original FT had in my '95. Maybe not the case for your 2001? Did you ever check what the power consumption of the new vs. old was?
Got the old Sony out and everyone is right that thing was heavy. Got the 37in Visio LED and mounting bracket from Sams. Hooked up the tv just to test before mounting. Blu-ray is great but the Direct TV from the Trac Star is not bad but not as clear as hoped. May have to foot the bill for a new sat on top. Always something. Tested the vcr and it would work on the back tv but not the front. Got to clear that up tomorrow. I cut a piece of cardboard the size of the new tv and put in place to see how it is going to fit. It will be fine sticks out about 11/2in on each side and covers top to bottom same as cabinet. The trick is to mount in center when the bracket is pushed in. It will slope adjust. Not putting the front trim back on. Will velcro to make sure when it is in, it will stay. As someone mentioned when you do it yourself you know how it works. I think the proper way would be to remove the whole box, but not in cards right now. All the doors will open when the tv is mounted. This was the only 37in that Sams had. So the choice from there was limited. DAN
Today I finished installing the 37 in Vizo LED. Must say it worked out great. The key is mounting the bracket the right height and bracing inside of the old cabinet. After testing and just tacking it in to see how it worked out I was surprised that it all fit just perfect. Screwed it all in place and now the TV is great. The LED was just thick enough to fit in front of the center ceiling light ridge and the front of the cabinet. 37 is the right choice for you if you leave the cabinet box in place.
Took all day to figure out the bracing and cut to fit. Got the blu-ray and the vcr working so I am ready to go. The only thing about the old trac star dome sat is that you have to change the sat to 119 to get local channels and then back to 101 & 110 for regular direct tv.
Only two sats at a time. Tks DAN
Dan,
Any pics on what TV bracket you used and how you braced it in? I'm trying to decide how I'm going to do it next weekend!
Best Regards,
Benjie
Benjie Zeller
(512) 587-4628
Benjie; Cut to fit on each side a 1x3 and screw in place. About in the middle but you will need to measure to make sure you are in the right place. Cut cross members. I used two 1x6 for this. Needs to be sturdy. The bracket must be installed so the the tv will rest when pushed back in /in the center of the box and top of tv to touch the top of the ceiling. Look at the 37 in vizo at sams.
This one fit perfect. The bracket from sams was Omni mount #0B120FM full motion and the tv was model E370VT. The coach is back in storage so, no pictures sorry. It took me a day to measure, obtain the wood & screws and figure out the hook up for everything plus install.
I did leave the trim off the front of the box/not needed. I had the tv really tight with the ceiling and this keeps it in place and no noise when going down the road. DAN questions 903-825-3605
Benjie: Your tv box may be more to the left than mine as mine is in the top center of the front dash. DAN
Thanks Dan. I'm going to dig into it more this weekend.