Converting an old TV to a LED TV in the RV

[MagillaGorilla]

I am about to take delivery of a 2006 Class A and it has old tube type TVs in it. I want to switch them to LED TVs and have a few questions about it.

Do I need a digital converter box?

Do I need a new antenna?

Besides a mount and some minor carpentry work, what do I need to make this work?


The current set up is 100% stock.

[tenbear]

The LED TVs are so much lighter and thinner than the old CRT TVs that you have many more options where to mount it. Think about where you would really like the TV to be and see if you can put it there. Use the old cabinet for storage.

[rk911]

MagillaGorilla wrote:
I am about to take delivery of a 2006 Class A and it has old tube type TVs in it. I want to switch them to LED TVs and have a few questions about it.

Do I need a digital converter box?

Do I need a new antenna?

Besides a mount and some minor carpentry work, what do I need to make this work?


The current set up is 100% stock.

no
no
money.

the digital-to-analog converter box is only needed on old analog TV sets. the newer digital sets...LCD/LED and plasma, have a built-in digital tuner.

there is no such thing as a digital antenna. assuming your current antenna is working well it will work with your digital set. but you need to be aware that there are reception issues with digital signals. many factors are involved but a properly working antenna is not one of them. there is a ton of information about digital TV online. just google 'Digital TV in an RV'

good luck.

[Johno02]

We were lucky when changing ours out, and I was able to use the base that came with the TV to mount it. Used a saw to trim the front of the base so it wouldn't stick out in front, then drilled a couple of holes for screws to hold it down. It fit behind the faceframe, so a bit of foam , and a strap across the back to reduce vibration, and we were done!

[MrWizard]

When I shop for TV, I look for forward facing speakers
Not easy to find, most are in the top or bottom and face the rear
Lack of volume can be a real problem in some tv's
Our current Vizio has them in the top, and would be a problem if it were mounted high in the forward cabinets over the windshield
But we have it mounted on my desk with a pc monitor mount

[Happytraveler]

We converted the front overhead TV cabinet into a storage cabinet with a door to match the rest of our cabinets. Then we had a 47 inch TV installed on our slide-out.

[George_H]

Determine where you want to mount TV and take measurements with you when you shop. I was able to mount a 32in. LG in place of the old Sony in the entertainment center and a 19in. Samsung in place of the 13in. set in the bedroom.

[IAMICHABOD]

One thing to remember when purchasing a TV for the RV is to look at the viewing angle, if you can go to the store and sit lower then off to each side to see what it looks like at those angles.

Most times in a RV you wont be looking straight on at it. I found out the hard way after buying and returning 2 TVs, that sometimes at those angles the screen is washed out or black making them un-viewable.

After buying a Samsung and a RCA I found a Insignia that has a much larger viewing angle, 160 horizontal and 160° vertical viewing angles. I Run it off a small inverter or AC if I have hookups.

In my RV with the TV in the front or the rear bedroom you have to look up at it. This TV works great in both areas. The DVD quality is excellent.

[vermilye]

If it is of any help, here is a PDF of a conversion someone asked me to make available.

[BB_TX]

As above, I just took the old TV (2007 model RV) out and got a new LED LCD. Worked fine with the existing antenna. No box needed.

Replaced the old TV with a larger thin widescreen TV by mounting it outside the cabinet frame. But being so thin and a narrow frame it mounted well with a little trim work.

[Johno02]

Look for the ones with the smallest edge around the screen. The wide edges are just wasted screen space.

[Ivylog]

I was able to go from a 32 inch to a 40 inch LED by mounting it on the face of the cabinet not in the cabinet. Many are less than an inch and a half thick all the way around making it possible to mount on the face of the cabinet.

[Triker33]

Replacing them with LED TV's, no converter box needed.
The new LED's have digital tuners in them.

The present roof antenna will work fine. If it is a wingard batwing. Adding the wingman to it will help

[harley-dave]

Good Morning.. In my RV all we had to do was the carpentry work to get the LED tv in the same spot. I did upgrade the antenna but it is not required normally. Had to learn how to work the new TV and connect it to our surround sound. Works great..

Dave

[RoyB]

Just go to WALMART and get one of their VIZIO type brands TV's... Thats all you need. We use the 22-inch 120VAC VIZIO HDTV here in our OFF-ROAD POPUP camper.... If we need to run the TV when camping off the power grid we use an small PSW INVERTER.

If your trailer has the crank-up BATWING type antenna with DIPOLES on it like this google photo you already have one the best antenna to pick up high VHF/UHF channels. If your BATWING does not have the DIPOLES you can pick that up from AMAZON and add it to your exsting BATWING crankup antenna - just takes about about five minutes to snap i place... Your BATWING will work without the added dipoles but will do much better with them...


Roy Ken