Visit our Popular Forums

aftermath · 11-10-2009, 07:28 AM

I have to replace my TV and was directed towards the Jensen brand. These are designed for RVs and are supposed to withstand the vibration, heat and cold conditions better. When looking, I see that they offer a 19 inch TV that is 12 volt. Are there any benefits to having a 12 volt unit over a regular 110 volt house unit? I can get a 22 inch VISIO out of Costco for a fraction of the cost.

I do have a built in inverter in the trailer so I could use either when boondocking? I would love to hear any takes on this dilemma.

Thanks in advance,

Dick

Antique Pedaler · 11-10-2009, 08:03 AM

We've had a Jensen 12 Volt RV TV for several years. It is bullet proof, not bothered by temperature extremes. We got it because we boondock a lot, have solar power and don't need an inverter.

jimmini · 11-10-2009, 12:00 PM

3 weeks ago we got a Naxa 15.6", Model NX552 with DVD player.Runs on 12VDC or 120AC.So far we like it a lot.Looks like a good set for our Boondocking if we are at a place that you can even get TV.

TV boondocking at Quartzsite AZ over the air is not good.

Jim Foster · 11-10-2009, 12:14 PM

A friend just got a new trailer with a Jensen. He was trying to program the his Direct TV remote to operate the TV. No code listed, so he called Direct. They told him that the Direct remote will not operate a Jensen.

Anyone else have different info?

rseagle · 11-10-2009, 02:55 PM

This might help.

12V DC TVs - 12 Volt Digital LCD Televisions - Portable 12 Volt Color TV

3 Dog Nite · 11-10-2009, 05:18 PM

Most major truck stops (Pilot, Flying J, Loves) & some independent ones sell them. You'll find many 12 volt appliances there. We had a small 2 cup coffee maker in our truck for use while driving.

Ricky

OB Bambi · 11-11-2009, 10:19 PM

I have a 12 voltDC, 19" HDTV with a DVD player built in from Target. It is a Polaroid. It works well and uses 12 volts or has a transformer that you can plug into 120volts. I have had it about a year and a half and have had no problems. Albeit I have no temperature low extremes to help. It works fine in heat. It cost $329.

Randy Bowman

AirsDream · 11-12-2009, 06:25 AM

The best reason to go direct to a 12 VDC TV so far as I'm aware is that you get losses when running through an inverter from your battery bank. And there also are energy losses in charging the batteries from a solar system or even from shore power and then more losses in going back from 12 volt to 120 via the inverter. Then if the TV actually runs internally on 12 volt, you've got more losses in taking the 120 VAC back to 12 VDC ... so you're just using more energy (and if on battery power, more amp hours) than if you went direct. If you're on shore power or a generator, you probably won't notice the difference.

I'm currently looking myself, and I note that Toshiba used to have two smaller models that ran on 12 VDC and have DVD players built in, but a call to them this morning reveals that they no longer make such a machine ... seems to me that such a model (and maybe now it's the Jensen or Polaroid?) that has a 12v power adapter and a built-in DVD player helps solve the Quartzsite issue ... I don't watch much if any TV, but like movies ...

Ryanh

Lumatic · 11-12-2009, 07:17 AM

A lot of 120 TVs are stepped down to a lower voltage by the transformer that plugs into the wall outlet. The transformer will tell you what voltage the TV acutually runs on. If it's 12v you are in luck.

I bought 2 small 120/12v TV/DVD units. Akai and Audiovox. Both DVD drives failed. For the Audiovox I bought an extended warranty. I returned it for repair and they lost it. They did not have another Audiovox so they gave me a 120 only Sharp as a loaner which cost 2x as much as the Audiovox. They never contacted me again about the Audiovox. So far no problems with the Sharp. I use a 400w generic modified sine wave converter when not running 120.

man7sell · 01-17-2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rseagle

This might help.

12V DC TVs - 12 Volt Digital LCD Televisions - Portable 12 Volt Color TV

Perfect, that's answering my question before I asked.

THEPILL · 02-10-2010, 04:35 PM

Last week went to Best BUY and Bought a 22" Insignia LED flat screen thats a 12v 3 amp.

Just buy the adaptor at radio shack.

279.00

Hope that helps.

Shane

Zia · 03-23-2011, 10:51 PM

I am considering to replace my current Toshiba 120V
tv/
dvd combo with 12 V combo. There are three brand NAXA, Supersonic and Skyworth 22" 12V combo available. Does any body has any recommendations?
Will appreciate the input

robwok · 03-24-2011, 07:09 AM

I've noticed that some of the newer LED Vizio TV's have a cord that plugs in the back that is a little different than the old style plugs. They make them smaller by putting the AC converter in the cord, like the small box you see inline in your laptop cord. I believe the voltage coming in is 12v, which just means you need an adapter. I haven't had the time to stop by a store and verify this yet. However, you may have to have your DVD seperate. I will say that a seperate DVD option will be much cheaper. You can also get a ROKU which means you can stream Netflix movies. That's a great option if the campground has WIFI. Or, if you can get your cell phone to act as a wireless hotspot.

mojo · 03-24-2011, 07:23 AM

I just bought a Supersonic 22" 12v TV. It is nice, good picture but cheezzy speakers. I run it through the stereo system. The wall mounting with a 3" square pattern is very wobbly. I got a versa plate and added my own mounting holes to the back to make it more secure. I believe they are discontinuing this size/model, I got it at Overstock.com. On another note, you can buy any TV that has a box transformer on the power cord. Some of these TV's are 12v, 15v, or 18v. But you can get a 12v converter that plugs into the 12v wall jack and it has selectable setting to match the TV voltage. I have a 15" Motorola for the bedroom that is 18v and with the converter it works fine. Most 12v TVs now come with the DVD player built in.

Ronald D · 03-24-2011, 07:57 AM

I bought a 12" Panasonic 120/12 volt for our Pace Arrow in 1992. It still works so well I can't replace it.

AirsDream · 03-24-2011, 08:15 AM

I ultimately went with a Polaroid that I got from Overstock or one of those places, and it runs fine using trailer 12v. Nice built-in DVD player, and it has HDMI inputs (useful for viewing my hi-def "home videos" while on the road), and has stereo outputs so I can run the sound through the trailer's stereo, etc. Can't comment on your proposed brands, however.

Zia · 03-24-2011, 03:42 PM

I decided to buy a Skyworth 22" 12-Volt LCD TV with built-in DVD Player. Hopefully it will be more economical when boondocking as compare to inverter + 120 Volt TV.

squashy · 04-04-2011, 03:48 PM

We just got a Vizio 22. Less then an inch thick and only takes a sub $15 to plug it directly into the cigarette lighter in the trailer. I posted a video in the Basecamp forum that shows the TV. Currently we just hook it up to our iPad 2 and have a great setup for boondocking.

Zia · 04-05-2011, 10:40 AM

I just baught a 22" TV/DVD combo made by Skyworth and replaced the old 19" Toshiba unit. It is a 12 Volt unit which plugs into the RV. It is a new model, Skyworth just introduced and suppose to use 58 watt power, it has some good features, like DVD player can be easily removed if needs to be, being a low reliability item (mechanical system).
There are couple of other manufacturer Naxa and Supersonic. You can buy any of these from Truck supplies place for about $300. You can also run it on a 120V, it has transformer in the cord just like laptop units. I am taking my the AS out this weekend to test it out in the field.

submariner · 04-05-2011, 11:13 AM

Here my 2 Cent's :

from an electrical standpoint: if you use a inverter to produce 120Volt for a 120V TV, you will be discharging your batteries at a much faster rate than on a 12 Volt TV. not good for Boon Docking

about the TV:
i would strongly recommend Jensen 12 Volt or simular . the reason is, that the Jensen not only can withstand the extreme temparature and moisture changes much better than any "regular TV" (they have protected circuit boards), the Jensen has a re-inforced internal structure to support the TV better, without breaking apart due to vibration.. a regular TV will eventually Fail / brake due to weak mounting points.
And No, i do not work for Jensen.
I tried several regular TV's on small Cabin cruisers/ boats and we had a lot of warranty issues, due to corrosion/ or just due to broken mounts on the TV. the warranty issues dissappared with Jensen.