Windsor Clearance and Choices for new TV

[jacwjames]

I'm considering finally doing away with the front TV box/head banger.

My issue is that on either side of the TV box there is 2" of space available on either side if I can move the flip up cabinet doors over. But even with the 4" I don't have enough room for a 40" TV to fit without overlapping the cabinet openings. From what I've seen there isn't anything smaller till you get to a 32" which is what I have.

Options would be to completely revamp the front cabinets and make new of redo the cabinet doors which I'm hesitant to do. I would still like to use the box for storage also. My current TV I have mounted on a swing out arm which actually works pretty well.

What have others done to get a new TV to fit?? I know of a recent post that used a flip up mechanism, but the ceiling height in my rig is low and although it would work for my 5'6" height it might be an issue for others, not sure of the look also.

[8.3Oilbuner]

Good morning Jim; Yes, I agree with your assessment of the TV dilemma. I don't think you can go any bigger than a 32" to fit in the original cabinet. The previous owner of my 01 Windsor took out the Quasar tube TV and had the cabinet modified to fit the 32" flat screen. This just amounted to decreasing the depth of the cabinet so you don't bang your head. I know this is not the info you are looking for but I don't see any way to put a 40" in without going into the side cabinets to make them smaller.

Have you tried visiting some of the web sites of company's that do interior remodeling of coaches? Sometimes they have a lot of pictures of remodels with the bigger TV's added to the front of the coach. Can't think of any names right now, but sure someone will come along with the info you are looking for.

[wamcneil]

Not sure what your setup looks like, but here's mine...
My previous owner cut the original CRT cabinet back and mounted a 40" to the front of it. The cabinet doors couldn't be moved outboard far enough to fit the TV, so they added a 2-3/4" cherry filler strip on the inside edges of the cabinet openings (I think they're scraps from cutting back the CRT cabinet). This allows to doors to move outboard 2-3/4" and leaves about 39-1/2" between the doors.
The old flat-screen they installed was big and heavy and had wide borders around the screen, so you couldn't really see the filler strips. I've replaced it with a modern 40" with narrow borders and now the filler strips are visible. If you look closely it's apparent that it doesn't match the cabinet's finish exactly, but if you just leave 1/2" of clearance from the TV, nobody will notice them. At some point I'll move the doors back 1-1/2" towards the middle to hide the filler strips.
I pulled the center cabinet out and altered it so it doesn't hang down past the bottom of the TV, and cut it back even more so the new TV doesn't stick out any more than absolutely necessary.
Cheers,
Walter

[96 Wideglide]

I ended up replacing mine with another 32" flatscreen.

It's too bad all manufacturers seem to have eliminated 35-36" screens !

[MSHappyCampers]

Jim, I'm sure you remember what I did, reworking the overhead cabinets and putting a 43" flat screen behind the couch on a motorized lift. It was kinda expensive getting the cabinets reworked, but we really love being able to sit in our recliners directly across from the TV.

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by wamcneil

Not sure what your setup looks like, but here's mine...
My previous owner cut the original CRT cabinet back and mounted a 40" to the front of it. The cabinet doors couldn't be moved outboard far enough to fit the TV, so they added a 2-3/4" cherry filler strip on the inside edges of the cabinet openings (I think they're scraps from cutting back the CRT cabinet). This allows to doors to move outboard 2-3/4" and leaves about 39-1/2" between the doors.
The old flat-screen they installed was big and heavy and had wide borders around the screen, so you couldn't really see the filler strips. I've replaced it with a modern 40" with narrow borders and now the filler strips are visible. If you look closely it's apparent that it doesn't match the cabinet's finish exactly, but if you just leave 1/2" of clearance from the TV, nobody will notice them. At some point I'll move the doors back 1-1/2" towards the middle to hide the filler strips.
I pulled the center cabinet out and altered it so it doesn't hang down past the bottom of the TV, and cut it back even more so the new TV doesn't stick out any more than absolutely necessary.
Cheers,
Walter

Yours must be different then mine, I thought I might be able to do the same thing but even if I move my doors there's not enough room to fit a 40" TV which requires +35.5". My only option would be to cut the doors down some and add a filler strip.

[Thorp]

If upgrading the TV in the front of the RV, my preference is to have the TV mounted "inside" a cabinet. I like that only because it looks more "factory". Anyway, I think if you want a 40" up front, you either have it on one of those articulating arms like you are already using or take all three cabinets down and have a cabinetmaker build new boxes(probably a new TV cabinet and one storage cabinet for the surround sound, dvd, etc)

I got some inspiration from the Bradd & Hall website. They also have some good YouTube videos.

https://www.braddandhall.com/Product...idproduct=1024

On my recent TV upgrade, I simply modified/shortened the TV cabinet to hold a 32" Roku TV. I am aware that a 40" screen would be much nicer but didn't want to get into building new cabinets.

[jacwjames]

If needed I could modify the cabinets myself. I have all the necessary tools and some of the "skills".
I was hoping to find an easy fix but doesn't look like there is one.

I think modifying the existing cabinet to fit a 32" TV is my best bet.



My main goals are to eliminate the head banger and possibly find a better TV but if a 40" TV isn't possible a 32 will do.

[Thorp]

I was able to shorten the head banger by about 6 or 7 inches. I could have made it 8 inches shorter, but I left a 3/4" gap under the TV so that the TV's speakers could be heard. One thing that was very helpful was that Monaco didn't use glue to assemble the TV cabinet. It is only assembled using pocket screws.

Also, cherry stain worked great and the easiest way to finish the wood is by using Deft semi-gloss lacquer in the blue(not the Home Depot green) aerosol can. Lacquer thinner will strip the existing lacquer finish quite nicely using a soaked rag.

[Iceclimber]

Or you can just get rid of it completely and get a nice view back. This is by far our favorite mod known as "stupid TV delete."

[veraken]

Once upon a time, all we had was over the air TV signals. Then we had a major advance of campgrounds having cable hookups at the camp site. Now we are worried about how many TVs, the size of the TV and getting HD satellite signals. Are we getting spoiled or what?

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by veraken

Once upon a time, all we had was over the air TV signals. Then we had a major advance of campgrounds having cable hookups at the camp site. Now we are worried about how many TVs, the size of the TV and getting HD satellite signals. Are we getting spoiled or what?

Yes we are getting spoiled although we rely on OTA channels even at home. Luckily I can get +60 channels. My wife does use the Roku to stream channels but I rarely us it.
In the house I just installed our 6th TV, not in every room but close.

Have 2 TV in the motorhome and just installed a OTA antenna on the garage and ran a feed to my workshop and one to the motorhome to get better reception.
My intent is to take the TV out of the front of the motorhome and install it in my workshop and install a better TV in the motorhome.



There are way more expensive vises, my neighbor is a car nut and has +6 show cars parked in his garage!!!

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by Thorp

I was able to shorten the head banger by about 6 or 7 inches. I could have made it 8 inches shorter, but I left a 3/4" gap under the TV so that the TV's speakers could be heard. One thing that was very helpful was that Monaco didn't use glue to assemble the TV cabinet. It is only assembled using pocket screws.

Also, cherry stain worked great and the easiest way to finish the wood is by using Deft semi-gloss lacquer in the blue(not the Home Depot green) aerosol can. Lacquer thinner will strip the existing lacquer finish quite nicely using a soaked rag.

This is a good point, just getting rid of the head banger and cleaning up the front end would be an improvement. I do want to keep as much of the old TV box as possible to use for storage. I'll have to take another look at it.

[JellyBean]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

This is a good point, just getting rid of the head banger and cleaning up the front end would be an improvement. I do want to keep as much of the old TV box as possible to use for storage. I'll have to take another look at it.

Here's what my 32" looks like in the stock cabinet. Behind it I added a shelf and excuse the remodeling.... I've hit my head a few times but not enough to warrant a cabinet rebuild.

First two pics are mine and the last two are "borrowed" from Tim's "Wrecked Monaco rebuild" to show some of what is behind the console after removal.

Consider the height of that 40" tv. You might not gain as much clearance as you might like. Just a thought.

Glenn

.