My latest project is to upgrade the TV's in my 2005 Winnebago class "A" to LED. I have wanted to do this for awhile for viewing pleasure, and to update the look of the coach (most 2007's and newer have flat screens). I forgot to take some "before" pictures, but a found a few of the front TV.
You can see how the old TV mount hung down and partially blocked the view out the windshield when standing in the coach.
I picked up a 32" Samsung today from Costco that appears to fit the width of the space left from the old TV, slightly overlapping the opening 1/2" on each side. This particular model has a flat lip that should rest against the cabinet nicely. It has rear mounted speakers, but they are aimed down instead of to the rear like most new flat screens. I also ordered a marine grade 22" LED/DVD combo for the bed room that runs on 12 or 110 volts.
I have done this update on my parent's Dolphin and my sister's Dameon with success so I thought this would be easy. Until I removed the old TV from the front panel. The other two coaches had the TV framed with wood and bolted in metal supports. Good old Winnebago has a heavy welded frame supporting the TV that goes behind the cabinets to both sides and the roof of the RV. It is bolted in several places and I would have to pull the cabinets to get it out.
Old TV removed:
I never liked that big, heavy TV hanging over my head while driving.
Winnebago TV frame pics;
The bedroom TV was a 10 or 11" portable that sat on a wood shelf in the corner near the ceiling. A real head knocker when trying to sneak into bed at 2am without waking the wife after a great time around the fire. The shelf was fairly easy to remove, I just pried the front trim off, removed the bottom paneling and unscrewed eight large wood screws (need to fill some holes)
Front TV: The plan is to cut out the bottom flat part of the mount and the three supports out so they end slightly above the bottom of the cabinets. I can then use the supports and the top portion to mount a fabricated hinged mount for the LED (still working on the design of the mount). The LED TV is much lighter and does not have to rest on anything, so I will not need that flat steel plate. I will need to trim down the cover for the removed plate so it fits flush with the bottom of the cabinet, with a cut-out behind the TV for access and sound. I want to reinforce it to securely hold the rear facing camera monitor, more for peace of mind than actual necessity. For that, I picked up some 1/4" plywood.
Since the ceiling is curved, and there are existing screw holes to cover on the cabinet face, I will also need to cut-down the original trim around the old TV to match the new. If the ceiling was flat, I could have mounted the new TV flush against it, like I did with my parents and sisters coach.
The bedroom TV is just going to be mounted with a pull-out type wall mount, the smallest one I can find.
More to come.
You can see how the old TV mount hung down and partially blocked the view out the windshield when standing in the coach.
I picked up a 32" Samsung today from Costco that appears to fit the width of the space left from the old TV, slightly overlapping the opening 1/2" on each side. This particular model has a flat lip that should rest against the cabinet nicely. It has rear mounted speakers, but they are aimed down instead of to the rear like most new flat screens. I also ordered a marine grade 22" LED/DVD combo for the bed room that runs on 12 or 110 volts.
I have done this update on my parent's Dolphin and my sister's Dameon with success so I thought this would be easy. Until I removed the old TV from the front panel. The other two coaches had the TV framed with wood and bolted in metal supports. Good old Winnebago has a heavy welded frame supporting the TV that goes behind the cabinets to both sides and the roof of the RV. It is bolted in several places and I would have to pull the cabinets to get it out.
Old TV removed:
I never liked that big, heavy TV hanging over my head while driving.
Winnebago TV frame pics;
The bedroom TV was a 10 or 11" portable that sat on a wood shelf in the corner near the ceiling. A real head knocker when trying to sneak into bed at 2am without waking the wife after a great time around the fire. The shelf was fairly easy to remove, I just pried the front trim off, removed the bottom paneling and unscrewed eight large wood screws (need to fill some holes)
Front TV: The plan is to cut out the bottom flat part of the mount and the three supports out so they end slightly above the bottom of the cabinets. I can then use the supports and the top portion to mount a fabricated hinged mount for the LED (still working on the design of the mount). The LED TV is much lighter and does not have to rest on anything, so I will not need that flat steel plate. I will need to trim down the cover for the removed plate so it fits flush with the bottom of the cabinet, with a cut-out behind the TV for access and sound. I want to reinforce it to securely hold the rear facing camera monitor, more for peace of mind than actual necessity. For that, I picked up some 1/4" plywood.
Since the ceiling is curved, and there are existing screw holes to cover on the cabinet face, I will also need to cut-down the original trim around the old TV to match the new. If the ceiling was flat, I could have mounted the new TV flush against it, like I did with my parents and sisters coach.
The bedroom TV is just going to be mounted with a pull-out type wall mount, the smallest one I can find.
More to come.
