Rv tv

Rod Andrew · 11-10-2010, 03:44 PM

Hi,

Our trailer (Surveyor sv 191) did not come with a TV. Any advice on buying a TV that can stand up to the rough roads and general bumping that it will receive in a trailer? LCD, LED, plasma? I live in British Columbia and plan to travel to southern Arizona in early February with a bunch of DVD's for rainy days. Any information would be appreciated.

M109Rrider · 11-10-2010, 04:47 PM

Both of my campers came with regular residential LCD's. The Keystone had a 27" Vizio but I can't recall the name of the 42" in the Prime Time. We carried a smaller 19" Vizio for the bunkroom in the Prime Time. Just put it in a cabinet with a towel around it while traveling. I think the LCD's are pretty durable. Just stow it so it's not bouncing around.

doctort44 · 11-10-2010, 04:48 PM

We've had a Visio 22" LCD for the last year that we've had very good results with. Great picture and haven't had any problems with the mount. We put a piece of 2" foam rubber between it and the mount and then go across it with a bungee so that it holds it against the mount with the foam in between as a shock absorber. The foam piece is U shaped so that the area where the mount attaches to the TV fits in the open pace in the middle.

**Bama Rambler** · 11-11-2010, 08:23 AM

I probably wouldn't buy a plasma for an RV but most LCD or LED/LCD's should be fine. My thinking is that the LED backlit models would hold up better than the CCFL backlit models but there doesn't seem to be any complaints to prove that there's a problem with either.

Rod Andrew · 11-11-2010, 05:00 PM

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely avoid plasma TVs and look at the LCD lines. I hadn't heard of Vizio before, but will check at the local supplier: Costco. I was looking for a DVD/TV combo, but I think I'll just use one of the DVDs I have on hand. BluRay may make the DVD obsolete anyway. Thank you to the 3 of you for taking the time to make suggestions.

Rod

M109Rrider · 11-11-2010, 06:03 PM

Walmart carries Vizio also...Jason

TWO4THEROAD · 11-11-2010, 06:06 PM

On this subject: I have an 07 Flagstaff 5er, it came with a 15in flatscreen. It's pretty hard to see from the back of the living room, so I'm looking to replace it with about a 32", I have room to mount it in the area designated for the TV so I'm wondering if a regular LCD/LED TV would work. Would I need another power source to run it on 12v when dry camping? The current TV came with a stand and a transformer in case we wanted to take it off the wall and us it on a table top or out doors so I'm wondering if this is a Special type tv and not just a home use TV. Any comments would be appreciated.

Rod Andrew · 11-11-2010, 10:56 PM

I'd be interested in learning more about the capabilities and limitations of 12 volt TVs.

kbrown1075 · 11-12-2010, 06:29 AM

I had posted once before (I need to find it), that little box on the power cord to the TV id a converter. Most electronics run on DC power anyways. That converter box makes AC power into DC power. Find a TV that is 12 to 24VDC (look on the converter on the power box for the output voltage. You will definitely want to regulate the voltage. Newmar makes a great line of converters and regulators. I used them heavily in the marine business and now in the communications business. Make sure you have the correct setup, 13VDC will not stay that as your battery is used, for example. You need to protect the TV circuitry for high and low voltage. I can get further into this subject if needed but to go to 12VDC using a regular off the shelf TV and not ruin the TV by large voltage swings will cost a bit to do, but it is do-able.

TWO4THEROAD · 11-12-2010, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M109Rrider

Both of my campers came with regular residential LCD's. The Keystone had a 27" Vizio but I can't recall the name of the 42" in the Prime Time. We carried a smaller 19" Vizio for the bunkroom in the Prime Time. Just put it in a cabinet with a towel around it while traveling. I think the LCD's are pretty durable. Just stow it so it's not bouncing around.

Hi M10RIDER: I'm wondering, how the large tvs work with battery power when dry camping? I have a 15inch in my 5ers living room and it works both on 12 and 110v. I guess the CONVERTER allows the 110 to convert to 12v. when hooked up to shore power. But since what I can see they don't make large tvs over 22in that are 12v. Does this sound right?
thanks

kbrown1075 · 11-12-2010, 04:22 PM

Using an inverter (12VDC to 110VAC) is inefficient use of DC (battery) power. Most inverters are about 60% efficient. Very good, and expensive, inverters are a bit more efficient. Also most are a "modified sine wave" and not "true sine wave". For those that don't know, AC is alternating current, if you were to watch on an oscilloscope, half of the wave length is on the positive side and the other is on the negative side in a nice curving wave. There are 60 positive and negative cycles per second, hence 60Hz (Hertz). A modified sine wave can be angled, flat, jagged, etc... depending on the quality of your inverter. What does all this mean? Well you loose a good amount of your consumed power to what is being used, which makes them inefficient. The best thing to do is check the power supply on the TV power cord (if there is one), some are internal. Try to find a power supply that is outputting 12VDC (12V--). To be on the safe side, you want to find a 12VDC regulator that keeps the voltage constant. You don't want it going up when charging your battery and you don't want it dropping when the battery drains. The high or low voltage can damage your circuitry. An inverter will work, it will just consume your battery quicker. BTW, a converter changes AC to DC, aka a power supply. A converter can also be a DC to DC device from one voltage to another, example 24VDC to 12VDC. Hope this helps. Best is if you can find a TV with a 12VDC connection and one with a 110VAC connection. Best of both worlds.

Big Vic · 11-12-2010, 09:24 PM

My two cents: get a 32" LED TV. The LED uses less power, which is good when you are dry camping. My RV came with a 26" LCD, and I found it just a bit too small for viewing from all the seats.

M109Rrider · 11-13-2010, 08:27 AM

I've never used a 12vdc tv before. The tv's in our old TT and in the 5er are regular off the shelf residential type and are 110vac. Sorry, not much help.

Rod Andrew · 11-13-2010, 08:01 PM

Now I know a lot about trailer TVs. Thanks for the advice and information. I'm looking for an LED TV that runs on DC power. I'll check the cords on TVs to see if this is the case.

DITTMER · 11-17-2010, 12:21 PM

We purchased a Skyworth HDTV on line through www.roadtrucker.com They have quite a few options including a built in DVD player as well as wall mounts. We have a few of these TV's in our group and they have worked out good.

MtnGuy · 11-17-2010, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DITTMER

We purchased a Skyworth HDTV on line through www.road.trucker.com They have quite a few options including a built in DVD player as well as wall mounts. We have a few of these TV's in our group and they have worked out good.

We also bought a Skyworth TV with DVD player from Road Truckers. We got the 15.6" unit, because it fit nicely where we wanted it. The TV doesn't have the best speakers, but we have it hooked up to our Concertone now. It has a good picture, but a narrow viewing angle......but I understand that is a problem with most LCD flat screens......this is our 1st flat screen. The TV comes with a 12 volt and 120 volt plug. We just leave it plugged into 12 volts all of the time.

ken0042 · 11-17-2010, 01:57 PM

mtnguy- how is the tuner in that unit? I'm just wondering if it brings in all 3 of the OTA signals that are out there:
- Analog (SD)
- Digital (SD)
- HDTV

Here in Canada all of our SD signals are still analog; and their description of "ATSC Digital tuner" seems to imply it will only pickup Digital signals; which wouldn't help me at all.

MtnGuy · 11-17-2010, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

mtnguy- how is the tuner in that unit? I'm just wondering if it brings in all 3 of the OTA signals that are out there:
- Analog (SD)
- Digital (SD)
- HDTV

Here in Canada all of our SD signals are still analog; and their description of "ATSC Digital tuner" seems to imply it will only pickup Digital signals; which wouldn't help me at all.

Hmmm, I am not sure. I think it is listed as ATSC and NTSC, if that helps. I don't think we have analog signals around here any more.

I should also mention that it does not pick up several channels that my analog TV with digital converter will pick up on automatic scan in the camper. I get something like 21 channels sitting in my driveway, but the analog TV with digital converter picked up 23....I think.

I have brought the Skyworth in the house for the winter. I just switched to OTA, and again this TV is not picking up 3 channels that my analog TV with digital converter will pick up. There is no way to add channels that the automatic scan won't do, although there is an add to scan mode. I just use this for my kitchen TV, so no big deal with the missed channels. I still get those 21 channels with the TV with an outside antennae.

DITTMER · 11-17-2010, 03:13 PM

We camp in various places in New Mexico that are not specifically Digital yet and they operate off of the old repeaters. We mostly just use the powered antenna on the Fifth wheel and when in Elephant Bute Lake, NM we can still get all of the channels as well as in the Jemz Mountains. So I am pretty sure it gets in the Analog Channels. This last week we hooked one up to dish in the Mountains around Cuba,NM and we were able to get everything in Digital and HD (had to watch the football game on Sunday)

StonewallGene · 11-17-2010, 03:40 PM

Dittmer we are in Arrey right now did you have trouble with the analgo channels freezing up when you where here.

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