TV Cabinet, 25rr and Others

[Gquist]

Hello, Does anyone know what is behind the black board that the TV is mounted to? I was thinking of raising the TV up some so I can cut a hole in the black board for a satellite reciever to sit in the cabinet bottom, I would like to not destroy the black board in the process of removing it but I don't see what is holding it in the cabinet, Any ideas?

[apollumi]

I was wondering the same thing. Thinking about putting some hardware in place to put a 32" flat panel underneath the helmet rack to the right. I'm betting it's just wastes space and I was thinking you could put a PC based media server, satellite, etc in there where be black board is now.

[OldCoot]

Check for wooden plugs on the sides, if there are some, pry them out and there will probably be screws holding it in. Just a guess on my part.

[Gquist]

I don't see any plugs there either, I wonder how they put the cabinet up as all the others are screwed to the roof and walls from the inside of the cabinet, this one is totally enclosed.
I am going to drill a hole in mine under the tv mount bracket and stick my engine bore camara in and see what is in there, I am thinking it's hollow, probably used the same design from the old tube tv's.
I was hoping to save the black piece and use it as a cabinet front but I have a couple other idea's I might do instead, I will post back when I find out more, Thanks!

[Gquist]

Well I took the front panel out and found a lot of wasted space under the tv mount, I see how the cabinet is put together now, they leave the bottom out until the cabinet is screwed in place then staple the bottom on.
I am going to make a shelf on the bottom for the satellite reciever then mount a larger tv above it, I also am going to move the cable and power connections inside the cabinet and cover the existing holes in the roof with blank plates. Seems like a real waste of space in a place where storage is a premium.

[apollumi]

I wonder why they did it like that. It does seem a HUGE waste of space.

[apollumi]

Ok, how specifically do I remove that black backing? I have a 32" 1080p flatpanel coming and I want to use the previous TV mount area for putting my alienware netbook and other entertainment gear into the newly acquired space.

I'm also thinking of replacing the current stereo speakers in the camper. Anybody done this yet? Kinda curious what wattage speakers I need to get. The speakers that came with the camper don't sound very good at all.

[Gquist]

Just take your hand and tap on it towards the wall, it is just stapled onto the front of the cabinet. I added a floor into the cabinet and covered the sides with 1\4" plywood, I needed a place for the satellite receiver so that will sit on the bottom of the cabinet, then add a shelf on top of the receiver that I am going to find a plastic tote for misc items, I only have 1 picture of it with the TV mounted so far, will post more tomorrow, the tv is a Vizio 26" and I bought a swing away mount so it swings 180 degrees from where it is now so 2 people can lay on the couches and watch it on a rainy day.

[apollumi]

Very nice, thanks man. I plan on adding a plywood "T" underneath the helmet rack (web'd shelf) and anchor it with some "L" brackets on top and bottom. The bottom I'll run all the way to the plywood where the bench seat meets the wall (seems very sturdy). I'll use the open area past the monitor (left and right) for some pegs to hold jackets, etc... and the center will hold the 32" flat panel monitor.

I measured the distance between the bottom of the webbed shelf and the top of the seat back cushions and it was 24". The flat panel LCD is 22" tall so that would work.

One of the reasons I got the RR25 was because of the rear bench seats that faced one another and make into a bed. My whole intention was to put in a flat panel monitor so we could lay in bed and watch a movie, TV, etc... I must add, that made one damn comfy and big bed (I'm 6'1" and 340 lbs. with some back problems and I slept well). They included a small flat panel monitor mounted in that Oh-so-awkward place and I didn't like that at all. Was going to do the same thing you did and explore what was behind the black plywood but I'm glad you already did that.

Probably going to go over to Lowes this evening and find either some wood grain veneer to cover the plywood with or some finished plywood for the "T". I also have some computer speakers with a subwoofer I never use that I might mount to the bottom of the helmet rack in some creative fashion.

[apollumi]

I popped that black piece out where the LCD mounts. Got a shelving rail at Lowes (72") and cutting it into 4 equal pieces with a dremel tool which made each 18". I still have to make some shelves but now I have adjustable shelving where the itsy bitsy lcd mounted and there is plenty of space for my alienware netbook, a satellite reciever, and a blueray player.

Just as I was finishing up my phone buzzed. My 32" LCD TV had just arrived at Wally World. I cleaned up and headed that way. After getting back I hooked it up inside the house to test everthing out, put it through it's paces. I had read many reviews which said it had a good display and it did. Nice and clean. Watch a movie and streamed some high def Netflix to it. All checked out and it's destined for the camper now.

[recon33alpha]

Originally Posted by Gquist

Just take your hand and tap on it towards the wall, it is just stapled onto the front of the cabinet. I added a floor into the cabinet and covered the sides with 1\4" plywood, I needed a place for the satellite receiver so that will sit on the bottom of the cabinet, then add a shelf on top of the receiver that I am going to find a plastic tote for misc items, I only have 1 picture of it with the TV mounted so far, will post more tomorrow, the tv is a Vizio 26" and I bought a swing away mount so it swings 180 degrees from where it is now so 2 people can lay on the couches and watch it on a rainy day.

Can you show more pictures(of how its mounted inside the new space) and type of your TV mount you bought and installed. I would like to do the same thing.

Another question, have you used an ipod in the usb port on the radio, can't get mine to play in the usb, have to use the aux port?? Would like for the ipod to charge/play, that way I can control it outside. Thanks in advance.

And nice find on the dead space, I was wondering the same thing

[Gquist]

Here is how it is mounted, The mount is from Amazon.com, I didn't trust the mount to support the tv during travel so if you look close at one of the pictures you can see two metal braces the support the tv when it is flat against the cabinet, then I added a strap to hold it against the cabinet,
As far as the usb on the radio, I am having enough trouble just figuring out how to tune the radio, could they possibly make it more complicating to use??? Also is your display bright? I can barely see what channel its on in daylight.
Here is the mount: Amazon.com: VideoSecu TV Wall Mount for most 15" to 27" LCD TV 18-Inch Extending Full Motion Wall Mount Bracket ML60B 1GU: Electronics

[perks0808]

oh my gosh this is exactly what we were thinking of doing. Thanks for sharing gotta get the mount order and installed before we head to Sturgis.

[Gquist]

I also ran into a problem with the satellite receiver not working through the factory cable jack, I have a tailgater dish from dishnet and even with the cable hooked up to the cable/satellite jack on the right outside of the camper the reciever would squeal internally as soon as I hooked up the coaxal cable to the jack near the tv, and I made sure that I had pushed the button on the booster to turn off the booster and switch it to the external cable, So I took the cable jack out and found witch cable went to the outside jack and put up a seperate jack for it inside the cabinet.
A lot of work for just tv...
Where you staying at Sturgis? The Chip? If you are and you see a 25rr with a black F-150 next to it stop and have one!

[perks0808]

That is good to know because we are thinking of getting a dish of some sort but not sure what yet. All that we looked at you needed the special atenna w/reciever and was VERY expensive. Is there anything out there that is not really expensive? But I will keep that in mind if/when the time comes.
We are staying at Sturgis View Campground. Thanks that is a offer we might take you up on if I can find you amoungst the other campers, lol!
We leave on the evening of Aug 1st and will be there until the afternoon of the 12th or leave early the 13th haven't quite decided yet gonna play it by ear. Where are you from? We live in Wisconsin so it is a full day's drive for us to get there.

[apollumi]

Finally got around to taking pictures of my shelf work. After punching out that crap mount for cheap TV’s I headed off to Lowes and found a big long strip of adjustable shelving material which I cut into 4 pieces. Each piece had several screw holes and I drilled them all in. The screws weren’t big so I thought I might as well put them all in to hold the rails securely. Bought me a package of tabs for the adjustable shelves also. Below is the result.







The shelves were cut so that they fit within the wood trim inside the opening.This will allow cables to be routed behind the shelves.

[perks0808]

Awesome :-) my husband is not going to like me when I show him this, lol! Not really but it is definantly going to done but not until after Sturgis. I am ordering the tv swing arm today so we can at least get that installed before we go. So many great ideas.

[Night_Wolf]

Originally Posted by Gquist

Here is how it is mounted, The mount is from Amazon.com, I didn't trust the mount to support the tv during travel so if you look close at one of the pictures you can see two metal braces the support the tv when it is flat against the cabinet, then I added a strap to hold it against the cabinet,
As far as the usb on the radio, I am having enough trouble just figuring out how to tune the radio, could they possibly make it more complicating to use??? Also is your display bright? I can barely see what channel its on in daylight.
Here is the mount: Amazon.com: VideoSecu TV Wall Mount for most 15" to 27" LCD TV 18-Inch Extending Full Motion Wall Mount Bracket ML60B 1GU: Electronics

What or how did you attach that security strap to hold the TV during travel? The metal supports attached to the shelf to further support the TV during travel; did you make them or buy them?

[Gquist]

The strap is sandwiched between the roof and the top of the cabinet then I run a screw through the strap on the inside of the cabinet, on the bottom of the strap I folded it over and used a couple small screws and washers and screwed it to the bottom of the shelf that I had added to the cabinet, The metal supports are just a piece of 1 1\2" x 1\8 flat iron that I cut and bent using a hacksaw and a bench vice.
There is also foam glued to the back of the TV where it rubs on the cabinet to keep it from scarring up the cabinet, The tv is a Vizio and worked out real good for this application.

[Night_Wolf]

Originally Posted by Gquist

The strap is sandwiched between the roof and the top of the cabinet then I run a screw through the strap on the inside of the cabinet, on the bottom of the strap I folded it over and used a couple small screws and washers and screwed it to the bottom of the shelf that I had added to the cabinet, The metal supports are just a piece of 1 1\2" x 1\8 flat iron that I cut and bent using a hacksaw and a bench vice.
There is also foam glued to the back of the TV where it rubs on the cabinet to keep it from scarring up the cabinet, The tv is a Vizio and worked out real good for this application.

Thanks for the reply