Front TV modification

[jacwjames]

I've gone through 3 TV's in the front.  Initially I replaced the Analog Tube TV with a 32" flatscreen, the dimensions allowed it to fit between the sides of the cabinet.  This TV was pretty heavy and eventually the mounting on the back started to fail, had to make some fast repairs to hold it in place.   Replaced that one with a Westinghouse which started having problems with the picture color, everything went green.  So I moved a 32" TCL Roku TV from the house.  This worked great but with the larger TV's getting lighter and lighter I started looking at upgrading to a 43". 

I know a lot of people who done some creative modifications with the Televator lifts behind a sofa or fireplace but that wasn't an option for me, wife needs the floor space for dog crates. 

So I had to look at the how I could do it.  We have several TCL 43" TV's so I looked at the back, went to Walmart and looked at if they were about the same.  The sound bar is across the bottom of the TV and the back is curved but above that it's flat.  So I took a chance and bought a 43 TCL TV, it was $148, last year I bought one and it was +$250.  We actually have 5 TCL's in the house and haven't had a problem with them (yet!).  Like the ROKU. 

Anyway, I removed the TV box.  Everything is held in with pocket screws, tight fit but it came out assembles.  Put it on my work table and started to disassemble.  One thing I had to be careful with was the wood in the coach has all faded so I couldn't willy nilly making cuts and make a mistake to avoid mismatched wood color.  My cabinets are Walnut but the the color fading it looks more like cherry.  See picture

Once I got the cabinet apart and measuring the TV I decide to cut the width of the side to same depth of the two small cabinets on the sides, ~14.5".  

To play it safe and I then put the sides of the cabinet back in and using Kreg vise grip type clamps I temporarily placed the bottom and lifted the TV up and looked at where to place the bottom of the cabinet so the sound bar was below and then I could put the TV mount to hold the TV at that height.  Decided to cut the sides to 21" in the front, if needed I could cut more later.  Cut the sides and then mounted them back into the coach. 

Surprisingly the bottom didn't have to be cut width wish.  The original Box had a face frame and was tapered toward the bottom.  Glad I test fitted before cutting. 

Used all the same pocket screw slots to fasten the bottom in place.  Then looked at how far back I needed to move my original mount for the TV, I had used a 1.5" square aluminum balluster with angle at the top and a locking type plate at the bottom screwed into the bottom.  It had worked well for the last 10 years so I didn't need to change,  just shorten it and reposition it.  I moved it back ~3".   At the top I used the drop piece of  to move the top back and reposiitioned the bottom.  I did have to cut the bottom of the TV Swing arm mount off to keep it as low to the bottom of the cabinet.  It all seemed to go back in pretty good. 

So I took the mount plate off the swing arm and put it on the TV and then put it back onto the swing arm.  Looked like I was pretty close in my measuring but I need to do some tweaking but I can do this by moving some spacers to lower the TV ~1/4" .  By doing that the sound bar will slide under the bottom self and the TV will fit tight against the side cabinets.  I'll see if I can add some support under the swing arm so it can rest on it will traveling down the road.  

By using the swing out type TV mount I'll still have access to the two side cabinets.  I lost a little storage space behind the TV but still enough room for CD's, DVD's and misc stuff.

I am going to take the drop pieces and make a small shelf on the drivers side of the cabinet, this will hold the WeBoost antenna, router, and IPhone I use for internet access.  I use a power strip for the TV, may move that to the outside for easy access and just drill a hole for the plug and Weboost antenna and may pt the amplifier out there also. 

I'm not done but got a lot done in 2 days.  Went better then thought it would.

 

I'll add to the post as I finish up the project.

I am also going to add shelves on the inside for better storage and I have a piece of vinyl same color as the ceiling to cover the back of the cabinet to hide the wires and insulation (which I added when I first did the TV change. 

[Mark B]

Nice work Jim. I too have a 2002 Windsor, I used Samsung - 43" Class CU8000. It is super thin (1”) and no hump on the back. I don’t want to highjack your post but here are the pictures of my project. I also switched out my curtains for Shade Pro day night shades. I had to make new valances and painted them to match using duplicolor Nutmeg vinyl paint. I cut about 8” off the top of the TV box, that gives such a better view out the front window. The only issue is the gap it left in front of the valance. The power shades cover most of it but I made a small piece to fill it in. I took the two visors down and used the wires to power the new day night shades.

[jacwjames]

No problem posting, same coach, different approaches but the final outcome is similar.

By cutting down the cabinet I gained reduced how far the TV sticks out.  Still a potential head Knocker but not as bad as it was.  By using the swing out mount I still have some storage, which is always needed. 

 

Like your shade modification, I was thinking about that the other day.  But that's for another day/post😄

[Mick Adair]

Jim, installing that insulation behind the TV is an awesome idea! I need to do that but for the life of me I can't figure out how the previous owner mounted the flat screen TV in there now. I've taken my cellphone and taken pictures and it appears I need to get my nephew to reach his little arms in there and unscrew the mount - by feel. Below the TV there is just enough room to slide a DVD player in there.....

[jacwjames]

Take a picture of the back and post, maybe as a group we might be able to figure it out. 

Back at it today, I removed the TV and moved some of the spacers out in the articulated arm to lower the mount ~1/2".  That worked, now the rear of the TV misses the shelf.  So that part is done.

Started to work on finishing out the space behind the TV.  I bought a 2.5" computer grommet to be able to pull the cables through, mounted this just below the two outlets on the drivers side. 

I reused the vinyl piece from when I rehab'd the cabinet before, this gave a finished look and actually fit better since I cut the cabinet down a little.  I was able to push it up above the back of the cabinet which holds in place.  Had to cut a notch for the vertical TV support.  Then took the side pieces and reworked them to cover the side holes where the wiring runs.  All worked pretty good and does improve the final look.

I took one of the Norcold door inserts and cut it down for a shelf.  Working around the vertical post was a little bit of a challenge but I finally got it in.  I cut a small opening in the rear drivers side corner to route cables through, this is right above the grommet.  Had to notch for the vertical post.  The shelve was a tight fit, going to position it so a DVD will fit under it,  There will be enough room on top for DVD's or CD's.  I'll add some pieces on each side and the back to support the shelf.  This is similar to what I had done before, the space comes in handy. 

Still have to build a small shelf to mount above the driver for the router and WeBoost antenna.  I'm going to mount the amplifier on the bottom portion of the cabinet above the driver along with a

So far so good, turning out better then expected. 

[Ivan K]

No idea if your troubled mount is on the same principle as the one I used when replacing our old Sony TV in the bedroom but who knows. I wanted a tight semi permanent fit over a smaller opening and the mount uses a long tool from the side, like in the pic. It will insert into a side bolt in the mount, unscrew, lift and remove. 

[jacwjames]

No locking mechanism like that, still thinking about options.

One benefit with the new TV's is that they are substantially lighter then the first one I installed back in 2010.  That was a 32" flat screen by  a lot heavier then the 43" I'm working on now. 

That being said I sill want to some up with a way to reduce the bouncing and stress on the mounting on the rear of the TV. 

[Jwalt5000]

I moved my tv to the corner of the curbside couch on a pull out mount 

I don’t miss the headbanger!

[jacwjames]

Wish I could have done something different but moving the TV anywhere else up front was pretty much a none starter.  My wife has to have enough room for her dog crates, last time she went on a trip the whole passenger side wall from the passenger seat to the refrigerator had dog crates. 

 

So I had to do something else to be able to install a large TV upfront.  I had previously used a swing out mount for a 32" TV so I just reused it.  I did have to move it back ~2", just enough room to fit the TV and still have shelf space.   After shortening the TV I had to cut the post down, I used this piece to move the top of the post back. 

 

 

 

After making sure the TV would fit snug I had to come up with a way to help support.  In my previous install I had used the curved finish piece at the bottom of the shelf.  I started measuring and thought I could use that, cut it in half, one for each side.  It was 4" at the widest which is about what I needed to mate to the bottom of TV.  Went to Lowes and bought two 4" brackets.  Did some measuring, setting the curved piece back far enough so the TV to would push in all the way.   Attached them to the bottom and added the bracket.  It actually looks pretty good and the bracket does support the TV.  I have to lift one side up onto a bracket & then push the other side up/over.  A bulk of the TV weight is resting on these brackets. 

After making sure the supports would work I turned my attention to finishing the shelves on the inside of of the cabinet.  Put one shelf high enough so a DVD or CD would fit on the bottom.    I actually took the edge piece drop from the fridge panel, this is the one tat was routed with the deep curve, since this was all finished wood it all turned out pretty good.  Put the two outlets back in above the top shelf.    Added a piece of trim to serve as a stop on the bottom and used a bungee cord across the top.  Worked pretty good.  I was able to fit all the CD's, DVD's, various cables, binoculars all back in. 

I took pieces of the drops from the cabinet and made a small shelf that I mounted on the side of the cabinet above the drivers seat.  Not sure why the picture is upside down. 

This will hold the travel router and phone I use as a hotspot.   I'll may mount the WeBoost amplifier above the driver or on the inside of the cabinet.  I also have a power strip ordered that has surge suppression and USB charging ports that I'll mount so I can turn off the power as needed. 

So I'm essentially done, after I get the power strip and figure out where I can mount it I'll finish everything up. 

Overall pleased with the change. 

 

Edited November 26 by jacwjames