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Cracker · 04-11-2007, 10:18 AM

I just looked at an interior photo of a 34' Airstream with an LCD TV mounted where my current fold-down table is located in the bedroom. This wall is one side of the "pocket" for the sliding door to the bathroom. As such, it is fairly thin and flexible. The present shelf, when folded down, has enough strength to hold a small 12" TV - but I wouldn't want to try and travel with the TV there. Aside from that, you have to be a bit of a contortionist to get around it if you get out of the bed on the curb side. My question is, just how is the LCD TV mounted to afford a secure support when underway???

ZoominC6 · 04-11-2007, 11:09 AM

Cracker,
Thanks for asking that question. We have the same problem. When we want to watch TV or a DVD in the bedroom we lift the LCD out from storage under the bed, lower the shelf on the wall and go through all the hook up steps. Getting out of bed requires sliding down to the end of the bed. There has to be someone out there that has solved this problem and I hope he or she can give a good answer.
Give this some thought. Laminate a piece of finished plywood to the wall by gluing and screwing. Countersink some attaching screws/bolts to the laminated portion from behind and into the TV mount. The size of the screws into the thin wall of the door pocket would have to be determined by first drilling a test hole to determine the thickness of the wall panel. It would take several attaching screws I'm thinking and a good panel adhesive. The screws could be covered with the wood caps such as are found elsewhere in our trailers. A nice piece of SS might work just as well for a mounting plate depending on the interior finish of your cabin walls.
How does that sound? Unless someone comes up with a better solution, I may give it a whirl this Spring.

Cracker · 04-11-2007, 07:35 PM

Sounds like a good idea - spreading the load out over a panel glued/screwed to the wall. For positive security, and in order to leave the TV mounted, I would still like to have some sort of "thru wall" connections - like "tee nuts" - but I don't know how to place them. Even if we removed the sliding door I don't believe that there's room to get a tee nut in place by reaching in with your arm. Hopefully someone else will chime in with an idea.

thecatsandi · 04-11-2007, 10:14 PM

I can answer this question!
Ok i had it easy. My Clothes storage is right behind where I wanted to mount the TV. I removed the fold down table. And in my opinion it should be deleted as an option. It is not longer needed.
I already had most of what I needed to do this. THe TV and the mounting arm. I moved my tv from the living area to the bedroom and put a larger TV in the living area.
THis means I had the TV and mounting arm. I Through bolted the arm and put a pieace of lexan between the arm and the wall. I had some leftover from another project. I put the bumper cushions on the lexan and mounted the tied downs through the lexan into the wall.

The thru bolts have three washers and two nuts on the back. THe large washer is to spead out the load and the small one is to fill in the hole. A third lock washer is to keep the whole thing together. The first nut holds the whole thing to the wall and the second acorn nut keeps things from snaging on the bolt end.

ANy questions?

ROBERTSUNRUS · 04-12-2007, 12:46 AM

Hi, Michelle. Great job on mounting your Television on the wall. Once again you have proven to be one talented person. I would like to add one thing though; Instead of useing a large washer, in diameter, for support inside of the wall and a smaller diameter washer to fit the bolt, you might consider useing a "Body Washer" [automotive] they have a small hole to fit the bolt and a large outside diameter for support. Body washers come in several sizes and sold at almost any hardware store.

Safari Tim · 04-12-2007, 12:53 AM

I think that washer is also called a fender washer.

I purchased the mounting plate from Airstream for about $30. They take several screws to help distribute the load. I put a 1/2" plywood on the back side of the cabinet wall.

ZoominC6 · 04-12-2007, 05:46 AM

Thanks guys but I believe what Cracker and I have may be a bit different situation. For me anyhow, the desired location is on one side of a POCKET DOOR wall and not a wall on which it's possible to place a thru-bolt. Even if we removed the pocket door we would have an impossible time getting to the nuts onto the bolts. Even if it were possible, we'd risk the bolt head scratching the pocket door leaf facing as the door were opened and closed. I hope I made this clear enough for you to understand. I wish our situation were as simple as yours.

All of your applications look great.

clancy_boy · 04-12-2007, 06:17 AM

Not really impossible but it will be tough. Use carriage bolts from the inside of the of the pocket door compartment and use an acorn nut like Michelle describes above to dress up the outside look. A carriage bolt is a bolt with a dome top that will not have a rough exterior to damage the door. The trick will be to get one the correct length to allow the acorn nut to firmly hold the assembly to the wall. The carrage bolt will have a bite on the wood with the square head on the underside of the round dome. Measure carefully and buy them in 1/8 inch increments and use the ones that fit best. They are not that expensive - under .35 cents each at Home Depot in SS.

Now getting your hand in the door pocket - get a kid to do it.

Cracker · 04-12-2007, 09:30 AM

Good suggestion with reference to the carriage bolts - but again we need a skinny long-armed monkey to place the bolts! Besides - I haven't figured out how to dismount the door yet. All I can come up with is to cut a circular hand hole in the wall, using my Roto Zip, in a position that would allow me to drill & place four carriage bolts or tee nuts around the perimeter of the hand hole. If I epoxied the heads of the bolts before placing them I might be able to initially secure them in the wall - using the nuts to draw them tight until the epoxy hardened. Afterwards I would pre-drill, glue, and bolt the TV support panel in place, covering the hand hole in the process. This all sounds like a real PITA so I'm still all ears for any other suggestions.

thecatsandi · 04-12-2007, 09:53 AM

All mounting hardware is stainless. I could not find a "body" washer in stainless. I did not want any of the hardware rusting and staining my clothes.
A lot of my talent and confidence comes from getting my Aircraft Maint license. Lot of training in all sorts of things.

thecatsandi · 04-12-2007, 10:00 AM

Tim,
That works fine for the 19 inch LCD but I put a 23 in my living area. It was significantly heavier. My fridge prevents me from bolting through the wall. I too have the factory plate and removed the studs. I then bolted the new heavier arm through the mounting plate. I added more screws around the top of the arm mount and top of the plate to keep it from pulling away from the wall.

thecatsandi · 04-12-2007, 10:06 AM

say no to epoxy! if you ever need to remove it it will be nearly impossible.

Drilling the hole and covering it with a plate is a good idea. T-nuts would work as well.

To make mine look good on the outside I used countersunk bolts. They sit nearly flush with the mounting plate of the arm.

Cracker · 04-12-2007, 10:16 AM

Once I cut out a circular hole in the wall the installation is going to be fairly permanent anyway! My only other thought was to come up with a mount consisting of two poles running from floor to ceiling - secured to the floor, and somehow to the ceiling or upper wall, with a mounting panel attached thereto. Sort of like the old "pole lamps" that use to be popular.

flyfisher · 04-12-2007, 02:04 PM

Why not telephone one of the customer service guys at the factory and ask them for suggestions? Jim Paret has always been very helpful whenever I've talked to him.

Doing away with that fold down table and adding a wall mount for a TV is probably something they should be doing on new models coming from the factory anyway these days.

My wife and I have a slightly different issue with our 30' Classic. Since we have the twin bed option, we have hanging overheard wardrobes at the foot of each bed (they must have had a way of fastening them to the wall or ceiling in front of that pocket door because ours haven't fallen down yet!).

We don't have any fold down table. However, our TV jack is on the back wall inside the curbside hanging wardrobe at the end of the bed -- I guess you're supposed to stick your head inside the wardrobe to watch TV --ugh!

Incidentally, I think the door that slides into the wall in our trailer is simply held in place by a couple, or several bolts, affixed in the track on top.

John

Cracker · 04-12-2007, 02:26 PM

Contacting Jim Paret is a real good idea! I would like to know just how that wall is constructred and secured to the trailer shell. In the meanwhile, maybe someone else has removed the wall, during a renovation, and can tell us what holds it together?

juel · 04-15-2007, 04:50 PM

I'm ordering a second smaller LCD for the front of the trailer. I want to fasten it to the cabinet end piece. I have replaced that end piece with 1/2 plywood in the original renovation, but it doesn't have any support wall under it. I would like to put the TV on the other side but the electricity is on the side with the sink. Has anyone tried to do this, and how did it work???

jimmini · 04-15-2007, 08:48 PM

Why have any TV? Nothing worth seeing on it.I am out boondocking (camping)to get away from that S---.My Sirius satellite radio alway works and gives me more info than I want or need.Also NO INTERNET real nice.
Jimmini
The Squarestream family.
You laugh at us because we are different.
We laugh at you because you are all the same.

balrgn · 04-18-2007, 03:53 PM

I looked at a few mounting assemblies, ended up making one. Took what I liked from what I saw.

soldiermedic · 05-19-2007, 07:32 PM

I am getting ready to mount my LCD TV, but I have a unique issue. The wall I want to mount to is only 1/8" walnut veneered plywood. It is framed with cedar 1x2's. The TV is only 15" and is pretty light. I wonder if it is more beneficial to screw into the 1x2 studs, or do as Michelle has done and bolt to the wall with a piece of lexan, and acorn nut the back of the bolt. Whatever the case, I don't have alot of room to work with.

Steve

**jcanavera** · 05-19-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cracker

Contacting Jim Paret is a real good idea! I would like to know just how that wall is constructred and secured to the trailer shell. In the meanwhile, maybe someone else has removed the wall, during a renovation, and can tell us what holds it together?

Cracker I hear ya. I've mulled over this pocket door for some time ago with the same thought to mount my LCD TV to the wall. That door is not easy to get out. My dealer had to replace the front pocket door that separates the front of the trailer from the bath. They told me that it's not an easy job. Apparently some screws that secured the fridge protruded enough into the pocket to scratch the door.

The key I think is to mount some renforcement inside the pocket on that bedroom wall. Even with the door out I think my hand is too big to get in that pocket. That wall is pretty thin and you really need to spread that weight over a larger area. I think the factory mount has at least 6 screws in it.

Jack