gringostar Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Hello all, I really want to install a TV in my 1986 20' mini cruiser. I don't want to just take it out of the closet when I feel like watching it. HOWEVER I don't have room for it above the refrigerator because that's where the microwave lives. I assume I'll want some arm or support from HD etc. Where is yours? Any suggestions? A pic would be great. Thankz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back East Don Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I have an Itasca micro mini. I suspect our floor plans are quite different as I would not be able to view a tv above the fridge. I got a mount from Amazon but it is static, meaning the tv hangs on the wall and doesn't move or even tilt. Here is a picture anyway. What size are you looking to install? If you mount to some sort of arm, you want one that can lock closed. You'll also need to anchor it in something that is going to hold. The weight is cantilevered on an arm mount creating pull on the fasteners. A fixed mount mostly only has to deal with downward static weight which is less problematic in a rolling house. You'll want to make sure your into something that is going to hold. Oddly enough, the wife and I were discussing pulling ours out of the RV as we never use it. We turned it on once when we first installed it and watched a movie from my laptop. We are thinking of building a fishing tackle closet where the tv is now for the rods and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Mine is where the oven was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Mine is at home... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 4 hours ago, Dolphinite said: Mine is at home... Better place for it. All the TV I need camping is the weather report! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Avoiding all the off-point anti-TV nonsense (as if staring into a computer or device screen is superior). I know in our 20 foot Minicruiser, there is not enough wall space for a permanent mount TV. I keep our's in the closet with a special made cradle to hold it. Then just stick it on the dinner table when we use it for over-the-air TV or DVD player. I just removed the microwave that was mounted on top of the refrigerator. Our 24.5" TV fits there too. You did not mention what size TV you have. If we had a 19", there are a few spots I could hard-mount it. Too small for my tastes though. We have a 24.5" Sceptre LED-LCD combo TV and DVD. Seems perfect for our use. Oddly, our youngest child, now 12 years old -is fascinated with analog TV. So most places we camp - we get a half-dozen crystal-clear digital TV channels, and one or two analog. One analog from Sault Ste. Marie, Canada and one from Alpena,Michigan and both full of snow. Those are the ones he always wants to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) This is an older picture of the TV setup (hangs on closet wall, stationary no move mount) I now have a newer monitor but its on the same mount and I have since gotten rid of the soundbar in favor of monitor mounted amplified speakers. The monitors cables go through the closet wall and in the closet the WII gaming console runs entertainment to the tv and plays dvds. I don't have an over the air tv decoder though I know i can get one cheap that is on an HDMI or usb stick; I'm just not much of a "let someone choose for me what I watch" kind of guy which is vastly inferior to choosing what i watch; if i am so bored that I am not out and about enjoying the locale or being rained in. Edited June 15, 2016 by Totem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) I use my laptop as the TV, I have a USB tuner with antenna connection. No need to create a mount for it, I can set it where ever there is a surface or put it on my lap. I can also play DVDs including blue ray on it and if on wifi then I can watch streaming content. Having a TV just seems rather redundant. Edited June 15, 2016 by snail powered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Having a TV is not redundant to me. I've yet to find a USB stick that has a tuner as sensitive as in a full-size TV and that makes a difference in fringe/weak signal areas. Also, it gets to be kind of wiring mess sticking in the USB stick, then hooking an antenna wire to it, and then watching on a tiny little screen. So I guess "redundancy" is a relative thing. I've got a digital TV tuner card in my computer so no USB stick needed. It works no better then any USB stick I've tried though. Now, if I had a 25-26" computer screen, then yeah - maybe a TV would become extra baggage. Not the case with any of my laptops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back East Don Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I'm not anti TV, I just rather do different things. The wife however is usually the big TV watcher. When we go camping now, she wants to unplug from our day to day. This last trip it rained quite a bit so I suggested that I get the TV going ( hadn't got all the power in the RV back online from the dinette rehab). I started talking about getting a better antenna system too but her response was that we really didn't need the TV and wouldn't mind if we just took it out. I very much like this side of my wife as she can get pretty involved with everything when at home. She packs her tablet and every so often will check facebook or play games in the evenings or when it rains but I am surprised how little. I carry a mifi for her and a tablet with LTE service that I use for tide and weather reports. Also for checking out the area on google maps. I could do that on my phone but like the larger screen. These two tablets and our phones is all we carry. No laptops anymore when camping as there is little we can't do on the tablets. We work everyday with computers. Glad to be away from it every once and a while. It would probably be a lot different if we still had kids with us or we wanted to watch something together. Everyone's needs and likes are different and so I can only speak for us. What gets used the most is the small amp and speakers I have rigged up. We play music when we are inside (helps to drown out the sound of neighbors). Might add my Kindle if I want to do some reading this summer but so far not having trouble passing the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I just got back from four days of camping in the woods. We did watch a movie on DVD every night and my kid got his share of snowy analog Canadian TV. He loves analog for some reason. He also likes the Canadian weather reports that have all the figures screwed up with the Metric system. But - I did not plug in my computer, cell phone, or device for the entire time and THAT felt refreshing to me. I waste a heck of lot more time on the Internet then I do watching TV. Being plugged into the Net has become somewhat like what my smoking habit used to be. I used to smoke 3-4 packs of Marlboros every day (the real ones). It got so that I could not feel safe going anywhere unless I had lots of matches, a lighter, a few packs with me. Quitting was a HUGE relief, and still feels good even though I quit 30 years ago. Being on the Net sometimes gets to feel the same way. I waste as much time with it (if not more) then I do actually doing anything useful with it. I have NEVER felt that way about TV. I like it when it is there and don't suffer from withdrawal when it is not. I DO find it fun to tune into small local TV channels when we travel to get a taste of how things can differ by region. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naganthunter Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I haven't installed it yet, but I am going with a roof-mounted flip-down. I did this in a pop-up I had several years ago, and it worked quite well. http://www.walmart.com/ip/BOSS-AUDIO-BV12.1MCH-12.1in-Flip-Down-Monitor-with-Built-In-DVD-Player/26962939?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=339&adid=22222222227018926028&wl0=&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=59502989409&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=92849458809&veh=sem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I have the rear dinette set-up with the fridge on the left. I wall mounted a twenty inch 12 volt TV with built-in DVD player on the wall of the fridge. It's perfect for watching a film in bed or at the table. I used toggle-bolts for the wall mount. Very secure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 For those of you that have roku, there is a new channel called "Pluto" that has over 100 "channels" of TV that is not streaming, but rather broadcast. The interface is slick and looks just like those of satellite TV boxes or cable boxes and it has a menu of whats on what time slots like them too..you can also just flip channels on it. best part it has some news channels and most of the tv channels are not big name ones and get some really cool stuff; for example there is one channel that is called "after school cartoons" and it has all of the cartoons that used to keep us children of the 80's out of trouble and entertained. Sad part for me is i still like watching them. Maybe its because I am an older end of the generation x guy that misses the 80s a bit when things were great and America ruled; when Bruce Jenner was still Bruce Jenner and Mary Lou Retton took the golds like Bruce did; the acid perms, the funny hair.. and fast times at ridgemont high...lol 0.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I must admit, I have no idea how Roku or Pluto works. I have a friend in Florida who raves about Roku. But their website shows nothing that I could use when camping or even at my home. All I see is streaming and requires a huge Net connection. You say that Pluto is over-the-air? From where? Such a thing needs a person who has to be maybe 20 miles from the transmitter unless a huge antenna is involved. I told my youngest kid for years that no one makes "creative" cartoons anymore like those that I grew up with. Like the original Bugs Bunny, or the old Popeye, or Indians dancing around chanting "we wantum rain." Now - seems most has to be whitewashed and politically correct. That being said, my kid starting watch SpongeBob Squarepants that I always hated from a distance. Well? I finally sat down and watched one episode with my boy and am quite surprised at how creative it is. My opinion now - every bit as good as the old Looney Tunes - just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 i'll need to gather some data on pluto. i believe its less data as it doesnt stream with controls, but rather is digitally broadcast; not over the air. Yes you would need internet. not a solution for you unfortunately but is a nice interface that's more like "TV" if you do have internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 93 winnie warrior - keep mine in an overhead cabinet . Set it on the table if I want to watch something, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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