Realized after our first road trip that the factory installed 50" TV in the "living room" was not conducive for watching while driving as the kids have to sit sideways or facing the rear to see it. Not good for little bellies. The rear bedroom has the cable and inverter outlet ready, but no TV. What's a tired father of 3 to do? Install a new 24" TV! Come along and I'll explain how I did it!
Disclaimer: Do NOT rely on your finger as a stud finder! Where I thought was a stud, was actually a chase for the vent pipe. Almost punctured it with my test bit.
Also, don't assume that just because there is a hookup for a TV that you can just install one wherever you want on that wall. Newer TV's are significantly lighter than ever, however they will be subject to extreme force when bouncing down the road. Your model might be different, but the same general idea applies. Make sure you attach it to something solid!
On to the install:
1. I ordered this
TV and this
mount. Didn't measure anything before hand, figured I'd just make it work.
2. If you are attempting this install, be sure to check your clearances! I had to install at a certain height to prevent hitting the window valance when pulling out the TV to change DVD's. Double check before drilling anything!
3. After drilling my tiny pilot hole where I thought there was a stud and finding nothing but an almost punctured vent pipe, I was forced to come up with a new plan. I removed the hanging storage bar and then I removed the inner panel in the cubby space on the opposite side of the cabinet I wanted to install the TV. The panels are only installed with staples and easily pop out if you work at it. Imagine my surprise to find the vent pipe, no kind of support for anything to be attached, let alone a TV,
and the hanging crossbar not even attached to the factory support block.
4. I ended up cutting a piece of 3/8" plywood to span the area between the two pieces of blocking inside the wall cavity, giving me a large area to choose to mount my bracket. I ended up gluing and using blocking to attach the plywood and let it set overnight.
5. I wasn't sold on just using the included lag screws to mount the bracket. They would be perfect if I were mounting into a stud, but I'm working with about 1/2" of material. Because I'm a pack rat, I had saved some of
these.
Exactly what this situation calls for!
6. I drilled the correct size holes to accommodate the T-Nuts, mounted the bracket per the instructions, put everything back together and finally mounted the TV. Success!
Everything looks as good or better than when I started. I even moved the hanger bar in the cubby up a bit to ensure it was screwed in to the backer, not just the paneling.
Now we wait until the next trip to see how the TV holds up to the kids.
Side note: While I can figure out how to mount a TV in my new RV, I cannot figure out how to post photo's. My apologies to those of you looking for pictures.
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