Foretravel Owners' Forum

One of the first things we did when we acquired our coach was to remove the old Sony Trinitron and replace it with a 42" Samsung Smart TV and sound bar.  I kind of followed a mod. described on Barry's web site for the install over the existing cabinet and it has worked well except that it is kind of in the way when we enter the coach - Head./Shoulder Knocker.  The cabinet with the TV on the front needs to be cut back about 6" to minimize the Head Banging Effect.

The CG where we are staying has a table saw that I think will handle modifying the TV cabinet.  My plan is to cut back the front of the TV cabinet about 6".  Mount our Sound Bar towards the top of the cabinet on plywood, use a piano hinge below the sound bar and mount the TV to the hinged plywood so it will swing up.  I realize that the TV is about 1" wider than the cabinet door opening on either side.  I will use some "snap in" cabinet hardware to hold the left cabinet door in place and remove the concealed hinges and gas strut.  This way I will be able to have access to that cabinet by pulling the door off.  We only keep our coach documents in there, ie: Title, insurance papers and stuff like that  so we do not need convenient access. 

It appears that the TV cabinet is held in place by some screws into the metal support members and is not attached to the cabinets on either side.

For those of you that have removed the TV cabinet or have knowledge of how it is attached to the coach......  What is the best method to remove the TV cabinet?  Must I also remove the cabinets to the left and the right?

Your thoughts/comments are always welcomed and much appreciated.

Thank you in advance to those of you that have gone before me.

Scott

Jim has almost finished our TV remodel (2003).  I really like how it turned out.  He removed all of the wooden TV cabinet and simply hung the TV between the two front cabinets.  Jim mounted a piece of 3/4" plywood to the metal frame (see third picture) and then mounted a standard flatscreen TV wall mount.  The TV was larger than the existing hole but he was able to remove the cabinet on the driver side and shorten it to make the hole big enough for the TV.  The cabinet on the passenger side would have been quite difficult to remove as it was part of the cabinet that went around the corner.  He was able to make a thin cherry end cap to slip on to the end of the passenger side cabinet.  There was quite a mess on the ceiling as the previous owner had done some "remodeling" and had poked a bunch of holes and run wires around.  We were fortunate to find material that, unless one looks really closely, matches the ceiling material (Foretravel is out of it).  He still needs to finish up the area directly behind the TV but this is part of his reinsulation project and is low on his priority list.  This area is not visible unless you look up and behind the TV.

Scott, to try and answer your question, on our 2000 there are many screws to remove and some from both cabinets on both sides. It was a case of take out what you see then find the rest. Really not a problem.
I had to take off the front wooden bezel (glued and screwed on) then cut 4" off that face-not the rear. I broke the glue bond by using a fine chisel and hammer. Actually came apart clean. Once reassembled and glued I made my own mounting out of ply and wood and also put a narrow ledge support under the tv so have never had any problem with it movig or vibrating. You can do it, just be careful.
John H

Beam alarm has several installs on TV's including mine. Technical Help - Television (http://beamalarm.com/foretravel-links/television.html)

On our 03 I removed the complete cabinet. If I remember correctly there were screws also attatching it to the side cabinets. I removed the bottom of the cabinet and then screwed it to the ceiling to cover the holes that were in there for the wiring up there. I put on a 32 inch Samsung and it fit nicely between the cabinets. I fastened a 6 inch channel iron across the opening to the metal which was behind the tv and then installed a mount to the iron. If you have a 42 inch then will probably have to modify the cabinet doors some

Thank you for the responses.  I have looked at all of the TV mods. on Barry's web site.  There is a lot of good work there.  I will be using parts from many to suit our needs.  I have not had the TV off in months, (since I pulled the old TV out) and it appeared to me that there are many screws that hold the cabinet in place and also to the other cabinets next to it.  Just wanted to check with others experiences before I started to take it apart and actually perform the mod.  As usual it takes longer to take things apart and put them back together than actually doing doing the mod it's self.

I appreciate your comments and will try to remember to take pics through the process and post.

Thanks again.

Scott

I am looking to start this on my u280.

All cable hook ups are under dash including pwr.

Is there a channel between the dash and the upper compartments that i can run; hdmi, pwr, cable?

When we did the routing of power for Geoff's GV a short time ago I did it the same as I did in my old GV. There is power at the table behind passenger seat so with that cabinet out I ran a cable from backside of this recepticle under the carpet and over the wheel frame, then up the wall to just before the right end of the fibreglass cabinet framework over passenger window. Drilled a hole against the wall and then ran it through the upper cabinet and put a box on end to plug tv and anything else into it. The wiring that was visible I ran a plastic "tray" up the wall(and glued to the wall ) then snapped a cover over it. This wiring tray is in all the home stores in various lengths. I gather if you wanted to run HDMI this way too you would use the wider tray so that both can be accomodated.
John H

John

So surface mount wire mold is only option? No vertical channel.. oh well.

Thanks John.

 Not that I know of for 120v (vertical channel)
John H

It is always a good idea, if possible, to keep all power wires at least 6" from any A/V signal cables...

Dave

Hmmm i thought the hdmi cable was shielded. So run power on navigator side and av on pilot side. Is that enough distance?

Shielding is only so good. Do what you can. I also try to install (from my years of custom car, home theatre, and professional sound) where if a cable needs to cross the path of another cable, I strive for 90 degree passes.


Dave

If you must run a/v close to AC then you might want to put a ferrite bead or two on the AC line; better yet, double it through a ferrite doughnut. Still better is to bead the a/v lines as well. These things are cheap.

Craig

Finished the cabinet mod.  24 screws removed from the cabinet before if came out.  Cut 5 1/2" from the front and about 4" from the back toward the windshield.  Took enough from the back (windshield side) so we could put MCD shades in at a later time.  Mounted the sound bar above the TV.  Still have some cabinet backs, sides and bottoms to put in but the big job is done.  A little bit of black paint and then refinish the TV cabinet to remove the scratches and fill in a couple of small joint cracks.  Have to set the left door in place then finis.  Will post a couple of pics of the finished product in the next day or two. 

Started at about 9AM and got it mostly back together by 6:30PM.  Glad that it's almost done, have been dreading it since we acquired this Ol Pretty girl.  The reduction of the cabinet really makes a difference as we can now walk up the stairs without turning sideways to get in.  It has not been fun but saved lot's of $$$$.  $85.00+/- vs $1500.

Congrats you 2, see how easy it is to save those costs that make a job from being out of reach to DONE !!
john H

Thanks John - just like every thing that we have done to our coach so far, we couldn't have done it without the assistance and support of this forum.  I guess we might have figured it out eventually...........  We again have to thank all of those that have gone before us - not to mention Barry's web site and the detail that others have left.

Thanks all.  ;D

Finished product.  Noticed in the pic I should move the TV a little left.  Not perfect but it will do.  ;D

Looks great Scott!! 

Gayle - Could you share where you purchased the look alike ceiling material?

Scott

Ah, that's a problem.  We, too, would like more but...  It was material that a friend was using as a tablecloth.  She nicely gave it to us.  She had bought it at a remnant warehouse in Portland, OR a couple of years back.  We would like another piece to redo the horizontal drop down behind the TV but our friend doesn't have any more.

We looked long and hard locally for vinyl that looked like the ceiling and the camel color trim.  Not much luck.  We got close but bot exact.  I am going to call the upholstery dept at FOT to see if they can help. 

No being quite the same camel color is not too bad but being just slightly different from the ceiling color seems pretty noticeable.

If you find a good match let us know.

Roger

@Scott I'd like a little more info on your sound bar. What brand/model? How is it powered? Does it have an internal amplifier or do you use a receiver to drive it?

thanks
ken

Any additional info on possible material sources would be appreciated.  I thought I had read here some where that FOT dos not have this material any more.  If they do I would also like a couple of yards.

@Ken - We purchased the Samsung sound bar at Best buy.  I believe the model # is: HEUZ.  Sold for about $250.00+/-.  We run the TV signal via Optical to the sound bar.  It also has a wireless sub-woofer.  I am sure there are better (more expensive) sound bars out there, but this one works well for us.  I am half deaf anyway.  ;D

Scott,
  When I was at the factory I met Cliff Knudsen who was doing several months of extensive remodel. He replaced all of his front roofing material with the original stuff. His was a 98 so I dont know if it is the same as yours. He is a member here maybe you could PM him and see if you could get some info on it. Just a thought.

Mark

When we were at Foretravel in June, we asked at FOT, MOT and went through Bob Grath's trailers of Foretravel parts.  We were told that FOT had the material specially made and there wasn't any more available.  We were grateful to find the "tablecloth".  If anyone is in the Portland, OR area, I can find out the name of the outlet where my friend bought her material -- maybe there is more there.

The plot thickens.  ^.^d

That is why I used the bottom of the tv cabinet and screwed it to the roof and it covered exactly where the old tv cabinet had been, so have a wood panel up there now and it also still has the light that is in the bottom of the cabinet

From an earlier thread by Steve - exactly what he did with a very nice result:

From Michelle (and Steve's) album:  http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=182 (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=182)

I have this as a bookmark for future reference!  ::)

Thanks for the link Patricia.  I took a different route when I modified the cabinet.  I cut 6" off of the front and about 4" off of the back of the cabinet then reattached the face frame and back.  I did not have a piece of material that was useable to cover the ceiling.  Worse case I will find a cabinet shop somewhere and make a couple of pieces of cherry to cover - or have them do it.  I prefer the wood on the ceiling rather than the material.....

Looks great Scott!! As a Star Wars geek I like the movie choice to test it out!

Thanks Jeff - My first pic was of Yoda but the pic was a bit fuzzy.