Cutting back huge front TV cabinet and dumping DVD/CD changer/VHS/Satellite stuff

[ok-rver]

I stand 6'2" and my shoulders fill a 48 tall sports coat. The corner of the front center TV cabinet has been a pain in my shoulder way too many times. I now have cut back the  front edge 4" and raised the bottom 1" and on initial trial fit up, it is much easier to get up the stairs. Pictures to follow later this week as it gets stained and reinstalled.

In the TV cabinet, I found a duplex 120 outlet that is always on plus the relay operated single TV outlet that goes off when the ignition is on. These are shown on my wiring schematic. A second duplex always on is mounted in the curb side compartment that had the VHS and cable management switch plugged in, also shown. Not shown on the schematic is two 120 cables in the single outlet relay. I am thinking seriously about removing at least the relay part of this outlet but am a a loss as to where this would feed.  It is possible that 120 non-switched passes thru this box to the other outlets. I guess pulling the curbside duplex outlet out to see if it has pass thru power and then pulling the relay box apart will be needed.

My dash radio is not blue tooth. Planing on replacing it and have been looking for a dash DVD unit but have not found anything that I think will work. Originally I had hoped to tie into the ceiling speakers from the radio. There are dash DVD players that have HDMI out but getting a cable fro the center of the dash to the upper cabinet for the TV may be a difficult route thru the A pillar. May go with a small sound bar and small DVD player in one of the side compartments.

The 32' flat screen TV (not original) that came with the MH is really a little too small. A Samsung 40" is 36" wide and it would hang over so much the side compartment doors would hit if the TV was not pulled out and angled.  Best Buy has a 39" but it is 34.5" wide and still hangs over the compartment.

It seems we park a lot with the front of the MH pointed West which results in a hot front even with windshield covers. Removing the cabinet, there is 4" of pink fiberglass insulation sagging badly as it goes across above the roll down sun shades and up to the roof. The plan is to put in two layers of 3/4" foam that is scored to create a radius similar to the section above the windshield. Use it to hold the fiberglass closer to the skin.

Wondering what others have done.

 

[Just Jim]

waiting on the pictures.  I have planned on doing the same thing for a while now.  Did you remove the cabinet to cut it down?  I am thinking of doing mine in place as I'm not sure how to get it out safely without damage.  Would love to reduce the size of that head knocker!!!

[jacwjames]

I feel your pain, I've hit my head plenty of times and I'm only 5'6" and my current sit jacket size is +50" chest (built like a brick S#!@ house as they say). 

I contemplated doing the same thing earlier this year but decided I had other priorities but it still on he list.  In the past they made slightly smaller TV's width wise that would fit between the two overhead cabinet doors but they don't exist now.  My fix for this would have been to cut down the door enough so the TV would fit and also add a small strip of dropped wood to narrow the width of the cabinet opening.  I didn't see any other solution. 

I had already modified my TV cabinet with a swing out type arm so I could still access the cabinets if I wanted. 

 

[Guest Ray Davis]

Years ago I removed the old CRT tv and cut the center cabinet back.  Man that old tv was heavy, I mean real heavy.  The center cabinet was actually pretty easy to take  down, plus it comes apart easy.   I'm not near 6 ft 2 so you hit your shoulder I hit my head,  maybe that's what is wrong with me today.  LOL   I'm definately not a wood worker but mine still turned out near perfect or at least no one has ever noticed.  I left where it touches the ceiling the same and cut from the curve down to approx 4" back at the bottom.  

On my 03 Windsor the TV elect box serves as a junction that feeds the passenger side back as far as the bath.  A wire nut came loose in the TV receptacle box killing the whole pass side elect.  I just about gave up trying to trace the problem, it seemed all wrong that power would go up to the TV before coming back to the kitchen slide.      I decided that most of my wires leave the breakers and go to the center overhead then travel front or back.   As I recall you can disconnect 12 volt power to the tv box to eleminate the tv cutting off while traveling.

Jim, hallelujah another short guy.  I always wanted to be taller but instead I'm getting shorter, now that's cruel.  Short has advantges though we can crawl in and under things big guys can't.  It's a small consulation though. LOL pun intended.

[Adam_C]

There's two solutions to the head banging cabinet that I've been considering.

1)  The simplest is to cut down the cabinet and put the TV on a swing down mount.  Then only swing the TV down when it's being used.  One example can be found here:  

 

2)  Move the TV entirely from overhead and put in a televator.  I've seen where folks put it behind a couch and where folks built an entirely new cabinet.  One example can be found here:  

  

[Tom Cherry]

2 minutes ago, Adam_C said:

There's two solutions to the head banging cabinet that I've been considering.

1)  The simplest is to cut down the cabinet and put the TV on a swing down mount.  Then only swing the TV down when it's being used.  One example can be found here:  

 

2)  Move the TV entirely from overhead and put in a televator.  I've seen where folks put it behind a couch and where folks built an entirely new cabinet.  One example can be found here:  

  

Many years ago, there were some that did some great and clever and truly amazing craftsmanship projects and posted pictures on a third party server on the old Yahoo site.  Having banged my head many times on a behemoth 21” CRT Sony in my old Winnie, I “felt” your pain.  Cutting down or narrowing the cabinet was common.  With today’s large array of mounts, the amount of “metal working” is greatly reduced.  I think that one enterprising individual built a frame or bezel or facade or surround wooden frame and sandwiched the LED’S plastic cabinet and had 4 decorative screws holding that frame in place.

Depending on one’s wood skills, I think that cutting the cabinet back to just a inch or 2….then, fitting a 2”, 3 sided frame on the outside…where the surround is flush and attached on the side walls might be an option.  Use unistrut or modify a fixed wall Mount and have the TV LARGER or overhang the sides….obviously flush with the top or ceiling.  5 decorative screws…2 on each side and one underneath would secure the framed TV to the skinny cabinet and potentially add several inches of viewing diagonal length. 
 

Just a wild idea…but you never know and need to think out of the box

[jacwjames]

29 minutes ago, Ray Davis said:

Years ago I removed the old CRT tv and cut the center cabinet back.  Man that old tv was heavy, I mean real heavy.  The center cabinet was actually pretty easy to take  down, plus it comes apart easy.   I'm not near 6 ft 2 so you hit your shoulder I hit my head,  maybe that's what is wrong with me today.  LOL   I'm definately not a wood worker but mine still turned out near perfect or at least no one has ever noticed.  I left where it touches the ceiling the same and cut from the curve down to approx 4" back at the bottom.  

On my 03 Windsor the TV elect box serves as a junction that feeds the passenger side back as far as the bath.  A wire nut came loose in the TV receptacle box killing the whole pass side elect.  I just about gave up trying to trace the problem, it seemed all wrong that power would go up to the TV before coming back to the kitchen slide.      I decided that most of my wires leave the breakers and go to the center overhead then travel front or back.   As I recall you can disconnect 12 volt power to the tv box to eleminate the tv cutting off while traveling.

Jim, hallelujah another short guy.  I always wanted to be taller but instead I'm getting shorter, now that's cruel.  Short has advantges though we can crawl in and under things big guys can't.  It's a small consulation though. LOL pun intended.

I remember when I took the old CRT TV out back in ~2010, I was having a heck of a time figuring out how they held it in place and found 2 screws on the bottom of the cabinet.  So I removed but when I got the last one out the TV fell forward directly onto my back.  Luckily I was able to balance it with my arms/hands and back up to the couch and dropped it onto the cushions.  It was very heavy. 

Here's a couple pictures of my current TV mount.  If I do try and modify I'd like to keep the storage, I put a shelf in the box and it nicely holds DVD's and CD's.  Underneath more storage.  I'd hate to loose that.

 

[MyronTruex]

Suggestion, rip the dvd's and cd's and you will have lots of extra space. We initially moved them into cd holders much like picture holders. They are bulky enough but no way we could store the hundreds of cd's and home movies onboard since we fulltime.

The original cd holders are in storage so the wife is happy about that. 

The ripping process did take a long time but was well worth it. There are many ways to play them when ripped. 

I wish there was a way for me to insulate over my front cabinet. They threw these together in 2008 and there is no insulation in the roof between that space. That part of the roof is painted dark brown. The heat that comes in there destroyed electronics until I managed to build a fan powered vent.

 

[RNMCBR]

I did mine a couple months ago. I was able to raise the TV bottom about 4 1/2”. I also rebuilt the rest of the cabinets to eliminate the false fronts and increase the height of interiors. This also included facias to cover the side shades. All the woodwork is solid Cherry with veneer plywood bottoms. I reused the doors. This also gave me opportunity to reorganize the rats nest of wiring up front. 
 

[sg47619]

On 7/26/2022 at 10:41 PM, ok-rver said:

I stand 6'2" and my shoulders fill a 48 tall sports coat. The corner of the front center TV cabinet has been a pain in my shoulder way too many times. I now have cut back the  front edge 4" and raised the bottom 1" and on initial trial fit up, it is much easier to get up the stairs. Pictures to follow later this week as it gets stained and reinstalled.

In the TV cabinet, I found a duplex 120 outlet that is always on plus the relay operated single TV outlet that goes off when the ignition is on. These are shown on my wiring schematic. A second duplex always on is mounted in the curb side compartment that had the VHS and cable management switch plugged in, also shown. Not shown on the schematic is two 120 cables in the single outlet relay. I am thinking seriously about removing at least the relay part of this outlet but am a a loss as to where this would feed.  It is possible that 120 non-switched passes thru this box to the other outlets. I guess pulling the curbside duplex outlet out to see if it has pass thru power and then pulling the relay box apart will be needed.

My dash radio is not blue tooth. Planing on replacing it and have been looking for a dash DVD unit but have not found anything that I think will work. Originally I had hoped to tie into the ceiling speakers from the radio. There are dash DVD players that have HDMI out but getting a cable fro the center of the dash to the upper cabinet for the TV may be a difficult route thru the A pillar. May go with a small sound bar and small DVD player in one of the side compartments.

The 32' flat screen TV (not original) that came with the MH is really a little too small. A Samsung 40" is 36" wide and it would hang over so much the side compartment doors would hit if the TV was not pulled out and angled.  Best Buy has a 39" but it is 34.5" wide and still hangs over the compartment.

It seems we park a lot with the front of the MH pointed West which results in a hot front even with windshield covers. Removing the cabinet, there is 4" of pink fiberglass insulation sagging badly as it goes across above the roll down sun shades and up to the roof. The plan is to put in two layers of 3/4" foam that is scored to create a radius similar to the section above the windshield. Use it to hold the fiberglass closer to the skin.

Wondering what others have done.

 

I did mine in a 01 Monaco Dynasty.   I took it out cut 4 1/2 inches off the height and 3 1/2 inches of the depth and put a swing out bracket on the 32” flat screen. 

[wamcneil]

On 7/26/2022 at 9:41 PM, ok-rver said:

Wondering what others have done.

 

Really need to post pictures of your configuration in order to get meaningful feedback.

Unless you're willing to rip it all out and fabricate all new cabinetry, your choices will mostly be dictated by your existing cabinetry.

Cheers,

Walter

[hickerson.richard]

I had a similar problem with bumping my head (it is hard but not that hard).  I solved it by removing the CRT TV and cabinet.  I made a new cabinet and spacer fashioned after the satellite receiver cabinet.  I removed the upholstery under the front cabinets and replaced it with 1/4 oak plywood and made some new bumper pads. Removing the cabinet uncovered some bare ceiling.  I found some spare ceiling material over the refrigerator and used it to fill the bare spot.  I used the cabinets over the dash for WiFi repeaters, routers, and cable splinters, etc.

I made a new equipment cabinet apposite the living room couch and installed a retractable flat screen smart TV.  All connections cables were routed thru the left side of the window box frame and under the base of the cabinets over the entry door.  The new equipment cabinet has power outlets and wire ways in each drawer. 

[trstaska]

I put a 40in Samsung in a 2006 Diplomat. This is how it looks. I am 6ft. One shot showing old tv in new box.

Two shot showing new setup. 

T Staska 0 6 Diplomat 

 

[Just Jim]

On 7/28/2022 at 10:20 AM, sg47619 said:

I did mine in a 01 Monaco Dynasty.   I took it out cut 4 1/2 inches off the height and 3 1/2 inches of the depth and put a swing out bracket on the 32” flat screen. 

Yours is in the same spot as mine.  You were able to remove the TV cabinet only and cut it down?  I have only looked briefly, but the screws holding it in were not readily apparent to me.  Suggestions where to look for the connecting points?  Thanks,  Jim

[hickerson.richard]

I did this work about 8 years ago.  There are square headed screws to the ceiling support and to the side cabinets; some may be hidden under the side panels.  If you can't find them, use a sawzall with metal cutting blade.  I did not try to save the old cabinet; I made them out of white/red oak.  Since the TV cabinet was on an angle, some a small (~8") spacer cabinet was made to extend the side cabinet to mate with the new replacement cabinet.  If I had to do it over again, I would probably make a new longer side cabinet.  This also relieved a bare triangular portion of the ceiling  which I filled with some material from the frig enclosure.

Hope this helps, Rick

[sg47619]

3 hours ago, Jim Bob said:

Yours is in the same spot as mine.  You were able to remove the TV cabinet only and cut it down?  I have only looked briefly, but the screws holding it in were not readily apparent to me.  Suggestions where to look for the connecting points?  Thanks,  Jim

If you look close at the first picture it shows three screws on the left side and there are three on the right. And if I remember right there are a couple in the top at an angle. I took it completely out and took into my shop and cut it down in there. 

Just now, sg47619 said:

If you look close at the first picture it shows three screws on the left side and there are three on the right. And if I remember right there are a couple in the top at an angle. I took it completely out and took into my shop and cut it down in there. 

 

2 minutes ago, sg47619 said:

If you look close at the first picture it shows three screws on the left side and there are three on the right. And if I remember right there are a couple in the top at an angle. I took it completely out and took into my shop and cut it down in there. 

 

This what it looks like now

[ok-rver]

A lot of great ideas. I would have approached mine a little different if I had waited for these responses. As the side picture on the modified compartment shows, the original crossbar at the front of the CRT TV left an indent in the ceiling material along with a couple of holes from screws. I wanted to cover these. original, it seemed best to leave some of the original side boards to cover the sides. I filled in the center with a 4" piece of oak. In hind side, it would have been easier to cut the side boards back the 4" all the way to the top and used a 6" wide board a little wider than the original cabinet to cover the indentations. If I ever go to a bigger TV and need to get closer to the ceiling in storage, that's probably what I will do. 

I cut only 1" off the height of the cabinet to have the room below the TV in the cabinet for a sound bar or larger TV.  The bottom board would have to been cut due to the 4" off the front. I pulled the "picture frame" at the front apart and took 1" off the sides. I might not have had to change the height if I had left the cabinet full height.

I am interested in those that pulled the side compartments off, how difficult it was to pull off and return. I have a steel tube that appears to run the full width of the MH that the center compartment is attached too with a bracket on each side. I could not find any screws for the side compartments but they were tight to the steel tube.

Much easier getting in and out of the MH. Well worth the time to modify. 

Again, thanks to all that have responded. These are great ideas for the next guys to sort thru and determine their approach.

Edited August 7, 2022 by ok-rver

[Guest Ray Davis]

I did almost exactly what you did at the ceiling, however I raised the bottom essentially so it matched the bottom of the TV. About 5 or 6 inches can't remember.

I removed the TV cabinet but not the side cabinets.   Why do you want to remove them?

Edited August 7, 2022 by Ray Davis

[ok-rver]

If I go to a bigger TV, I would shrink one or both of the side cabinets to make the center wider.  A 40" Samsung is a little over 36" wide. the doors on my cabinet are about 33" apart. Taking 5" out of the driver over head compartment would let me move the sides of the center out enough to position a larger TV like the 32" that is there now.

Have not found any smart TVs under 39" or 40" that are larger than the 32" I have.