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jplante4's avatar
jplante4
Explorer II
Apr 04, 2015

TV Project

Completed the big spring project - replacing the old head banger TV with a LED TV in a lift cabinet.

This is what I started with. The old tube-type TV over the driver's head and a lamp table a recliner behind the pax seat.





I took the lamp table out and luckily there was 120V power behind it, and much to my surprise it was wired to the inverter. I reused the wood from the table to build a cabinet to replace the old TV cab, making it the same size as the rest of the overheads.



I made back and side panels as well and put them in loosely. I need to run the cables for the CD changer that's going up there, and I think I can get the XM antenna on top of the new cabinet.

Rough install on the lift cabinet.



And with the lift up.



Final install. I had it screwed down on top of the carpet, but it was a little too wobbly. So I took the feet off the cabinet and cut the carpet out from underneath and bolted it directly to the floor. A channel for the 120V wire and the cable and now it's solid.



Added a 32" LED 1080 and project done.



Total work was about 4 days, most of it building the replacement cabinet. A good solution for the old head banger.
  • Yeah, the old B/U camera setup used the 120V TV overhead for its monitor. Don't need the inverter on anymore.

    Thanx for the tip on the adapter cables. When the new camera comes I'll see what I'll need.
  • jplante4 wrote:


    I ordered the camera before I got into this project and found that the camera feed to the monitor is coax. I have yet to see if the camera I ordered will work. I really didn't want to go wireless, but I may have no choice.

    There's also supposed to be a wire running from the B/U camera switch to turn on the inverter. If it's there, I'll have to figure out where to disconnect that.


    there are all kinds of adapter cables available for these cameras, coax/bnc to rca and vise versa are among the many different type available.

    why would you need the inverter (maybe to turn the old AC tube tv on, but not now) - the new LCD screen should accept 12vdc & eliminate the need to of the dc/ac inverter
  • Nice work!

    I've been thinking of doing the same thing in mine. Since it's an '84, there was no TV at all and really no place to put one except for exactly where you put yours - the table in the lounge area. It's a perfect spot, opposite the couch. What's stopped me is that lift - I haven't seen one for less than around $600. I don't know if a non-electric one exists, but that's what I'd be looking for. I, too, have a 32" 1080p TV and it only weighs 11 lbs. If there were a lift that manually pulls up and locks, that would be ideal.
  • jwmII wrote:
    Nice job all around. What are you doing for the backup camera receiver?


    The backup camera didn't work anyway, so I have a new camera and monitor on the way. I may just mount the monitor to the bottom of the new cabinet.

    I ordered the camera before I got into this project and found that the camera feed to the monitor is coax. I have yet to see if the camera I ordered will work. I really didn't want to go wireless, but I may have no choice.

    There's also supposed to be a wire running from the B/U camera switch to turn on the inverter. If it's there, I'll have to figure out where to disconnect that.
  • i took out the overhead TV and use it for storage space, i built a desk behind the passenger seat for the TV and my laptop, it also has the DVD player and the Digital PVR/DVR and external hard drives

    under the old TV cabinet i mounted a "flip down" LCD display, normally used for entertainment, i mounted off to the left side, more or less in line between my eyes and the windshield pillar, a $1 cable adapter couples the OEM cable to the display

    its at the perfect height and easy to see
  • Nice job all around. What are you doing for the backup camera receiver?