flat screen television bracket.

pulpwood007 · 07-14-2009, 06:10 AM

I bought a Vizio 26" flat screen for the trailer. The extended arm bracket that came with the trailer seems flimsy at best. So far I have been taking the TV down when traveling.

Although this Vizio is not particularly heavy, I'm wondering how much vibration I would get even if I installed a heavier bracket?

It looks as if there is some wood to attach a heavier bracket to in the entertainment center, but that's a lot of movement on that one attachment point while going down the road.

I'm anxious to hear how others are handling this.

wattashine · 07-14-2009, 10:27 AM

crossroads recommends removing the tv while traveling.

gossamar · 07-14-2009, 10:47 AM

I went through the same issue just over one year ago. I did not want to pay $800.00 for a 19" tv, even if it did work on both AC/DC(great group too). So, after some advice from this forum, I bought the 26" Vizio from Wally-World and pondered how to install. Yes, the factory bracket will not work, so I removed that and bought a universal flatscreen mounting bracket from Menards. On my CT 31RL, I had to move the mounting bracket up about 8-10" so the new tv would sit relatively centered in the E-center. Luckily, there was still a good mounting stud to drill into. The only downside, is that I had to drill a hole in the top of the entertainment center to slide a screwdriver down to tighten the locking screw on the mounting bracket.
To further enhance stability when traveling, I bought and expandable shower rod, some 1/2" or 3/4" pipe insulation and made an additional support bracket. I wrapped the shower rod with the pipe insulation, then slide the shower rod in at an angle, twist a few times to lock in place and all is good to go. After traveling all of last year, and a 1945 mile trip to Minnesota and back, all has stayed put. Good luck with the install....

pulpwood007 · 07-14-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gossamar

I went through the same issue just over one year ago. I did not want to pay $800.00 for a 19" tv, even if it did work on both AC/DC(great group too). So, after some advice from this forum, I bought the 26" Vizio from Wally-World and pondered how to install. Yes, the factory bracket will not work, so I removed that and bought a universal flatscreen mounting bracket from Menards. On my CT 31RL, I had to move the mounting bracket up about 8-10" so the new tv would sit relatively centered in the E-center. Luckily, there was still a good mounting stud to drill into. The only downside, is that I had to drill a hole in the top of the entertainment center to slide a screwdriver down to tighten the locking screw on the mounting bracket.
To further enhance stability when traveling, I bought and expandable shower rod, some 1/2" or 3/4" pipe insulation and made an additional support bracket. I wrapped the shower rod with the pipe insulation, then slide the shower rod in at an angle, twist a few times to lock in place and all is good to go. After traveling all of last year, and a 1945 mile trip to Minnesota and back, all has stayed put. Good luck with the install....

When you say"universal flatscreen mounting bracket" I assume you mean one that mounts the tv flat to the wall? Not one that has the movable arms such as the one that comes from Crossroads.

I can see traveling with a standard wall mount, but the movable arms place the tv in a position that puts a lot of leverage on the mounting structure.

With the living area in my 29RK I do need a bracket that will swing out so the tv will be viewable from the recliners.

Guess removing it while moving isn't such a big deal.

FB1965 · 07-14-2009, 02:32 PM

I also have a 26 inch Vizio and I used the bracket provided.It isn't exactly centered,but that is now by chose.I put some none skid shelf stuff on the lip of the entertainment center to keep the fake wood from getting beat up.I took a excerise mat that was 1/4 inch thick and cut it to fit the bottom of the center ,as the wood lip was not level with the bottom of the center.I than took one of the tie down straps for the chairs and mounted the D ring on each side of the entertainment center on the inside front.I took a couple pices of 1/2 inch foam pipe and cut it to be put on each side of the TV and one long one that fits accross the front.The tie down strap after tighten is routed thru the split in the foam so the buckle won't scratch the screen.It fits good and tight and can be moved if needed to tilt the TV.I just remove the strap after we set up in the campground and replace it before putting the slide in.Takes maybe 1 mintue.Never has moved and its been of some rough roads.I also hung a 13 inch Vizio in the bedroom and never had it move either.

Darrell · 07-15-2009, 05:31 AM

I just bought a 26" Toshiba. The VESA holes did not line up with the mounting bracket. I bought a length of flat aluminum bar and drilled mounting holes into the bar to line with the TV and bracket holes. I then bought some rubber grommets to use a spacers and act as vibration dampers for the TV. I mounted the TV to the bracket - it works fine. To prevent accidental falls, and to support the weight of the TV while travelling (the bracket does look pretty flimsy) I cut to length several pieces of one of my daughters "pool noodles" . the TV is safely wedged into the space - and there is no weight on the bracket.

So far so good......

danskool · 07-15-2009, 10:30 AM

Shopping for a TV now. I seen this post and thought "super" lets see some mounting pictures.. Boy was i let down . LOL. .. Tons of info though. Thanks for that..

pulpwood007 · 07-15-2009, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FB1965

I also have a 26 inch Vizio and I used the bracket provided.It isn't exactly centered,but that is now by chose.I put some none skid shelf stuff on the lip of the entertainment center to keep the fake wood from getting beat up.I took a excerise mat that was 1/4 inch thick and cut it to fit the bottom of the center ,as the wood lip was not level with the bottom of the center.I than took one of the tie down straps for the chairs and mounted the D ring on each side of the entertainment center on the inside front.I took a couple pices of 1/2 inch foam pipe and cut it to be put on each side of the TV and one long one that fits accross the front.The tie down strap after tighten is routed thru the split in the foam so the buckle won't scratch the screen.It fits good and tight and can be moved if needed to tilt the TV.I just remove the strap after we set up in the campground and replace it before putting the slide in.Takes maybe 1 mintue.Never has moved and its been of some rough roads.I also hung a 13 inch Vizio in the bedroom and never had it move either.

Sounds good. I too am quickly noticing some dings in the front lip. On my old trailer I used some clear rigid plastic 3/4" molding to protect cabinet openings. Comes from Home Depot. May put a stip on the tv opening.

I think if a heavy enough piece of foam is placed under the tv it would take the load off the bracket. Sounds like your are doing it similar. My bracket will flex up enough to put a thick piece under the tv.

It seems a strap to prevent up and down movement would be more important than side to side. I'll play with it some and see what works.

To be honest, it's really not anymore time consuming to remove the tv than fasten it down.

gossamar · 07-15-2009, 02:04 PM

Correct...I used the flat wall mount bracket as I do not need the swivel capability with my floor plan. I did not even think to take pictures when I was installing mine...but I will be at the rally and can give tours

Kamper Dave · 07-18-2009, 02:35 PM

We just put down a layer of the anti-skid shelf material. We screwed two large coffee cup hooks to the back corners of the entertainment center. When traveling there is one couch pillow behind the TV and one couch pillow in front of the TV all held to the rear by alight weightbungee cord. So far so good.

Do we need to worry about exposing the TV tofreezing temperatures?

Kamper Dave

ryeja · 07-18-2009, 03:38 PM

For what it's really worth why not take the TV down and put flat face down on you bed in the front. You've spent the decent dollar on the entertainment box why not spend 2 minute removing it from the bracket. I do it all the time and guess what? I still have time to pour an ice cold beverage down my throat while setting up camp. Setiing up my 26" TV on the so called flimsy bracket takes less than 2 min and I have the peace of mind knowing the thing isn't going to crash to the floor when I cross some railroad tracks across a highway. My philosiphy is if looks like a projectile chances are it wil become one. My 2 cents; just leave it as is and remove the TV which you will enjoy that much longer.

wsc01q · 07-20-2009, 06:10 AM

We didn't do anything. Used the stock bracket. Sure enough 1000 miles and the bracket adjustment screws loosened and the TV came down. It tore out the wires, pulled the antenna outlet out of the wall, bounced on the kitchen counter and landed on the floor. No damage done. It works fine. Just had to put it back up. Now we check the adjustment screws to be sure they are tight before we break camp. We also added a pair of those adhesive TV lock-downs that they sell. Haven't had a problem since. There's no way I'm disconnecting all the cables and wires to the thing each time we travel.

By the way, the DVD player did the same thing. It too survived just fine. It's now strapped in too.

Chrisnan23 · 07-20-2009, 08:18 AM

Man it sounds like you drive like me!

Just kidding. I will say that if you cut it too close and take a curb... All bets are off for the stuff in the trailer.

oldman · 07-21-2009, 10:52 AM

We replaced our stolen original TV with a Sony 26" Flatscreen TV. Mounted it on a flex arm so Wife can pullout and watch from kitchen (Seville 35RL). When travelling we protect with "noodles" cut to fit top and bottom of TV. We used the strap and floor mounts from our kitchen chairs on our TV mount with straps holding everything in-place vertically.

We just finished a 5000 mile trip out west and had no problems with TV's moving, even on some of the roughest interstate driving I have ever seen in Montana.

We did have two storage doors self destruct while driving. 1 in living room, 1 in bedroom.

We are still looking for "flat" noodles for better protection of TV's and entertainment equipment. Does anyone have a source?

pulpwood007 · 07-21-2009, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeja

For what it's really worth why not take the TV down and put flat face down on you bed in the front. You've spent the decent dollar on the entertainment box why not spend 2 minute removing it from the bracket. I do it all the time and guess what? I still have time to pour an ice cold beverage down my throat while setting up camp. Setiing up my 26" TV on the so called flimsy bracket takes less than 2 min and I have the peace of mind knowing the thing isn't going to crash to the floor when I cross some railroad tracks across a highway. My philosiphy is if looks like a projectile chances are it wil become one. My 2 cents; just leave it as is and remove the TV which you will enjoy that much longer.

We just came back off a 3 day trip and you know what........I think you are right!

I leave it on the bed and it takes about 1 min to stick the arm in the wall bracket, plug in the AC, and hook up the coax.

Someday I may mess with the noodle or some type foam but for now I got other rats to kill. I did buy a strip of the protective plastic corner mold I mentioned in the above post. Taking it up and down will eventually put dings in the authentic plastic fake wood they so elegantly use in the entertainment center.

wsc01q · 07-22-2009, 02:45 AM

At my age I drive pretty conservative. I am retired. Time on the road is not an issue. I need to save gas and allow for slower reaction times.

The worst spot in the trailer seems to be the back wall. That is where our kitchen and entertainment center are. The vertical motion is at the max on the back wall. One pot hole or speed bump and you can't believe the action back there. We have added the EquFlex suspension and that helps quite a bit but everything still has to be "lashed" down.

There's no way I'm disconnecting the TV because it has component video connected from the DVD as well as coax, power and component video cables hooked to it. The factory installed adjustable bracket is OK but has to be checked regularly to be sure the adjusting screws are tight. We have changed the larger cabinet drawer guides over to utilize the self-locking feature.

thomas5433 · 07-25-2009, 01:38 PM

I installed a flat screen in the entertainment center area with a brack et from Camping world. Instead of mounting the bracket on the back wall, I installed it on the side wall (left side) when looking at the TV. To reinforce the wall I removed the bedroom closet panet which gave me access to the backside of the wall that the bracket will be mounted to. I then used a 1x12 between the two "studs" in the wall. I used heavy duty mending plates to attach the 1x12 to the studs. It works great. The tv is secure as can be. For extra precaution, I screwed nylon webbing to the top and bottom of the in the TV cutout area. When we travel I snap the webbing together for extra security. Kinda hard to explain. If you want pics. I will get them for you.

Happy Camping,

Thomas

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