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denarmstrng's avatar
denarmstrng
Explorer
Jan 11, 2015

New Sound System/Electronics for old MH

Hi All, my rig is a, 1998 Holiday Rambler Imperial MH which is all old school electronics and I would like to enter the 21st century. My in dash radio is tired, backup camera is tired, remote CD player won’t load disks. I have already changed the front TV to a new flat screen. But I didn’t hook up the surround sound from the in dash radio because the old TV was monaural and the new one is stereo. I have a switch box (all coax no HDMI) that switches the dish/TV/Cable with mechanical push buttons and I really would like to update all of it but I’m not sure what my options are with the new technology. Also not sure where to go to get this work done RV Service Dealer verses Car audio installation Dealer.

4 Replies

  • I rather like the idea of a dash stereo also. You can get them with all the bells and whistles so they would perform as an element of your entire entertainment system. They can also come with displays that can be used with a rear view camera. My entertainment system in my little trailer goes through a typical dash mount style head unit. This might be a good time to convert all the old CDs to MP3s.
  • denarmstrng wrote:
    Wow TechWriter that is quite a system you have. I’m pretty sure I am not competent enough to even operate it. But it's all good info. Right now I’m thinking I should start with a new in dash radio because mine is not working. I really miss the traffic info and news while we are traveling. I am ok with using the in dash radio for the TV sound and music both but not sure which head to buy that will do both and hook up to the new stereo TV and also maybe have a port to hook up an iPod instead of a cd player. What do you think?

    Check out www.crutchfield.com.
  • Wow TechWriter that is quite a system you have. I’m pretty sure I am not competent enough to even operate it. But it's all good info. Right now I’m thinking I should start with a new in dash radio because mine is not working. I really miss the traffic info and news while we are traveling. I am ok with using the in dash radio for the TV sound and music both but not sure which head to buy that will do both and hook up to the new stereo TV and also maybe have a port to hook up an iPod instead of a cd player. What do you think?
  • My 2001 Newmar had a system similar to yours -- where the dash stereo is the "heart" of the system. If you want 21st century AV, I would make an AV receiver (not a dash stereo) the heart of your system.

    If you're handy, you can do it yourself. Otherwise, start calling around.

    I installed a house-style AV system. Because I didn't want to end up using the crummy motorhome speaker system, I just bypassed the dash system:

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