Monday, April 06, 2009

New LCD TV for Horizon

I wanted to replace the Sony TV in our 2004 Itasca Horizon with a new LCD TV. But after reading about other installations, it appeared that it would be to complex and too expensive. The TV itself was also expensive.

In Wilson, NC about 2,878.1 miles from home and workshop I decided to replace the TV in the Horizon. I needed an easy and inexpensive way to install the new LCD using the limited tools I carry in the Horizon. I had previous found a 32" Sharp TV was a perfect fit and now it was $1000 cheaper!

The total material cost was less than $10 not counting the Pearless LCD mount. The material list was one 2x4, one 1x12, four lag bolts, four bolts and nuts and washers.

First Remove the Sony TV.
No small feat as it weighs about a hundred pounds and it's high location make it awkward. The molding around the TV was removed by removing the two screws on each side that hold it in place and the speaker. The molding then slides down and off. A metal strap clamps down across the top was removed. At this point the TV can tilt down and could actually fall out if not supported. My son, Jimmy helped removed the old set. One thing I was concerned about was how the surround sound system was connected because the there was no 'audio out' on the TV. The wires to the surround sound were found to run into the back of the TV through a vent in the case. I guess they were connected to the TV speakers inside the case. I cut the wire while Jimmy held the TV and unplugged everything else.

A large filter was attached to the surround wire. I discovered it eliminated a buzz in the surround sound system and I reused it.


A big hole was left when the Sony TV was removed.



Mount and Install the new TV

I chose a 32' Sharp LCD TV because it fit the space better than some others I measured and it had audio out for the surround sound.

I installed the new TV just in front of and "floating" outside the cabinetry.

I measured how far the rear of the TV needed to be from the molding when mounted. I then bolted a 2x4 to the metal frame on each side. Then bolted the 1x18 to the 2x4's. The 2x4's were angled to match the angle of the cabinet and coincidentally the metal frame.


Here is a closer look at the mounting.

While I worked on the install I sat the Sharp on a box on the dashboard and connected all the wiring to test the connections. We used it for awhile that way and everything worked great except the surround sound.

Although I had checked to make sure the Sharp had a variable audio output but I didn't realize when it was switched to variable output it shut off the TV's speakers. The surround system isn't usable alone and it was too loud when we tried the output on fixed mode. I decided to install a volume control from Radio Shack between the TV and the surround sound system to control the surround sound volume.

I used a Peerless security mount, so hopefully the TV is difficult to steal. When the lower screws are tightened the TV is very secure with no bouncing or jiggling. I choose an adjustable mount in case I needed to adjust the angle, but because I set the 2x4's at an angle to match the cabinetry I didn't need to use the adjustment.

Ready to hang the LCD on the mount.


Here is the finished install.

It 'floats' a inch in front of the cabinet face but it doesn't protrude too far and hasn't been a in the way.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice, practical install. That is kinda the way I envisioned doing mine in our 34D Brave. Thanks for posting

Anonymous said...

Regarding the Peerless security mount for the lcd. I have been trying to locate this on the internet but it seems I need to know the model number. Peerless makes a lot of mounts and some are secure some are not. Can you post what the model number is please?

Another question about the mount. Can you rotate the lcd tv up so that when you travel the tv is as close to vertical as possible? I want to be able to tilt the tv up so that the screen will be as close to being completely vertical ( straight up and down as much as possible) thus the mounting bolts on the back of the tv will be as close to horizontal as possible to keep the load properly distributed. Thanks in advance.

About Us

The Normans are Debbie, Jim and Ty the cat. The Horizon is our Itasca Horizon Motorhome. We spend the summers in cool northern Washington and travel through the warm south during the winter. We spend time in the spring and fall at our home in northern California as we pass by by.

Visited States

Visited States