LED/LCD TV installation I have finally gotten around to get the flat panel LED/LCD TV installed in the front of our Breakaway, It wasn’t a bad job but did require some thinking to blend in well and also some small amount of fabrication. First was to remove the older TV. It was a 19 inch and the unit was big and heavy Surprisingly, it only drew 40 watts while operating which was quite low for a 19 inch. I have noticed that Breakaways have a much smaller unit up front and then I realized that most 30’ Breakaways I have seen are front entry. Therefore, a larger TV isn’t going to allow much room to go by a large TV. We have a side entry. Never the less, I do bang my head sometimes getting in and out of the drivers chair so the new flat panel should take care of the 6 inch protrusion.

Removing the TV was simple, there was a top piece above the TV that had to be removed and an internal cross brace removed. Then the TV could be tipped out and removed. This TV only had a power cord and an antenna cable to be removed. About a 15 minute job. Once the TV was removed then I got a good idea of the task at hand. I was a bit worried about the head liner above the TV as there were three screws that attached the front of the TV extension to the ceiling panels. Certainly that would leave holes and probably an impression in the vinyl headliner.

The Surround now is off and sure enough, there is a big depression and holes in the headliner. It will take a bit of creativity to cover up this issue.

Fairly massive piece to hold the TV, probably weighs as much as the TV!

The first things to construct is the TV mount, I had an idea to make the TV swing open so that the space behind the TV would be usable for computers, Satellite TV box, WiFi transmitters etc. There is a lot of space back there. Next I wanted to try to make some cover so that the holes in the headliner would be covered. After thinking about this, I thought that I could make a TV mount with an upper attachment that would attach to the ceiling and that could be the cover.

This piece is made from ¼ inch aluminum and covered with vinyl. I was lucky to find an “almost match” at an auto upholstery store locally. Covers the holes (actually used them ) and the depression in the headliner very well. Next was the TV mount, made out of 1/8 inch aluminum.

Now the TV mount is attached to the ceiling plate. The hinges will allow the TV to be swung upward.

Test fitting the TV

I selected a Samsung 32 inch TV for several reasons. This is the top of the line 32 inch unit from Samsung and is what they call a smart TV, It has internet capabilities, can stream video from many different sources, is WiFi capable. This is also a 3D TV but I don’t think I will ever use that feature. The vertical size is perfect, the horizontal size is just a tiny bit bigger than I like but that goes with the 16:9 format. The right side sticks over the side of the cabinet area by about 3 inches so it isn’t very noticeable. That does provide easy access to the USB ports.

The next task was to build a vinyl covered filler for the bottom of where the old TV extension was. Again I was lucky to find black vinyl that is a close match to the vinyl above the dash. I had debated whether or not to build it flush or build it lower to provide more room behind the TV. I finally decided to build it flush and am happy I did it that way.

Looking inside I added a additional power receptacles. Notice also that the structural frame across behind the windscreen was cut to relieve the area for the larger TV, I will cover this with a wood panel for a flat cabinet floor.

Internal floor now is done and ready for the final TV installation, there is a latch that will hold the bottom of the tv closed against the riser, releasing the latch will allow the TV to hinge upward for access behind the TV. I haven’t arrange all what is going in there but I am sure I will find enough to fill the space.

MWrench 2/12/2013 Ed Raether